Chapter 9: The Falling Sky, Part 2


Pacing the room, Rukia stared in dismay at her phone, which flashed and beeped relentlessly. "No way."

Buffy glanced over her shoulder at the soul reaper, but did not stand up from where she lay in her bed. "That means a Hollow, doesn't it? Geez, can I have a rest for five minutes? That's all I ask!"

"It's not just one hollow, Buffy. There's tons of them! Eleven, no, thirteen… hang on…" She frowned. "That's really weird. They're appearing at such a fast rate yet they're disappearing again almost as fast. Someone's killing them off."

"Hang on, so I'm not the only Hollow killer around here? Why the hell have I been spending so much time and energy running after those things if there was someone else to take care of it?" Buffy asked, sitting upright.

"There shouldn't be anyone else! No one. Unless…" Rukia grimaced.

Buffy watched her face suspiciously. "Unless what?"

"No. He wouldn't." Rukia muttered to herself. "Why would he interfere? After so long?"

"Who's this 'he'? What aren't you telling me?"

"It doesn't matter." She grabbed the red skull glove. "We have to go."

Buffy groaned in exasperation. "Again? Really?"

"Oh, be quiet. You agreed to this. Besides, there's something weird going on."

"Story of my life." Buffy grumbled, standing up off the bed. "Fine. Let's go."

As soon as she said those words, she heard shouting from outside. Someone was calling her name. Startled, she went over to the window and peered out, and saw Angel and Xander running towards the house. She opened the window and leaned out.

"Angel, Xander! What's wrong?"

Xander beamed. "Thank god you're in Buff. Those things- they're everywhere! All over Sunnydale!"

"Yeah, I know. I was just about to get going. Are you two okay? Are you hurt?" She said, climbing out of the window and vaulting onto the ground in front of them while Rukia followed.

Angel shook his head and replied, "No. We were attacked, but then Xander… Well, actually I'm not really sure what happened."

Xander took over. "I, uh, heh, I guess I killed it."

"You? Really?" Rukia replied doubtfully.

"Hey, don't diss the Xan-man! I'll have you know I'm very experienced in demonology."

Angel coughed, choking back a laugh. Buffy smiled. "Yeah.. you've got a PHD in demon slayage. In that case, why did you need me?"

"Well, you know… give the amateurs a chance."

"Of course." Buffy's face darkened. "Seriously though, what happened?"

"I don't know. We were running from it, and then suddenly I've got this big blue glowy bow thing."

Rukia's eyes widened. "Wait, what?"

"Yeah. I couldn't really control it properly, but somehow I managed to shoot the hollow and kill it." He shrugged. "Beats me how it happened."

"Well, we'll figure it out later. We don't have time right now." Buffy turned to Rukia. "Okay, I'm ready."

"Rukia complied, slamming her open palm into Buffy's chest and dragging her soul out, a spectacle that Angel was entirely unprepared for.

The vampire took a step back. "What..? Um. How-?" He stammered, glancing between Buffy's limp human body and her soul form.

Buffy glanced at him in surprise. "Oh, you can see me?"

"Yes… I'm sorry, but what did you just do?"

"This is me in pure soul form." She said, crouching down and lifting her body up by the shoulders. "I've got to run now. Can you guys take my body back up to my room? I still haven't told Mom, and I don't want her to freak. Just make it look like I'm asleep, in case she wakes up and comes in."

Xander nodded, but Angel paused. "No, I'll come with you and help-"

"No Angel, you need to stay back for this one. I'm afraid vampire strength won't be enough here, even I couldn't put a dent in a Hollow without soul reaper powers. Please, just make sure Mom stays safe."

Angel nodded silently, his expression wooden.

"Xander, do you know where Willow is?"

"Yeah, she should be at home."

"Okay, we'll go there first and make sure she's still alive. Let's go, Rukia!"


Willow staggered back, panting, smoke trailing from her fingertips. She had thought that now she would be able to fend for herself, but she was tiring too quickly. She had managed to fell two more Hollows, but each blow she dealt cost her twice as much energy as last time, and they were still gaining on her. She cursed inwardly; she was back to where she had been ten minutes ago. Another Hollow lumbered forwards. Drawing up her last remaining energy, Willow sent a golden missile crashing into it's skull. As it dissappeared, she collapsed to her knees, gasping for air. She wasn't going to last at this rate, but with those last attacks she had gained herself some time. She shakily got to her feet, preparing to run but her legs gave way beneath her. There were still two more hollows left. They advanced towards her, then stopped suddenly, cocking their heads to one side. In the still night, Willow caught the faint sound of growling. She couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from , but the Hollows seemed to have an easier time of it. They slowly turned to the right, facing away from Willow. From the bushes, a large and menacing creature stalked into sight. As it drew into the clearing and became illuminated by the lampposts, Willow gasped. It was a werewolf. And not just any werewolf.

"…Oz?" Willow said softly.

Oz made no indication of having heard her, and instead circled around the hollows. With no warning, he suddenly jumped forwards, snapping at them. The hollows roared, enraged, and the closest one swatted at him but he dodged around the fist before going in for the kill. Willow watched in horror at the spectacle as Oz churned away in a whirlwind of teeth and claws. He brought the hollow down to its knees, and dug his vicious talons into the skull. A bright light shone around the deep gouges, and the hollow disintegrated. Dropping to the ground, Oz wasted no time in turning on the other one and ripping it to shreds.

After he finished off the last one, Oz watched silently as it dissappeared and then turned to face Willow. Willow looked at the snarling muzzle and swallowed. Running would be pointless, if he meant to kill her he would be on her in seconds. She could try to fight, but that could all too easily result in Oz being hurt or killed. The wolf padded closer on all fours, lowering it's hackles.

"Oz? Hey, Oz? You there?" Willow said, increasingly hopeful. As it approached, slowly and cautiously, Willow's eye caught a flash of crimson beneath the dark, matted fur. Oz was hurt.

"Oh god, Oz..." She murmered. Slowly, she moved forwards and reached out a hand. The wolf gently brushed his head against her hand, then lay down in front of her. He was exhausted. Willow knelt down beside him.

"Oz. Oz, it is you. But why are you a wolf tonight? There's no full moon. Also why aren't you trying to kill me? Er. Not that I'm complaining or anything. I'm good not being killed."

"Willow!"

Willow looked up to see Buffy and Rukia approaching. "Willow, are you okay?"

"Yeah! But… But Oz…"

Buffy stopped short when she saw him, curled up in a furry heap on the ground. "Again? He became a werewolf again?"

"He's hurt, he's bleeding."

"Shit..." Buffy started to go forwards, but Rukia held her back.

"Don't worry, we'll take care of him, but you have to go."

"But he's-!"

"No! There are hollows out there right now, preying on innocents, and you have to stop them. It is your duty!"

Buffy reddened with anger, but said nothing. Rukia's tone softened.

"He'll be fine, but not if we get attacked again. You have to take care of things."

"... yeah, fine." Buffy glared at Rukia, but nonetheless ran off into the night, drawing her Zanpakuto.

When she was gone, Rukia turned back to Willow and Oz.

"Willow, what exactly happened here?"

Willow swallowed nervously. "Well, I was just at home, then all the hollows just appeared. I tried to run, but I couldn't and then… I'm not sure. Something happened. I did something, and I don't think it was magic." She raised a hand to demonstrate. A shimmering blue orb faded into sight,resting on her open palm. "I couldn't keep it up. I thought I was gonna die, then Oz... He saved me, finished the last of them off."

Rukia listened with interest. There were some very bizarre things occurring recently. Willow seemed to have developed her spirit power to an extremely high level in a short amount of time. It was remarkable. Rukia glanced down at Oz.

Could the same thing have happened to him? Could this explain why he transformed on a night with no full moon? Xander also mentioned something similar as well…

A slow clapping shook Rukia from her daydreaming.

"Well done. Very impressive display of your powers back there, Willow."

She looked up. In front of them stood a tall blonde man, in a green striped hat and a matching green coat that looked very familiar…

"You!" Rukia and Willow exclaimed at the same time. Rukia looked at Willow in surprise.

"Wait, you know him?"

"Well, not really. He just knocked on the door and asked to deliver something to Buffy..."

The man bowed. "My name is Kisuke Urahara. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Rosenberg. I'm sorry about earlier, I was in a bit of a hurry.

