Chapter 9: Need Help
Hey guys. Here's the next chapter. We're almost to the good stuff of this book. I have the feeling that has been a bit dry the past couple of chapters but I promise that it'll pick up soon. Sorry, but I deleted it before and added something at the end in. Enjoy.
A woman in her fifties was laid out in a coffin. Two men in black suits were staring down at her down at her.
"You did good work on her. She looks good." One of the men said.
"Thanks. She's all set for the service tomorrow." The other men said. They both started walking and walked past some coffins.
"Good. All right then. I'll see you in the morning."
"G'night." They turned the light off on their way out and shut the door to the room. There were several other closed coffins in the room. A few seconds later, one of the other coffins opened up, and Buffy climbed out with a flashlight. Another opened and Xander climbed out.
"Hey." Xander said.
Buffy jumped at the sound of Xander's voice. "Sorry." She said.
"33 minutes. Since when do we go through all this trouble for one lousy vampire? Excuse me, one lousy potential vampire."
"Vampire by vampire. It's the only way I know how." There was a knocking sound from one of the smaller coffins. Buffy went to open it, and Dawn, who was fairly cramped, got out, gasping for air.
"I think this thing has a freakin' child lock on it." Dawn said.
"Shh!" Buffy hushed her sister.
"You know, I'm not the shortest one here. I don't know why I had to be in the kid coffin."
"Look, I know it's my job..." Buffy started.
"No, no. I'm sorry. I wanna help. I guess I've been a bit stressed out lately. I'm sorry I took it out on you." Xander said.
"No big. Been kinda stressed myself."
"Well, the whole Willow sitch is not unstressifying. I mean she's here, but not 'part of the gang' here and hopefully not 'under my feet here in another time dimension' here." Dawn said.
"Not to mention that whole Cordy business." Xander said sounding sad. Even though since their graduation they had rarely contacted Cordy, Xander missed her. So did Buffy. Cordy really grew up in the time since they were together. She was quite he fighter and became a real good friend. They only wished they could have saved her.
"There's Willow. There's Cordelia. There's the looming humongo bad. And it's a school night. I should be home in bed, cuddled up to my insomnia and my husband, and worrying about how I'm gonna mess up tomorrow." Buffy said.
"You'll be fine. You'll be a great counselor." Dawn said.
"It's my first week actually TALKING to the kids. What if their problems are all weird and tricky?"
"I think you underestimate your familiarity with the world of weird and tricky. This job's perfect for you." Xander said.
"Check out perfect me." Buffy walked toward the casket containing a dead woman. Dawn and Xander followed her. Buffy shined the flashlight in the dead woman's face, inspecting her. "Taking my sister on an educational outing to the…"
"Dead body." Dawn said.
"I don't know. Amateur opinion here, but she looks dead. I mean like natural causes dead." Xander said.
"The paper said she had unusual cuts and contusions on her neck." Buffy said as she shined the flashlight on the dead woman's neck. Right below her pearl necklace there were two puncture wounds that had been stitched up.
"Maybe she cut herself shaving and then died naturally of embarrassment." Xander said. Buffy rolled her eyes and tossed her flashlight to Xander.
"She looks..." Dawn said.
"Peaceful." Buffy said.
The woman in the casket opened her eyes, and they were yellow, like a vampire's. She looked at Buffy and said, "I am not peaceful."
"That, I can help with." Buffy pulled out her stake and shoved it through the vamp's unbeating heart. The woman burst into dust and Buffy closed the lid to the casket. "I always thought closed caskets were more tasteful anyway." Buffy closed the lid to the woman's casket.
…
The next morning, Buffy was rushing around trying to get ready for work. Angel watched her calmly with a cup of warm pig's blood in his hand as she rushed in and out of the kitchen and up and down the stairs. At one point he stopped her and made her eat something. Which was when he actually got to talk to her. Connor was in his high chair eating a bowl of cereal with a spoon. Or at least attempting to.
"So, what are your plans today while I'm gone?" Buffy asked him.
"Well, Sun's up. Can't go out. So all that's left is to stay here and take care of Connor and Willow." Angel replied.
"And don't go off kissing any more girls." Buffy warned. When they were off stealing the Axis that led them to where Cordy was, Angel wound up meeting a thief named Gwen with mutant electric powers and got his heart beating again, somehow making him kiss her, with Buffy seeing. It hurt Buffy, and Angel felt guilty. It still hurt Buffy. She wasn't going to let it go anytime soon.
Angel put his cup down in announce. "Buffy, I'm not going to kiss anyone else. She jumped me. What was I supposed to do?"
"Not kiss her?"
"It was a brief moment and it meant nothing. I have you, Connor, Liam, my friends and yours. Why would I throw it away for some thief who I wouldn't trust with my life?"
Buffy sighed and put down her spoon. "I'm sorry Angel. It's not you and her. I already know that you love me. You made it very clear that night." Angel smiled a little, remembering that night. "And it's not completely that. It's part of it." Buffy stopped eating and looked at Angel with an annoyed look. "I am really not liking how you are going to be spending far more time with our son then I am." Buffy said and looked over to Connor. "He's just now learning how to stand. He'll be walking soon and I wanna be there when he does for the first time."
Angel smiled and drank his blood. "Well, you could always quit your job." Angel suggested by was joking.
Buffy huffed in annoyance. "I can't. I want this job. I'll just miss him." Buffy pouted.
"I'll bring him over when there is an overcast."
"Do you know how often that happens in Southern California?"
"Then I'll find another way. Don't worry. You'll have plenty of time with Connor when you come home and you'll be there for when he starts to walk."
"Promise?"
"Promise." Angel kissed his wife to reassure her. Buffy's watch went off.
"Crap! I gotta go! Dawn! Let's go!" Buffy said. Dawn came down the stairs and Buffy kissed Angel and Connor goodbye before rushing out the door.
…
Somewhere else in Southern California, another group of people weren't rushing their morning as Buffy was. Silence filled the air of a bedroom where two figures, both fully awake, lay in bed together. Liam and Delia were lying in bed, eyes open, not looking at each other. In fact, their backs were the only parts of themselves that were facing each other. Delia looked sad. She had one arm over her stomach and the other was being used as a pillow. Liam looked contempt. It's been like this for the past several days. Ever since Danni translated the first page of the book, everyone's been a little down. Especially Delia. She was worried about her unborn child. Several weeks pregnant and she already knows that she has a responsibility to it and the world. She knew she was going to have to fight. But she didn't want to. She wanted to protect her child. Even if that meant not fighting the thing she came back to the past to fight.
Liam was a different story. He knew that his wife didn't want fight and understood. But he always thought that it would be inevitable. She would have to fight. They all would have to. Sooner or later, they couldn't hide or run. This thing they were here for, it was going to catch up to them. But that wasn't the only thing on his mind. Kathy was there too. Specifically the thought of Kathy and his best friend/cousin/brother, Bill. He had known them both for all of his life. Not once did he hear or see any affectionate signs between them. Then again, he was gone for about a year. A lot could happen in that time. He didn't know how to handle it. He could handle every guy on earth that was for Kathy's heart. Just not Bill. It wasn't because he was family, it was because Kathy returned the affection. He and his sister had always been close. Why wasn't he told by Kathy? Why not by Bill? How could he look at either of them knowing that they were once together in secret? It wasn't going to be something Liam could get over easily or quickly.
In another bedroom on the same floor, Bill was lying awake, looking at the ceiling. He also had Kathy on his mind. Ever since telling Liam made Kathy appear more in his mind than before. Even after her death. Maybe it was because Liam knew that was causing it. It was weird now having Liam know. Liam was Bill's closest friend and his brother. Yet he never told him. And every time he looked at Liam, he could see him putting that knife into Kathy's heart and killing her. Liam had been in the past for two years. Plenty of time to deal with Kathy's death. Bill had only been back for about a month and a half. He was still grieving over her death. Some part of him blamed Liam. Another part understood the circumstances. But he still blamed him. Liam blamed himself too. That made it easier, but Bill still didn't know how to handle everything. He knew it would be weird having Liam know. It was weirder having him know only after Kathy's death. No one knew how to handle it. He turned over and looked at a picture on his nightstand. It was a picture of Kathy, taken just a few weeks before her death. One of the few last moments he had with her.
