Leaves of Grass

Here is the next chapter of Leaves of Grass. This is longest and most involved chapter to date and I hope the wait is well worth it for those following my story. Thanks to all those providing great comments and suggestions! I really do try to see if I can implement them in my story but this one is far enough along that I have a pretty good idea of how the story will pan out. I had finished this chapter last night and I am pretty proud of it. After sitting down to write the story kinda took control of me and wouldn't let me go until it was finished. Here you go, I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

And whence and why came you?

We know not whence, (was the answer,)

We only know that we drift here with the rest,

That we linger'd and lagg'd-but were wafted at last, and are now

here,

To make the passing shower's concluding drops.

W.W 1891-2

"Damn!" Adam says as he reads the latest police reports and sees that there was another murder last night. He had Faith and Xander staking out the places where he thought people would be in abundance but they had come up empty handed. Knowing the preciseness off the prophecy he knew that they had missed their opportunity that night. The report only confirmed his suspicions.

"Damn!" They had failed in saving the life of the girl that had died last night but they still had one more chance. So far their search for information on the awakening was turning up unfruitful. Instead of finding new information they kept finding the same information over and over again. The process was starting to get tedious and was starting to weigh heavily on all of them. The more they researched the more they came up with dead ends. Every dead end meant that one person was that much closer to finding death. Now someone was dead. Adam growled with frustration. What was it that they were missing?

Throwing the papers away from him in disgust he leans back into his seat. Cassandra walks into the room and puts a comforting arm around him. He sighs and leans into her. "What am I doing wrong? How could we miss this chance!"

Cassandra leans into Methos. "Don't beat yourself up over this. You've already spent most of your life doing that. This is no different than the other times. There was simply nothing you. Even though you are five thousand years old it still doesn't mean that you can be in two places at once."

"Yes I suppose you're right. I really can't be…" Adam sits up suddenly causing Cassandra to fall into the chair behind him. Standing up he turns around and helps her stand up. "Two places at once! You my dear are a genius!" He says and proceeds to give her a deep kiss. He suddenly pulls away and makes a run towards the den where the computer sits.

Cassandra sits back into the chair and sighs. No matter how much she thought she knew Methos there were always going to be parts of him that she would never understand. Shaking her head she chuckles to herself. Getting up she walks after Methos to see what epiphany hit him this time.

Adam was busily typing away at the keyboard when Cassandra enters the room. Pulling a chair up beside him she asks, "So what did you figure out?"

Adam doesn't even look away from the keyboard as he explains to her, "Well from reading the autopsy reports from both murders I saw that both girls died at about twelve-thirty in the morning give or take a few minutes. Now I had Xander and Faith hang out around the areas with heavy concentrations of people at the at that time, easy to find targets that way you see." He continues to type away at the keyboard until he apparently finds what he is looking for. "Ha! There!" He taps on the screen pointing at a single line in particular. "Look right there! When you said I couldn't be at two places at once I realized that neither could the murderer. But we were assuming that that there was only one murderer."

"But there isn't. If he has accomplices they would be able to…"

"Be in two places at the same time!" Adam finishes her sentence for her. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?"

"Not recently or nearly enough, but to the point what have you found here?"

"When I realized that there might be more than one of them out there I decided to see if there were any reported incidents last night that coincided with the time of the murder. After searching around for a bit I found that there were quite a few reports that spanned between the times of twelve-ten and twelve-forty-five."

"How does that help you though?" Cassandra asks waiting for the wheels in Methos' brain to get to their destination.

"One of them is a mugging reported here by a woman who matches the description of the two dead girls, reported twelve-thirty-five! The interesting part is the woman claims to have lost consciousness but reports that nothing had been taken. "

"So you have a possible connection."

"Right. Let me pull up a map. Here is where the first murder victim was found," he says pointing at the screen. "Here is where the latest victim was found," he says pointing to another portion of the screen. "And here is where the mugging took place, across town from where the murder took place."

"How can you be sure that it wasn't a botched mugging?"

"Call it a hunch. A woman is mugged, she passes out but nothing is taken and aside from a few bruises she is fine. Strange? I think so. Also the police went over the area she claims to have been mugged and found that there was a large amount of blood spilled and a knife was found on the premise."

"So either the man accidentally stabbed himself or…"

"Or he was stopped. But by who?"

"I'm guessing by some of Xander's old friends."

"Think we should give him a call?" Cassandra asks.

"No, let them rest. I had them stay up pretty late last night looking for our murderer. We don't have to start work until ten today anyway so we should be ok."

A few miles away Xander and Faith are not asleep. They are in the basement of their house stretching and going through their warm-ups, much like Xander's house this house had a basement converted into a rec room. Xander and Faith had gotten into the habit of working out and training in the mornings when they were not training with Adam or Cassandra. After properly stretching both Faith and Xander walk to the center of the room. Turning to each other they bow slightly. They stand next to each other both taking a relaxed stance. Feet shoulder length apart and head slightly bowed chest rising and falling in controlled precise breaths. They begin their movements slowly as if they are submerged in water. Hands slowly and gently rising outstretched to shoulder level and then falling back down slowly through the invisible fluid slowing their movements.

When Xander recommended that Faith learn T'ai Chi she was skeptical at first. She had learned many forms of fighting while training as a slayer but they were all combative. T'ai Chi was as non-combative as martial arts could get. But as always Xander was able to convince her otherwise. He had told her, "Life isn't always about fighting Faith. You don't always have to be at war with the world around you. T'ai Chi will help you harmonize with it instead."