Rukia's expression shot daggers towards Kisuke. "Urahara, yes or no; are you responsible for all this?"

He threw his hands up in defense. "Only for the Hollows. I knew you all would be able to cope."

"Cope?" Willow's eyes shone angrily as tears of shock, anger and worry spilled over her lashes. "Oz is hurt because of you! He's bleeding!"

"I am sorry about that. But trust me when I tell you this was all necessary. Don't worry, Willow."

"What!?"

"Willow, you have only just begun to discover the power you possess. Tell me, what have you achieved so far?"

"…I can attack.. and defend…"

"Try to heal him."

Willow frowned. "How do I do that?"

"I can't tell you everything. It's your power, youmust work out how to use it for yourself."

Willow hesitated and looked to Rukia. Unsure of what else to do, Rukia simply nodded. Willow seemed to take this as encouragement enough as she gently raised her hands and closed her eyes.

The seconds ticked by. After a while, Rukia noticed that the wound was beginning to smoke and steam. The pool of blood began to shrink, and the torn flesh knitted itself back together. Willow trembled with exertion, her brow creased in concentration. The wound closed, and Willow fell backwards, her chest heaving.

"That.. was.. hard.." She said.

Urahara smiled. "Using too much spirit energy will tire you. It looks like you'll have to rest before you try again. Incedentally, did you manage to give Buffy that package?"

"Er, no. Never really got the chance, what with all the big evil things trying to, you know, eat me."

"I see. Ah, well."

Rukia sighed. "What is going on, Urahara? What are you doing here?"

"Just lending a hand. Is that really so suspicious?"

"It is when it's you."

"Now now, that was hurtful." He replied, still wearing that persistent smile. He walked forwards and examined Oz, who seemed to be returning to human form. "You healed him well, but it seems he won't come around for some time. There was another one of you. Xander, right? Where is he?"

"Oh, um, I don't know."

"He's back at Buffy's place, with Angel." Said Rukia. "Why? Want do you want with him?"

"Angel?" A look of puzzlement, then recognition flashed across Urahara's face. "Oh, I see. Well! Let's get the furball here somewhere safe, then go and get your friends. I think you all ought to see what happens next."


Buffy sped through the waves of hollows, effortlessly slicing her way through them. It was actually quite easy now. With a few exceptions, they all seemed to move in the same patterns, acting on little more than pure instinct. That realisation had proved far more valuable than her increased power and speed. Even so, the sheer number of the creatures made it a very perilous situation; it was all too easy to let one of them take her by surprise, too easy to let one fall out of her line of sight. One bad slip up and it could be the end. She pushed onwards through the relentless torrent.

She was beginning to lose hope that there would ever be an end, when she saw it. The crack in the sky, that stretched and crumbled away through the atmosphere. The crack widened, revealing a black abyss beyond it. Then a huge white hand emerged and grasped the sides, pulling it open further and further. The crack was now the length of a five-story building, and the creature beyond it was at least as big. Out of the blackness, a deathly white face loomed.

Buffy gasped audibly as she realised what she was looking at. The creature stepped through the crack and brought it's foot crashing down on the street below. It was a monstrous size, bigger than any normal hollow. It had a flat, elongated mask with circular, empty eyes and a long pointed nose that jutted out from the centre. It seemed to be clad head to foot in a rippling back cloak from which a circle of vicious spikes emerged at shoulder height.

"…you're fricking kidding me…"

It was no more than a few hundred yards away. It could crush her flat with one step. How the hell was she supposed to kill that thing?

Her thoughts were interrupted as the other hollows pressed in, forcing her into a defensive stance. She systematically chopped down the small fry, praying that their giant back up would be gracious enough to wait until she was free to fight one-on-one.

She was not so lucky.

Out of the corner of her eye as she spun through the air, she saw the creature open it's mouth. A red light began to shine, growing brighter and brighter. It seemed familiar… Buffy remembered the few times she had seen Rukia use her powers. This seemed much the same, only a heck of a lot more powerful.

Her slayer instincts screamed at her, and Buffy abandoned her duel with a hollow and rocketed out of the way. A beam of red hit the ground behind her, vaporising the other hollow in an instant.

"Oh, come on! That's hardly fair!" She gasped. She really could not afford to slip up, she'd be dead for good. The hollow was already preparing itself for another attack. Buffy forced herself to keep running.


Meanwhile, Willow, Urahara and Rukia had arrived at Buffy's place. Angel was pacing up and down the driveway, while Xander sat on the steps with a troubled expression. When he saw Willow approaching, he jumped up and ran forwards to hug his life-long best friend.

"Willow! Oh my god, Will! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! I'm fine. What about you?"

"Yeah, I'm good. This has been one hell of a crazy evening, though."

"Tell me about it. Angel, are you-" Willow stopped and frowned. Angel was staring past her, even paler than usual. She turned.

"Oh! Right. This is-"

"Kisuke Urahara." He tipped his hat in greeting. He seemed to ignore Angel's very presence. "I am afraid I am, in part, responsible for your current situation.

Xander gasped. "Oh, oh! It's you! Hat guy!" He fished around in his pocket and brought out the 'Hollow Bait' box, flourishing it accusingly. "This was you! Wasn't it? You put it in my pocket when you walked past me!"

"Indeed. I also planted a similar one in Willow's home when I visited. Don't worry, the effects are temporary and should wear off before long. I simply wanted for you two to develop your powers, which you have both achieved quite spectacularly. Congratulations."

"Wait wait wait, you're responsible for this thing too?" Xander said, holding up the cross on his bracelet. "And the big blue bow thing?"

"I did not give you that ability, if that is what you're asking. That power was already yours."

Xander looked down at the silver cross blankly. "But what is-."

"Quincy." Rukia stated simply. Everyone turned to look at her. "You're a Quincy. I thought they had all died."

"Most if them did." Replied Urahara. "The Quincys have a complicated history, but suffice it to say long ago they had a disagreement with the soul society and most of them were wiped out by the soul reapers, while some went into hiding. Xander, your ancestors were powerful Quincys who abandoned their powers in order to survive. That cross you are wearing is a Quincy talisman, allowing the use of their powers. Normally such a thing takes years of trying in order to utilise, but you happen to be in a very unique position. Not only are you high in spirit power and have the benefits of a strong heritage, but you have also been living on top of a hellmouth for all your life. All these factors have combined to give you almost instant mastery of your powers."

Xander was staring ahead, open mouthed, his mind in such a state of shock that he was barely able to process any of the information he was being told.

"…oh… Cool…" He managed, weakly.

Urahara then turned to Willow. "Your case is slightly different. You also have remarkably high levels of spirit energy, are you are also quickly becoming well-versed in the art of magic. They way one's spirit powers present is strongly dependant on one's soul. Your soul finds magic a comforting and familiar presence, and so that is how your powers present themselves. A similar thing seems to have happened to your werewolf friend. I admit, I was not expecting or intending for him to develop powers of his own."

"So… his transformation, on a night with no moon, was his 'power'?"

"Yes."

Willow and Xander exchanged a glance.

"That. Um. That's a lot to take in."

Urahara opened his mouth to reply, but he stopped.

"Oh dear. Look at that." He muttered, staring up at the sky. Rukia and Willow followed his gaze. In the sky, there was a big black crack running down the sky. Willow frowned.

"Huh? What is that?"

Rukia stared at it in horror. "No… it couldn't be…"

The crack widened, and they all stared at the creature that emerged from the black.

Is that.. a hollow?" Asked Willow uncertainly.

"It's a menos." Replied Rukia. She was wide eyed and shaking. It was uncharacteristic for her to show so much fear. "I've only ever seen them in textbooks. They never come through to the human world, they don't!" She glanced around, clearly panicked. "We have to get out of here. Only a Soul Reaper of a lieutenant class or higher even stands a chance."

Urahara stepped in, laying a hand on Rukia's shoulder. "Now, don't be so quick to write off your new friends. I believe we have a perfectly capable soul reaper on hand to deal with this."

"What, Buffy? Don't mess around! She's good, but she's not-!"

Urahara ignored her protests, and turned to the others. "Well, I can hardly think of a better way to put your new abilities to the test. Buffy may very well be needing your help, keeping the smaller ones at bay. Are you willing to fight alongside her?"

Both Willow and Xander hesitated. What the had just been told… it was overwhelming. Unbelievable, some would call it. But not them. They had seen too much to declare anything 'unbelievable' anymore. They had new abilities, that was certain.

Buffy was out there, fighting. Alone. She had always been alone in the fight, always having to rely on herself. Willow caught Xander's eye, and he nodded.

Maybe, just maybe she wouldn't have to fight alone anymore.

"Of course."

"Always."

Urahara beamed. "Wonderful! I suppose we should get going then."

They nodded, and ran off towards the towering beast.

Rukia shook her head. "Insane. This is insane…" She muttered. She glanced up at Angel, who hadn't moved or spoken since their arrival. "Well? Are you coming?"

Angel didn't look at her. "Hmm? Yeah... yes."


The fight continued for a long while. If it could be called a fight. Buffy would dodge the attack, then be forced to defend herself from yet another wave of hollows before she even spend a second to think.

Goddamn it! I can't even get close! If these other hollow would just leave me alone for one minute, I might be able to do something…

She turned to face yet another Hollow, when it was blasted away before her eyes.

She blinked in surprise. "Huh?"

"Buffy!" Willow was running towards her, followed by Xander.

"What..? No, no! You need to get out of here, now! Run! You can't be here!" Buffy's voice rose in panic. She might be able to handle herself, but she couldn't protect both of them. Someone would get hurt.

Willow ran up to her. "No, Buffy. It's fine. You don't need to protect us here."

"You will get yourselves killed!"

"Boy, try to help and see the thanks we get?" Xander said jokingly. "Will and I can keep some of them off your back. Give you time to focus on more important things."

"You..?" Buffy started uncertainly. "Um. Try not to take this the wrong way, but what exactly are you going to do?"

"You know I told you earlier I killed one of them? I wasn't lying. Willow's done some in too. We got a little bit of last - minute tuition on the slayage front…"

He looked past her. Buffy turned, and saw Rukia standing beside a man she didn't recognise.

"Who are you?" She asked threateningly, tensing up for a fight.

It was Rukia who replied. "His name is Urahara."

The man smiled. "Kisuke Urahara. I've been watching your progress for some time." He smiled.

"He's okay, don't worry!" Willow gambled. "Well, I mean- he is kinda responsible for the big demony epidemic which nearly got us all killed, but he's on our side. Somehow."

"Great. Just great. More complications." Buffy gritted her teeth. "Ura- whatever your name is, just stay out of the fight, I'll deal with you later. Willow, Xander, if you really think you can handle it, I'll leave the rest of them up to you. I've got the big guy to take down."

She began to move away, but Urahara spoke again, stopping her in her tracks. "Really? You think you can take down a menos?" His voice suddenly condescending and cold. "Lieutenant soul reapers have a hard time with them. What makes you think that you, an eighteen year old human, can even hope to rise to that level?"

Buffy turned slowly, her eyes sharp and piercing as she struggled to maintain composure. "What did you just say?"

"I think you heard me, little girl."

Willow, Xander and Rukia exchanged glances. This was a change to the calm, carefree man that he had seemed to be earlier. He was taunting her.

"I think it best, that this sort of thing is left to those who know what they're doing."

Buffy laughed. "What? Okay then, try this; I'm the goddamn slayer. Did you know that? Do you know what a slayer is? Let me tell you. A slayer is a girl who is given the powers to fight evil. That's me. A girl who, every single night, fights on the front lines against all manner of icky because I have to. I don't know much about these hollow, or the soul society, or even my own damn powers, but I do know that this," She motioned behind her at the towering figure, "This is nothing compared to some of the stuff I've seen! I have prevented the apocalypse, twice! Believe me when I say I can handle one clumsy oversized demon."

"Buffy…" Rukia began, but she swallowed the rest of her words

Urahara's face broke out into a huge grin, shattering the tense atmosphere. "I see! Well, that's fine then. Have fun, we'll back you up from here."

Buffy paused. "Um. What?"

"You're absolutely right. Your slayer powers come from a place much darker and more powerful than that menos could even imagine. If it could imagine. Frankly it's little more than an animal."

Buffy stared at him. He wasn't mocking her, he was serious. Understanding began to dawn. "You utter prick…"

"Come now, no need for that. You'd better hurry up, by the way. I think he's getting a bit impatient."

She looked back at the Menos which was preparing to attack again.

"Oh shit-"

She ran towards it at full speed, brandishing her Zanpakuto.

"Stop standing around, you lot! There are hollows to kill!" Urahara called to the other two. Willow and Xander jumped to attention and proceeded to use their newfound powers to cut their way through the oncoming tides.


Angel, who had been carefully staying out of sight, silently moved beside Urahara. He stared after Buffy. "What was the point of that? Pissing her off?"

Oh, nothing. She just needed a bit of a confidence boost."

"Huh. Interesting method..." He glanced up at the towering creature. "Are you sure she can handle that?"

"Of course. The slayer's duties don't end at demons. Any supernatural forces that threaten the living falls inside her jurisdiction."

"I guess you could argue that hollows are a type of demon. They're quite similar to vampires, in some ways."

"You would know, wouldn't you, Angelus?"

Angel shot Urahara a dark look. "I don't use that name anymore. You know that."

"Really? I thought you picked it up again last year."

Triggered by fury, Angel's face contorted and his teeth elongated. He snarled angrily, but Urahara didn't flinch.

"There he is. There's the 'Angel' I met all those years ago." He said, a shade too cheerfully. He patted Angel's back. "Oh, cheer up. I was teasing. You should be watching the show; Don't you want to see your girlfriend beat a Menos?"


As Buffy approached, she wondered how this would actually work. Even if she could cut through the head she would have to reach it first, preferably without dying. Her soul reaper form allowed her to move and jump much higher, but not but that much. Or did it? She had never actually tested the boundaries of her new powers. It would probably have been a good idea to get a grasp of her limitations before heading into such a battle, but there was nothing to be done about it now. Gripping her sword in both hands, she jumped, climbing up to the top of a nearby building. It barely got her up a third of the way, but it made her feel a bit better.

"Hey ugly!" She yelled at the nightmarish face. It swiveled to look at her. "Yeah, that's right! Sorry, big guy. Any other town and you might have been okay for a little rampage, but you just had to pick the one with a slayer. That's really gonna cost you."

Showing no understanding of her words, the Menos leaned over just enough so that it's face was pointing directly at her. It opened it's mouth again.

"Oh, come on! That old trick? Show some imagination!"

It fired the flash of red energy. Buffy dodged forwards, underneath the beam, and launched herself upwards with as much momentum as she could muster. She raised her sword and as she did so, the tip skimmed through the haze of red energy. Buffy felt a jolt run down the sword and through her arms, filling her with power. She didn't have time to question the sensation, and so took advantage of the borrowed strength as best she could. She brought her sword slicing down and the cold metal was met with hard bone. Her Zanpakuto bit hungrily into the Menos' face, chipping it away. The Menos howled in protest, but before the creature had enough time to react, Buffy pulled her sword away and began her descent. When she landed, she looked up at her handiwork. The menos had a crack running through half of it's mask, but nothing more.

"No way… I used my full strength!" Buffy gasped, but despite her own disappointment, the wound seemed to be more than enough for the menos. Still screaming horribly, it lifted it's foot back inside the tear and gradually retreated. It let go of the wall of the tear, and let the crack seal itself back up


Xander worked to finish off the last remaining hollows. He could barely keep from shouting in joy each time he felled another one. Finally, he was useful. Finally he could actually help! Urahara had given him a very quick and unsatisfactory explanation of his abilities. Something to do with a… Quincy? Was that the word he used? He was surprised at how good he was with the glowing blue bow, considering he had never tried any sort of archery in his life. It seemed to come instinctively to him. Instinctively, yet not effortlessly. Each arrow he released took a lot of energy out of him and he was getting tired. He glanced over at Willow who was fighting her own battle. He couldn't even imagine how hard it must be for her, since she had already used up a lot of her power. Thankfully the creatures seemed to have stopped swelling their numbers since Buffy finished off the Menos. Once this battle was over, they could rest.

He pulled back on the translucent blue string and sent one final arrow flying out into the head of the final Hollow, before falling to his knees in exhaustion. It was done. He grinned; he was no longer helpless. He could only imagine at what this could mean for his future.


Buffy gazed at the sky absently, her hair and robe fluttering in he breeze. She gripped her Zanpakuto tightly in one hand. Something had happened in that fight. It was like she had absorbed the energy in the Menos' attack. Was this also a soul reaper thing? Rukia had certanly never mentioned anything like that, but then again Buffy had got the feeling that she wasn't being told everything anyway. She was only a substitute for Rukia, this was a temporary situation, but she disliked not knowing the whole truth. Could she really just return to normal when this was all over and done with? Pretend that she never knew?

"That was very well done, Miss Summers."

Buffy turned. Urahara was standing behind her.

"Dont be too upset, I wasn't expecting you to kill it. Frankly, I'm impressed you were even able to wound it. Menos are not to be taken lightly."

"Who are you?" Buffy asked bluntly. This man was playing games with her and she was having none of it.

"I just want to help you to-"

"Cut the cryptic bullshit, I want to know who you are. You're in my town, and I need to know what you're doing here."

His faint smile lingered on his face. "I see. Well, there's not a whole lot to be said. Your friend was right, it was me who brought the Hollows."

"How?"

"Hollow Bait. I planted some on both Willow and Xander, in order to-" He didn't get any further before Buffy sprang forwards and clocked him with a formidable right hook, catching his chin. As he fell back, Buffy spoke softly and menacingly.

"You! You put my friends in danger! You brought countless numbers of those things to a town already overrun by demons, and let them run rampant? You lured them here, hurt people precious to me? Put an entire community at risk, and let all the responsibility of ending it safely fall to me?" She snarled. "Remind me why I'm not ending your pitiful existence right now!"

"Hah, well," Urahara began, climbing back to his feet. He seemed entirely unfazed by her violent outburst. "Technically, everything you're saying is true. It was all necessary. There is going to be worse thing to face, Buffy much worse. You and your friends must be ready." He picked up and dusted off his hat before placing it back on his head

Buffy threw her hands up in the air in exasperation. "What, then? What is the big bad I'm going to have to face this time?" She yelled.

"That's something you'll discover yourself in due time."

"Oh, for the love of god! You're worse than Angel used to be. 'Ooh, hi! There's a big evil thing coming that will try to kill you! Can't tell you anything else! Bye!'"

Urahara chuckled. "Angel, eh?" He muttered. Buffy frowned, but before she could ask he continued, "I understand your anger. I have something of a peace offering for you, I left it with your friend Willow. I believe you will find it very interesting."

"Why? What is it?"

His smile faded slightly. "Tell me, how much do you really know about your slayer powers, about your predecessors?"

Buffy eyed him suspiciously. "Well… there's the watchers journals.."

"Not much then. I thought so." He glanced upwards at the sky and his expression lightened. "Oh dear. It seems to be getting a bit late. Isn't it a school night?"


Urahara dissappeared soon after the confrontation. Buffy returned to the group, and saying goodnight to Rukia and Xander she went with Willow to her home and collected the mysterious package.

When she finally returned home it was late, about three in the morning. Both Rukia and Joyce were asleep upstairs, but Buffy couldn't bring herself to do the same until she knew exactly what was the gift she had just received. Switching on the lights, she went into the kitchen and sat down at the table and removed the paper and string. Inside was an ancient leather-bound book, thick with yellowed pages.

"Wonderful. Giles will be thrilled." She mumbled skeptically, but nonetheless she delicately prised the cover open, so as not to cause the book any further damage. The pages were crisp and dry as she flicked through and the ink was smudged, but mostly readable. She skimmed over a random paragraph, then found herself reading it over again and again to try and make sense of what she was seeing. After a while, she turned back the pages to the beginning, and began to read earnestly.

The first page had been artificially stuck into a book, and bore writing which appeared to be much more recent than the rest.

From the private collection of the Soul Society's Research and Development Institute. The following records, from prehistoric times, detail the first appearance of a slayer in the soul society.

Translation of the text is incomplete. Research into completing translation continues.

The final lines had the appearance of a researcher's private notes.

"The few events detailed in the translated sections are troubling at best. There are a few other records of similar events in later times, all of which describe catastrophic losses to the soul society. If there is a chance of future slayers finding their way in, research must be done into a way to stop them, as another repetition of what happened all those thousands of years ago could well spell the end of the soul society."