Timeline: I'm playing a little big loose with it. It's Pre-Evil Faith, pre-Angel's return, and pre-Cordelia/Xander break-up.
Sister Slayer
by : Jeremy Ray Logsdon
Willow ran as fast as her legs would carry her. She wanted nothing more than to look behind her to see if he was still there, but she didn't dare spare the glance. Experience had taught her that when fleeing from vampires through dark alleys, you keep your face forward or you'll end up sprawled everywhere. When that happened, Cordelia, Xander, Oz, or Angel would help her buy the two seconds needed to avoid a fatal vampire attack. Preferably, Buffy or Faith would be around to save her. But tonight, Willow was alone.
Suddenly, she felt a pair of steel-powerful arms wrap around her legs. With a short, sharp cry, she tumbled to the ground, disturbing a pile of crates. She lashed out with her hands, frowning when she realized they were all plastic milk crates. A wooden fruit crate would have been a Godsend at the moment.
Those same powerful arms grabbed her by her left ankle, pulling her back. Turning over, she kicked up with her free foot into his chest. However, her foot throbbed as if she had just kicked a brick wall. The brown-haired form above her only chuckled.
That sent tendrils of rage spreading through the red-haired teen. Her eyes traveled lower on the vampire's body, and she thrust her right leg out with such strength that pain shot straight up her spine and white dots swam before her eyes. As her heel collided with the vampire's groin, he let her go, falling to his knees and literally howling with pain.
Allowing a brief victorious smile, Willow scrambled away. However, the brown-haired vampire, his face now literally twisted in rage, was shuffling, and rather quickly, toward her. Determined not to give in, she brought her hand up to her necklace, yanking the chain free and destroying the clasp. Holding the loose ends tightly in her palm, she let the silver Star of David dangle free. As the vampire came at her, she lashed out with the religious charm. When it collided with the vampire's face, its edges became preternaturally sharp and pierced his skin, also burning him painfully in the process. Covering his face with his hands, he jumped an involuntary step back, whimpering.
By the time he had recovered enough to chase her, Willow was already gone.
As the fleeing girl stumbled inside the building, she couldn't help but voice her frustrations.
"This isn't Temple Beth Israel!" Willow cried. She had been so desperate to find a haven from the vampire stalking her, she hadn't even noticed she wasn't in her own temple. The large crucifix hanging at the front of the room kind of gave that away, though.
A quick glance told her she was in a Catholic Church. While it may not have been best for her, it was a religious building, and that counted for something.
Willow closed the heavy oak doors behind her and began to slowly walk through the empty cathedral. It really was quite beautiful. The ceiling loomed high above her, and all along the walls were beautiful stained glass murals. Some were decidedly Christian, detailing the crucifixion and Jesus rising to heaven, but some could have just as easily have been in her own Temple.
The stained glass murals were arranged in Biblical order, starting with a representation of the Genesis stories, and even one of the flood, ending with the Ascension up at the very end of the church. Willow slowly walked through the pews, headed toward a gorgeous mural of Moses parting the Red Sea.
She stopped directly in front of the glass window, looking up at the detailed image. It was filled with gorgeous maroons and azures. She couldn't even imagine how beautiful it might have been with sunlight streaming through it.
But then, the beauty was destroyed as the glass shattered, falling to the ground in a cacophonous, chaotic symphony. Those same arms that had been clutching her earlier lunged through the gaping hole in the church wall, wrapping around Willow's shoulders. She screamed and jumped back, pulling the vampire into the church with her. She scrambled to the end of the pew, hoping and praying that the church would have SOME type of effect on the vampire. She saw nothing.
As she backed away, she passed an altar with a pedestal for candles. She grabbed the bronze crucifix hanging above it and held it out before her. With her other hand, she readied her Star of David, intent on doing more damage with it if need be.
"Stay back!" Willow ordered, although her voice fell flat. She was too scared to sound powerful.
"Gee," the vampire taunted. His face was actually quite handsome. He had sparkling blue eyes and perfectly combed brown hair. "Where's a Slayer when you need one?"
Suddenly, a door at the front of the church blew open. A woman in black robes darted from the door, running at the vampire at full charge.
"Run!" she screamed at Willow. A second glance revealed the woman to be a nun. The stunned teen watched in astonishment as the nun threw herself at the vampire, lifting one leg high enough to slam it into the monster's chest. He was so startled at being attacked by a holy woman, her blow knocked him down.
"Crucifix!" the nun ordered. Willow was only able to snap out of her shocked reverie long enough to toss her the bronze object. But then the vampire leapt at Willow from his prone position on the floor. She fell to the ground with an oomph, narrowly avoiding cracking her skull against one of the pews.
Willow screamed and lashed out with her Star of David, only to have it sail out of her grip. The nun, however, was quick to grab it. Lightning fast, she whipped the Star of David at the vampire's ankles, causing him to howl in pain. The nun quickly somersaulted away, rolling to a stop before the small wooden altar with the pedestal of candles behind it. She slammed one foot into the altar, breaking the delicate workmanship free. She scooped up a spindle and jumped at the vampire.
Delivering a quick kick to his ribs, she knocked him away from his would-be victim. Shouting angrily, she thrust the spindle into his chest. The vampire's face contorted in pain for a second before he turned into a collection of brown dust and faded away, leaving nothing but a pile of ashes behind.
"Oh my God," Willow sighed, eventually climbing to her feet.
"Are you okay, dear?" the nun asked, walking over to her. She handed Willow her Star of David. "This is yours, I presume."
Willow looked into her face, startled to see that the nun was not a young woman by any means. She was well into her fifties, at least. Her hair, which was peeking out from beneath her wimple due to her scuffle, was touched with a bit of gray.
