After New Years Day: 1999
Night
The Bronze
Standing above on the catwalk, Buffy looked down to the dance floor to see Faith, Willow, Xander, and the others dancing with smiles on their faces as they swayed their hips to the slow sensual rhythm.
Their carefree expressions didn't bother Buffy at all. It would only make the heartbreak and terror so much sweeter as she takes away their happiness.
"Think I slip the net
But I cut myself free
I'm not losing yet
So don't forget me
I'll say it, replay it and try tomorrow,"
Two hands appear from behind Buffy on her hips.
Buffy smirked as Angelus wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder. Kissing her neck, he followed her gaze over the rail of the catwalk to the Scoobies dancing.
Shifting Buffy's attention towards him, he gently turned her chin to look at him. For a moment they stared deeply into each other's eyes.
Without removing his eyes from hers, Angelus' hands travelled down to her thighs.
Buffy closed her eyes and laid her head back against him as Angelus pulled her skirt higher up her thighs.
Angelus' smile widened as she reached back and unzipped the front of his leather pants.
Holding one hand against the side of her face, Angelus lowered his mouth over hers and kissed his mate thoroughly, uncaring if any bystanders passed them on the deserted catwalk.
She released a heavy of pleasure as Angelus thrusted his cock inside her from behind.
They both gasp slightly, taking pleasure in each other.
Buffy opened her eyes and looked back down at the group dancing together on the floor.
Angelus held her face with one hand, Buffy took his hand and began to lick each finger. It only aroused Buffy further as she imagined what Faith's blood would taste like on her tongue.
Buffy's hand shot back, cupping the back of Angelus' head as he moved deeper inside her. His fingers tightened around Buffy's hips as he drew closer to pleasure. She tilted her head back and caught his mouth in a deep kiss. Their tongues passionate duelled for dominance.
Grinning at each other, Buffy turned her green eyes back to the Vampire Slayer and friends. She felt the thrill of pleasurable excitement.
Giles' Apartment
Across town, Buffy followed Faith home to Giles' Apartment.
Faith had been living in the Watcher's antique design apartment since her arrival from Boston two years before.
During her charade, Buffy had joined the Scoobies many times at the apartment for late night meetings.
Inside: Faith's Bedroom
Before going to sleep, Faith sat up in bed and stretched out her arms and twisted her back. She settled down under the covers and closed her eyes.
Sitting outside patiently until Faith fell into a deep slumber, Buffy waited in the shadowed darkness.
Slipping through the window, Buffy sat on the edge of the Slayer's bed and tenderly stroked her dark hair with her fingers.
Smiling softly at the sleeping teen, Buffy leaned forward, gently pressing her lips to Faith's forehead.
Morning
In the morning, Faith woke with a strange feeling in her gut.
She opened her eyes and tossed them around the room. There was nothing out of order. The alt-rock band posters were still on the wall, her clothes were still on the floor from when she carelessly threw them off and a stake still sat on the nightstand.
It was then Faith noticed something out of place.
She sat up in bed and picked up an elegant, old looking silver cross necklace sitting on the nightstand.
Her brows pinched together wondering who it was from when it suddenly dawned on her; Buffy.
Downstairs: Living Room
"She was in my room,"
Dressed for school, Faith sat on the edge of the couch as Giles was in the kitchen heating up a kettle of tea before leaving to go to school.
Giles appeared from behind the counter with a mug of tea in his hand. "Who?"
"Buffy," she frowned. "She was in my room last night."
"Are you sure?" Giles asked.
Faith nodded. "Yeah, when I woke up, I found this," she revealed the cross necklace that Buffy had left, "on the nightstand. Is there some sorta reversal invitation spell or somethin'? We can't keep letting her come in and out whenever she pleases. 'Cause one of these days, B's just gonna kill us in our sleep."
Giles nodded in agreement. "You're right. I'll look into it today."
Faith lowered her gaze to the necklace in her hand wondering just what was Buffy's plan.
