-{Being Unleashed}-

Wesley ran a hand through his messy hair and wished he had brought a comb. Of course, the Watchers council hadn't felt it necessary to give him time to get ready. They felt all Watchers (retired, active or exiled) should always be on high alert for the council to drop by. Like that was really his biggest concern at the moment with everything going on.

The prison guard looked at him strangely but shrugged it off, having met the prisoner himself and questioning who her acquaintances would be. "Judge Mercer has cleared all the paperwork, you just have to collect your ward."

Wesley nodded and resurrected some of his strict British upbringing and demanding Watcher training, even momentarily forgetting how not the part he looked. "Of course. Lead the way, please. I would like to get this over with as soon as possible."

The guard again shrugged, having seen enough strange occurrences every day that no one in particular could get a rise of emotion out of him. So what if this guy was supposed to be by-the-book responsible? Wasn't his problem. He led the man to the cell and followed him in. Standing outside the door, content at a job done by the books.

Wesley walked in and took his seat, thankful the prisoner was seated across the table from him, even if the handcuffs weren't very comforting. Wesley didn't have long to feel uncomfortable, as the prisoner fixed her gaze on him almost immediately, studying him long and hard. Wesley grumbled, his now normally short temper threatening to give way. "Well, are you ready to leave this place, or shall we sit here recounting the past?"

Faith leaned across the table and grinned. Wesley was more rugged, his hair messy, voice sharp and demanding… and that nasty scar on his neck didn't hurt the image. Of course, her Slayer nose could pick up the distinct smells of recent sex and old evil, and she knew that this man wasn't the stuffy Watcher she remembered. "I'm impressed Wesley, didn't think you had it in you!" It was easier to focus on the now than their past - what she'd done to him in their past.

Wesley's gaze fell to his coat as he sighed deeply. "What impressed you so?"

Faith grinned, the handcuffs seemingly falling off of her as she reached forward to grasp his sweaty palms. "I mean, I always knew you weren't all stuffy Watcher - had that thing for Cordy, didn't you? - but I never figured you for such a bad-ass. Way to go, Wes."

Wesley pulled his hands away from her cold ones, and had the decency to look outraged. He gritted his teeth. "You don't know the first thing about me, Faith."

Faith slid out of the chair fluidly, more gracefully than before. Not just sexy but smooth, like a cat on the prowl. "Oh, yeah, I do. Had some time to hone my instincts, locked up in here. Seems to me you've been sleeping with someone who's not entirely the goody-two-shoes type," she rested her arms on the table much too close to Wesley. "I can smell stuff like that now. Learned my lesson, paid my debt; I'm a good little Slayer now."

Wesley pushed the chair back abruptly and stood up, his back rigid from anger. "My love life is none of your concern. If I had a choice in the matter, I wouldn't be here. Now gather your things and come with me."

Faith shrugged unconcernedly, following him without a second thought. "If I had a say, you wouldn't be here either. But hey, gave up my choice back in Sunnyhell, didn't I?"

Wesley stopped at the door, turning gruffly. "I'm sorry, were you under the impression I cared?" He then pulled open the door and strode out, knowing she had no alternative but to follow.

-{-}-

Spike banged the side of his TV, trying to get the thing to turn on, but to no avail. "Bloody hell," he lamented, "power must be buggered up again."

Sighing, the vampire exited his crypt and hunted for the power lines in the back. Sure enough, there was a cut in the line. "Bloke just can't catch a break," he was instantly reminded of his kind-of-relationship with Buffy, just as everything else reminded him, "figures."

He wasn't sure how much more of this flat-out denial with her friends he could take. It was one thing to pretend they weren't sleeping together, it was quite another to all out humiliate him every chance she got.

Spike cautiously picked up the two ends of the power line as he darted a quick glance around the cemetery. "Living on the Hellmouth, power in the cemetery, and these people can't get it through their bleeding skulls to put lighting in the place."

Shrugging, he pushed the two power lines together with a little more force then was required. The connection resulted in a large spark, with Spike still holding onto both lines. The resounding shock through his body was enough to send the vampire flying back into his crypt wall.

Spike stood up with surprise, brushing off some dirt that had gathered on his duster from the tumble. There was a terrible pounding in his brain that kept him bent over, hands to his head, like the chip on steroids. That was when Spike spotted the other chewed wires and correctly assumed he'd meshed the wrong ones together. "Why I never bothered faffing about with electricity," he decided resolutely.

When the pain had subsided slightly, Spike stood straight and stared out into the dark. Something was off. "Where're all the buggery lights?"

Normally he could see some lights from outside the cemetery. He blinked twice, tried his game face and blinked again, but all was dark. "Shock's probably done in my vision!"

Sighing, the vampire cautiously made his way back inside his crypt, where he promptly dropped down to his bed to sleep off the remaining headache.

-{-}-

Anya shouted over the monopoly board, "PAY UP!"

Dawn grumbled and handed over the fake money to the greedy ex-vengeance demon's hand. In her opinion this game was never fun, unless she could goad Spike into playing with her and then pretend not to notice when he cheated. "Gee, talk about a sore winner."

Xander attempted to diffuse the tension between the two as he offered, "No harm, everyone's still in the game, right?" at the glares he received, Xander attempted a different tactic, "Uh, isn't it Buffy's turn?"

Anya grinned widely. "Ooh yes, roll and land on one of my ridiculously expensive hotels, Buffy!"

Dawn, seeing her sister was floating somewhere in outer space, snapped her fingers in front of the Slayer's face and asked, "Hello? Earth to Buffy!?" It was her job as little sister, after all.

Buffy's eyes abruptly focused as she pushed the offending hand out of her face and turned wide, innocent eyes to the rest of the group. "What?"

Xander sighed, running a hand through his properly gelled, if somewhat messy, hair, and casting a nervous glance at the clock. At this rate, the game would be over sometime next week. "It's your turn, Buff."

"Oh," Buffy smiled wide, picked up the dice, shook them, and tossed them back on the board.

Dawn let out a loud whoop. "An eight, that's MY hotel!" she stuck her tongue out at Anya, "Take that!"

Buffy picked up her racecar and dutifully moved it eight spaces on the board. Sure enough, it was one of Dawn's hotels, a gaudy red thing set up on Atlantic Avenue. Buffy moved to her monopoly cash so she could pay her little sister, even as she noticed Anya pouting that Buffy hadn't landed on one of her hotels.

Willow and Tara returned from collecting more snacks from the kitchen, and Willow noticed the impending exchange of money. "Didn't miss much, did we?"

There was a strange buzzing sound, and it went pitch black in the Summers' household.

Anya let out a small shriek and cuddled closer to her fiancé. Buffy dropped the fake money and crawled to where she knew Dawn was, thankful when she felt her sister's hand reaching out for her. Willow, who had been standing by a wall, felt for the light switch with one hand, and grabbed Tara's free hand with her other. Finding it, she flicked it down, then up, then down again. Nothing. "Uh, guys, it's not the switch…"

Tara carefully set the snacks down and murmured something in Latin, causing a glowing orb of light to appear in the center of the room. "Better?" she asked weakly.

Buffy took stock of the situation quickly. First things first: "Is everyone okay?"

The assembled Scooby Gang all nodded that they were fine, and Xander peaked out a window from his position on the couch. "Uh, Buff, I don't see any lights."

Everyone rushed to the window, the orb following with a command from Tara, and they stared out into the complete darkness of Sunnydale at night. Dawn's eyes were wide. "That can't be good."