He was right. It had taken her a few days of watching and mirroring for her to learn all of the movements but now in the midst of the slow gentle and graceful movements she truly felt at peace with herself. She felt at peace with the world around her. She felt peace at peace with the person beside her. She knew even now without looking that their breathing were matched just as their movements' mirror each other. She was acutely aware of him. It was almost as if she could feel him, feel his presence. Never before had she ever experienced such clarity.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Slow breaths. Slow controlled movements. Weight shifting from foot to foot never completely distributed between the two. Hands, arms and legs moving in unison. Focus. Focus on the self, focus on all that surrounds her. Faith had never really ever felt this kind of peace or clarity before doing anything. She always had a purpose but she never felt at peace. But when she was with Xander she felt at peace. He didn't compare her to Buffy and he never forced any issues about her past. He accepted her for who she was and he didn't set a bar for her but allowed her to set one for herself. He accepted her no questions asked, and that's what she loved about him.

That thought nearly broke her concentration mid-stride. She knew that Xander was as aware of her as she was aware of him. If she stopped or faltered at all he would notice. If he noticed he would stop to ask what was wrong and that was something she didn't need to answer right now.

Love? She thinks as she continues to mirror Xander's movements. Love is a word so alien to her that she can scarcely believe that it exists at all. She has never truly loved anyone before. Was she in love with Xander? She glances at the man standing next to her. His eyes are closed and his face is peaceful. Love? He is the best friend she ever had. She cared for him yes. She would be at his side if he asked her to be there. She would give her life to save his in a heartbeat.

All that she could feel was her breathing and the light thumping of her heart. And it was in that microcosm that she realized something and she realized it with startling clarity. Thump, thump. She. Thump, thump. Loved. Thump, thump. Xander. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Thump, thump. Her heart beat at an even pace as the thought flit across her mind. A slight chill filled her body as she recognized the thought and a feeling of elation and happiness quickly warmed her. She loved Xander. There was no question about it, she was in love with the man.

Opening her eyes she looks at his form once more, wondering. She loved Xander but did Xander return her feelings? Could it be possible that Xander loved her as well? How could she tell? What could she do? The old Faith would have grabbed him by the neck thrown him on the ground and screw him into the ground. The old Faith would have taken him and built their relationship entirely on sex and physical contact. The old Faith doesn't exist anymore she told herself. The Faith that remains wants a relationship that actually means something. She wants a relationship based on feeling and emotion not sex. The person that she is now is willing to wait and let things run their natural course. She and Xander were spending a lot of time together and if there is something there it would grow naturally. She would have to wait.

Those final thoughts brought their exercise to an end. Opening her eyes she sees Xander handing her a water bottle. Taking it and opening it she takes a few long sips of water.

"You want to spar?" Xander asks her.

"You feel up to it?" She replies.

"What an miss getting hot and sweaty with a beautiful woman?" He says with a grin. "And then roll around on the mats here while I place my hands on her anatomy? How could I possibly say no to that?"

"I guess you couldn't could you?" Faith says.

"I could never say no to you." Xander answers looking right at her. He quickly adds, "So are you ready or what?"

"I'm ready Xander." She says walking right up to him and leaning into his face with hers. "And one more thing." She says in a low voice.

Leaning in closer to hear what she has to say he says, "What's that?"

Faith grabs the front of his shirt and puts her leg into his instep. Twisting slightly and pivoting over her hip she takes Xander and slams him forcefully to the ground knocking the air out of his lungs temporarily.

"I think that you need help getting off of the floor."

"No thanks I can manage." He says bringing his arms between hers and between the two of them. Pushing out so that her arms slide off of him her chest presses into his when she falls on him and they are face to face once more. "Besides I think I can really get used to this."

Rolling off of him Faith gets to her feet. Xander does the same. Faith comes up in a horse stance. Xander comes up with a tiger stance. They look at each other and grin. As they begin to spar Faith returns to the thoughts that came to her earlier. She would wait for him and she would wait to see what time would reveal. Blocking a punch and jumping over a sweep she smiles. She had fallen in love. It was so fast and so quiet she didn't even realize it.

After showering Faith and Xander are back in the kitchen eating breakfast. For Faith it is some tea, a bowl of fruit and toast. For Xander it is a cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin.

"When do you have to get into the office?" Faith asks him.

"Ten o'clock." He replies. "It's what eight right now?"

"Eight-fifteen." She replies. "I was wondering if we could go somewhere before you go to work."

"Where do you want to go?"

"I want to visit the past." Seeing his questioning look she adds, "You'll see."

The smell of damp grass fills the air. The morning sun casts shadow upon shadow onto their path. Faith is leading him along a path in one of Sunnydale's many cemeteries. Looking around he feels a kind of familiarity. Walking through the cemetery brings back memories of patrol, talking to Willow and Buffy. It reminds him when the group had to function without a slayer for a summer and he would frequent the cemeteries by his house every night.

His house. Looking around he was able to find a few landmarks that remind him which cemetery they are walking through. They weren't that far from his parent's old house. The house he left behind that fateful day. But there was something else, something that clawed at his mind trying to get to the surface but he couldn't place the feeling. He was about to ask Faith why she had brought him here when they stop suddenly.

"Faith? You said you wanted to visit the past, why are we here?" He asks her.

"I wanted to tell you that they haven't forgotten about you." Faith says quietly.

"Who?"

"Them." She says as she points to a particular grave stone. