5:48 pm, Sunday – NYU Hospital

"Knock knock," Buffy said as she came to Ling's hospital room door.

"Hey, Buffy," she said, her voice somewhat raspy.

"The doctor told me I can visit for a few minutes. He said you're going to be just fine."

"Given the Slayer healing, I should be good in a few days." She looked at Buffy with concern in her eyes; she thought about the Tina and Stacy. They had been her responsibility. If they had gotten hurt...

"What about Tina and Stacy?" she asked anxiously. "Are they alright?"

"They're fine," Buffy replied. "Stacy got some shrapnel through her leg and Tina got a little banged up trying to escape that night, but they're alright."

Ling let out a sigh of relief. "Good."

"Well, I just wanted to see how you were doing. I'm gonna let you rest. We'll be stopping by tomorrow." As Buffy turned to leave, Ling stopped her.

"Buffy..."

"Yeah?"

"I know I don't look too battle-ready, but I want you to promise me something: when you go after Amy, I want to be involved."

"Ling," Buffy said, "you need rest. I know you want to get her, but you're in no condition to be fighting. And after what you've been through, I know what you must be feeling."

"Do you?" she asked, her voice slightly raised. "I was tortured, Buffy. I was beaten and bloodied, surrounded by a bunch of guys not knowing if they were going to..." She paused, tears running down her eyes. "Promise me, Buffy, please. I won't be able to live with myself until I've finished this."

Buffy looked at the girl. She knew what it was like to be haunted by bad experiences. They ate away at you inside, slowly every day. You were a shell of your former self, feeling helpless and powerless. The only way to stop it was to confront it. And even though she thought it was against her better judgment, she felt wrong to deny Ling the closure that she herself had pursued so often.

"I promise," Buffy said, almost straining to get the words out.

"Thank you," Ling replied, smiling. "One more thing..."

"What is it?" Buffy asked.

"After we take down Amy, I'm done. I'm out."

Buffy was dumbstruck. She had heard the words, but it didn't register for a few moments. She couldn't even eke out a word in response.

"I thought I could handle the responsibility," Ling continued. "I thought I could take fighting against the darkness every night, trying to protect the world." She paused. "But I'm not that strong, Buffy. I wish I were, but I'm not. I can't do this anymore. I just want a normal life, a life not filled with looking over my shoulder every night or facing some super-powered goon in an alley. I'll stay with you long enough to handle Amy, but then I'm through. I hope you can understand that."

Buffy took in a large breath and finally spoke. "I understand, Ling and I don't blame you. But I don't think you're not strong for it. You saved two Slayers from certain death and Tina and Stacy owe you their lives. I hate to lose someone like you, but I know you have to make your own decisions. You get some rest now. We'll talk later."

As Buffy walked out, she hung her head low. While she was glad that one of her crew had been rescued and would make a speedy recovery, she lamented the fact that she not only had thrust the girl into the world of slaying so abruptly, but that she had effectively convinced her it wasn't at all worth it. Another fighter for good was down, only this time, it wasn't from any physical injury.


5:53 pm, Sunday – Apartment of Sara Pezzini

"You don't know that, Sara."

"I beg to differ. I saw it for myself."

"You saw a glimpse of the future, but you don't know what it means."

"I've got a pretty good idea," Sara replied. "I should have known things were too good to be true. Just when I found a guy that might actually be worth something..." She looked at her grandmother with sad eyes. "Why now?"

"I don't have an answer for that."

"Of course you don't. No one does." She rested on her couch and laid her head back. "The Witchblade abandons its wielder when it's needed the most. I know the story."

"You seem to have already accepted your fate," Elizabeth said.

"That's the way it works," Sara replied. "I shouldn't have expected anything different."

She picked up her cell phone and dialed Giles' number. "I should have done this a long time ago," she said to Elizabeth. The phone rang twice before Giles picked it up.

"Sara?" "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah, Giles, everything's fine. Listen, sorry for the cold shoulder. I was just a little beat today. Can we do an early dinner Tuesday?"

"Of course," he replied.

"There's this café down on 63rd, Bianchi's. Meet me at the precinct around around 5:30, okay?"

"Around 5:30. Got it."

