Chapter 6 - Worlds Apart

*Sunnydale High School*

It had been a couple of days since the episode with Spike, and the Scoobies were still trying to figure out what might have been influencing him to make those killings. Willow agreed to stay and watch Spike, though she was fearful that any foray into witchcraft could lead her back to being evil. Anya also said she would watch him, though that thought gave Buffy very little comfort. As it was, it was daytime, so there wasn't much Spike could do for a while.

Buffy was deep in thought, staring at her computer screen when she heard a tap on the divider between her space and the rest of the main office. She looked up to find Tommy, dressed in his normal teacher garb, a button-down shirt with a tie and khaki's.

"Hey," she said. He smiled in return.

"How are you holding up?"

"Well, you know, I could use a day off to go shopping, my software is outdated, but other than that I'm doing ok," she joked.

"I mean it," Tommy said, seriously. "How are you holding up?"

"I don't know," she replied. "One minute I think we're finally going to figure things out, the next I lose all hope. It's days like this that I miss having Giles."

"Your old watcher?" Tommy asked.

"Yeah," Buffy said. "Sorry, it's so easy to forget how you're still learning everything here."

"Hey, it's all good," Tommy replied. "I moved around a lot as a kid, remember? Change and learning are kind of engrained in me at this point."

"You know, I think all this time you continue to ask how I'm doing, and I don't think I've once asked you how you are."

"Once. It was a Tuesday." With this, Buffy gave him a slight smack on the arm.

"I mean it!" She said with a smile. "How have you been?"

"Honestly, I'm good. I'm really thankful for the job here, the place on my own. And I'm really thankful for you guys, letting me be a part of the team."

"I didn't hire you, remember," she quipped.

"You know that's not what I mean," he replied seriously. "When I lost my powers, when I graduated from Angel Grove..." Tommy stopped for a moment, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. "There was so much there for me that, when it ended, it almost felt like a part of me died. I was the leader of the power rangers, part of an exclusive team that fought together for years, fighting against evil all that time. I felt like I had a purpose, you know. And then, it was over. I lost my friends, my position as a power ranger... the love of my life."

"Oh," Buffy replied. "You never mentioned anything about a past love."

"She was my first girlfriend," he replied. "Everything seemed great. I fell for her, hard. And when she was living across the country, she broke it off."

"What happened?" Buffy asked.

"Honestly, I never found out. I saw her one last time after we broke up, right before I gave up my powers. She was... different."

"She wasn't a vampire, was she?"

"Of course not, I didn't even know they existed, remember?"

"Right," Buffy said, mentally kicking herself. 'Am I flirting with him?' Buffy thought for a moment, and then spoke.

"I lost my first love too. He was a vampire... with a soul. And he was sweet. His name was Angel."

"Angel, huh?" She nodded. "Mine was Kimberly."

"Kimberly, it's a nice name," Buffy replied. "Do you still love her?"

"I don't know. Honestly, I'm not sure. All I know is the last time I went out with someone, I broke her heart because I was trying to use them as her replacement."

"Oh," Buffy replied. She was silent for a moment, until Tommy's voice brought her out of her thoughts.

"So what happened to this Angel?" He asked.

"Oh... I killed him," Buffy replied nonchalantly. Tommy's eyes went wide... well at least wider than normal. "Then, of course, he came back from a hell dimension, and he agreed to stay away so I wouldn't tempt him to lose his soul, so, he's now in L.A."

"Wait, tempt him to lose his soul?"

"Angel was cursed by gypsies. Basically, if he had one true moment of happiness, he would lose it, turning him back to Angelus. And he is a vampire you wouldn't want to mess with."

"Gotcha." The bell rang at that moment, which caused Tommy to look at his watch. "Great, first class of the morning is the juniors."

"Not as grown up as you'd like?"

"'Too grown up for their own good," Tommy quipped. "I'll see you at your place after work, hopefully we can crack down on whatever this thing is that's triggering Spike." He turned to leave, when Buffy stopped him.

"Hey," she said. For a moment, she lost her voice. However, she finally found it, and finished her thought. "Thanks. It's not too often I can talk to someone that I feel like I'm not alone." Tommy smiled.

"You're not... even if you're the slayer." With that, he walked away from the office, preparing himself to get to his classroom. Buffy, meanwhile, stared at the computer screen for a while, punching in different things into the search engine. She was so focused that she didn't even notice that after a while, a visitor had entered her part of the office. Suddenly, she heard someone clear their throat. She looked up, startled.

"Principal Wood! Hi."

"You ok? You seem a bit jumpy."

"I'm fine, I just... um..." As Buffy tried to explain, he walked over to see her latest search on the computer.

"Demonic possession and apocalypse?" He asked incredulously.

"Looking for a movie," she lied. "What can I do for you?"

"I just wanted to let you know that you have a couple of guests waiting outside for you."

"Guests? Who would be here for me?"

"I don't know, but they are outside the office. Do you want me to bring them in?"

"Sure." Buffy was starting to feel a wave of concern, wondering who these people could be. When the pair walked in, she didn't know whether to be relieved or concerned since she didn't know either the muscular man or the petite woman. "Ummm... hi!" She said.

"Are you Buffy Summers?" The man asked.

"A little forward, aren't we?" She said. "Yes, see, here is my name plaque, I am Buffy."

"I'm Jason, this is Kim, we need your help."

"Uhh... I'm not a counselor for random strangers, I think I might have to call security."

"No, wait," Kim pleaded. "Look... we know you're the slayer." Buffy looked incredulously at the girl.

"And how do you know that?"

"Because I'm a potential slayer," she replied. "My watcher sent me here as he took his dying breath."

"Why? So I could look after you because he couldn't take care of some vamps?" Buffy replied, growing more annoyed by the minute.

"No, he wasn't killed by vamps," she measured.

"Then by what?"

"He called them 'bringers,' black-hooded men with their eyes gouged out." The moment the words left Kimberly's mouth, Buffy put the final piece of the puzzle together. Dead people talking to Willow and Dawn. The torture of Spike. The claim that it was time for the 'big finish.' It all made sense now.

"The First," she whispered to herself.

"That's what he called it," Jason said.

"Who?" Buffy asked, suddenly taking every word more seriously that they said.

"A man named Abraham Whistler. He said he was a vampire hunter."

"I've never heard of him, but if he knows about the First, he either knows his stuff, or he was an agent for him."

"I think he's good," Kim replied. "He saved us from an attack. We were able to fight most of them off, but he shot the last one with a shotgun. He fed us and bought us a couple of bus tickets to get here."

"I don't understand... why would your watcher and this man tell you to come here? And why would bringers attack you, a potential slayer?" The pair offered no answers or suggestions. "In my only experience with the First, it was calculated in its attacks. If you're the target, it's not by chance." She picked up her phone and dialed a number, but after a few rings she hung up in frustration. "Damn it, Giles. Why can't you be here right now!?" While quiet, it was clear to both Jason and Kim that this revelation had disturbed the slayer.

"What do we do?" Kim asked.

"I think we should book to my place," Buffy said. "We can catch up more there, and I can put my team of people to work, now that I know what we're looking for." Kim and Jason nodded.

"Thanks," Jason replied.

"No problem," Buffy answered, standing up from her desk. She quickly knocked on Principal Wood's door, and opened to find him at his desk working on some paperwork. "I need to get home, there's a situation at home."

"Oh... is everything ok?" Wood asked.

"Yeah, just a bit of a curveball," Buffy replied.

"Ok, well I hope everything is ok," he said. She quickly exited with the pair, Wood watching them intently as they trailed off.

