Xander sat across from the police officer with his face blank. "Mr. Harris." The officer did not shout, but her voice was sharp. Xander jumped. "Mr. Harris please pay attention."
Xander blinked. "I'm… sorry."
"I understand this must be difficult, but we need as much information as possible to find out exactly what happened. When was the last time you spoke to your parents?"
Xander stared into the distance. "I… don't remember."
"Can you ballpark it?"
"A few weeks, I think."
"Did you not get along with your parents?" The officer asked
"No! I mean y- I mean-" Xander looked at the officer with a panicked forlorn expression.
"Mr. Harris you're not a suspect." The officer didn't realize that this had never crossed Xander's mind. She didn't know that his head was filled with thoughts of how if he had been a better son maybe he could have prevented this. She didn't know he was playing scenarios where he called them or stopped by for a visit in his head over and over again. "Can you recall any incidents with your parents? Maybe an argument they had that seemed overblown?"
"That was every argument." Xander said
The officer scribbled something down. "And how often did these arguments take place?"
"Every day." Xander said
"I thought you hadn't seen your parents in a few weeks."
"They argued every day, at least twice a day, before I moved out. I don't have any reason to think they stopped." Xander blinked, appalled to feel tears forming. "Oh God."
"What is it Mr. Harris?"
"They're dead." The tears came, Xander was powerless to stop them.
…
Willow hoped Anya's interview would be over before Xander's because she wanted to give Anya strict directions on how to handle the situation. Giles frowned as the three of them stood in the lobby of the police station. "We don't have time for this." Giles said
"I'm sure the police will be done soon." Tara said
"We need Buffy to defend the Magic Box. Now that all but one rite is completed Rose will double her efforts to acquire the scroll." Giles shifted nervously.
"It'll be okay Mr. Giles." Tara said in an attempt at encouragement
Willow slipped her hand into Tara's and gave her lover a small smile. Tara squeezed Willow's hand and Willow felt her fear. Willow rested her head on Tara's shoulder, allowing the young woman's heartbeat to play in her ear. Anya came out. Giles approached her. "Are you all right Anya?" He couldn't read her expression. Anya stared at the ring on her finger.
Willow pulled away from Tara. "Anya?"
"How can you promise to love someone forever and then kill them?" Anya whispered
"It's possible Rose influenced Xander's father with magic as she did Faith." Giles said
Anya looked up and gave Giles an angry glare. "Xander would never hurt me. No matter what spells or curses he was under he would never do anything to hurt me."
"Of course not Anya." Willow said "We know that."
"They took vows. They promised to love each other forever. What happened?"
"Sometimes," Tara spoke in a timid voice. "You think you know a person and how they feel about you, but you don't really. You and Xander aren't like that. He really does love you."
That was when they saw him come out. Willow started toward Xander. But Anya ran past Willow to throw her arms around her fiancé. Xander buried his face in her bosom and wept in the way people weep in private. Willow felt guilty for seeing it. Anya, so well-known for always saying exactly what she was thinking, did not say a word. She just held him.
…
Wesley stared into the distance. The fang gang sans Angel was at the Magic Box waiting for the vampire to be released from police custody. Dawn and Liyanna were also there but no one was really talking. Fred noticed Wesley's contemplation. "What are you thinking?"
Wesley was jolted from his thoughts by her voice. "Where is she going?"
"What do you mean?" Cordelia asked
"Rose is a human foe. Where is she sleeping? How is she getting food?"
"Why's it matter?" Gunn asked
"Because we can find this place and give her a sound beating." Faith realized
"You will not be able to track her." Liyanna said scornfully
"Nobody asked you." Cordelia said
"I bet she's somewhere in England." Wesley said
"How do you know?" Fred asked
"I think she's watching the chaos. She's watching the effects of what she did."
Cordelia understood. "It's not enough for her, just to kill them."
"But she can teleport." Fred said "If we find her she'll just go somewhere on the other side of the world. Is it really worth pursuing her if she'll always be so far ahead of us?"
"I don't think she'll leave. If I'm right, if she's in England, she's going to keep coming back to look at her handiwork. I think we should go there. I think we'll find her."
"And do what?" Liyanna asked "Kill her?"
"I like that plan." Cordelia said
Only Fred noticed the unsettled look on Wesley's face when Cordelia said that.
…
"If we have any more questions we'll contact you." Angel nodded at the officer and then he got to his feet. Angel walked out of the room and saw Buffy exiting another. He wasn't sure which one of them made the decision to embrace each other. Angel held onto Buffy until he could no longer bare the intoxicating scent of her hair. He pulled away and upon seeing the tears spilling from her eyes he gently brushed them away. Angel smoothed back Buffy's hair.
"We end this." Buffy said in a voice of steel
"Yes." Angel promised
…
Anya had taken Xander home, but the rest of the group assembled in the Magic Box, including Ethan who Buffy had went home and picked up. Wesley laid out his plan. "I think most of us should stay here and defend the scroll. As long as that is safe Rose can't do the final rite and activate the spell. We don't know what that rite is, only someone who has completed the first two rites can see the directions for the third rite. To stop Rose we have to find and incapacitate her. I think she's in England watching the effects of her wish and a small group of us should go there and find her. Then we can either imprison her or…" Wesley couldn't finish.
"I think we're past prison." Buffy said "She committed mass murder."
"I'll go with you." Liyanna said
They all looked at the former vengeance demon in shock. "What?" Buffy asked
"I can help you find her. And I too want to see the chaos of the council's demise."
Giles glared at Liyanna. "You killed several friends of mine. We're not going to let you go to the scene of your crime and gloat. You would take pleasure in the havoc you caused."
"Actually," Wesley said "That's probably why we should take her. Liyanna and Rose are similar in many ways. Liyanna can give us insight into Rose's thoughts."
"Are you forgetting what this bitch did to you?" Cordelia asked
"Our priority is finding Rose." Wesley said "Until we do nothing else matters."
"I'm going too." Faith said
"You'll need me, won't you?" Willow asked
"Yes." Wesley said "We will. You defeated Rose once, you may need to again."
"Then I'm going too." Tara said
"N-" Willow began
"You need me." Tara said "I won't let you slip into the dark."
Willow smiled and embraced Tara. "Thank you."
"Are you going?" Fred asked Wesley
"Yes, I know a few places we can check out first."
"Then I'm going too." Fred said
Wesley smiled at Fred. "I suppose it would be useless to argue with you."
"Very." Fred said
"Ethan will go as well." Giles said "He lived with Rose for a time. He could be useful."
"Wait a bloody minute Ripper. I-" Ethan began
"I'll go as well to keep an eye on him." Giles continued
"The rest of my team and I will stay here to help protect the scroll." Angel said "If you want us to that is." Angel looked at Buffy, asking for her permission.
"We'll need you." Buffy said
"I'll arrange the flight." Giles said
…
Anya sat on the edge of their bed while Xander lay flat on his back staring up at the fan going round and round. It was starting to make him queasy. "They hated each other."
Anya brushed her fingers over Xander's cheek. "I am sorry."
"I wonder if they ever loved each other."
"I do not know." Anya wanted to help, but she felt so powerless, so clueless.
"What if they did?" Xander sat up and stared at Anya. "What if they once loved each other as much as I love you and you love me?" Xander took Anya's hand and brought the back of it up to his lips. His kissed her hand with enough to force to leave a red mark.
"What are you saying?" Anya asked
Xander touched the ring he'd given Anya. "I love you so much."
"I love you." Anya said with the kind of open sincerity that terrified some people
"I can't marry you." Xander said
Anya yanked her hand from his grip. "What?"
"I love you Anya. The idea that I could ever hurt you… My mother wouldn't have married my father if she thought something like this could ever happen to her. She never intended to trap herself in a loveless marriage. I can't let that happen to you."
"But I do love you." Anya leaned forward and tried to kiss Xander passionately.
Xander gently gripped Anya's shoulders and prevented her from reaching his lips with her own. "You love me today. But who's to say ten years from now I won't be a surely bastard that nobody could ever love? If I ever become… my father-"
"You're not your father!" Anya insisted
"I'm so sorry." Xander said
Anya wanted nothing more than to storm from the room. She wanted to slam the door or break something. But she looked in Xander's eyes and saw the raw pain there. He really was afraid that he would hurt her. Anya felt her heart breaking. "Let go." She spoke softly and Xander had released her shoulders before she even finished speaking. "Close your eyes." Xander was confused, but after a moment he obeyed. Anya brushed some hair away from his face. "I love you Xander Harris." She gently pressed her lips to his. "Whether you marry me or not I'm going to spend the rest of my life with you. Because I know what kind of man you are."