Downstairs in the small kitchen area, Collin and Danni were at the small island having breakfast. The loft that they were in was directly above the bar that they had opened up. They furnished out the small living room, small dining room, and small kitchen area. It was a pretty small space for five people but it fit them all nicely. The bedrooms were fixed up so no one would have to sleep in the barracks they had in connected to the weapons room below. Now it was a more of an infirmary. Danni and Collin were discussing the thick tension in the air between the three others in the loft.
"Do you know if any of them are talking?" Collin asked Danni while sipping his coffee.
"No. I tried talking to Delia, but she's still very closed on the subject." Danni responded eating some cereal.
"The guys don't act like themselves. The see each other and quickly turn away. It's a very awkward time for them."
"Probably because Liam found out that Bill was doing his sister and he didn't know about it." Danni theorized sarcastically.
"Well, that can drive anybody up and down the wall. And sometimes sideways. But we need to get them back to their normal selves. That or get them close."
"How do you plan on doing that? Liam and Bill are at odds and Liam and Delia are at odds. What can we do?"
"Well…we can do the Hammer Nail." Collin suggested with a smile.
"Equal power and control thing your dad taught you?" Danni asked.
"Exactly. You take Delia, I'll take Bill, we try to get them to look past all of this and come to some understanding. Make them see that they can't just have everyone accept their decisions their way. It has to be on equal footing."
"But they aren't at odds with each other." Danni pointed out.
"No. But once we get them willing to, we can move in on Liam together since he's at odds with both of them. That's the control part." Danni thought about the plan for a minute and nodded her head. It sounded like a good plan in theory.
"OK. So what do we do?"
"Talk to Delia about talking to Liam to make him see that she's out for now. The baby is too important. He needs to be thinking like a father and a husband when it comes to her. She's the only one that we that can get through the stubborn head of his."
"And you can talk to Bill about talking to Liam about his and Kathy's relationship. Make him try to make Liam understand that they were what they were and he just has to accept it."
"And once their done, we move in on Liam. They all talk to each other and come to an understanding. Power" They both smiled at each other. "This is why we make a good team."
"You know it." Danni and Collin high-fived, just as Liam came walking down the steps of their loft and entered the kitchen area. He brushed passed the two and grabbed a mug out of the cabinet.
"Morning, Midnight." Collin greeted Liam.
"Morning." Liam said dryly as he poured himself some coffee. Bill came down the stairs next and entered the kitchen area. Liam turned and they both stopped looking at each other. They stared there for a second before the moved out of each other's way and moved to opposite ends of the room.
"Morning, Pirate." Collin greeted Bill.
"Morn'." Bill said just as dryly. He got himself a cup of coffee as well. Delia came down the steps next and barely glimpsed at Liam before moving into the kitchen area and looking for some breakfast.
"Morning, Kali." Danni greeted her.
"Morning." Delia said dryly as well. She got herself some milk and poured a big bowl of cereal before moving to the sitting area. No one of the three looked at each other and just mined their own businesses. Mostly, Bill and Delia were looking away from Liam together. The rift seemed to be from Liam mostly. He wasn't pleased with either of them and it looked like it wouldn't be soon for him to forgive and forget.
"This is going to be tougher than I thought." Danni whispered to Collin.
"Yeah. Ya think?" Collin said.
"What are you guys talking about?" Liam asked. He heard most of it with his super hearing.
"Nothing." Danni and Collin said together and went back to their breakfasts. Liam didn't look convinced.
…
"I bet she's giving them great advice." Xander said.
"Absolutely! Those kids are lucky to have Buffy looking out for them. I just wish she believed it. She's still stressing over the whole 'dropped out of college, not actually qualified' thing. Plus the salivating Hellmouth underneath her feet and the whole..." Willow said.
"From beneath you, it devours. It's not the friendliest jingle, is it?" Xander asked. "It's no 'I like Ike' or 'Milk: it does a body good.'"
"I know. It's gonna be bad. It's gonna be real bad. And I wonder, will I... Well, if it comes... When it comes, will I be able to help?" Willow asked.
"I think so."
"I don't know. I don't know what I can do. I mean, frankly, I'm... I'm scared of what I might do." Willow said.
"Yeah, I get that. Figuring out how to control your magic seems a lot like hammering a nail." Xander said. Willow looked at him confused. "Well, uh, hear me out. So you're hammering, right? Ok, well at the end of the hammer, you have the power, but no control. It takes, like, two strokes to hit the nail in, or you could hit your thumb."
"Ouch."
"So you choke up. Control, but no power. It could take like ten strokes to knock the nail in. Power, control. It's a tradeoff."
"That's actually not a bad analogy."
"Thanks."
"Except…I'm less worried about hitting my thumb, and more worried about going all black-eyed baddy and bewitching that hammer into cracking my friends' skulls open like coconuts." Willow said.
"Right. Ouch."
"Sorry." Willow said then after a beat. "Being back here..."
"It'll take time." Xander sighed and stopped walking. "Are you sure you're ready for this?" Willow nodded and walked forward without Xander. He watched as Willow walked by herself past many graves before coming up to a tombstone. She put a handful of rocks on the headstone, and kneeled in front of it. It was Tara's grave. After Willow left, Buffy and the others had held a small funeral for Tara. They had all agreed that it would be best for Willow if she hadn't been there. Buffy had talked to Giles afterwards and told them what they had done. Giles had told her that Willow said thanks and that she didn't think she could have handled it either.
…
Buffy was counseling a girl who doesn't quite fit any stereotype. She was wearing a black t-shirt and purple streaks in her blonde hair.
"So, you're not doing your homework." Buffy said.
"I guess not. It all just... seems kind of ... whatever." The girl said.
"I know high school can seem kind of frustrating. But if you just get through it, then you can go to college, you know, or you can join the French Foreign Legion, or anything you want."
The girl smiled. "Yeah, well, I'm not gonna do all that stuff."
"OK, no Foreign Legion. I get that. I mean all the changing your name, and being indentured for all those years, and occupying Algeria..."
The girl laughed. "It's just that I'm not graduating from high school."
"Why not?"
"I really like that shirt. Where'd you get it?" the girl asked changing the subject.
"Cassie, don't change the subject. Why won't you graduate?"
The girl named Cassie looked serious. "Because next Friday I'm gonna die."
"What?" Buffy asked surprised.
"Can we talk about something else?
"No, we have to talk about this.
"Just... never mind."
"Cassie, what makes you feel like this?"
"Feel like what?"
"Like you wanna hurt yourself."
"Oh, I'm…" Cassie laughed. "I'm not gonna commit suicide if…if that's what you're saying. No way."
"OK then." Buffy said sounding confused. "Then what are you saying?"
"Look, I don't mean to be a pain. You seem really nice, and I know you're just trying to help. But I'm wasting your time."
"No you're not. This is why I'm here. Cassie, please tell me, why do you think you're gonna die?"
"I don't think it, I know it. I just know."
"What do you mean, you know? A-are you saying that someone's going to hurt you? Has someone threatened you?
"No. No, I just know that next Friday I'm gonna die. Some things I just know. I don't know how, I just do. Like I know there will be coins…"
"Coins?"
"Mm-hmm. Lots of coins. Weird ones. And I know that you'll go someplace dark underground. I-I don't know."
"What do you mean underground?"
"And I know you'll try to help…"
"Cassie, I-I don't understand what you're saying."
"But you can't, OK? I gotta go." Cassie stands up, gathers her things. "Trig. I don't want Mr. Corrigan sending me Principal Wood again.
"Cassie, please…" Buffy tried to talk to her.
"Thanks for being so nice. I really do like that shirt." Cassie touched her own shoulder. "You should put a sweater on so it doesn't get stained. I gotta go." Cassie starts to walk away.
Buffy stood up. "Cassie, wait, please…"
Cassie turned around to face Buffy. "Oh, and something to tell your son. The angel will come at his name when a life that didn't live is lost. Gotta go." Cassie turned and left, leaving Buffy confused. She looked down at her desk at the picture of her, Angel, and Connor. Then she looked over to another one of just Liam.
…
Buffy was standing, looking panicked, and talking to Principal Wood in his office. Unlike her, he was calm and sitting behind his desk.
