"Willow can tell us what went on. I mean, how many meetings have we been to at the library. I can predict exactly what will happen. Giles will say, 'There appears to be something terribly wrong.' Buffy will say, 'What?' Giles will say, 'The world's about to end.' Will says, 'Let's research that.' Then Oz say something no one understand and we split up. I don't see why we have to actually go."

Cordelia drew back and looked at Xander. "Do you have a fever? You are acting, like, so weird today. Even for you." She turned to her locker, then swung back to him. "You haven't started hanging out with those guys who get high behind the cafeteria, have you?"

"No," Xander said. "I just think we spend too much time in meetings. We're too passive; we should be out there taking action."

Cordelia studied him for a long time. "What were you doing last night?"

"What?" Xander gulped.

Cordelia brushed a speck of lint from her plaid skirt. "Did you stay up late watching those crazy movies from China? You know, the ones with the kung fu and the ghosts and stuff?"

"No, no. I just, uh, I think we could skip the library."

Cordelia closed her locker and tossed her head so that her hair swung in a wide arc. "Not on your life. I had to leave the last little pow-wow early because of the game and I got the stinkeye like you wouldn't believe from Giles. I'll be there front and center." She gave Xander her no-nonsense look. "Nobody implies that I'm a slacker."

"Yeah," Xander muttered as he watched her walk away. "God forbid we take the easy way out."

"What's going on?"

Coyne shrugged. "I don't know."

"They been in there an awful long time." The vampire glanced toward the office where the Reverend and the stranger were sequestered. The rest of the gang milled around the floor of the former factory, all of them looking disinterested, looking very disinterested indeed. Their disinterest was so high it was palpable. Coyne squeezed the vampire's shoulder.

"Whatever it is, I'm sure it's cool. The boss let him right in." Coyne shrugged. "Maybe this has something to do with his new plan."

"Maybe," the vampire agreed, nodding. "Still, that guy gave me the creeps."

Coyne slapped him on the arm. "Get used to it. We don't deal with Girl Scouts around here. At least not when we're full."

The Scoobies straggled into the library as school ended and their fellow students rushed out into the California sun. Many glances were cast around the room as they settled into chairs.

"Where's Giles?" Oz asked. Shrugs and more looking around greeted his question. As they continued to ponder whether Giles might be hiding in the stacks the doors swung open and Faith entered, backpack slung over one shoulder and bouncing off her hip.

"Hey, kids," she said as she slid into a chair. "I late?"

"No," Buffy muttered. "We haven't started yet. Giles isn't here."

"Well, you better believe I'm gonna bust his chops for that," Faith said, propping one foot on the table. She looked around the table. "So, what's up? We just sit here until the big G decides to show?"

"I… I guess so," Willow said, looking over her shoulder.

"God, that sounds wicked dull," Faith said. She sat up and leaned forward. "Hey, I know. How about Truth or Dare?"

"Sure, if we're at a seventh-grade sleepover." Cordelia flipped open her compact mirror to touch up her lipstick.

Faith shrugged. "Fine. Hey, let me tell you about me and Xander last night."

"Was that you?" Willow asked, leaning over the table toward Xander.

"Something… uh, air, went down… wrong," he stammered.

"Are you okay?" Buffy said. "You're sweating like crazy."

"I,uh… I…" Xander was gasping.

"Probably still winded from last night," Faith said. "We had a bitch of a patrol."

"Wh-? Yeah, she's right," Xander said.

"This vamp ran me into a tree a couple of times." Faith looked directly at Xander. "You oughta see the marks on my back."

Xander gulped, but at that moment the doors opened and Giles entered. He sat down at the head of the table and ran his hands through his hair. It looked as though he'd done that at least a hundred times during the day. He looked at Buffy.

"I apologize for my tardiness," the Watcher said. "I've often scolded all of you for the same thing."

"It's okay. It humanizes you," Oz deadpanned.

"Thank you." Giles inclined his head in the werewolf's direction.

"So," Willow chirped, "what about the Seal?"

"Wh-what?" Giles stuttered.

Willow shrugged, her eyes wide. "The Seal. The research division of the Council must be working on it. Have they sent us any information, anything solid we can use?"

Giles shifted in his chair. Buffy noticed how Oz blinked and shook his head. The librarian took off his glasses and chewed on an earpiece. "Actually, I haven't heard from the Council. Time, however, may be short-"

"Hey, there's a news flash," Faith said.

"—and it's probably best if we proceed on our own."

"Yeah," Willow said. "We can always use whatever they send us later."

"If it gets here in time." Cordelia kept her eyes on the nail she was filing. "Stuffy old bunch of British geezers, probably have to take a tea break every fifteen minutes."

"The Watchers Council… There are Watchers all… all over the world. They are not a bunch of British geezers. Some of the finest minds on this planet belong to the Council." The vehemence of Giles' outburst drew every eye to him. Even Cordelia stopped filing and stared.

"Okay," Buffy said slowly. "Then let's let the Watchers work on their own and we'll handle things on this end." She looked at Giles for a beat before turning to Willow. "What do you have?"

Willow pulled a legal pad out of her backpack. "Well," she began, glancing at Giles, "we didn't get as much done here last night as I'd hoped, but I did glean some stuff off the net. First, there's a plant called Solomon's- seal. Genus is polygonatum-"

"We're not looking for a plant," Cordelia pointed out.

Willow nodded rapidly. "Maybe not, but the plant has had magical uses for hundreds of years and I just don't think we can rule out anything yet." She took a breath. "Okay, moving on. Solomon's seal also refers to the star of David. You know, the six-pointed star." The redhead flapped her hands in excitement. "The two equilateral triangles are the basis for the geometric figure called Solomon's Seal or Solomon's Square."

"Okay, we've gone from magic to botany to math. That can't be good." Cordelia resumed filing.

"No, no, I think it's all connected." Willow held out a hand in a 'stop' gesture. "Stay with me." She glanced down at her notes. "The symmetry of the two triangles and the six-pointed star they form is the basis for the Seal." Her voice rose in excitement. "Apparently part of the Seal's power lies in its mathematical perfection."

"Great," Buffy muttered. "It would be math."

"What does any of this do for us anyway?" Cordelia asked. "It doesn't tell us where it is or what to do about it."

Willow shook her head. "We won't be able to find it. It's somewhere in the Middle East or somewhere over there. But if we can understand it, maybe we can figure out how destroy it or neutralize it." Silence settled over the table as the full import of her words sank in. The Seal would come to Sunnydale.

Buffy tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear. "Giles, Xander, feel free to jump in." She noticed Xander jumped exactly the way he did when he wasn't paying attention in class. Giles stared at the table and tapped a finger against his lips. When he spoke he directed his comments at Willow.

"You believe that this mathematical quality is important?"

Willow nodded with enthusiasm. "I think it's at the heart of the Seal. I think that's why it's so powerful. Numbers and their relationships can have great power. Some believe that a sequence of numbers exists which explains the universe." She bit her lip, looking for the right words. "The Seal's symmetry is an manifestation of its purpose and power. It's a pure expression of the nature of the cosmos. That's part of the problem." She flopped back in her chair.

"Problem. I heard the word problem." Xander finally snapped out of his trance.

Willow riffled the pages of her pad. "Something this powerful, it shouldn't just be out there. There have to be some sort of instructions or a ceremony for passing it along. That's what I'm concentrating on."

"Okay, good work, Will. Sounds like you got a lot accomplished." Buffy gave her a thumbs-up.

The redhead blushed with satisfaction. "Oz helped."

Buffy folded her hands. "I talked to Angel. He said the docks and the airport were quiet last night, and that there's no particular buzz about anything big in the works. All the uglies in town are talking about what's going on between Trick and the Reverend. What we saw the other night wasn't a fluke." Buffy glanced at Faith, who shrugged and tilted her head back to look at the ceiling, then looked down and smiled in the direction of Xander and Cordelia. The blond Slayer frowned and continued. "There's definitely a war between them, or according to Angel, there's a war by the Reverend on Trick."

"Won't that help us?" Oz asked. "Draw his attention away?"

"Angel says don't count on it. Trick appears to be one focused vampire." Buffy shrugged. "Giles?"

The Watcher contemplated his folded hands. "It seems that our major task now is to make sure that the vampire forces do not inflict collateral damage on the community." He looked up. "Willow… and I will continue to research the Seal."

"So can we go?" Cordelia slipped the file into her manicure kit and dropped it into her purse.

Giles nodded. "Yes, that's all."

"Okay," Faith said, "I am outta here." She pushed her chair back and headed for the library door. She had crossed half the distance when she stopped and spoke over her shoulder. "Oh, by the way, Xander, if you find my underwear, could you give it back? I'm feeling a little breezy down there." She winked, turned, and left the room. A beat of complete, dreadful silence filled the room, then everyone turned toward Xander. He flushed scarlet and turned toward Cordelia.

Xander could have sworn that he saw Faith's words leave her mouth and float across the room, little verbal bombs headed for the table, small wordy bullets that carried death with them. He felt a strange detachment. This could not be happening, no, it couldn't. In slow motion, he watched Cordelia turn to him, the blood draining from her face as Faith's words tore into her and an impossible pain filled her eyes.

Buffy turned toward Faith, but the library door was already swinging closed. A harsh scraping noise ripped the air. The Slayer turned back just as Cordelia stumbled up from her chair; she'd heard the sound of its feet sliding across the floor. The brunette tried to run for the door, but her feet caught on the legs of the tipping chair.

Everything slowed down to half-speed as Willow watched. First, Cordelia's left foot hit the chair leg, then, as she tried to lift her right foot over, the toe caught behind her left calf. She toppled over, hands extending to catch her, but her hands were too far forward. They slid out in front of her, and Cordelia ended up sprawling full-length on the library floor.

The full import of Faith's words hit Giles a half-second after they rocked everyone else's world. He was still processing the information as Cordelia lurched up from her chair, tripped, and pitched forward onto her face. She scrambled to her feet, hair in disarray and blood trickling down her shin. She looked around the table, and Giles saw the other students blanch in the face of the anger and hurt that she projected. She turned to Xander. Her mouth worked, but no sound came out. Finally, a choked sob erupted from her throat, sounding as though it was being torn from her, and she fled the room.