Anya felt Xander's warm tears on her face. "Anya,"
Anya kissed him some more. "Yes?"
"Will you stay with me? I know you need to go to work, but-"
"I'll stay. I'll be here as long as you need me." Even as love for Xander overwhelmed her heart, hate for the woman who had done this to him flared in her breast. Each emotion fueled the other and the desire for vengeance grew in her. Something took notice of this.
…
Cordelia and Gunn were talking in the training room so as not to be overheard by anyone else at the Magic Box preparing for Wesley's plan. "I've got a bad feeling." Cordy said
"Is it like a seer thing?" Gunn asked
Cordy shook her head. "No, at least I don't think so."
"What's wrong?" Gunn put his arms around Cordelia's waist. Cordelia tried to ignore the way their chests were pressed together and how she liked it. "Tell me what you're thinking."
"I think she'll hurt him. Even if they find her and stop her, I think she'll find a way to hurt him anyway. I want to protect him. I want to keep him safe from whatever is over there."
Gunn pressed his lips to Cordy's brow. "Me too, but he has to do this."
"Why?" Cordelia asked "Why does it have to be him?"
"This is what we do Cordelia." Gunn slipped his hands under her shirt and ran his fingers up and down her spine. Cordelia shivered. "We fight bad people, dangerous people."
"Why didn't the powers show me Xander's parents?" Cordelia asked "Why didn't they give us a chance to stop it? What if something is going to happen to Wes and we can stop it but the powers don't show me? I'm afraid for him." Cordelia leaned her head against Gunn's chest.
Gunn removed his hands from Cordelia's back and gripped her shoulders. He held her at arm's length. "He is going to be fine. We'll protect the scroll, they'll stop Rose, and soon this will all be over. We'll go back to the Hyperion and fight regular demons." Gunn said
Cordelia snorted laughter. "Just your garden variety beasts and monsters."
"How lame is it that I'm looking forward to chopping up some slime demons?"
"So lame." Cordelia kissed Gunn. "So very," Her moist lips pressed heat into him and Gunn felt his blood ignite. "Very," Her tongue tasted his teeth. "Very," Gunn felt himself pressed against the wall while Cordy explored his mouth. "Lame," There were no more words.
…
Wesley picked up a suitcase but was stilled as he straightened by a hand that grabbed the same handle he had. Wesley locked eyes with Angel. "What is it?" The Englishman asked
"Be careful, okay?"
"All right." Wesley said
"I'm serious."
"I didn't think you weren't." Wesley said
"Wes,"
Wesley gave Angel an uncomprehending look. "What?"
"With everything that's going on we really haven't had a chance to talk."
"What did you want to talk about?" Wesley asked
"I just want to make sure you're okay." Angel paused. "I'm sorry about your dad."
"Me too." Wesley looked at the ground. "I just wish I knew why though."
"We don't get to choose who we love." Angel said
"Yeah," Wesley tugged at the suitcase and Angel let go. "I guess that's true."
Before Angel could respond Cordelia and Gunn exited the training room and walked over to say their goodbyes. Angel backed away and found himself facing Fred. He smiled at the young woman he had saved. Although he wasn't in love with her he did love her. She smiled back at him. They hugged. "Look after him." Angel whispered into Fred's ear
"I will."
Angel saw Giles speaking in a low tone to Buffy and Dawn with a hand on each of their shoulders while they stood in rapt attention. Angel saw Willow and Tara switching out which spell books they were taking. Tara was running her fingers through Willow's hair without even seeming to be aware of it. Faith was taking bags out to the car. Ethan and Liyanna were both seated far away from anyone, neither looked happy about their circumstances. Wesley was still talking to Cordelia and Gunn. Angel let go of Fred. "And yourself. I want a promise."
Fred smiled at him. "I promise."
Giles spoke up from where he was standing. "Is everybody ready?"
Fred squeezed Angel's hand. "Yeah," She picked up her bag and started toward the door.
Angel saw Wesley turn to look at him. The vampire waved and was treated to a very small smile. Wesley waved back and then hugged Cordelia. He bumped fists with Gunn and then the Englishman was out the door. The room seemed much bigger when it contained only Angel, Buffy, Cordelia, Gunn, and Dawn. "We should take shifts." Buffy said suddenly
"Yeah," Angel said "You should take Dawn home and get some rest. Gunn, Cordy, and I can look after the shop. We'll call you when we need a break and we can switch."