"What am I supposed to do?" Buffy asked.
"Well, you did what you were supposed to do. You reported the situation to me." Principle Wood responded.
"And..."
"Listen, Buffy, it's hard. Kids this age... they're hurting, they're pissed off, and they say things. Sometimes they say awful things." Principle Wood stood up and walked to his coffee maker, pouring himself some coffee. "When I was in high school, I had a thing with this guy, right? Real bully. I kept telling everyone that he'd better sleep with one eye open 'cause I was gonna bust his ass. Well, I got suspended. Talk like that is taken pretty seriously where I come from."
"The hood?" Principal Wood stopped pouring his coffee and looked at Buffy.
"Beverly Hills... which is a hood." Buffy looked embarrassed. Principal Wood finished preparing coffee, and walked toward Buffy with a cup of coffee for each of them. He handed one mug to her. "Listen, the point is, I was talking big because I was scared. I couldn't bust a move back in high school, let alone someone's ass. Most of the time, that's what it is when these students act out. Fear, pain…"
"But sometimes, it's not just talk, right?"
Principle Wood walked back to sit at his desk. "Every time there's a threat like this, we do the same dance. Inform teachers, search lockers, but we can't…we can't know what's gonna happen, and we can't search their brains. We just…we just do what we can."
"It's not enough. I need to fix this. I don't usually get a heads up before somebody dies."
"What do you mean usually?"
"No. No, not since—I mean, I'm sure it's not usual to get a chance to stop something like—I just I need to do something, OK?" She walked towards the Principal's desk. "I have to make this better…" She tripped over something, and spilled her coffee on her shirt. "Oh! Oh, shoot." Buffy looked down at the coffee stain on her shirt, and remembered what Cassie said earlier.
…
Liam was busy logging in inventory of all the alcohol they had in the bar. Bill came in from the back exit with another case for the inventory. He put it on the counter and left without looking or saying anything to Liam. Collin took the case and started putting the contents away for tonight. Collin watched as Bill went back to the back alley to get more cases. He saw how he walked and how he sad he looked. He looked at Liam and saw how sullen he looked. Collin knew that getting them to talk wasn't going to be easy.
Danni came up from the secret office and signaled for Collin. Collin excused himself and walked over to her. They both walked until they were out of earshot of Liam.
"Anything?" Danni asked.
"Every guy that went after you had a better shot at getting into your pants then me getting those two to talk." Collin said.
"You haven't spoken to them yet." Danni concluded.
"Not a word since breakfast." Collin admitted. Collin rubbed his face with his hand. Danni sighed and bowed her head. This wasn't going to be easy. "How am I supposed to talk to them?"
"Could try just talking to them." Collin looked to his girlfriend with an incredulous look. "Just try it." Collin sighed and went back over to Liam while left for the secret office. Bill came back with another box and set on the table. He turned and went down the small hallway and up the steps to the loft above. Collin finished putting the box away and followed. Collin came up to the sitting area and saw Bill plopped on the couch flipping through the television with a beer in his hand. Collin took a breath and went to the kitchen to grab himself one.
"So...Pirate." Collin opened up walking over towards Bill. Bill didn't respond. "Aargh. Avast ye matey." Collin played pirate. Bill didn't look at all thrilled. It was funny to make fun of pirates for the first week Bill had the nickname. But since then, it was just really annoying. "Sorry."
"What do you want, mate?" Bill asked and went back to the television.
"Just want to talk." Collin said sitting down. "You know it's been pretty quiet lately. Even with the five of us back together." Bill didn't say anything. "I kinda expected you and Midnight to be going out and robbing some place for the fun of it. Like you did in the old days."
"The old days are a long way ahead of us." Bill said coldly.
"True. But just because we aren't in our time, doesn't mean we still can't enjoy doing them."
Bill turned off the television and looked to Collin. "What are you doing?"
"What?"
"You're sitting here, with me, and talking. Why?"
"Just making conversation."
"Collin, whenever you're just making conversation, you have an alternate angel. What is it?"
Collin sighed, knowing he'd been made and sat up to talk. "Ok, Danni and I are worried about you and the rest. You aren't talking to each other."
"We have our reasons." Bill said going back to the television.
"I'm sure you do. But you can't keep not talking."
"We talk."
"Just not like how you use to." Bill didn't respond. "Is this about Liam knowing about you and Kathy?"
"Might have something to do with it."
"So why don't you talk to him about it?"
"Because he killed Kathy." Bill said looking at Collin again.
"We know that already. And we know why he had to do it."
"I do too. But he killed. I'm fine with looking passed that, but he doesn't accept that we were in love."
"Hey, he just found out. It's gonna take some time."
"Yeah well, when he's ready to say that's fine with it, I'm not talking to him." Bill sipped his beer and went back to the TV. Collin breathed again and walked away with his own beer. This wasn't going to be easy.
Down in the secret office, Danni was still translating the book. Delia was also sitting with her reading her own pregnant mother book. Danni was trying to be careful with her. She read up on women during pregnancy and how they would sometimes lash out at people. Danni was hoping she wasn't going to be a victim.
"The text is tricky." Danni said out loud on purpose. She was hoping to start something with Delia. "Says something about…two people."
"What to people?" Delia said looking up form her book.
"Not sure. It's as far as I got." Danni sat up and turned in her chair to face Delia. "It's really tough. Really interesting too."
"Really?"
"Yeah. You know, it got me thinking about something.
"What?"
"Me and Collin. We've been doing this whole 'girlfriend' and 'boyfriend' thing for a few years now. And…I was hoping we could expand on it."
"You mean you want to marry him?"
"Oh so much." That got Delia interested. She smiled and scooted her chair over, forgetting about her book.
"Have you told him?"
"No. I haven't. Should I?"
"Well…maybe not abruptly. Try little light hints. Get the idea in his head."
"Is that what you did with Liam?" Delia's smile faded and she looked away from Danni. "Is everything alright between you too?"
"We've…It's nothing."
"No. It's not nothing. I know nothing. This is something. What's the something?"
"I don't want to talk about it." Delia got up to leave. Danni got up too. She grabbed her arm to stop her from leaving. "Let go of me."
"Delia. Something is wrong. I want to help. Talk to me." Delia didn't say anything. She started to tear up. "Is this about you not wanting to fight?"
"How can I fight when I'm pregnant?" Delia said, tears starting to run down her face.
"You don't have to. Being pregnant is understandable."
"But does Liam understand it? He wants us to fight but I can't. I can't put the baby at risk."
"No one's asking you to. Just tell Liam what you feel and everything can be ok again." Delia shook her head and ran out of the secret office to the bar, crying. Danni just stood in the room and sighed. Delia wasn't going to be any easier.
…
"I need some help!" Buffy said. She burst through the door and tossed her stuff on the couch. "Angel! Willow! Are you home?"
Angel rushed down the stairs. "Buffy, what is it?"
"Where's Willow and Connor?"
"Right here." Willow came in from the kitchen with Xander. "Connor' upstairs taking a nap."
"Where's Dawn?" Angel asked.
"She's at school. I asked her to stay behind and make friends." Buffy said.
"What?"
"There's this girl named Cassie Newton and she's in trouble. We need to check her out. Now."
"I'll get on the net." Willow said, sitting at the dining room table and opening the laptop on it.
"Buffy, come here." Angel said. Angel led Buffy into the kitchen and poured her a glass of water. "Drink this and tell me what's wrong."
Buffy set the water down. "I don't need it. There's this girl, Cassie Newton, and she came to me in the office and told me that Friday she's going to die. She didn't give me much to go on because she got nervous and left. But before that, she told me to put a sweater over my shirt because it might get stained. And it did! Look!" Buffy pulled off her sweater and showed Angel the coffee stain. "What if she's right and she is going to die? I have to stop it!"
"We will Buffy." Angel said.
…
In LA, Summer Shine was doing well as usual. People were in the bar and getting drinks and enjoying themselves. However, Liam and Bill weren't. Liam was at the bar getting drinks for people. Bill was upstairs in the loft, not wanting to work tonight. Delia was upstairs in her room eating some ice cream and reading by herself. She didn't want to talk to anyone for the moment. Collin and Danni were running out of ideas on how to get them to talk to each other. Both of them were in the secret office discussing their next move.