"Good, I'll see you then" Sara said. "Good night, Giles."

"Good night, Sara."

As soon as she hung up, Elizabeth spoke. "I know what you're thinking."

"I'm just accepting my fate, Elizabeth, like I should have. Giles can't find out about this. If he does, he's going to concentrate on trying to prevent it instead of focusing on stopping Amy. And we can't risk that."

"You're willing to jeopardize your future with him based on some obscure vision?" her grandmother asked.

Sara paused. "What future?"


5:55 pm, Sunday – Slayer Base HQ

"Hey, Willow," Dawn said as she came through the door with a few Slayers in tow.

"Hey, Dawn."

"So the mission was a success." It wasn't a question. Dawn had already known when Buffy called her. Now she wanted to know the details.

"Yep."

"So... what happened?"

"We won," Willow replied.

"Are you planning on saying anything more than two words?" Dawn asked anxiously.

"Not really," Willow jokingly replied. "Look, Dawn, I'm pretty worn out. I'll fill you in on the details later on, okay? Right now, I just want to get used the sound of bullets not whizzing past my head."

"Bullets? Come on, Willow..."

"Dawn..." she said, starting to lose her patience.

"Okay, okay." As Willow began to walk off Dawn quickly remembered something. "Oh, before I forget: we got another message from Takagi's guys. Said it might be something serious."

"I nearly forgot about the first one," Willow said, rubbing her forehead, exasperated at the fact that refreshing sleep seemed to be moving further and further away. She walked toward the computer and opened the encrypted private message. Her eyes widened at what she was reading. Sleep was going to have to wait.

"I need to call Buffy," Willow replied, concern in her voice.


6:01 pm, Sunday – NYU Hospital

"So how was she?" Giles asked.

"Pretty beat, but she thinks she'll be battle-ready in a few days, provided we have that long." Buffy face slowly fell.

"Buffy?"

She continued. "She also said that after she helps us stop Amy, she's out. She doesn't want to be a Slayer anymore."

Giles was silent for a moment. A short time ago that would never have even been an option for a Slayer and the Watchers' Council would have seen to that. But things had changed over the past year.

Prior to his return to Sunnydale, he was just another Watcher. And he still was, in most respects. After the "Battle of Sunnydale", as the Scoobies called it, Giles headed the Council. However, the position was only an interim position until a proper successor was named. He was in line for the position, knew that it would do no good to try and head the Watchers' Council from New York City when they had established solid contacts in London.

The rest of the Council agreed, especially after learning about his group's encounter with the Witchblade. It was determined by all, including Giles, that staying in New York City to combat the threat would be a top priority. Realizing this, he decided that he would not seek the position... for the moment. Once the decision was made, Giles was back to his old job, albeit more senior than before.

The Witchblade had presented a conundrum to the Council. An artifact long considered a myth was not only real, but in close proximity to a few of their members, both Slayer and Watcher. Giles had resisted telling them anything about for about a month after meeting Sara, but soon decided it was best to inform them. He did so for two reasons: the first was because he wanted no secrets between the Council members. A Council that kept secrets was a Council that was open to attack without anyone else in the organization being the wiser as to why. The second reason was that he wanted everyone in the Council to understand that the Witchblade was strictly off-limits.

Immediately upon learning of Sara and the Witchblade, the Watchers' Council asked Giles how amicable Sara was to the idea of working for them. He told them bluntly that if they tried to put her under their control, they would long for the days of Buffy's irreverence towards them. He also warned them that since the Witchblade was sentient, any attempt to control it or its wielder might be met with stiff, and possibly deadly, resistance. As a result of the conversation, they had agreed to take on a passive role regarding not only the Witchblade, but the entire 'Amy' situation.

"Well, she's made her choice," Buffy continued as Giles' thoughts drifted back to the present. "We gave them the option to do so and there's no turning back now."

"Quite true," Giles replied. "At least we might be able to get her help in the meantime."

"That's something. I'm just worried about retaliation. Amy's probably pissed right now and I don't see her just letting this slide. Aside from that, I'm hoping not a lot of people got a look at our little escapade today."

No sooner had she uttered those words that Buffy noticed a TV screen in the lounge area, a news broadcast detailing their daring escape.