Buffy nodded. "Right."
…
Liyanna sat next to the slayer. She wasn't happy about the seating arrangement, but there wasn't really anybody she wanted to sit next to. It was either the slayer or Ethan and Liyanna wanted to sit next to him even less. Faith picked up the SkyMall catalogue and pretended to flip through it. Liyanna looked over the slayer through the window. "I wish you could understand."
"Understand what?" Faith didn't sound very interested.
"The vengeance I took was earned."
Faith looked up. "I've killed people. I've done bad things. So maybe you can see why seeing as how I got a second chance I don't exactly condone executing people for their crimes."
"But what you did wasn't your fault. It was theirs."
Faith shook her head. "I made my choices. The council never asked me to kill the deputy mayor or that professor. They didn't ask me to torture Wesley. Look Liyanna this is a long fl-"
"That's not my name."
Faith sighed. "What is it?"
"When I was human I was Laura Ann. Now I'm human again. So that's my name."
"Fine, Laura then, this is a long flight. I don't want to spend the whole thing-"
"Do you have the dreams? Do you see the lives of past slayers?"
Faith frowned, remembering the dream she'd had at the Hyperion. "Yes."
"Did you ever dream of the one I loved?"
"I don't know." Faith said "What was her name?"
"Yafita, it means savior."
Despite herself Faith felt pity for this woman stirring within her. "How did she die?"
…
On her hands and knees Martha Wyndham-Pryce scrubbed the bloody carpet in her husband's office. She wore rubber gloves and a cleaning apron, both of which were now tinged pink by the blood of the man she'd shared a bed with for decades. But her face betrayed no emotion and in truth there was little to betray. "Oh I think I like you." Martha jolted and then turned around to see a young woman in the hall. "Hello, I'm Rose. I'm a friend of Wesley's."
Martha got to her feet, still holding the brush she'd been using. "The front door is always kept locked. How did you get in here? What are you doing here?" A sudsy pink drop of water dripped from Martha's brush. Rose grinned at the sight and Martha stepped back.
"I'm here to get something." Rose said
"There's nothing for you here." Martha said
"I could say the same to you. Why did you stay here with him?"
"You need to leave."
Rose stepped forward and grabbed Martha by the throat. Rose pinned the woman to the wall and looked at her with burning eyes. "What a lucky little boy you had."
"Let go of me." Martha demanded
"Oh this isn't the worst you've ever had. How many times did he bruise you? How many drops of blood were yanked out of you? Is that why it doesn't bother you? Is that why you can go up to your elbows in a human's life fluid? Blood means nothing to you. You don't care about the spilling of it or the sharing of it. Did you ever love that thing you brought into the world?"
"What do you want from me?" Martha demanded
"I want you to shut up so I can get what I came here for."
Martha nodded and then Rose let her go. Rose walked over to Roger's desk and began to open drawers. Martha stood still. Rose shoved the desk and it toppled over. A glass orb that had been sitting on it shattered. Rose removed panels from the desk and then when she had almost completely dismantled it she moved onto the bookcase. Rose pulled out books and smashed shelves while Martha watched her. "Are you really a friend of my son's?"
Rose knelt to the ground and put her hand against the wall that was now exposed since she had destroyed the case that used to stand in front of it. Smoke rose from her hand and soon a hole was burned in the wall. Rose reached in and pulled out a wooden box. "Not really."
"What is that?" Martha asked
Rose opened the box and revealed hundreds of small topaz-colored spheres. Rose ran her fingers over the delicate mystic devices. Each sphere had a brown symbol on it and looked very breakable which was probably why they were packed in cotton. "Damnation,"
"Are you going to do something to my son?" Martha asked
"Yes," Rose closed the box. "I am." Rose stood up and then picked up the box.
"Something bad?"
"Something awful, does that bother you?"
Martha looked down at the stain on the ground. "I was kind of disappointed when he called me. I thought he was dead too. But he's not. Are you going to kill him?"
"Not I." Rose said "But he will die."
"You should kill him. That'd be kinder than drawing it out."
"I'm not kind." Rose disappeared as soon as she had spoken.
Martha stood still for a moment and then got back on her knees and returned to scrubbing the blood out of the carpet. Her face betrayed no emotion. There was not much to betray.