"Maybe you could put a spell on them." Collin suggested.
Danni looked at Collin with an incredulous look. "Sure. Maybe a memory spell that ends up wiping their memories. Or maybe a spell to get them talking and they never stop talking and blurt something out that makes them shout instead of talk." Danni said sarcastically. Collin looked chastised.
"Ok. Just a suggestion."
"I don't want to settle this with magic. It can go wrong in a lot of ways." Danni started pacing the office. "Maybe we could just get them together and tell them to work it out or…"
"Or what? You give them boils or filet them?"
"It's a thought." Both of them sighed.
"Let's save the threatening for last resort." Collin said.
"Then what?" Danni stopped pacing and looked Collin. Collin leaned back in his chair and started throwing a rubber band ball up in the air and catching it over and over. Danni went back to pacing. Getting anyone to talk to each other was going to be harder then they originally thought. "Liam said that his mother knows about him. Maybe we can call her and ask her to knock some sense into him."
"We can't call Aunt Buffy without first telling her who we are. And we can't tell her who we are because Liam said that having family knowing about us would distract us from what we need to do." Collin caught the rubber band ball and held it. "And I agree with him."
"Even if it meant seeing your parent again?" Danni asked. Collin sat up and started to brood, much how like Liam and Angel do. "Sorry."
"No. It's ok. Liam said that if we must, in time we'll all see our families again. He promised us we would before we would leave."
"Right. But back on Liam and the rest. How do we get them willing to talk to each other?" Collin sat back again and through his ball up in the air and caught it. A beeping noise came from the computer monitors and Danni went over to check it. "Looks like there's a vampire nest slowly growing in a nearby warehouse. Just a few blocks away." Collin through his ball again and caught it. Then an idea hit him. He leaned up and looked to Danni.
"That's it."
Danni looked up from the monitors and at Collin. "What's it?"
"We get them to talk to each other by reminding them that they are all a team. They trust each other with their lives. We just have to remind them of that. Get them to work together."
"You mean using the vampire nest as a way to get Liam and Bill to work together?"
"Worth a shot."
"Ok. I'm in."
Collin and Danni went up the stairs to the upper levels to find the team. Collin went to the bar and asked for Liam to come down to the office, saying they had a situation that they needed him for. Danni went all the way up to Delia's room and told her the same thing. As she was coming down, she got Bill. After arriving back down with Bill and Delia, Danni and Collin could already tell that the tension in the room had escalated. Bill took a quick look at Liam before looking away. Liam did the same with him and Delia. Once everyone was as settled as they could be, Danni started to speak.
"I made a program that could monitor the area and alert me to any suspicious demonic activity." Danni said.
"And you got something." Liam said.
"Yes. A vampire nest that's nearby. Looks like its growing."
"Possible army?" Bill asked.
"Possible. We think we'll need a couple of people to go over and deal with it." Collin said.
"Why not you two go?" Delia asked. "You found it together. All of us were doing our own thing. Why bother us about it?"
"Because I can't go. Too much magic in the air could raise flags for Wolfram and Hart." Danni pleaded her case. "Plus if the bar gets out of hand again, you'll need someone to sing to get them settled down."
"I'm only an archer. I can get maybe half of the nest before I lose the rest and they start talking." Collin said.
"And Delia's pregnant so she can't go."
"Which leaves…."
"Me and Bill." Liam concluded.
"That's right." Liam and Bill looked at each other and sighed together in annoyance.
"Fine. I'll get me swords." Bill said and walked to the weapons room.
"We'll let you know if we need back up." Liam said and followed Bill. Danni and Collin did a secret fist bump without Delia noticing.
A group of about fifteen vampires were in an abandoned warehouse, all of whom talking and doing whatever they wanted. Some were wrestling, others were cooking some normal food, and some were just talking. Nothing really dangerous. The door to the warehouse burst open and Liam and Bill came in, swords drawn and scythe ready. They stopped and lowered their weapons when they saw the group of vampires.
"That's it?" Bill said not sounding impressed.
"That's all? I thought there'd be more." Liam said. All of the vampires turned on them and snarled and growled.
"You made a big mistake coming here." One of the vampires sneered.
"Uh…question." Bill said raising his hand. "Are you all forming some vampire army?"
"What? No. But now that you mention it…" the vampire looked around at his fellow vampires. "That sounds like a good idea."
"OK. What's going on here?" Bill asked Liam.
"You're about to die." The vampire said.
"Not you." The vampire looked offended. "I thought this was an army."
"That's what Danni said." Liam agreed.
"Danni and…" both Liam and Bill got what had happened. "This was a set up."
"To get you and me to work together."
"Well it worked."
"Enough talk. Let's kill." The vampire said and rushed at the two. Liam held up his hand and caught the vampire by the throat with no problem. He choke the vampire and held him.
"What now?" Liam asked.
"I say we take these guys out and kill some friend of ours." Bill suggested.
"Agreed. Thoughts on how?"
"Bullets?"
"Bullets won't kill us." The vampire pointed out as he was choked by Liam. Liam sighed, took out his pistol, and shot the vampire twice. He let go of the vampire and its skin started to crack and glow blue, as did his mouth. It screamed in pain until it turned to dust. The rest if the vampires watched their fellow vamp be killed and looked scared.
The reason for the vampire being killed by bullets was because Liam and his team found a way to kill vampires with them. Ultra Violet bullets. Bullets with a blue glow to them that sets of UV rays inside the body of the vampires. Daylight harnessed as a weapon and can kill a vampire weather in the day or night.
"Bullet's then?" Bill asked.
"No. Don't waste ammo. They aren't worth it." Liam said and holstered his pistol. He picked up his scythe and Bill had his double sword ready. "Old school."
"Fine by me." The both of them rushed headlong into the vampire nest.
After an easy victory with a vampire nest, Liam and Bill returned to the office to find the rest of the team still there. Both of the boys looked angry. Danni and Collin hoped that the fight would at least get them talking and working towards fixing any problems they had. But it didn't work.
"Did you guys send me and Bill purposely into an easy nest knowing we'd work together?" Liam asked Danni and Collin immediately. Both Danni and Collin stared wide-eyed, not knowing that the boys would find out about their plan. Delia starred at Collin and Danni too in surprise.
"Well?" Bill asked impatiently, waiting for an answer.
"Uh…well…" Collin said rubbing the back of his head.
"OK, fine." Danni admitted. "We were tired of you two not talking to each other and being mad over nothing." Both Liam and Bill looked annoyed. "And I'm tired of you and Delia not talking either." Both Liam and Delia looked sheepish. "This is ridiculous. Delia's pregnant and not want to fight. Liam wants her to fight. Bill slept with Kathy and Liam doesn't like that he wasn't told."
"You slept with my sister?" Liam said angrily to Bill.
"Oh, don't try and pin it on me mate. I was willing to wait. She wanted to." Bill retorted.
"Don't blame this on Kathy."
"I'm not blaming her. I'm saying that she had a hand in it too."
"Guys." Danni said trying to break up the fight.
"What are you saying? That my sister's a whore?"
"Well, you were kind of a whore yourself." Delia pointed out. Liam glared at her with a piercing look.
"Guys!" Danni louder.
"This is none of your concern." Liam told his wife.
"Yes it is." Delia said standing up. "You're my husband which makes her my family. And I'm not saying that she was a whore. All I'm saying is that she was her own person and didn't need to have her brother telling her what to do or who to sleep with."
"I have no problem with who she sleeps with. I have a problem when it's someone I thought I could trust and doesn't even tell me or ask for permission." Liam yelled.
"You were away. How could we?" Bill countered.
"Enough!" Danni shouted and her eyes glowed yellow. Three chairs shout out from their spaces and ran up behind Liam, Bill, and Delia. All three of them fell into the chairs and were pushed by an invisible force to right in front of Collin and Danni. Some rope snaked out of a chest and tied each of the three's hands to the chairs, preventing them from getting up. Danni's eyes turned back to their normal blue.
"Ok, since clearly letting you guys handle it isn't working…" Collin started out and coming in front of the group. "We're just gonna have to tell you guys to fix it or you're all stuck here for a long time."