"Yeah," Willow laughed nervously. "Religious icons of silver... Never leave home without 'em." She folded her arms across her chest nervously before saying, "Uhm, thanks for helping me out... and everything."
"Always glad to help," the nun answered. Extending her hand for a handshake, she said, "My name is Sister Mary Dolores."
"Willow."
"You know, dear, a Catholic Church probably wasn't the best of havens for you to flee to," Mary Dolores said. "Temple Beth Israel is just down the street."
"You know I'm Jewish?" Willow asked.
"Lucky guess," Mary Dolores told her with a smile.
"How-?" Willow finally managed to ask. Clucking her tongue, she asked, "How did you know what to do? How did you know-?"
"That was a vampire?" Mary Dolores asked.
"Yeah..."
"Let me ask you a question, first," Mary Dolores said. "That'll keep me from having to tell my tale more than once. Just who is the Slayer you are affiliated with?"
"Slayer?" Willow asked in a small voice.
"Willow, don't lie to me," Mary Dolores said in a mock stern voice. "You were just chased into a church by a vampire, and you aren't shell-shocked enough to be a random victim."
"Buffy Summers," Willow admitted, looking down.
"THE Buffy?" Mary Dolores asked. "Well, well, well... Father Sarducci will be quite interested to hear of this. He's my Watcher, incidentally. Could you-"
"You're a Slayer?!" Willow cried out suddenly.
"My dear, if that surprised you," Mary Dolores told her, "you are going to be a very enlightened young woman soon. Now, can you take me to Buffy's Watcher?"
"Good grief, Buffy," Cordelia moaned. "You are the only person I've seen with this many crosses."
"One for every outfit," Buffy grinned as she plucked a golden cross from the collection and fastened it around her neck.
"We are never going to get any studying done tonight," Xander groaned. "What does Giles want anyway?"
"He wouldn't say," Buffy muttered. "Willow is there; that's all I know. Come on. Let's roll."
"Giles, the world had better be ending, because we have a killer Econ test tomorrow," Cordelia complained.
"The world isn't ending, Cordelia," Giles answered, sighing.
"It will if I don't pull my grade up to a C!" she protested. "You've never seen my father angry. He is not a happy man."
"This won't take long," Sister Mary Dolores remarked, stepping out from the shadows with Willow and a man in green robes that no one recognized.
"Who's the penguin?" Xander muttered under his breath to Cordelia.
"Penguin Mary Dolores," she greeted. "Charmed." She couldn't help but grin broadly at the look of terror on Xander's face.
"Good ears," Buffy commented.
"It comes naturally to her," the man in green robes commented.
"Buffy, this is Sister Mary Dolores and Father Sarducci."
"It's nice to meet you," Buffy said, crossing over to them to shake their hands.
"No, it's my honor to meet the Slayer," Mary Dolores commented.
Buffy raised her eyebrows quizzically and shot a glance at Giles. "I'm not going to hell, or anything, am I?"
"What you do on your time is none of my concern," Giles answered woodenly.
Willow, standing a bit awkwardly beside the priest, finally commented, "Sister Mary Dolores is a Slayer, too..."
"No way!" Cordelia cried. "You're..."
"A nun?"
"Actually, I was going to say old, but yeah, the nun thing, too."
"I'm from a time when the fight was not as dangerous as it is now," Mary Dolores said. "And my mother, a Slayer before me."
"Two Slayers in one family?" Faith asked, hopping up to sit on a table cross-legged.
"The odds of that happening are just... phenomenal!" Giles cried in his usual, subdued manner.
"Not really," she said. "Side story, first. There are four known Hellmouths in the world. One in Los Angeles, one in Edinburgh, Scotland, another in Sydney, Australia, and the other here in Sunnydale."
"Right there, to be exact," Buffy said, pointing to a spot just a few feet from them.
"Do any of you know how a Hellmouth is created?" Father Sarducci asked.
"Hellmouths aren't created," Faith interrupted. "They just ARE."
"Three were," Giles said quickly. "Only three Hellmouths existed in the beginning. They can be created, though I don't know how. I assumed that it was the Los Angeles or Sydney Hellmouth that was created, though..." His voice trailed off a bit as he realized he was about to slide into a speech.
"The Los Angeles Hellmouth is the newest," Mary Dolores explained calmly. "It was created when my mother was turned into a vampire."
"You just said she was a Slayer," Faith murmured, more to herself than to the nun.
"She was a Slayer," Mary Dolores said with a nod. "Until she was turned into a vampire. We lived in Los Angeles back then. The year was 1961. My mother was in her late thirties... We had urged her to stop slaying, but she wouldn't listen. I can understand, now. A Slayer feels invincible. But even a Slayer ages. Not physically, but mentally. A vamp... just caught her off-guard one night. By the time I got to her, half her blood had been drained. Somehow, I still don't know how, she gave me her powers. She just pointed at me, and it happened."
"Is that what makes a Hellmouth?" Buffy asked. "A Slayer becoming a vamp?"
"Partly," Mary Dolores said. "A Slayer becoming a vampire creates an Open Hellmouth. To close it, that new vampire must be killed."
Willow's eyes slowly widened. "You... you had to kill your own mother?"
"The definition of mother in this situation is a bit loose, but yes, I did. I had to."
"Oh God," Buffy sighed, covering her mouth with both hands. "How were you able to do that?"
"My mother was dead as soon as her body became a demon-possessed vampire," Mary Dolores said woodenly. "Her soul had already moved on. I just destroyed her body to keep the Hellmouth from remaining open."
"One thing," Faith interjected, "how'd you know? What were you doing with a Slayer on patrol and how'd you know you had to kill her to close the Hellmouth."
Mary Dolores smiled warmly. "I may be a Slayer now, but I've always been prescient," she answered. "And that's why I'm here."