…
Faith listened to Laura's story. It began in India. The last slayer had died and Laura's father, who she refused to memorialize by giving him a name, had been assigned as watcher to the newest one to be called. The young woman was of Indian nationality and Muslim faith and Laura had met her as she entered Laura's father's office with an expression one would not normally find on the face of a member of a subjugated people. Laura's father had told Yafita of her sacred duty and that he was her watcher and she must obey him. Yafita had gazed at him all the while in polite disinterest. She wore confidence in every part of her. She stood like a queen and she smiled like someone who knew a secret. As Laura's father had escorted Yafita out the young woman had caught sight of Laura. Yafita's expression became interested for the first time since she had arrived. Yafita took in all the parts of Laura. The sun-darkened skin her father mocked her for. The muddy green eyes always aimed at the floor. The long dark hair that was always too greasy. Laura felt warm when she was under Yafita's gaze. "She was so beautiful, but she looked at me like I was worth looking at. She looked at me like I was equal to her."
Faith thought of Buffy. Faith remembered a time when getting a look like that from Buffy would have meant everything to her. "Did she love you the way you loved her?"
"She would sneak into my room at night. We would both lie on my bed and she would read to me from the Quran. Then in those later nights after she put the book away instead of going back home she would whisper in my ear. Her lips touched my skin. We would be together and I felt at peace as I never had before. She taught me to be myself, not a puppet or a doll."
"I'm sorry." Faith was shocked to find she was.
"She was killed by vampires. My father brought her body back home with him and cut her head off to prevent her from rising again. Then he burnt it. I screamed at him and cursed his name for killing her. I told him he had killed the woman I loved. He told me I was filled with sin and had to be cleansed." Faith shivered. "He took mother's iron, hot from the fire, he pressed it against my face. My screams were not from pain, they were from rage. Rage lives in my breast and I shall never evict it. Hate will live in my heart until it no longer beats. I am vengeance."
Faith was quiet for a long time. "Wait, do vengeance demons have hearts?"
Laura glared at the slayer. "That's what you took away from that story?"
Faith sighed. "I am sorry for what happened to you. But that doesn't justify what you did to innocent people. Bad things have happened to me. But you don't have to choose to be what was done to you. You don't have to let it make you. If you do that then he wins."
Laura looked like she wanted to slap Faith, but she knew better than to draw the attention of the air marshal. "You speak as though we fought over my soul. My soul meant nothing to the man who fathered me. I was only ever a thing to him. He would not care that I became a demon and he would not care if I did anything good with my life. Do you think Rose's father cared what he turned his daughter into? Not until she killed him I can assure you. He didn't want to make her into what he did. He didn't want to make her something good. He just wanted a young warm body to use. These people don't win. They just exist. They are a pox the world suffers from."
Faith looked down at her hands. "You went too far. You targeted the innocent."
Laura shrugged. "The line must end. Besides, he wanted to die."
Faith cringed. "Do you think she would still love what you've become?"
"It doesn't matter." Laura said "She's dead."
…
Spike stood in front of Buffy's house. He sighed. He was a bloody fool. Spike turned to go and saw the witch he had fought with in the Magic Box. "Hey! You're that bint who-!"
She held up a finger and for some reason, maybe the heat coming off of her in waves or the sickness in her eyes, he fell silent. She sang quietly. "Old men, young men, take 'em as they come. Harbor rats and alley cats and every kind of scum. Poor men, rich men, leaders of the land. See them with their trousers off they're never quite as grand. All it takes is money in your hand!" Rose got in Spike's face. "Lovely ladies, but not yours. Your ladies are going to be just fine my delightful monster. So I suggest you find them and ingratiate yourself with them, because soon the slayer will be a husk. She'll be good for a drink and very little else. I hear your ladies are in the city of angels. I might have told them a certain self-proclaimed champion was missing from his city and now would be a great time to wreak it. Want to go play?"
"This is about that spell." Spike recalled the reason for the Magic Box fight.
"It's coming vampire. Kill and eat."
"I can't. I've got this bloody chip-"
Rose shoved the heel of her hand into Spike's forehead. Spike stumbled and then fell onto the asphalt. "What the hell?" Spike got to his feet and snarled at Rose.
"Go kill things. Or don't. Whatever." Rose disappeared.
Spike stared at the slayer's house.