Night
Magic Shop
Stalking each individual of the Slayer's inner circle has become a regular thing since Buffy had revealed her true self to the group.
Angelus had taken a keen interest in the high school computer science teacher. He knew of her kind. She carried a scent of Romanian, much like Dracula. He quit following the Watcher and decided to explore his hunch on the Romanian.
He had followed her to a magic shop.
With keen interest, Angelus entered the shop not long after Jenny's arrival. He hid himself in plain sight, keeping his back to her, pretending to examine the items on the shelves of a skull in a covered glass bowl, a small gong hung between two horns, a pig fetus in formaldehyde, what looks like a large crab also in formaldehyde and another jar.
Jenny stood at the main counter as the shopkeeper appeared.
"Welcome. How may I serve you today?" The shopkeeper asked with a thick Eastern accent.
"Uh…" Jenny had a strange sense of another presence following her. She glanced over her shoulder and spotted nothing out of the ordinary.
The shopkeeper asked with a curved smile. "Love potion? Perhaps a voodoo doll for that unfaithful—"
"—I need an Orb of Thesulah." Jenny interrupted with impatience.
Angelus' ears perked with interest.
The shopkeeper dropped the Eastern accent. "Oh, you're in the trade. Sorry about the spiel, but the tourists like it." He walked behind a curtain for the item Jenny wanted. "Sad fact is, Ouija boards and rabbits' feet, that's what pays the rent around here."
Jenny pursed her lips impatiently. She wanted to run back to the school and print out the spell then head to Giles to tell him about the restoration spell.
"There you go." He set down the orb and opened it for her. "One Thesulan Orb. Spirit vault for the rituals of the undead." Jenny opened the purse on her shoulder. "I don't get many calls for those lately." She took out her wallet. "Sold a couple as new age paperweights last year." Jenny handed him a debit card. "Yeah, I just love those new-agers, boy. They helped to send my youngest to college. By the way, you do know that the transliteration annals for the ritual of the undead were lost." The shopkeeper slid the receipt across the counter. "Without the annals, the surviving text is gibberish."
"And without a translated text, the Orb of Thesulah are pretty much useless." Jenny signed the receipt. "Yeah, I know," she smirked.
"Well, I only mention it because I have a strict policy of no refunds." The shopkeeper said.
"It's okay." Jenny examined the orb in her hands. "I'm working on a computer program to translate the Romanian liturgy to English based on a random sampling of the text."
Angelus smirked.
"Yikes. I don't like computers. They give me the willies."
Jenny put the orb in the box. "Well, thank you."
Curiously, the shopkeeper watched Jenny near the door when he said, "Not that it's any of my business, really, but, uh, what are you planning on conjuring up? If you can decipher the text?"
"A present for a friend of mine."
"Really?" The shopkeeper raised a brow, "What are you gonna give him?"
"Her soul," Jenny replied and walked out.
Angelus looked around the shelves to the computer science teacher. His expression darkened.
Night
Sunnydale High School: Computer Science Classroom
The computer software scanned over the Romanian text on a split screen. On the other side of the screen the text translated into English appeared.
Jenny released a deep breath and smiled, "That's it. It's gonna work." She saved the translation onto a floppy disk and clicked print.
Taking a moment to realise her accomplishment, Jenny ran a hand through her hair.
Standing up from the chair to collect the printed hard copy of the spell, when she noticed Buffy leaning against a desk at the back of the classroom.
"Buffy," Jenny yelped, startled to see the vampiress lurking in the shadows. "How'd you get in here?"
"I was invited." Buffy replied. "The sign out front, 'Formatia trans sicere educatorium'."
Jenny's face paled. "'Enter all ye who seek knowledge'."
"What can I say?" Buffy stood from the desk, she had been half leaning on. "I'm just thirsty for knowledge."
Frightened, Jenny kept her distance from the blonde vampire. "I-I-I've got news."