"I don't take kindly to threats." Liam sneered at Collin.
"Well, you'll take this one."
"Let's review the facts here." Danni said jumping in. "Delia doesn't want to fight because she's pregnant and doesn't want to harm the baby. Understandable. Bill's angry at Liam because he blames him for Kathy's death. Liam's angry at the both of them. Liam wants Delia to fight, he doesn't like that Bill dated and slept with Kathy."
Liam chuckled. "You two have no idea what I'm feeling."
"I think we do. You guys all have your problems. You guys need to fix them and get over them. We have a responsibility to this world and our future. We can't fight the forces of darkness if we are fighting ourselves."
"You guys need to come to an understanding." Collin said.
"Sure, if Liam stops being such an overprotective brother to his dead sister and be glad that she and I were happy. Not to mention that he should apologize to me for taking her from me." Bill said.
"I took her away from me too." Liam muttered as he bowed his head and closed his eyes.
"I'll come to an understanding when Liam realizes that I'm not just a slayer, I'm his wife and mother of his child and have a responsibility to my family."
"I understand." Liam muttered and gritted his teeth.
"So it all comes down to Liam." Danni said.
"Dude, you need to do something here." Collin said.
"You're our leader. Please fix this. For Kathy." Danni said. That did it. Liam opened his eyes and they were pitch black. He opened his hands and the ropes around his wrists unbounded themselves and Danni and Collin were thrown into the opposite wall. Liam got up and his eyes turned back to normal before anyone saw. He looked at Danni and Collin as they were getting back to their feet.
"I don't have to take this. I'm going out." Liam said and strutted towards the weapons room. He made his way up the stairs to the warehouse and hopped on Delia's motorcycle, revving it up and riding out on it away from a place he didn't want to be, to a place that he felt like he needed to be.
…
It had been a day and a half since Buffy had told the gang about Cassie. Since then, everyone had been researching.
"Buffy, Will's got something." Xander said coming into the living room where Buffy and Angel sat. Buffy stood and followed Angel and Xander into the dining room. Willow had Cassie's records pulled up. Buffy sat down and read what the screen said.
"Cassie's records all show the same thing." Buffy said. "Good grades, good kid, then all of a sudden not so good grades, absenteeism, comments about apathy and depression."
"So, the question is, what changed?" Angel asked.
"Right. If she did have some sort of psychic vision, that would explain it."
"Do you really think this girl is some kind of precog?" Willow asked.
"Oh, I don't know. I told you about the shirt, right?"
"Buffy, you spilled a cup of coffee. I'm not saying you don't have slayer grace, but it's not the first time." Angel said.
"I mean maybe, just maybe, you're trying so hard to help that you're seeing paranormal when there's just normal." Willow said.
"Maybe. But maybe not." The doorbell rang and Buffy went to answer it. Her mood improved immensely when she saw her older son at the door beaming a smile at her. "Liam!" She through her arms around Liam's neck and Liam picked her up to hug her. He set her down and he came into the Summers home. "Guys, Liam's here." Everyone saw Liam and went over to give hugs and for the woman, a few kisses.
"Hello, Liam." His father greeted him.
"Hey dad." Liam said as he hugged his father.
"Hi Liam." Willow greeted Liam. Liam hugged her.
"How are you doing Willow?"
"Oh, much better. Much, much better."
"That's good to here."
"What makes you stop by all of the sudden?"
"Aside from neglecting your family." Buffy added giving Liam a look.
"I haven't been neglecting my family. I just have another family to take care of." Liam defended.
"Right. Delia has the whole pregnant thing going on." Xander said.
"Right. That. Makes me feel like I'm taking care of three more people."
"I know what that's like." Angel commented.
"Where's Delia now?" Buffy asked.
"She stayed behind in LA. She gave me the day off so that I could come and see all of you." Liam lied.
"Oh, well that's nice of her." Willow said.
"Yeah. Maybe he could help us with our own problems at home." Xander suggested.
"What problems?" Liam asked.
The room went silent. "A girl is going to die on Friday." Buffy informed him.
"How do you figure?"
"She told me."
"Is she planning suicide?" Buffy shook her head. "Bullies at school?" Buffy shook again. "Psychic vision?"
"That's what we might be thinking." Buffy said. "She said to have sweater ready for when I spill coffee on my shirt and I got coffee on my shirt later that day."
"You know how I feel about coincidence." Liam said sounding worried.
"But it could be possible that Buffy is trying to see paranormal here there isn't." Willow pitched in.
"Paranormal or not, this girl believes he's gonna die this Friday. I'd be damned a third time if I didn't do what I could to stop it." Liam declared. Buffy smiled at her son's determination. "What do we got on her?"
"It's all here." Willow lead Liam to her computer and Liam took a look at everything.
Liam whistled. "And I thought I was a gloomy one. This girl didn't just have this vision all of a sudden. She's known for a while now."
"Want me to check her medical records?" Willow asked.
"Her doctor already sent them." Buffy handed the folders to Xander.
"Let me see that. Strep throat. Ear infections. Yeast infections. None of my business... no real info here." Xander said, putting the folders down.
"Have you Googled her yet?" Willow asked.
"Willow, she's 17!"
"It's a search engine, idiot." Liam said in annoyance. Everyone stared at Liam in surprise. Liam looked sheepish. The annoyance was a more towards Xander's son then Xander himself. "Sorry. I've just been dealing with a lot of idiots lately. And I forgot that you all are just now getting google."
"Ok. Whatever these idiots have done, please deal with them on your own time." Buffy told her son.
"Yes ma'am."
"Look. Ok, let's see what 'Cassie Newton' pulls up." Willowsaid. The computer beeped. "Hey, look. Check this. She's got her own site."
"A day and a half of researching, and we finally try looking up her." Xander said.
"Wow, that's a lot of poems." Buffy said, looking at the brightly colored website.
"Poems. Always a sign of pretentious inner turmoil."
"The sheets above me cool my skin like dirt on a mad woman's grave I rise into the moonlight white and watch the mirror stare. Pale fish looks back at me. Pale fish that will never swim. My skin is milk for no man to drink. My thighs unused unclenched. This body is not ready yet. But dirt waits for no woman and coins will buy no time. I hear the chatter of the bugs. It's they alone will feast." Willow read.
"Ok, death is really on her brain." Xander said as Dawn walked in.
"We all deal with death." Dawn said and saw Liam in the group. "Liam! You're here." She said and ran to hug Liam.
"Yes. I'm here Aunt Dawn." Liam said.
"What are you doing here? Where's Delia?"
"Visiting. LA." Liam answered both questions. "I'm also helping out with your death girl problem."
"This girl isn't just dealing, she's giving death a long, sloppy word-kiss. She has a yen for the big dirt-nap." Xander said.
"I don't know. I mean, a lot of teens post some pretty angsty poetry on the web. I mean, I even posted a melodramatic love poem or two back in the day." Willow said.
"Love poems?"
"I'm over you now, sweetie."
"Love poems!"
"Look, all I'm saying is that this is normal teen stuff. You join chat rooms, you write poetry, you post Doogie Howser fan-fic."
"Doogie Howser?" Liam asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah. You know, the teenage doctor show."
"I know the show. Don't know why you post fan-fics about him."
"I like him."
"He's gay."
"Liam, you do not get to say something is gay because you don't like the show." Buffy scorned Liam.
"No. I mean, the actor. Neil Patrick Harris. He's gay." Buffy looked surprised and a bit embarrassed at her outburst. Everyone else looked stunned.
"Oh."
"Uh…anyway. It's all normal, right? Let's see what other sites there are." Willow said trying to get away from a knowledge they weren't supposed to know.
"You guys are way off track. I got a hunch on this one." Dawn said. No one paid her any attention.
"Oh, wait, no, here's something. No, that's Philip Newton." Willow said.
"No, that's her dad. Open it." Buffy said.
"Guys, I'm telling you. I got this case cracked wide-open. I got the perp fingered. I told you 'bout Mike Helgenberg, right?" Dawn asked.
"Uh, that's the guy that asked her to the dance?"
"Right. The one that keeps asking her to the dance. I'm thinking, who likes to be rejected? Nobody. I'm thinking, some people can't handle the rejection. I'm thinking that..."