"Is it happening again?" Willow asked, wringing her hands.
"Next week," Mary Dolores said. She reached over and took Buffy by the wrist and walked over to Faith, who was perched on the table. "Sometime in the next week, one of us is going to become a vampire."
"Buffy?" Willow asked.
"It's not gonna be me," Faith said smartly, jumping off of the table. "Uh, uh. This chick can keep a bloodsucker from getting to her goodies. Not so sure Buffy can say the same, though."
"Hey!" Buffy snapped. "You leave Angel out of this."
"The future hasn't been made yet," Mary Dolores said. "It can still be changed. I would recommend no patrolling-"
"No way!" Faith protested. "If word gets out that there's no Slayer on-"
"I WOULD recommend no patrolling, but if word gets out that there isn't a Slayer on guard, it would be a demon's free for all," Mary Dolores finished. "Just be VERY, VERY careful."
"What's up, Will?" Oz asked, pulling her locker door back to reveal her face.
"Huh? Up?" she asked in confusion. She looked very out of place for a moment before saying, "Oh, Oz. Uhm... It's complicated. I was supposed to call you, wasn't I?"
"Maybe," he said, furrowing his brow and placing his hand on his chin. "C'mon Will, fess up. Something's buggin' ya."
"I'm afraid Buffy's going to turn into a vampire!" she wailed. "And if she does, then somebody's gonna have to kill her! She isn't going to be a good vampire like Angel, unless we could find that gypsy woman that did the thing to Angel. And I could maybe try to figure out how to do something with, you know, my witchcraft thing, but she's gonna have to be killed anyway to close the second Hellmouth. And on top of all of that, I have an Econ test, but now, I feel really sleazy for even worrying about a test when my best friend may be joining the legions of the undead!"
"Don't hold back... or anything."
The ringing of the class bell pulled Willow back to reality. "And now, I'm late for class!"
"I failed, I failed, I failed!" Cordelia wailed. "My dad is going to kill me!"
"At least you look great today," Xander tried.
His tall, brunette girlfriend shoved her books into his arms. "Make yourself useful, Xander," she snapped.
"Cordelia, leave Xander alone. He can't defend himself," Buffy told her. She held her books loosely at her waist. She wasn't too sure about the test herself, but at the moment, she had more to worry about.
"Thanks, Buffy," Xander said slowly. "I think."
"Hey B," Faith greeted, already waiting at her locker.
"Faith, what are you doing here?" Buffy asked, gently nudging her aside to get at her combination.
"Just hangin', chillin', bit o' illin'," Faith answered with a wry grin. "You?"
"It's called school," Buffy answered smartly. "And now, I'm going to a subject that I know I can pass. Lunch."
"Don't tell me you're freaked out by Sister Slayer," Faith sighed.
"I'm not freaked out," Buffy promised.
"I am!" Willow volunteered. "It's bad enough to die, but to be turned into a vampire? That's like..."
"Bad skin tone," Cordelia said quickly. "If either of you turns into a vampire, you're just going to turn this sickening shade of white. And I don't care if pale is chic now, it just does not look as good as a healthy shade of brown." She brushed her fingers across her cheek and said, "Like me."
"You're just baking yourself in a tanning bed," Faith told her.
"And your point?" Cordelia asked, raising her eyebrows.
"Angel hads color," Xander said.
"Angel hads natural color," Cordelia told them. "It didn't matter that he hadn't seen the sun in 230 years. These two gals will turn lily white."
"Would you all stop it?!" Willow cried.
"I agree with Willster," Faith decided. "Sister Slayer is whack if she thinks either me, or B, is gonna get bit."
"And stop calling her Sister Slayer!" Willow snapped. Buffy turned partially to Willow and gave her an impressed look. As soon as she did that, Willow's brave facade dropped away. In her normal voice, she said, "'Cause her name is... Sister Mary Dolores."
"Fine," Faith said, biting the word off sharply. "Sis Mary D is wrong. I can handle a vampire."
"Me too," Buffy agreed, though her voice betrayed her.
"B, you are letting these negative people drag you down," Faith said in an authoritative voice. "You're skipping; we're training."
"But I haven't eaten lunch yet," Buffy complained as Faith pulled her away.
Willow silently pushed Buffy's locker closed. "I'm going to talk to Giles," Willow groaned with a downfallen expression.
"Hey... guys," Oz said as he walked up to them. "Where are the fellow Slayerettes?"
"Everybody's freaking out over what the Slayer nun said," Xander told him.
"C'mon, Social Reject. We're going to lunch."
"You could try being nice to me for a change," Xander muttered.
"You know you love it," Cordelia sighed.
"Slayer nun?" Oz asked the empty hallway.
"Oh, hello Willow," Father Sarducci greeted.
"Hi Father," Willow said. "Uhm... Is Sister Mary Dolores around?"
"Actually, she's out training with Faith and Buffy," he answered. "Is it important?"
"Sort of," Willow told him. "I was doing a spell, and-" She suddenly paused, paling considerably.
"Willow?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.
"I'm sorry," she apologized. "The... spell... thing..."
"Willow, if being a priest AND a Watcher has taught me nothing else, it has taught me that not all things are black and white," he said calmly. "I've helped Sister Mary Dolores with a few simple healing spells myself during her time as a Slayer. Now please, continue."
"Well, I was doing a temporal folding spell, which is, uhm..."
"Manipulation of time and space, continue."
"And... I saw the future. I was trying to just look a week into the past, because I lost my math book and they're really expensive, but I must have messed up something, because I went the other direction and into the future."
"Willow, you do realize that the future is uncertain," he said calmly. "A lot of things could happen between now and next week to drastically change..."
"I didn't see a week into the future; I saw three days into the future," Willow said hurriedly. "And I saw myself at a wake for you and Sister Mary Dolores."