"I heard. You went shopping today." The vampire smiled. "Gee, I hope that Orb of Thesulah was on sale." She walked over to the orb sitting carelessly on a desk near Jenny and picked it up. "From what I'm told, this is supposed to summon a person's soul from the ether. Store it until it can be transferred." Buffy lifted her green eyes to Jenny. "Say, you wouldn't be thinking of restoring a particular soulless demon's soul, would ya? Gosh, I bet you are." The orb brightened into a soft yellow light in Buffy's hand. "It's too bad these things are so damn fragile." Buffy shattered the orb in her hand.
Jenny has backed into the wall and trembled with fear. She began to inch her way towards the door.
Buffy noticed a blinking on the computer screen. She reached over to the computer and turned the monitor so she could see it. Buffy examined it with a smile, knowing that this was the spell Angelus had told her about.
"It'll never stop surprising me how much the world has changed in three and a half centuries. One day we might be carrying little computers in our back pocket."
Jenny reached the door and tried to open it.
It's locked.
"So, you put the secrets to restoring my soul into here…" Buffy shoved the computer off Jenny's desk and onto the floor. The computer breaks, and the monitor shatters and sparks and starts to burn. Buffy tears the printout from the printer. "Seems like a foolish idea to do that when it can be so easily broken." Buffy eyed the printed papers in her hand. "'The Ritual of Restoration.' Wow. This is quite impressive, Ms Calendar." She tore the printout in half and fed the flames from the computer.
"Wait. That's your…"
"A cure for my wicked and wild ways? No, thanks." Buffy politely smiled. "But if this isn't this my lucky day... The computer… and the spell. Looks like I get to kill two birds with one stone."
Jenny rattles the doorknob to open.
Buffy turned her face back up at the computer science teacher wearing her demonic face just as Jenny finally got the door open. She ran out.
"Run, run, run." Buffy grinned and jumped to chase after her.
Sprinting through the English wing halls, Jenny crosses the lounge area and runs to another set of doors outside, but they are locked. She turns back into the lounge, sees Buffy sitting on the couch with one leg crossed over her knee.
Buffy flashes her fangs into a wide terrifying smile. "Boo!"
Jenny made a hard turn left and ran down the hallway to a set of unlocked doors which led outside into the courtyard.
Finally reaching the doors to the science wing, Jenny bursts through the door.
She looked over her shoulder and saw that Buffy was not far behind.
Jenny keeps running, checking behind her every so often. She reaches the next building and struggles with the door. She looks back and a wave of terror washed over her. Buffy wasn't anywhere behind her.
Slowly, Jenny turned to keep moving when she came face to face with Angelus. He also wore his vampire face and laughed at her surprise. With an evil grin on his face, Angelus watched as Jenny backed away from him.
Running quickly, Jenny yanked the door hard a few times before it opened, and she ran in.
Jenny pulls the door closed behind her and Angelus slammed into it.
Sprinting down the hallway, Angelus ripped open the door and chased after her.
A cleaning cart is in the hall by the stairs, and Jenny grabs it and pushes it into Angelus. He slams into it and flies over it and onto the floor while she rushes up the steps.
From the stairs from above. Jenny ran up and out of view. Angelus isn't on the floor below anymore.
He's nowhere to be seen.
Reaching the landing by a large arched window. Jenny ran up onto it and right into a waiting Angelus or Buffy, who seemed to have disappeared.
She whipped around straight into Buffy's grasp. Jenny screamed. Buffy chuckles.
"Shh-shh-shh..." Buffy soothingly whispered as she wrapped one hand around behind her head and touched her lips with the fingers of her free hand.
The view out of the window is of the park beyond with the palm trees lit up. A car drives by but the driver is oblivious to the evils in the high school.
"Sorry, Ms Calendar, this is where you get off." Buffy held her other hand under Jenny's chin.