"Like something out of the movies," the reporter started. "That's how commuters described the scene just a few hours earlier on this New Jersey freeway, where a white van was chased by three SUVs that later crashed violently. The strangest aspect of this story is that some commuters recall seeing a woman single-handedly combating the pursuers while on top of one of the pursuing vehicles, though that is unconfirmed. Of the ten occupants of the SUVs, three are listed in critical condition and the rest are presumed dead. We have few details but speculation is that the passengers are linked to local crime figure Amy Madison-Vitelli. More details to come as..."

A moment passed in silence between Buffy and Giles as they saw the news broadcast, which they no doubt knew would reach the tri-state area. Giles soon broke the silence.

"Longing for the oblivious days of Sunnydale right now?"

"Pretty much," Buffy replied laconically when her phone rang. "What's up, Willow?"

"We've got a problem, kind of... sort of... well it might not be a problem problem, but it could be a problem. You understand?"

"Not one bit," Buffy replied, flummoxed.

"Just get back home soon and I'll brief you," Willow said.

"Alright." Buffy hung and said to Giles, "We need to get back to base."

"Something the matter?" he asked anxiously.

"Willow's not sure yet. She just wants us back there soon."

"What about Sara?" Giles asked.

"She looked really tired after that ordeal," Buffy1 replied. "We'll brief her later on."

"I guess we should be on our way then."


6:45 pm, Sunday – Slayer Base HQ

"Hey, you two," Willow said as Buffy and Giles entered. There the two saw Dawn, Stacy, Tina, Monica, and Illyria doing research, Illyria reluctantly participating in the task. "How's Ling?"

Buffy and Giles looked at each other briefly. How could she tell the crew that one of their senior Slayers was through? She looked at the eyes of Stacy, Tina, Monica, and Illyria. She knew Stacy and Tina would blame themselves, feeling that they should have been better at being Slayers than they were that night. Quickly, Buffy replied, "She's alright. Hopefully she'll be up and fighting in a few days. What's the deal with the urgent call?"

"It's about a couple of messages from Takagi's guys. They said they got some chatter over the bugs they planted and found some pretty interesting stuff. We've been busy trying to figure out what it means."

Buffy looked at the stacks of papers of recorded messages and asked, "What are you looking for?"

"Anything dealing with Desmarais Points?"

"Huh? Explainy."

"They're like... mystical fault lines," Willow replied. "Honestly, I don't know why she would be interested in them. It makes no sense to try and use one."

"Why not?"

"Every hundred or so years," Giles began to explain, "they expel a massive amount of energy in one short burst. No one but the magically-inclined would notice."

"But the burst is so short it wouldn't do anyone any good," Willow continued, "which is why I'm a little confused as to why she's bothering with them."

"Well, is there any way they could used for something bad?" Buffy inquired, trying to get a grasp on the situation.

Willow struggled with the answer, a look that Buffy knew more than a few times. Finally she replied, "Possibly. I mean, it's only a theory."

"Go ahead."

"Desmarais theorized that if someone could supercharge the blast, it would kill every living thing in the vicinity. He documented cases of elderly people dying when they were in a village near one of them when it was supposed to go off."

"That's weird," Buffy replied. "Did he say why?"

"He just said that they collapsed and died. This was before modern medicine so, at best, I guess it might have been some sort of electrical shock or something. Maybe like a 'bio'-EMP."

"EMP?"

"Electromagnetic pulse," Giles clarified. "In a nuclear explosion, it shuts down all unprotected electrical systems in areas not affected by the immediate blast. The radius can vary greatly. Since the body produces a small amount of electricity, if these points were to emit a biological equivalent, it could have the same effect."

"Scary," Buffy said. "Wait... Willow, you said that if someone could supercharge one of these points, they could release enough energy to kill a lot of people, right?"

"Yeah," Willow replied. Suddenly she realized what Buffy was getting at. "The third stone... you're thinking that Amy wants to use it to charge one of these points up."

"Would it?"

"Yeah, it might. I wouldn't know for sure."

"Well, let's make certain we never find out," Giles expressed. "Desmarais Points are all linked and expel their energy at the same time. If she supercharges one of them, they'll all be affected. She could kill millions, maybe even more, once she releases the energy."