Willow cut Dawn off. "Hey, I got something. Whoa, drunk and disorderly, disturbing the peace. There's a lot of charges here."
"Her dad's a drunk?" Liam asked.
"A violent drunk?" Angel asked.
"We'd better find out. I have his address right here." Buffy said. "Liam?"
"Coming." Liam said.
…
Liam and Buffy drove Angel's car over to Cassie's father's house. It was a dingy little place that looked ok in the dark. In the light it probably looked run down. It was small and shoved into a corner of an old neighborhood. Buffy and Liam walked up to the door and knocked.
"Buffy, the vampire slayer, would break down this door." Buffy said.
"And Buffy, the counselor?" Liam asked.
"Waits." They looked at the door as Mr. Newton opened the door. "Mr. Newton?"
"That's right." Mr. Newton said.
"I work at your daughter's school. I need to talk to you." For a second, the man just stood there. "May we come in?"
"Sure. Come on in." Buffy and Liam walked in. "So, is she screwing up her grades again? Because she's not the sharpest apple in the barrel." Mr. Newton said.
"She's got some problems. But it's, um, it's kind of you we wanted to talk about." Buffy said.
"What about?"
"We know you've been picked up by the police a couple of times. We wanted to know if you still drink a lot." Buffy noticed the bottles on the counter.
"What's that got to do with Cassie?"
"Frankly, we were worried that you might drink too much and hurt Cassie. That's all."
"Oh. Oh, I see. That's... that's all. You just come in here in the middle of the night, into my home, and start accusing me of beating on my daughter? That's all?"
"We just want to make sure that Cassie's…"
"Well, that's a lie! Who told you this? Did Cassie's mother put you up to this, 'cause I pay my support, ok? To the dime! She just wants to take away the one weekend a month I get to be with my girl."
"Which is when?"
"What?"
"Which weekend is it?"
"I-I just had her last weekend. Look, I may not be the greatest dad in the world, but I don't beat up my daughter."
"So, you won't be seeing her this Friday, then?"
"Not unless my ex-wife gets a personality transplant."
"Ok."
"Ok what? Ok now you'll get out of my house?"
"Yeah." Buffy and Liam are walked back out to the car when they saw Cassie had just pulled into the driveway. She used a remote keyless entry system to lock her car, which beeped.
"It's not him. He's not the one who does it. Thank you for trying, but I probably shouldn't have told you anything. You're making such a big deal out of it, and I want it to all too just go away." Cassie said.
"Is this the girl?" Liam asked. Buffy nodded.
"Oh, you're him. Did you tell him?" Cassie asked.
"Tell me what?"
"That she would have been happy."
"Who?"
"Are you talking about killing yourself?" Buffy asked.
"No, of course not!"
"Then fight. Try." Buffy said.
"There's no point. I told you…"
"This doesn't sound like someone who really wants to live."
"You think I want this? You think I don't care? Believe me, I want to… be here, do things. I want to graduate from high school, and I want to go to the stupid winter formal... I have this friend, and it would be fun to go with him. Just to dance and hear lame music. To wear a silly dress and laugh and stuff. I'd like to go. There's a lot of stuff I'd like to do. I'd love to ice skate at Rockefeller Center. And I'd love to see my cousins grow up and see how they turn out 'cause they're really mean and I think they're gonna be fat. I'd love to backpack across the country or, I don't know, fall in love, but I won't. I just never will."
"You will. Cassie, you will. You just have to tell us what you know. You have to tell us everything. Please, help us."
"I can't. I just know it's gonna happen. I don't know why and I don't know how, but something out there is gonna kill me."
Buffy and Liam stared helplessly at Cassie as she went up to the door of her dad's house. Liam led Buffy back to the car and drove her home.
"I don't know how to help her! She won't tell me anything." Buffy said.
"Cause she believes she will die no matter what. Pretty hard to convince somewhat out of that." Liam said.
"What if we don't? I can't sit back and watch a girl die because I didn't help."
"You are helping. You're doing everything in your power right now. We've got a few more days. I'll call Faith, have her help. We'll figure this out."
"Do you have any kind of plan?"
"I actually do. One that I have used for this particular situation and every time it works."
"Great. What's the plan?"
"You're already doing part of it. Try to get her to see life's worth living."
"Anything else?"
"Become her friend or get her some friends."
"Dawn's doing that now."
"Great. Step's one and two are done. Step three is well in play."
"What's step three?"
"Make her days before the date happy ones. It helps with the living life thing."
"And it all works out?"
"The people finish it off with smiles on their faces." Liam said with a smile to Buffy. Buffy smiled too and relaxed.
"Good. That releases some of the pressure."
"Now we just gotta find out what's going to end her life and stop it." Liam said making it sound so simple. But it wasn't going to be simple.
…
Friday afternoon came around too quickly for Buffy. She, Angel, Liam, Xander, and Willow were at the house on Buffy's lunch break trying to find anything and everything about Cassie. Dawn was in school keeping an eye on Cassie. Faith knocked on the door and came in. She motioned to Buffy to follow her into the living room.
"What is it?" Buffy asked.
"I've been trying to get Spike to talk all night, but it's not working. He may know something since he's in that basement 24/7, but he's playing comatose. Maybe you could come down and see if you can get anything out of him?"
"All right. I have to get to work anyway." Buffy walked into the dining room and grabbed her jacket and keys to the van.
She and Faith drove to the High School and went down into the basement. They walked around, looking for Spike. When they found him, he was crouched on the floor. He had got the "bad hair of redemption", unkempt and not slicked back. Buffy walked up to him, and waved her hand in front of his eyes. He didn't respond. She snapped in front of his face, and he still didn't respond. She was frustrated, and sighed. Buffy was getting impatient with his moods and games.
"Spike, what are you doing?" Buffy asked, crossing her arms.
"Nothing. If I don't move, if I don't think, if I don't listen to the voices, then I won't hurt… much." Spike said.
"I need to ask you something."
"Don't."
"There's a girl, she's in danger, and she needs your help. Now. Time is running out. It's Friday, the day Cassie said she's going to die."
"I can't. I can't hear you."
"Is there something evil in the school? Down here, maybe. Spike, please, do you know anything?"
"Yes. There's evil. Down here. Right here. I'm a bad man. William is a baaad man. I hurt the girl."
Spike started to violently punch himself in the face and Buffy grabbed his wrist, stopping him. "Spike, stop it! What did you do?"
"I hurt Faith, and I will pay. I am paying because I hurt the girl."
"Spike. No. It's not Faith. It's a different girl, ok? Her name is Cassie Newton. Please, do you know anything specific?"
Spike shook his head no, and Buffy sighed. She turned to leave, when Spike called out softly after her, "Don't... don't leave me. Stay here, and help me be quiet."
"I think it's worse when I'm here."
"Don't let him hurt the girl."
Buffy and Faith walked off. They reached the hallway upstairs and stopped at the sound of lockers being opened. They turned the corner and found Principal Wood and a security guard doing a locker search.
"Well, there's nothing in this one. What've you got?" Principal Wood said to the guard.
Mike walked by Buffy and Faith and Buffy grabbed his arm. "Where's your hall pass?"
"No hall pass. I got a free period." Mike said. He started to walk off again, but Faith blocked his way.
"You seem kind of upset. Something on your mind?" Faith asked.
"No, not really. Well, I got a lousy 'B' in Egyptian history. Knew this stuff cold, so that, you know, that pisses me off."
"You get pissed off a lot?" Buffy asked.
"No, I..."
"Let me cut to the chase. I hear you can't get a date for the winter formal."
"Oh, whoa, look, I know it's your job to talk to kids with problems, but honestly I don't have any. I'm fine. All right, look, it's really no big deal. I have a friend that I really wanted to take. I don't know, I guess she doesn't see me that way. She makes me crazy."
"Crazy?"
"Yeah, sometimes I jus... That's funny. You're Dawn's sister, right?"
"Uh, that's right. Dawn is MY sister."
"Oh, that's so weird. I was just thinking about her. Yeah, I was thinking if, you know, Cassie won't budge, maybe I'll ask Dawn."
"You aren't mad at Cassie, with her rejecting you like that?" Faith asked.