In one swift movement Buffy twists Jenny's head and snaps her neck. Her body collapses to the floor. Buffy looks up and around, breathing heavily from the running and the excitement.
"Ah... I never get tired of watching you do that." Angelus said, leaning against the wall with his arms folded across his chest wearing a smile across his handsome face.
Buffy's face morphs back to her human disguise as she walks to him.
Circling her arms around his waist, Buffy rested her chin at the centre of his chest, looking up at him from under her long lashes.
Pushing her hair from her face, Angelus lowered his head and captured her mouth in a deep long kiss.
"Now, it's my turn." said Angelus, tenderly tucking a piece of Buffy's hair behind her ear then bent down, picking up Jenny's lifeless body from the floor.
Later: 3 Hours Until Sunrise
Giles' Apartment
The sky was beginning to lighten the time Giles returned back to his apartment he shared with his Slayer.
He took out his front door keys to open the door when he noticed a red rose. Listening closely, Giles heard music from inside. He knew Faith wouldn't be home, since she was staying over Willow's for the night.
He recognised the operatic song, 'La Boheme' by Puccini.
Giles inhaled the roses aroma and smiled gleefully knowing there was only one other person that had his set of keys; Jenny.
Opening the door, Giles stuck his head inside the apartment with boyish excitement. "Hello? Jenny?"
Entering the apartment, Giles closed the door behind him and placed the briefcase down.
"It's me!" He announced, still smiling.
Giles took his coat and hung it up.
Looking around again, he spots a chilled bottle of champagne and two long-stemmed glasses on his desk.
On top of the crystal ice bucket is a folded piece of paper leaning against the bottle. He sets down his keys and the rose and takes the note. He unfolds it. Written on the folded piece of paper with elegant feminine handwriting: Upstairs.
Smiling foolishly, Giles looked up toward the loft. He takes off his glasses and sets them and the paper down.
He runs his fingers through his hair, takes the bottle, looks at it, takes the two glasses and starts up the stairs.
There is a rose on each step.
When he reaches the top he is grinning. Rounding into the bedroom, Giles sees Jenny on the bed, but she isn't moving, and his smile quickly fades.
As he nears the bed, Giles begins to realise that her head and limbs are no longer attached to her body.
He drops the bottle and glasses, and it shatters on the floor.
He continued to look at Jenny's body.
Her dead eyes stare back at him.
Standing in the shadows outside the apartment, Buffy watched as Faith arrived and was immediately swarmed by police.
The dark haired Slayer pushed through police officers and immediately went to find Giles sitting on a bench staring blankly into space.
Faith wrapped an arm around him and slowly laid her head over his shoulder as silent tears streamed down her face.
Gloating, Buffy smiled triumphantly. She had successfully shaken Faith and her friends seemingly unshakeable exterior sense of will. Buffy also knew it was only a matter of time that Giles will be coming after her and Angelus for revenge.
20 Minutes Until Sunrise
Crawford Street Mansion: Main Room
"What you intended does not provide me any solace. What? Do you love him? Are you—you just want to sleep with him?" Dawson Leery hysterically asked with overwhelming emotion of anger and saddened confusion.
"No. How could you say that?" Joey Potter argued on the verge of tears.
Dawson threw up his arms in frustration, "It's what he's gonna expect."
"We're not together, Dawson, and we haven't been for a long time. Almost a whole year has—"
"—Are you punishing me?" Joey stared at her childhood best friend completely stunned, as if she was kicked into the stomach. "Because I didn't want to get back together with you?"
Joey frowned, "Why would you think I would—"
Buffy sat on the edge of the couch totally absorbed into the teen soap drama.
She glared at the television with annoyance at the main protagonist and scoffed in annoyance. "How can Dawson be so hurt by this? When Joey wanted to get back together, he said, no. But now that Joey has eyes for another—albeit a way better choice for her, Dawson is suddenly seeing red. That's bull. She is not something to possess. There is a difference between love and possessiveness."