"Just three days?" he asked calmly.
"Uh huh."
"What did you use?" he asked in that same calm voice that Watchers have a horribly tendency to use, regardless of the situation.
"Lavender, ginseng, and some nasty smelling green stuff that-"
"Come with me, we need to tell Mr. Giles," Father Sarducci said quickly.
The nun was dressed in black pants and a black shirt with her long, salt-n-pepper hair pulled back in a loose ponytail, covered by a black handkerchief. Despite her very conservative outfit, it was still hard to merge this woman with the nun they had met the prior night. It was even harder still when Buffy and Faith realized she was every inch the Slayer they were.
Mary Dolores suddenly paused, not even attempting to block the strike. Buffy's foot collided with her jaw with astonishing force, wrenching the older woman's head back. She moved with the blow and quickly snapped her head upright, raising one hand up to touch her jaw.
"Oh God, I'm sorry!" Buffy cried, reaching a comforting hand out to her shoulder.
"Geeze, B," Faith chuckled. "Hitting a nun; that's gotta be bad kharma."
"Willow," Mary Dolores sighed. "Lord... Come on, girls. Giles, we'll be back in a minute!" As soon as she said that, she took off running.
"Willow?" Buffy asked for a moment. She cast a look back at Giles, and then a look of comprehension overtook her. "Willow! Oh God! Come on Faith!" She was immediately off and running, throwing the doors to the Library open with such force the glass on one of them shattered.
"How do we stop the future?" Willow asked as they drove at an illegal speed through the side streets of Sunnydale.
"Obviously, we can't," Father Sarducci told her, "but we can alter it from here. Can you tell me anything about your vision? Any kind of marks on our bodies?"
"Well, Sister Mary Dolores looked like she had a lot of make-up on," Willow said. "Funeral make-up, I mean. You know, like how people look if they were in a car wreck or something?"
"Taken a beating?"
"Yeah," Willow said.
"And myself?"
"Your coffin was closed," she said softly. "But I knew it was you because there was a big picture of you in front of it."
Suddenly, a body leapt out in front of the car. Willow screamed, trying to get in a word of warning. They hit the body, and Father Sarducci suddenly realized that it was not a human they had hit. Though the body was thrown backwards, the car's back wheels lifted off the ground. Willow lurched forward, her head slamming into the windshield. The airbag exploded out around Father Sarducci, and then, just as quickly as it had happened, it was over.
"Willow?" Father Sarducci asked, reaching over to gently touch the teen.
"Ohhh," she groaned, holding one hand to her head. She leaned back, wincing. "I'm okay. What happened?"
"We were just hit by a vampire," he answered. He reached beneath the seat and pulled out a large cross. However, before he had a chance to do anything, two powerful arms broke through the driver-side window and grabbed him by the shoulders. Willow screamed as he was pulled out of the car. She grabbed the cross that he had dropped on the seat and jumped out after them.
She had to hold her head for a moment, a brief wave of dizziness overwhelming her. In that instant, one of the vampires backhanded her, knocking her backwards and onto the hood of the car. Her head slammed into the windshield, and she slipped into unconsciousness. The vampire leapt up onto the hood, straddling her body. His face deformed, and an animalistic growl came from deep within his chest. He cradled the unconscious Willow in his arms, brushing her silken red hair off of her neck. Baring his fangs, he darted to bite her neck.
However, before he had a chance to sink his teeth into her flesh, a pair of white Keds slammed into him from above. Buffy sailed over the car, knocking him off of her best friend. Buffy jumped off of the hood and onto the vampire, sprawled out on the pavement. He growled at her, but before he could jump up, she plunged her stake into his chest. An upset expression crossed his face, which was present even in the brief dusty remains that overwhelmed and replaced his undead body.
Mary Dolores grabbed a vampire by the hair of his head and slammed his face into the side of the car.
"Faith!" she cried, grabbing the vampire by his shirt.
"Go!" Faith cried, holding the stake out before her. Mary Dolores hurled the vampire into the stake, impaling him on it and turning him to ashes. As a vampire ran past her, Faith swung her stake out, killing him with it in one fluid motion.
"They're gone," Mary Dolores realized, looking around.
"What's Willow doing out here alone?" Faith asked, looking around. She dropped to the ground and glanced under the car, making sure that there weren't any vamps hiding in wait.
"This is Father Sarducci's car," Mary Dolores realized. She reached inside, turning the ignition and getting no result. "Figures. You two take Willow back to Giles."
"Where are you going?" Faith asked as Mary Dolores started off.
"They obviously took Father Sarducci," Mary Dolores said. "I'm gonna go get him back."
"I'll come with you," Faith offered. "B?"
"I'll be fine, go," Buffy said, scooping Willow into her arms.
"I don't hear anything," Faith commented, "but-"
"Do you want me to go first?" Mary Dolores asked.
"No need," Faith said quickly. "Just watch my back." She dropped down into the manhole, landing nimbly about twelve feet down. She glanced around, and then called up, "We're clear."
"This is a big nest, you say?" Mary Dolores inquired as she landed beside Faith.
"Usually," Faith commented. "Some big important guy is down here. His roadies bring 'im a mortal to drain every so often. We've found bodies down here. I don't mean to be blunt about your friend, or anything, but-"
"I appreciate it, honestly," Mary Dolores assured her. "I think I hear something this way."
"Lead the way, Sis."
"I'm okay, I swear," Willow insisted.
"I think you have a minor concussion," Cordelia said, shining a penlight in her eye.
"I didn't know you knew first-aid, Cordelia," Giles said.
"Learned it in the Scouts," Cordelia answered. "Willow, you should be fine. Just... take it easy for a while."
"I don't believe you are supposed to sleep soon after you've had a concussion," Giles mused.