*Summer's Home*

The trio made their way to Buffy's house very quickly, Kim explaining a little more of what happened. She shared about the initial attack, their journey to El Paso, the bus ride to Sunnydale, and how they found Buffy at the school (In which they had all ready stopped by her home, where Willow told her where she was). When they got there, Buffy re-introduced the pair to Willow. Anya was also there, as well as Spike who was currently bound in one of the upstairs rooms.

"So, let me get this straight, you have a vampire living in the house?" Kim asked, her voice showing alarm.

"It's complicated," Buffy replied.

"It's not really all that complicated, really," Anya interjected. "You just love him and don't want to believe that he's a killing monster who is now on blood withdrawl."

"Maybe I'll let him get his fix by putting you in the room with him," Buffy mock-threatened, adding a sigh.

"I'm just saying," Anya said. "But, he does have a soul now, so maybe that will help."

"Anya, I don't think you're helping," Willow replied gently. "I'm going to call Giles, see if he has any more info, now that we know who we're dealing with."

"Thanks Will," Buffy said. "Aside from Spike, Willow, and Anya, there's Xander, who is a normal human with a big heart, and my sister Dawn."

"Sounds like you guys have a good team," Jason replied.

"Hey, don't forget the hot high school teacher!" Anya interjected. "He's new, but he's just as much part of the team!"

"You're just saying that because you've got eyes for him," Spike replied as he made his appearance in the living room.

"I thought he was supposed to be bound?" Kim asked, her voice trembling.

"I am," Spike replied, even-toned. "The ropes got a bit loose. I could use some help."

"Sure," Buffy replied. "Why don't you guys come upstairs with me, we can keep chatting." Kim looked apprehensive, but Jason placed his hand on her shoulder.

"It's ok, Kim. He seems like he's in control, and Buffy seems like she's more in control." She nodded her head and followed them up the stairs, where they got a tour of the rest of the house.

"So, a potential slayer, and the First," Spike mentioned.

"How did you..." Buffy started to ask, before Spike merely pointed to his ears. "Right, super vampire hearing."

"It explains a lot you know," He said as they entered the room that had now become his 'prison.' "The First torturing me, and now bringers going after this girl."

"I know," Buffy said as she looked back at the pair entering behind them. Spike sat down, held out his wrists on the arms of the chair, and she tied the ropes as tight as she could. He winced as she did it, Jason and Kim looking on, both analyzing the tightness of the rope.

"You both seem to be more keen on what you're up against than I would expect for a potential and her boyfriend," Spike said.

"I've had some training," Kim replied. "And we're not together. Just good friends." Spike cocked an eyebrow, only to see Jason nod in agreement.

"She's like my sister, which means if you lay your hands on her..."

"First off, I'm not going to," Spike interrupted. "And second, that's pretty tough talk from you, have you any idea what you're up against?"

"We've fought our fair share of evil," Jason replied. "Just in the space alien form." This caused both Spike and Buffy to turn around and look at them with an odd look.

"Space aliens?" Buffy asked. "Where you both from?"

"We told you, we came from Miami..." Kim started.

"No no no, I know that, but where did you come from before that?" Buffy asked.

"Angel Grove, about a couple hours from here," Jason answered.

"Power Rangers?" Buffy asked, which shocked the pair that she would get it so quickly. "And..." Suddenly, she remembered her conversation with Tommy earlier in the day. "You're Kimberly?"

"What do you mean?" Kim asked. Before the conversation could continue, they heard the door open from downstairs.

"Buffy, I brought Dawn home, Wood said you left early," a voice said from downstairs.

"That can't be..." Jason thought. Buffy rushed past them, and the pair of ex-rangers followed downstairs.

"Tommy, I think you might be surprised by what you're about to see," Buffy replied as she walked down stairs, seeing him and Dawn with Anya.

"What's he going to be surprised by?" Anya asked.

"Tommy?" Her voice came from behind the slayer. Tommy looked beyond to find Kim behind her, along with Jason.

To Be Continued...

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- Googz333