She turned her head to Angelus. Disinterested, Angelus continued to read the book in his hands.
"Don't you care?" Buffy asked, annoyed that Angelus wasn't as invested into the show as she.
"Are you asking if I care about this melodramatic teen show you insist on watching every week?—No."
Rolling her eyes, Buffy turned her gaze back to the television. "He's only mad because she moved on. He doesn't wanna date her but he also doesn't want her to date anyone else. C'mon, Joey, be an advocate for yourself!" Buffy cheered on the fictional character.
Angelus shook his head.
She sat back on the couch in a huff and mumbled, "Ugh, she's gonna break up with Pacey, isn't she? Moron." Buffy suddenly turned off the television and tossed the remote onto the coffee table. "I can't watch this anymore. I'm too angry."
Angelus smirked and lifted his dark eyes from the pages.
The front doors burst open.
A Molotov cocktail swooshes in and bursts behind the couch where the vampires sat, setting it ablaze.
Buffy runs across at the end of the table and gets hit in the shoulder with a crossbow bolt. She grabs it to pull it out while looking to see who her attacker is.
Giles walks toward her with a baseball bat.
Buffy pulled the arrow out and threw it aside with an impatient scowl.
Giles put the end of the bat into the flames, and it caught on fire. He swung the bat hitting Buffy in the face, then again on the return swing.
Seeing Angelus coming in for an attack, Giles swung the bat at him, forcing him away.
Buffy caught her footing and glared at the Watcher. "Okay, that was rude. When did knocking become passé?"
She managed to dodge Giles' swinging bat.
Catching the bat in her hands, Buffy grinned at the Watcher. "So I take it, you liked the gift." She shoved Giles away and walked towards him.
She ducked under the bat and kicked him in the stomach.
Giles did not stay down for very long. He keeps up his attack, wielding the still burning bat over his head, but as he brings it down Buffy catches it, and they begin to struggle. She quickly gains the upper hand, and takes Giles by the throat, lifting him off of his feet. He drops the bat.
"The best part was the look in her eyes as I took her life. They were so wide and bright with life. Pleading." She caught Giles by his throat. "They say, you really know a person in their last moments 'cause that's when they show you who they really are." Buffy softly smiled taunting the Watcher. She looked straight into his green eyes. "Would you like to know what Jenny's really like?"
Giles struggled to free himself, raging with anger and hurt for his lover's death.
Buffy threw Giles away, watching him slam his back hard against the wall. "Okay, Giles, you've had your fun. But you know what it's time for now?"
"My fun." Faith appeared behind Buffy.
Buffy whirled around just as Faith's boot made contact with her face. Faith kicked Buffy in the face again as she tried to get up, and then lunged at her. Buffy manages to grab the Slayer and flip her over and tries to get away up the stairs.
Faith gets back to her feet fast with Giles' dropped baseball bat in hand and pushes it between the stair railings to trip Buffy up. She fell hard when Faith grabbed one of her ankles. Buffy kicked at the Slayer and knocked her away onto the floor.
She scrambles up the stairs.
Faith gets up quickly to see that Buffy had disappeared into the massively large mansion.
Faith looked down to see the flames getting higher and nearer to Giles. She ran back down to Giles and helped him up. He awakes as Faith supports him upright as they quickly make their way out of the mansion just as a swarm of vampires run into the living room with fire extinguishers.
Outside the mansion, the sun was rising on the horizon.
Faith and Giles both come out coughing from the smoke. Giles angrily shoved her away from him.
"Why did you come here?" He exclaimed. " This wasn't your fight!"
Faith punched him in the jaw, and he spins and falls to the pavement.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Faith falls to her knees beside him and wraps her arms tightly around the Watcher. Giles broke down into tears. "You can't leave me, Giles. You're all I got. I can't do this alone."
Song Used: "Never An Easy Way" by Morcheeba 1996
Episode Used: "The Longest Day" from Dawson's Creek 2000