"But the mission went well, right?" Tina asked. "Won't those other mob bosses go after her, you know, before she can try it?"

"They probably will," Dawn replied, "but that doesn't mean she won't retaliate or try and get the stone some other way."

"The three-Slayer patrol stays in effect for now," Buffy ordered. "I know it'll stretch us, but we have little choice right now."

"I concur," Giles said in agreement. "We also need to reinforce some of the security here, particularly on patrols."

"I will handle that responsibility," Illyria offered.

"Good," Buffy replied. "Keep researching to see what you guys find. I'll be down in a few hours."

"Catching some sleep?" Stacy asked.

"Yeah. You should get some too, Willow."

"I will. I just want to get what I can from this stuff."

"Alright," Buffy replied. See you guys in a few." As she walked up with Giles, who was likewise going to get some sleep in his room, she said, "I know Amy, and she holds grudges. She's gonna do something desperate."

"I agree. The only question is what will she do."

"You know that feeling I get when something is really, really wrong?"

"Yes..." Giles replied anxiously.

"I'm having it now."


5:33 pm, Tuesday – NYU Hospital

Two days had passed and no one had heard anything from Amy. The cops were looking for her. The press was looking for her. The mob was looking for her. And all their searching came up as dry as a bone. Buffy Giles, Willow, and Sara assumed nothing and took no chances, making sure that the base and the patrol teams were well-prepared and reinforced in the event of an attack.

The news was still running the stories about the high-speed chase, interviews and all. The press still had too many conflicting viewpoints about the mysterious woman battling her pursuers. Buffy hoped that whatever happened that none would ever link them to the incident. The Slayers had taken precautions to deter any investigation, such as destroying any and all vehicles connected to them that could be identified.

Aside from that, the day started like any other. On Ling's last day at the hospital she was accompanied by Buffy, Tina, and Stacy. Buffy still had not told them of Ling's decision, as she did not want to spoil the mood nor have the two be distracted by feeling guilty. They stood in the room and Ling gathered the rest of her stuff and walked to her wheelchair. As soon as she did, a handsome-looking doctor walked in.

"Jennifer Ling..."

"Just Ling," the girl replied. "I like to be called Ling."

"No problem," he replied. "I just wanted give you these prescriptions. One's for a pain reliever and another for an antibiotic for the wounds which, it seems, have considerably faded. Honestly, miss, you've got some of the doctors here stumped on how you've been able to recover so quickly. You wouldn't mind if we ran a few tests...?"

"I don't think so, doc," she replied. "I just want to be on my way."

Disappointed at the prospect of letting such a curious find go, he nevertheless acquiesced and said, "Your call." He scribbled on the his form a bit, mumbling, "Goodbye, New England Journal of Medicine." He passed the scripts and form to Ling and said, "Just stop by the checkout desk and you'll be all set."

"Thanks, doc," Ling said.

As he left, Stacy commented, "At least some of the staff of the hunky-goodness kind."

"You can say that again," Buffy remarked. "But I think we should be getting back. Besides, hospitals and me... not great friends."


5:35 pm, Tuesday -11th Precinct

"What I want to know is about the woman..."

"Alleged woman," Sara replied as she attempted to correct Jake.

"Says you," he said back. "I mean, you've seen the news. A few eyewitnesses said they caught a glimpse of a woman on top of the SUVs fighting Amy's guys."

"A glimpse," Sara reiterated. "Things were probably going so fast they don't know what they saw. For now, shouldn't we be focusing on the tangible stuff, you know, like the dead wise-guys and their missing boss?"

"Yeah, but come on... you aren't just a little curious about her?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, Pez... even a little?" Danny inquired.

Sara looked at them both. If she denied it vehemently, it would at least whet their appetites on why she was so adamant about dropping the subject. 'The lady doth protest too much' went through her mind. Finally, she replied, "Okay, maybe a little, but I'd rather focus on finding Amy. Can we at least stick with that?"

"Actually, I'd like to get some dinner," Jake remarked. "Want to go over to Rizzi's and get some Reuben specials?"

"I've got dinner plans, Jake," Sara replied. "Giles and I are going out as soon as he gets here." She looked toward the waiting area and saw him. "There he is."