"Nah, she's a girl right? Making boys crazy is like your guys' job description."
"You're asking my sister to the dance, and she's your second choice?" Buffy asked, offended.
Behind Mike, Principal Wood and the security guard opened a locker and lots of coins fell out onto the hall floor. Buffy noticed the commotion.
"I'll be keeping an eye on you." Buffy said. She and Faith went to the locker to check out the coins with the Principal and the security guard.
"Seems like someone's got quite a coin collection, huh?" Principal Wood asked.
Buffy picked one up, and it was unusual. She stood and looked at the label on the locker door, which read 281.
…
A boy sat in the chair in front of Buffy's desk, and Buffy was sitting on her desk in front of him. Faith stood off to the side.
"You wanted to see me?" The boy asked.
"You have locker number 281?" Buffy asked.
"Yeah, why?"
Buffy held up the coin. "I want you to tell me what this is, and what this has to do with a girl named Cassie Newton."
"I don't know. I-i-it's late. I'm going to miss my bus."
"I know it's late. That's why I don't have time to mess around, so you need to talk to me. Now."
"Believe me, i-i-if I knew anything, I'd tell you. I just don't."
"Do you know why I came back to Sunnydale High?"
"To creep me out?"
"To help. I'm a counselor here because I wanna help. I know what it's like to walk these halls and feel lost, alone. I just want to make things better, connect. And I'm going to connect with your face if you don't stop wasting my time and help me do my job."
"I... please, I..."
"A girl could die." Faith said.
"I guess I know who you're talking about. She's some weirdo suicidal poet girl. These guys I know wanna mess with her. They've got this plan."
…
Seven people clothed in floor-length, hooded red robes were chanting softly in Latin in a circle, each holding a lit white candle. There was a circle of coins on the floor inside their circle, and papers in a bowl in the center. One of them used his candle to light the papers.
"All present?" Peter asked.
"All present." The boys responded.
"Then we begin." Someone giggled. "Mandel, shut up."
"Sorry, dude, it's... It's just so cool, I mean… We're gonna be rich!" Mandel said.
"Keep your shorts, all right. We have to do the ritual if we wanna score. Oh, Keith, did you take care of the fire exits?"
"Yeah. Anybody tries to bust in here's gonna get a nasty surprise. I set up this booby trap my cousin Ben always used to do." Keith said.
"Then nobody is getting in." Peter pulled a blindfolded, bound, and gagged Cassie from behind a bookshelf and into the circle. "And nobody is getting out."
"Dude." Mandel said.
"This is our sacrifice." Peter said, picking up a large cleaver. "It's nothing personal. It's just that you have this death-kick suicidal vibe going. I figure if you disappear, everybody'll just assume you threw yourself in a river somewhere. Extinguish." All the robed people holding candles licked their fingers and pressed them to the candlewick to extinguish the flames. "All mighty Avilas, please accept our sacrifice. Please appear before us, oh mighty soldier of the dark. Please appear before us, and grant us with infinite riches, and we will pay you with our sacrifice. We kneel before you with the gift of flesh."
Buffy and Faith stood simultaneously and took off their robes. Buffy smirked and said, "Ok, that is going on your permanent record."
"Wait, this is... the counselor! What the hell is she doing here?" Peter asked.
"I-it was his idea!" Mandel said.
Buffy and Peter started to circle each other. Peter was still holding the cleaver. "Back off. Get back! Get back, you stupid bitch!" Peter said. Buffy kicked him in the face, and he fell back. He got back up and yelled, coming at her with a cleaver. "Aw, you're gonna die!" Buffy kicked him again, in the crotch this time, and he fell down in agony, dropping the cleaver.
"Do you know how lame this is? Bored teenage boys trying to raise up a demon. Sorry it didn't show. I bet it's 'cause you forgot the boom box playing some heavy metal thing, like Blue Clam Cult. I think that's the key to the raising of lame demons." Buffy said.
Peter looked behind Buffy and pointed. "That lame demon?"
Buffy and Faith spun to look and saw the demon Avilas standing there. He was six feet tall with a curved horn coming out of either side of his head. He had scaly brown demon skin, very muscular, with fins jutting out from his shoulders. He also had a circular cavity where his abdomen should have been.
Faith grabbed the cleaver from the floor in front of Peter and hurled it at the demon. It landed in its chest, but didn't phase the demon at all. Buffy lunged at it to attack it, but it threw her across the room.
"Dude, help!" Kevin said to Peter.
The demon took the cleaver out of its chest and threw it back on the floor near Peter. The demon went after Buffy and Faith, who each tried to kick him away. Peter grabbed the cleaver and went after Cassie.
"NO!" Buffy yelled.
Peter held the cleaver to Cassie, bending her head back to bare her neck. Buffy kicked one of the cult members out of the way, and the demon attacked her again, throwing her into a bookcase. While Buffy was down on the floor, the demon stepped on her chest.
"No! OW!" Buffy cried.
Faith tried to pull the demon off, but it threw her against a window, which shattered, and Faith went through unconscious. The demon was going to hurt Buffy when it turned around instead to measure a new threat. Spike and Liam stood behind him with Spike holding the torch to the demon's back. It roared.
"Spike?" Buffy asked.
"Here to help. No hurting the girls." Spike said.
"Untie her. I'll take care of this."
Buffy took the torch from Spike and pointed it at the demon. Spike walked to Cassie. Buffy swept the torch in front of the demon's face. Liam went to Peter and punched him, knocking him to the ground. Buffy jabbed the torch into the demon's abdomen cavity.
"Who are you?" Peter asked.
Liam punched again and knocked Peter out. "The good guy." Liam responded. Spike grabbed the cleaver and gently cut the ties on Cassie's hands, and then he took off the duct tape on her mouth. The demon had caught on fire from Buffy torching it. The demon burned to a crisp. Cassie was crying, but calmed down enough to tell Spike something about Faith.
"Are you ok?" Buffy asked, coming up to Cassie.
"Uh-huh. Ow." Cassie said as Buffy inspected her arm.
Peter crawled over to the crispy demon. "You can't be dead. Where are my infinite riches?" The crispy demon jumped up and bit his shoulder. "Ahh! Ahh! It bit me!" Then the demon exploded.
"That's what you get for making a deal with a demon." Liam said. "Every time, it comes around to bite you in the ass. Or shoulder in this case." Liam touched Peter's bitten shoulder and Peter held it in pain.
Faith stood up outside and jumped back through the window. "Damn, I was hoping to get that demon back."
"C'mon." Buffy said. Faith, Buffy, Liam, and Cassie walked out to the library's front room. "It's all ok now. I hope you're not too disappointed." They walked to the main door, and when Buffy opened it, the booby trap triggered a crossbow to shoot an arrow at their heads. Buffy reached up in time to stop it from hitting Cassie between the eyes. "See?" Buffy broke the arrow in half. "You can make a difference."
Cassie reached up and pushed a strand of Buffy's hair behind her ear. "And you will." Cassie looked to Liam. "You will too. But the ones you love need your love before you can." Buffy and Faith looked at Liam in confusion. Liam knew what she was talking about. Cassie breathed in sharply and collapsed onto the floor. Buffy and Faith kneeled down to help her. Liam stood watching. Buffy put her ear to Cassie's chest, then checked her pulse, and stroked her hair.
"Cassie? Cassie. Cassie. No, come on. Cassie. Cassie." Buffy said as she started to cry.
"B, come on. We need to call an ambulance." Faith said.
"I can't leave her. I have to help her."
"She's gone, mom. You can't help her." Liam said.
Buffy looked up at Faith and Liam, tears streaming down her face.
…
Buffy, Angel, Willow, Xander and Dawn, all sat around the living room. Buffy sat curled in on herself in the corner of the couch, crying. Angel sat next to her, holding her hand. Dawn sat at the other end of the couch while Willow sat in the big comfy chair. Xander stood off leaning on the wall.
"How is her mom?" Willow asked.
"Ok. As ok as... She told me that her family had a history of heart irregularities, but she never told Cassie." Buffy said.
"Cassie didn't know? Then it was fate?"
"I think she was gonna die, no matter what, wasn't she. Didn't matter what you did." Xander said.
"She just knew. She was special. I failed her." Buffy said.