"I've heard that, too," Willow agreed. "Great."
"I'll stay up with you, Willow," Oz offered.
"Call your mom and tell her you're staying with me," Buffy said, reaching into Cordelia's purse and pulling out her cell phone.
"You're welcome," Cordelia muttered sarcastically. She was interrupted mid-sentence, however, by the sound of glass shattering in the distance.
"That sounded like the lobby," Giles said quickly.
"I'm on it," Buffy said, grabbing a stake from the table and running off to find the disturbance.
"Not a big nest," Faith realized, looking about. "Six vamps, tops."
"No, that's not what this is," Mary Dolores realized. "It's like... a breeding ground."
"For what?"
"Some vampires just dedicate themselves to making more of their kind," Mary Dolores explained. "That's why they can never all be destroyed. Sunnydale isn't that big of a town. It just can't sustain a vampire population the size it does without outside influence."
"Breeder vampires?"
"Exactly."
"What about the Father?" Faith asked.
Mary Dolores walked over to a box sitting on a table. She opened the box and dumped the contents on the table. "All religious icons," Mary Dolores commented. "Some iron, wood..."
"What is it?" Faith asked, going to the other side of the table to help her rifle through the objects.
"Objects taken from the... mortal they brought here," she explained. "A vampire can't wear iron or wood... Especially iron. Wood is only damaging if it goes through their heart. Well, most damaging. But iron is... it's almost like kryptonite. Weakens them."
Mary Dolores suddenly sighed. She lifted her hand, a red rosary hanging from her fingertips. "This is what happened to Father Sarducci," she told Faith.
"Oh my God," Buffy sighed, stopping at the door of the lobby.
"Not quite," the vampire formerly known as Father Sarducci said with a complacent grin.
"No," Buffy repeated. "This isn't..."
Between one blink and the next, he had traversed the lobby and was standing next to her. Buffy backed up a step and held the stake in a ready position to strike. "Mmm.... Buffy," he said in a voice that sent shivers all over her body. "I need to call on a favor."
"I owe you nothing," she hissed. "And the only reason you aren't a pile of dust is because I don't know how to explain this to Mary Dolores."
"Bring her to me," Sarducci ordered. "The crypt on Lawndale, tomorrow night. Or I will kill your friend Willow."
"You'll have to go through me first," Buffy snarled.
"Willow has extended to me an open invitation to come visit her whenever I like," Sarducci said. "You can't be with her all the time."
Rage tore through Buffy, and thoughts of Sister Mary Dolores fled. With stake poised, she lunged at Father Sarducci. However, he took her off guard, and with one strong hand delivered to the center of her chest, she flew straight backwards and out of the lobby, landing on her back in the hall. "Bring the nun!" Sarducci ordered.
Buffy scrambled to her feet and ran into the lobby. However, it was once again empty.
"You're staying with me tonight," Buffy ordered.
"Buffy, I'll-"
"There's no room for discussion, Willow," Buffy snapped. "Understand?"
"Yes, Mom," Willow sighed.
"Father Sarducci must... Sarducci must have a personal vendetta against Willow," Giles mused. "Willow, did you say anything to him that may have triggered some sort of response? Anything at all?"
"I mentioned a spell I did," Willow said. "That's why I was there in the first place."
"You mentioned a Wiccan spell to a Catholic priest?" Cordelia asked. "Real good move."
"He said it didn't bother him," Willow insisted. "And I don't think it did. But..."
"I see you have had a visitor," Sister Mary Dolores said as she walked into the library with Faith.
"We know he was turned into a vampire," Faith said quickly.
"He told me," Buffy started, "that if I don't bring you to him, he'll kill Willow."
"He said that?" Mary Dolores asked coolly.
"Yeah," Buffy said softly with a nod. "Can you imagine why? What would he have against Willow?"
"I know why," Mary Dolores answered. "But I don't know if you can handle it."
"Sister?" Giles asked. "Would you please inform us? Willow's life may be at risk."
"All right," she relented. "I had a premonition this morning."
"About me?" Willow asked.
"Think you guys could speed this up a little?" Cordelia asked suddenly.
"Cordelia," Willow said quickly. "Mary Dolores? Was it about me?"
"You know that I became a Slayer because I was there when my mother was killed," Mary Dolores explained. "If my vision comes to pass, by this time tomorrow, Willow will replace me as the Slayer."
"I don't wanna be a Slayer, Buffy," Willow said. "I like being simple, boring Willow." She looked over at her friend and saw that she was sleeping silently, her head resting against her desk. "Buffy, you're supposed to be keeping me awake."
"Huh?" Buffy snorted as Willow nudged her awake. "What were you saying?"
"I don't WANT to be a Slayer," Willow repeated. "Killing vampires... It just sounds... like very... not-me behavior."
"She said IF her premonition comes true," Buffy said. "There's no reason to think it will."
"If I do become a Slayer, that means she'll have to be killed," Willow stated. "I don't want that to happen, either. I like her. She's nice."
"How long did Giles say you had to stay awake?" Buffy asked, trying and failing to suppress a yawn.
"Six hours," Willow answered. "Is it one a.m. yet?"
"Almost," Buffy said. "I wonder what Sister Mary Dolores is doing right now... I can't even imagine how I'd act if Giles was... Ugh, I don't even wanna think about it."
"Hey, Sis MD," Faith interrupted.
"Yes Faith," Mary Dolores said woodenly. She was kneeling at an altar in her church, silently moving through the beads of her rosary.
"I learned something I think you might want to know," Faith said. "Father Sarducci wasn't a random victim. The Slayer/Hellmouth thing? If a vamped-out Watcher is the one who turns a Slayer into a Vampire, then the Hellmouth can't be closed with just a simple slaying."