Giles had approached Cheryl's desk and said, "I'm looking for Sara Pezzini."

"And you are...?" the chatty clerk replied.

"Rupert Giles."

Cheryl smiled a toothy grin at the man. "So you're the 'Giles' she's talked about so much."

"Um, um, well... I suppose so," he replied, looking a little flustered.

"Knock it off, Cheryl," Sara said playfully. "You ready to go?"

"Sure."

"Let's go then." The tone Giles heard was one that had him a little uneasy. This dinner outing was her idea and he was hoping that she would be a little more exited. Instead, she sounded like it was nothing more than a time-filler, created to occupy some space on her calendar. Nevertheless, he brushed it off and escorted her out.

As they walked off, Danny and Jake stood flabbergasted at the site. Cheryl approached the two detectives and Jake was the first to remark, "Did you see the guy? He's old enough to her father!"

"I wouldn't let Sara hear you say that," Cheryl commented.

"Yeah, I know," Danny replied. "Kind of took me for loop there. But, if Pez is into older guys, then that's her thing."

"But... does she even know the guy? I mean, he could be married or..."

"Jake, man... give it a rest, okay?" Danny said. "Pez is more than capable of taking care of herself."

Jake let out a sigh. "I hope so."


6:07 pm, Tuesday - Bianchi's Ristorante

Giles and Sara arrived at the restaurant, though Sara seemed a little preoccupied on the journey. As soon as they were seated, Giles began to talk, hoping it would lighten the somewhat down mood of the outing. Though Sara was listening intently at first, he noticed that her focus started to drift off, her face bearing a distant look. He decided to try and get her attention.

"...and I think it would be good if we both took a few days off."

"Yeah, a few days off," Sara muttered, not really in step with her boyfriend. Giles frowned.

"And I also think that we should solicit Rocky and Bullwinkle to patrol as well," he continued.

"Uh, yeah, Rocky and... huh?" Sara's flinched as she realized what he was saying.

"You weren't even paying attention, Sara," Giles remarked disappointedly. "Is something wrong?"

"I'm sorry, Giles, I... I'm just..." Sara began to look around her, at all of the happy couples, some holding hands and laughing, some smiling. She saw one couple where the man picked up a piece of food from his plate with his fork and let his wife sample it, the morsel dribbling down her chin unexpectedly. The couple giggled as she quickly wiped her mouth. Sara felt a pang in her heart; she would never again know what that felt like. Her fate had been decided, her future written. Never would she be able to have a moment like that with Giles. She closed her eyes, much to Giles' confusion. Turning to him, she spoke.

"There is something wrong, Giles: us."

"Us?" he repeated, his tone dripping with utter confusion.

"I... I don't think this relationship is working out," she continued.

"Um, well... that's news to me," he replied, surprised. "What makes you think that?"

She sighed. "Things... stuff... Giles, it doesn't matter."

"I believe it does," Giles retorted, slightly angry at the statement.

Sara temper started rise as she looked at him and said, "Giles, I told you that this thing might not work out, that my relationships tend to have a very short life-span. It's not you; it's me."

"Of that I have no doubt," he shot back. "So... you're just going to give up because you're used to relationships not working out? Somewhat of a self-fulfilling prophecy, isn't it?"

"Look, English, I gave you fair warning that this might happen," Sara replied, her temper beginning to flare. "And if you can't handle it, then maybe you aren't the kind of man I thought you were."

Giles was about to respond when he saw Sara's eyes. Something was wrong; he could feel it, right in the pit of his stomach, a twisted knot that made itself even tighter as he looked into her eyes. Anxiously he asked, "Sara, did something happen? Did Amy threaten me? Whatever is going on, you can tell me."

Sara looked into his eyes and saw a gentleness there that she wanted to be wrapped in, a comfort few had ever provided. But she remembered the vision she had and immediately withdrew. She wasn't going to turn back from her decision now.

"No one threatened me, Giles," she replied firmly. "We're done. Deal with it." The look on Giles' face was one she had seen before, many a times when the Witchblade showed her an act of violence against someone with whom the victim was quite familiar with. It was utter betrayal. She wanted to grab him, and wrap her arms around him, to tell him that she was sorry and that she would never hurt him like that again. But the words didn't come out. He looked at her and then his eyes fell to the side in hurt confusion.