"Uh-uh. No. You didn't, 'cause you tried." Dawn said, crying. "You listened, and you tried. She died 'cause of her heart, not 'cause of you. She was my friend because of you. I guess sometimes you can't help."
"So what then? What do you do when you know that? When you know that maybe you can't help?"
"You keep fighting." Liam said gently. Buffy looked up to see Liam coming in from the kitchen. "We're champions, mom. We save who we can save. If we could save everyone, then we'd be gods. And this world would be jam-packed full of people."
"This isn't the time for jokes." Xander pointed out. "I should know."
"You said your plan would work." Buffy told Liam. "It didn't."
"Actually it did."
"How?"
"Like Dawn said, she was her friend. They spent time together. You helped save her. You made her last days on earth happy ones. And she left with a smile on her face."
"But she died."
"I didn't say she was going to live. I simply said that she would have a smile on her face at the end. And she did. Because of you." Buffy just stared back at him. She knew he was right, but right now, she was in her own personal hell because of all she had done to save Cassie only to have it crushed by a heart condition. All Buffy could do was fold herself into his arms and cry. "That's really all anyone can ask for at the end. To be happy when they go." Liam looked sullen as he reflected back to his past and his sister and his family. He had to make things right back at home. Back to his family. "I have to go take care of things." Liam made to leave. Then Buffy remembered something.
"Liam." Liam stopped and looked to his mother, seeing tears in her eyes. "Cassie wanted to tell me to tell you something."
"What?"
"That…that 'The angel will come at his name when a life that didn't live is lost.'" Buffy told him Cassie's saying when she first saw her. Liam looked confused.
"OK. Thanks, I'll…look in to it. I gotta go deal with another crisis."
"Delia?" Angel asked.
"One of them." Liam left the house.
…
Collin, Bill, Danni, and Delia were all working at the bar that night. They were all feeling a little down and moving at slower pace, all because of Liam's little exit a few days ago. They were all cleaning and gathering up empty beer bottles when they all received notices on their phones from an unknown caller saying to come up stairs. They walked up the stairs to the loft and a lamp turned on in the sitting area. Collin and Bill went for their guns and held them up to Liam who was sitting in a chair with his legs up on the coffee table, looking at them. They didn't lower their weapons.
"Liam, whatever you plan on doing…" Collin started.
"I'm a jerk." Liam interrupted him. Everyone looked at Liam unsurprised. They didn't expect him to admit a truth like that just as he came back from leaving for a few days. Some hoped, but didn't expect. Liam stood up and walked towards them. "I'm a jerk and a very asshole jerk at that." Collin and Bill looked at each other before holstering their guns. Liam looked to Bill. "Bill, you have been….my closest friend in life. You've helped me out of a number of tough situations. You're my brother and I trust you no matter what." Bill didn't know what to say. A few days ago he knew a Liam that didn't like the thought of him. Now he was looking at an apologetic Liam. "I'm sorry about what I said. And if I had to choose someone for my sister, I couldn't think of anyone better than you." Bill was completely speechless. He certainly didn't expect this.
"I don't know what to say." Bill admitted.
"How about 'ow'?"
"Why would I say 'ow'?" Liam punched Bill across the face. "Ow." Bill landed on the floor.
Collin chuckled a little. "I get it." He told the girls. The girls looked at Collin with appalled looks
"That was for sleeping with my sister." Liam told Bill. "Now come on. Get up."
"Why? So you can punch me again?" Bill asked form the ground.
"No. I'm actually fine now. Everything I wanted to say was in that one punch." Liam bent over and helped Bill up to his feet and patted his back.
"It was a good one too." Bill commented as he rubbed his face where Liam hit him.
"Thanks." Liam enveloped Bill in a hug. "Now that that's settled, can we get back to being how we were?" Bill hugged Liam in agreement.
"Sure, mate. And I'm sorry for being mad at you. I know it wasn't your fault." They both let go.
"But it feels like it to me. I still have some nightmares about it."
"You do. At least once a week." Liam admitted. "I'm sorry for taking her away from you. From all of you." He directed to everyone. "And I'm sorry that's it taken me a while to admit it. Guess I didn't know how to handle it." Liam turned to Delia. She had a stern look on her face like she was about to yell at Liam if he was about to apologize. "I have something for you." Liam turned to the couch and picked up a calendar. Something that I think you'll appreciate." Delia was confused at the gift and took it from Liam's outstretch hand.
"A calendar?" She asked examining it.
"A work calendar. I took the liberty of writing down your assignments for the next few months." Delia looked through the days of the weeks of the months on the calendar for assignments but found none.
"There's nothing here." She said.
"Exactly. You shouldn't have to do assignments while you're pregnant. Nor do you have to fight. I understand that much. All that I'm hoping for is when it counts, you'll be there for us."
"Liam, you know I will." Delia said sincerely.
"Yeah. Sometimes I'm just an ass."
"Sometimes?" Bill asked.
"Ok, most of the time. Just give me a bit to understand that."
"So...what?" Delia asked. "What does all of this mean?"
"It means I'm sorry. And that from now on, I will take my role as leader, as friend, as husband, and as father, more seriously than I have been. There's a lot that we all have to do and we need each other if we're ever going to accomplish it. I love you guys. I need you guys in my life." Everyone had a smile spread across theirs faces at Liam's statement.
"Where's this coming from?" Danni asked.
"Cassie. A girl I met while away."
"A girl?" Delia asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yeah. She gave me some good advice that I'm following." Delia nodded her head and smiled. "Collin, Danni, what you guys tried to do…"
"You don't have to say anything boss." Collin said.
"We're a team. It's what we do." Danni said.
Liam took Delia under arm and kissed her head, leading her back down to the bar. "I was gonna say if either of you two idiots do something like what you did again…I will shoot you both myself." Bill snickered at Collin and Danni who had stunned looks on their faces before following Liam.
"That's' our boss." Collin said and followed as well.
Liam got on his work shirt and began helping out with the bar. His smile and his new attitude brought one to everyone and they all started to work more enjoyably. They delivered drinks and brought food with courtesy as they weren't before. Everyone now seemed to be enjoying themselves. Liam was even whistling a tune to his new found joy. He had forgiven and apologized to his family and di exactly what Cassie had told him to do. Now he felt even better about himself.
His whistling tune brought a lot of eyes onto him, especially after Bill and Collin joined in on the whistling and they all whistled in synch with each other. It was an old Irish style tuned that Liam was sang with his sister back in the day before and after missions. Liam saw this as a great opportunity to show his own singing ability. Danni heard the tune and started playing the same song on her phone and it was heard on the speakers of the bar. Once he had most of the bar hearing and seeing him whistle, he began his song to the tune.
"Kind friends and companions, come join me in rhyme. Come lift up your voices in chorus with mine. Come lift up your voices, all grief to refrain. For we may or might never all meet here again" Liam sang and then Bill and Collin joined in.
"Here's a health to the company and one to my lass. Let us drink and be merry all out of one glass. Let us drink and be merry, all grief to we may or might never all meet here again." They all sang. Collin sang next.
"Here's a health to the dear lass that I love so well. For her style and for her beauty, sure none can excel. There's a smile upon her countenance as she sits on my knee. There is no man in this wide world as happy as me."
So here's a health to the company and one to my lass. Let us drink and be merry all out of one glass. Let us drink and be merry, all grief to refrain. For we may or might never all meet here again" They all sang. Bill sang next.
"Our ship lies at anchor, she's ready to dock. I wish her safe landing without any shock. If ever I should meet you by land or by sea. I will always remember your kindness to me."
"So here's a health to the company and one to my lass. Let us drink and be merry all out of one glass. Let us drink and be merry, all grief to refrain. For we may or might never all meet here again." They all finished they're song and the bar clapped and applauded for the performance. The boys all hugged in a group hug and laughed as they all clanked beer glasses together. They all had certainly missed singing with each other. The singing actually got Liam and idea that he thought about putting into motion pretty soon.
And that's it. What do you guys think of Cassie's little prophecy? What about the song? It's called, 'Here's a health to the company'. It's a great song, depending on which version you hear. I have something planned ahead. Next chapter will be more about Liam and his team attacking Wolfram and Hart. Stay tuned. Comment and review.