"I see," Mary Dolores commented. "Thank you for telling me."
"I also came across the group of vamps that did this to him," Faith told her. "Wanna go learn more?"
"Do you, by any chance, know of a hardware store that's open all night?" Mary Dolores asked.
"No," Faith answered. "But anyway... what is it you want? I can get it."
"You left the cash in the register?" Mary Dolores asked as she took the nail gun from Faith.
"I even got you change," Faith promised, showing the nun a ten dollar bill.
"Keep it," Mary Dolores said quickly. "These nails are iron, yes?"
"As far as I know," Faith answered.
Sister Mary Dolores turned, seeing the time, 4:48 a.m., on a nearby bank sign. "I'm ready," Mary Dolores said. "Lead the way."
The vampire fell to the ground with a painful scream, pulling one foot up to cradle protectively. "Tell me," Mary Dolores insisted, "or I shoot the other foot."
"I'm not telling you anything," the vampire growled.
"Stupid," Faith remarked. Mary Dolores aimed the nail gun at the vampire's other foot and fired. With a hiss, another iron nail shot out and struck the vampire in his uninjured foot. Another painful scream filled the air.
"You are going to die regardless," Mary Dolores threatened. "You can either give us the info you want, and I'll let my friend here stake you quickly. Or you can be quiet, and I'll shoot you so full of nails you won't be able to move and the sun will kill you. Your call."
"What do you want to know?" he asked through clenched teeth.
"Three things," Mary Dolores said. "First, where is Sarducci, your newest vampire, staying?"
"Crypt... Lawndale," the vampire grunted.
"Why do you want a new Hellmouth?"
"For... for Androphenes."
"Who is Androphenes?"
"The Master's new form!" he screamed. Grinding his teeth, he added, "He's on the other side of the Hellmouth. Now would you freakin' KILL me already!"
"Mr. Vampire, thank you for your assistance. Faith, stake him."
"Shooting them with nails," Faith commented after their extra companion was a pile of dust. She picked the two nails out of his "remains" and blew them off. "Nice touch."
"I'm not normally very aggressive," Mary Dolores commented. "But when an entire world is about to be endangered... well, I can be."
"I can't concentrate on anything today," Willow admitted at the lockers. "Something big is going to happen tonight."
"What is the plan for tonight?" Oz asked, looking at Buffy.
"I think you all should stay with Giles in the Library," Buffy suggested. "I'll... patrol, I guess."
"Sister Mary Dolores!" Willow suddenly cried, smiling as the nun approached them. The nun was dressed in her "slaying" clothes rather than her habit.
"We're going to find Sarducci tonight," Mary Dolores explained, "and we're going to kill him before he can create a new and possibly permanent Hellmouth."
"You really think you can kill your own Watcher?" Buffy asked.
"Sarducci the vampire has no ties beyond a physical appearance with the late Father Sarducci," Mary Dolores said calmly. "So yes, I believe I can."
"Sun sets tonight a little after six," Buffy said. "We go find him then?"
"I know where he is," Mary Dolores answered. "We draw him out then. In the meantime, could one of you please lead me to your school's Metal Shop?"
"Yeah," Xander offered, "I can. This way."
"She is like... the coolest nun I know," Cordelia said simply.
"Solder, please," Mary Dolores asked. As Xander handed her a small section of the pliable wire, she pulled two iron nails from her pocket and wound them together in the shape of a cross. "Acetylene torch?"
"Right here," Xander said, watching with interest as he handed her the blue canister. "If you don't mind my asking, what exactly are you doing?"
"Making a weapon," she answered. "Now, would you please escort me to the library?"
"Should we just go straight to Lawndale?" Faith asked. "Stake him before he can change ya?"
"There's something else that needs to be done first," Mary Dolores said. "Someone go to the hospital. I need you to look up something for me. About two weeks ago, I donated blood. I need to make sure it's been used, or it's at least been taken out of Sunnydale. My legal name is Sister Mary Dolores Thompson, not just Dolores."
"Check the Blood Bank," Giles told her. "You know-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know where it is," Faith answered hastily. "I'm on it."
"I'll go with you," Buffy said. "Mary Dolores, please be careful if you go out."
"I'm not leaving until I know where my blood is," she answered.
"Willow, will you look over my history homework for me?" Cordelia asked as she pushed her locker door shut. "I need to get a good grade on this paper."
"Sure, I can do that," Willow agreed. "I-" She paused in mid-sentence, completely unmoving.
"What is it?" Cordelia asked. She turned around, and saw Sarducci, with three vampire companions, standing behind them. "Oh."
"Get the witch," Sarducci ordered. "And bring the other one, too. She'll make a nice snack."
"Giles, I'm worried about Willow and Cordelia," Xander announced at last. "They should have been here."
"Maybe they're holed up at Willow's house," Oz suggested. He then added, "I didn't believe it when I said it, either."
"I'm going to Lawndale," Mary Dolores said suddenly, jumping out of her seat and racing out of the room.
"But the blood!" Giles cried. "Slayers are all the same. None of them listen."
"I'm going, too," Xander said, standing up and striding toward the doors.
"Xander, sit down," Giles ordered. "We need to ascertain what could have happened and not go running off on a suicide mission."
"In the words of Faith," Xander said, standing up, "screw that. I'm going to find my friends."
"I'm coming, too," Oz added, following Xander out of the library.
"At least wait for me!" Giles shouted, hurrying behind the counter to grab a few crosses, stakes, and vials of holy water.
"My life never used to be this complicated!" Cordelia whined, struggling uselessly against the ropes around her. "I used to only have to worry about getting a zit. Now, I have to worry about being eaten!"
"Cordelia, please be quiet," Willow pleaded. "We don't need any more attention drawn to ourselves."