"Well... I guess that's it then," he replied, the pain in his voice palpable. But he gathered himself and got up from the table. "I'll see you tonight before patrol, Detective Pezzini," he remarked, his voice and face trying to mask the pain he felt. And with that, he walked off.

Sara sat back in her seat and tears started to form in her eyes. She was hoping it wouldn't go like that. You're lying to yourself, Sara thought. She knew it would turn out exactly like that and she didn't need the Witchblade to foresee it. She began to wipe her eyes and grabbed her glass of water. Sipping it, she heard a familiar feminine voice.

"Now that was pathetic," the voice said. Sara looked up.

"How's it going, sweetie, aside from that lame breakup?" Amy greeted.

"Better than you I would imagine," Sara glibly replied. "Cops looking for you, mob out to get you... must suck to be you right about now."

"Not completely," Amy smugly replied.

"So what are you doing here, besides annoying me?"

"Just out enjoying the early evening," Amy replied. She sat in the seat opposite Sara. "So... here we are."

"I guess so," Sara said back. The Witchblade then soon began to whisper to Sara, almost drowning out any coherent thought with the noise. It took all of her strength to fight back against it.

Amy chuckled. "You know... I've got to hand it to you. You guys played this one out better than I expected. You've opposed me at every turn and you've managed to stay alive. You should be proud of yourselves."

"I'd feel a lot prouder if you were behind bars or six feet under," Sara replied.

"You know, Sara, I watched you for awhile, long before Buffy and her Slayers ever got here."

"What?"

"Yeah, for a few months," Amy continued. "You were such an easy target. And you didn't have to be. All of that power at your command, and what do you do? You choose to continue your life as an overworked, underpaid public servant. Talk about a waste of time and talent. If it were me, I would have owned this city years ago."

"Gee, and I wonder why you didn't get picked," Sara replied bitingly.

"You should be standing at the head of nations, ruling with an iron fist, crushing anyone in your way," Amy continued. "Instead, you'll die, 'Sara Pezzini, lowly New York police detective'."

"Which is fine by me. But I can die knowing that when you go, yours was the life of a weak and utterly despicable human being. A pathetic waste of person who got stepped on by others and, rather than be a better person for it, chose to step all over everyone else to make herself feel important. And with mommy issues to boot."

Amy brimmed with anger. She wanted to grabbed Sara by the throat and strangle the life from her, to see her eyes fill with fear as she took her last breath. But she relented, knowing it was detrimental to the reason she had come here in the first place.

Sara saw the look on Amy's face and began to taunt her. "Come on, girl. Take it out on me. Try it." The Witchblade began to whisper to her in agreement. Kill, kill, kill, it said in her mind.

Amy then smiled. "I'm not playing into that one. No, that's not what I came here for, Sara. I came here to offer you a deal."

Sara chuckled. "A deal? You're on the run from the cops and the mob and you want to make a deal? I suppose you could turn yourself in and end this farce that we've been at for over a year. Name some names and the D.A. can probably ensure you get something, maybe Witness Protection. But I'm gonna recommend at least some jail time."

"That's not the kind of deal I want to make," Amy said. "I've got something else in mind."

"Like what?" Sara replied. "You've got nothing to bargain with."

"How about the lives of every man, woman, and child in the downtown area?"

Sara was silent.

"I thought that would get your attention. Things aren't so funny now, huh?"

"You're bluffing," Sara remarked.

"Oh, if only that were true," Amy joked. "No, you'll find this threat very real. A biological weapon encapsulated in a mystical container. Got the idea from a guy out in L.A. It's a bit cruder than his, but it can do the job."

"You can't even be original," Sara retorted. "You're nothing but a worthless hack."

"A worthless hack who's willing to kill thousands, maybe even millions, just to get what I want."

Sara looked around at the people at the restaurant, laughing and chatting away without the slightest knowledge of what was possibly awaiting them. "These people don't deserve that," Sara said as she looked at Amy, trepidation in her eyes.

"'Deserve' has got nothing to do with it," Amy said back. "You signed these peoples' death warrants, Sara. All you had to do was give me the stone, but you had to play games. Well, now who's laughing?"