"And thank you for volunteering to untie me," Cordelia added. The two girls were inside one of the mausoleums on Lawndale. Willow had been given a spell to "whip up," and Cordelia was tied to a cement post.
"If Sarducci comes in here and sees that I've untied you, he might kill us both," Willow told her.
Cordelia was quite for a moment, letting Willow work in silence, before she interrupted with, "What is it he's having you do?"
"I'm not sure," Willow admitted, crumbling up a leaf into the stone crock before her. "I don't recognize this combination of materials. But I'm almost done... I just need... organic fluid."
"Like what?" Cordelia asked.
"Like this," Sarducci said, shocking a scream out of Willow. She spun around, seeing him kneeling behind her. He handed her a vial filled with a dark liquid. "It's mortal blood. Don't drink it."
"Don't worry," Willow said quickly, uncapping the vial and pouring it into the bowl.
"You had better hope your little nun friend shows up," Sarducci told Willow. "Or we'll be forced to make do with you."
"What are you going to do?" Willow asked, her hands trembling as she poured the blood into the crock.
"I'm having you mix this up JUST in case Mary Dolores doesn't show up," he told her. "'Cause I'm gonna vamp me a slayer come hell or high water."
"Reference Code 438," Buffy said. "Found it, and it's not good." She emerged from the walk-in freezer with a drained blood bag in her hands.
"What was the deal with the blood, anyway?" Faith asked.
"Dunno," Buffy said, tossing the empty bag to a nearby trashcan. "But she was pretty upset about it. Lawndale?"
"Lawndale," Faith agreed.
"Now... let's see," Sarducci said softly. He stepped up to Willow, who was still kneeling beside the potion she had just mixed. Her gaze was kept down at the ground, but he grabbed her by the chin and yanked her gaze up, scaring a whimper out of her. "She's not here yet... The sun has been set for nearly... forty-five minutes... It's technically 'tonight,' and she's still not here. That isn't good for you, Willow."
"Leave her alone!" Mary Dolores threatened, walking into the crypt. She kept both hands low at her sides, an angry scowl on her otherwise pleasant face.
"Just in time," Sarducci said, gently patting Willow on the cheek. He pushed her to the floor, and his three companions immediately moved toward Willow and Cordelia.
"Sister, do something!" Cordelia screamed. One of the vampires walked right up to Cordelia and moved her head to an angle, exposing her neck.
Mary Dolores lifted one arm into the air and threw a stake, calling remarkably little attention to herself. The stake flew through the air, striking the vampire about to attack Cordelia in the left armpit. The stake was driven deep enough to pierce his heart, and he disintegrated into dust. "Call your goons off," Mary Dolores warned. "I'm faster than any of them."
Sarducci didn't have to give an order. The other two vampires took off running, and Willow promptly jumped to her feet and moved to help Cordelia. "These are really knotted," Willow muttered under her breath.
"Hurry," Cordelia pleaded as Willow attempted to untie the massive rope.
"The Master was supposed to be dead," Mary Dolores said simply. She folded her arms across her check, staring flatly at Sarducci.
"The Master is," Sarducci told her. "But his power is reincarnated as Androphenes. And he's just one vamped-out slayer away from coming to good ole Sunnydale."
"Well, that's half-right," Mary Dolores commented. Her arms were suddenly a blur, and intense pain exploded through Sarducci's chest. Flames burst from the contact point, and he looked down to see a cross made of iron nails embedded in his chest. Screaming angrily, he reached for the cross and yanked it free.
And then, completely unexpected, Mary Dolores had a flash-back. She remembered something that hadn't danced across her memory in the thirty-seven years since it had happened.
"Honey, I need you to do me a favor tonight. Can you do that?" Carolyn Thompson asked.
"Of course," Dolores said.
Carolyn walked over to Dolores with a small Tupperware bowl in her hands. She dipped her finger in the liquid and made a cross on Dolores' forehead. She said a few words under her breath, and then brushed her daughter's hair back over her shoulders. "Dolores, know I love you more than anything in this world, okay?"
"Of course, Mom. But-"
"The premonition you told me about this morning," Carolyn started. "That's going to be my death."
"Mom, no!" Dolores cried, standing up.
"Dolores, it can't be helped," Carolyn said sternly. She gestured to the potion in the bowl. "This spell will transfer my abilities to you as soon as I am in danger of dying."
"Mom, you-"
Carolyn stopped her and wiped a tear from the corner of Dolores' eye. "The world is bigger than you or me, honey," Carolyn said. "Do you understand what I need you to do?"
"I understand, Mama," Mary Dolores spoke aloud. She looked at the stone crock. She didn't know exactly what it was, but she could certainly guess.
"What?" Sarducci asked.
"You did steal my blood," Mary Dolores said. "You were going to give Willow my abilities and use her to make the Hellmouth..."
"I had a sniper waiting to endanger your life," Sarducci told her.
Mary Dolores rushed him, kicking the stone crock off of its pedestal as she did so. His strong arms wrapped around her from behind, and she wasn't really surprised to find that she was no longer strong enough to throw him off. And then, his lips hit her neck, and the hot sting of vampire teeth shot through her.
"Sister!" Cordelia screamed.
"Mary Dolores!" Willow cried.
Mary Dolores' body dangled loosely in Sarducci's arms as he partially drained her. Then, he lifted his wrist to his mouth, bit himself, and pressed the bleeding bodypart against Mary Dolores' mouth.
"Leave her alone!" Cordelia shouted, and she suddenly realized that she had ripped herself free of the ropes. Sarducci looked up at her in shock, and he realized that her blouse was stained with the potion Willow had prepared.
"You bitch," Sarducci growled, looking down at the pale-faced nun in his arms.
"Cordelia," Mary Dolores said in a soft voice, throwing her stake in Cordelia's direction.