"Amy, whatever beef you've got with me, leave these people out of it."

"No," Amy simply replied. "By tonight, the downtown area will be bleeding from the eyes and spilling their guts all over Times Square. That should be a sight to see."

"Please," Sara begged.

Amy was slightly surprised. She knew the detective was a tough nut to crack and knew the threat would make her do so, but even she was still stunned, and pleased, to hear her beg.

"You're begging," Amy remarked. "That's what I like to hear: you begging. Again."

"Please don't hurt them," Sara said.

"Again, Sara," Amy said through gritted teeth. "I've been waiting a long time for this. Beg me."

Sara paused and took in a deep breath, swallowing her pride. She looked at Amy with sincere eyes and pleaded, "I'm begging you... please don't hurt these people."

Smiling, Amy pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and replied, "Alright then. You, Buffy, and Willow deliver that stone by 9:30 tonight to this location. You come alone. Any Slayers and I pull the trigger, understand?"

"Yes," Sara replied somberly.

"Good. Enjoy your meal, Pezzini." And with that, Amy smugly walked away, leaving a crestfallen and shaken Sara clutching the lone piece of paper. Grabbing her cell phone, she speed-dialed Buffy.

"What's up, Sara?" Buffy answered.

"We've got a problem," Sara replied. "A big problem."


7:17 pm, Tuesday – Slayer Base HQ

"And that's all she said?" Buffy asked.

Sara had arrived quickly and soon relayed the story of her encounter with Amy and her threat to those present. She was more than uncomfortable around Giles as she told them. And Giles tried as best he could to keep his emotions in check as she did. He knew it wasn't the time to lose his cool over his now-ex-girlfriend being in the room.

"Yeah," Sara replied. "We have until 9:30 tonight to get the stone to her or she'll release the weapon."

The group sat silent in the lobby for what seemed like an eternity. Taking a deep breath in, Buffy spoke. "Then we give her the stone."

"What?!" Adrienne exclaimed in surprise. "That's completely insane! You give her that thing and we're as good as dead!"

"Innocent people will die if we don't," Sara replied sternly.

"And if she gets that stone, you think they'll still be safe?" Adrienne shot back. "She's running low on power, right? Let's just hold off..."

"Hold off? And condemn all those people to die?" Buffy asked rhetorically.

"What happens if it mutates into something no one can stop?" Willow said. "Millions more could die."

"Then maybe they should die," Illyria remarked.

"I did not just hear you say that," Buffy retorted.

"You are on the brink of being victorious against your enemy and you quibble at the price of that victory. Angel knew better."

"Angel didn't have millions of peoples' lives at stake!" Buffy yelled. "And if you're not on board then maybe we don't need your help after all."

"Regardless..."

"Illyria, I am not about to condemn millions to die just to win. If you don't understand that then maybe you don't belong here."

Illyria stared intently at Buffy. She then looked around the room, and her eyes soon fell upon Stacy. The girl said nothing, but from the look on the girl's face she could tell that Stacy was pleading with her to stay on. Illyria honestly didn't know why she would say what she was about to say when she was only moments ago ready to depart, but she replied to Buffy, "I will stay and assist you."

"Good," Buffy replied.

"Great," Adrienne said sarcastically. "I guess she gets to be part of the slaughter that's about to take place when Amy gets that stone. Nice to have you on board."

"Adrienne, if you don't shut up right now..." Buffy threatened.

"Or what, Buffy? You'll do what?" Adrienne yelled.

"I think we all need to calm down a bit," Willow began to say as she moved between Adrienne and Buffy.

"No!" Adrienne shouted. "She's putting us straight into danger and she doesn't care!"

The lobby erupted into shouting, Adrienne accusing Buffy and Willow defending her as the rest tried to calm the other down. After a few seconds, Giles shouted, "Enough!" The room silenced. "We have to focus on the problem at hand and that won't happen if we're busy bickering at each other."

"Giles is right," Sara agreed. "I think we all need..."

"A glorified bricklayer?" a masculine voice remarked. The group turned their eyes toward the front entrance and was greeted by, at least for some, a familiar face. Willow shouted out the man's name with unbridled joy.

"Xander!"