"Meet your maker," he said, grabbing her head in both hands and twisting roughly. Mary Dolores slumped to the ground in a boneless heap.
"NO!" Willow screamed, her knees nearly folding up beneath her.
Buffy and Faith suddenly ran into the crypt. Sarducci looked at Cordelia, and then at the two Slayers in front of him. Then, he ran between Buffy and Faith and out of the mausoleum, both of whom were right after him.
"Mary Dolores," Willow sobbed, running over to her fallen friend. She knelt beside her, crying even harder when she saw that her neck had been broken.
Cordelia calmly bent down and picked up the stake. She glanced down at Mary Dolores, and then at the open door. With just a moment's thought, she bolted after Mary Dolores' assassin.
"Faith, watch out!" Buffy cried, throwing herself at Sarducci. She knocked him off of the dark-haired Slayer, who spun around the pavement on her shoulders, catapulting herself to her feet. Buffy drew out her stake, but before she could use it, Sarducci was already running.
"Not so fast," Cordelia said simply, stepping out into the street in front of Sarducci. He stopped, and then reached out with both of his hands. She reacted faster, grabbing him by both wrists and flipping him over her back. He landed on the pavement, but before he could do anything, Cordelia lifted Mary Dolores' stake high above her head and drove it into Sarducci's chest.
"Willow!" Oz cried. He ran into the mausoleum, stopping beside are her. "Are you okay?"
She sniffled and drew the back of her hand across her cheek, wiping up tears. "Not really," she admitted. "She's dead."
"Willow," Giles said sympathetically.
"Let's get you home," Xander offered, helping Oz get her to her feet. The two teenagers each put an arm around her, and they all walked out of the crypt, leaving Sister Mary Dolores' lifeless body where it lay.
Two days later...
Willow stood between Joyce and Buffy Summers, holding a handkerchief tightly in her right hand and a white carnation in her left. A row of nuns stood before them, while Willow and her friends occupied the next row back. Faith, Cordelia, Oz, Xander, and Giles, all of them were dressed in black. Joyce wrapped a motherly arm around Willow's shoulders and gave her a secure squeeze.
"The service is ended," Father Clark said, lifting an open palm up. "Go in peace."
The crowd began to slowly disperse, but Willow continued to stare at the two coffins, resting above empty graves. One of the coffins was empty, a purely symbolic act, while the other held the body of a friend she had had for only a very short time. "Willow, if-," Oz started
"I'm okay," she said. "Really." Smiling warmly at him, she finished, "I promise." She walked up to Mary Dolores' coffin and gently laid the white carnation on the top.
"Let's go home," Buffy said gently. She wrapped an arm around Willow's shoulders, and with Joyce close behind, led her out of the cemetery.
"I'm telling you both, it was just a fluke," Cordelia said as the remainder of the 'gang' left the cemetery. "Adrenaline, or something."
Faith shook her head, saying, "You're a liar."
Cordelia shrugged and looked at Giles for support. "It may have been temporary," Giles said. "Willow did mix up the potion under stress. She may have gotten something wrong. Slayer powers do typically die with the Slayer, and they were second generation."
"I am not a Slayer," Cordelia insisted. "I promise."
"I'm gonna keep my eye on you," Faith warned as she walked away.
"Well on that threat, I'm going to leave," Cordelia said, getting in her car and driving off, leaving Giles, Oz, and Xander alone in the church's parking lot. "She's not a Slayer," Xander said.
"Not a Slayer," Oz agreed.
"God help us all if she were," Giles sighed. Glancing over at Xander, he added, "No offense meant."
A few days later...
Faith kept her word. She did try to keep an eye on Cordelia, but she saw no Slayerific behavior. After a few days, she got tired of watching. Buffy never did believe Cordelia was a Slayer. She stayed just as callous and, well, rude as she was before, and her experience told that the first major change to a Slayer was an attitude change.
On the Friday afternoon following the funeral, the entire gang was gathered in the Library. As per usual, life in Sunnydale was proving as hectic as ever. Androphenes was still trying to get out, and it was time to stop him again. And whenever the Hellmouth was showing signs of activity, no matter how minor, every vampire in a two hundred mile radius got antsy.
"I'll need help getting stuff to do this spell," Willow said. She produced three lists and handed two of them to Oz and Xander. "Please?"
"Aye aye," Oz agreed, snapping off a quick salute. "We can take my van, Xander."
"Not even a please?" Xander asked in mock-hurt.
"She said 'please,'" Buffy said with a bemused grin.
"I'll give you a cookie when you get back," Willow promised, smiling.
"Let's not be too happy," Giles suggested. "The world is ending, after all."
"The world tries to end every weekend," Buffy told him. "You ready, Faith?"
"Let's motorvate," Faith agreed, and the two Slayers left the library.
I need to go get something from my flat," Giles remarked, striding out of the room. "Will you two, uh, be okay here alone?"
"I'm about to go get some more things I need," Willow answered, gesturing at her list. "Can you give me a ride?"
"Sure. Cordelia?"
"I'll... I'm gonna run home and get something," she said. "I'll be fine."
"All right," Giles agreed. "Willow?" The two quickly left, leaving Cordelia alone.
Cordelia looked at the open doors to the Library for a few moments. Then, she walked to the back of the room and looked at the bulls-eye board that Faith and Buffy had been practicing with just a few moments before. Looking at the doors again, she picked up a knife, squared herself, and threw it at the target, hitting it dead center.
She smiled and pulled a golden crucifix from inside her shirt, no longer hiding it but letting it lay exposed on her chest. She hurried over to her backpack and unzipped it. Inside lay Mary Dolores' stake, which she tucked inside her vest. As she confidently walked out of the library, she remarked, "A girl can't be too careful in Sunnydale."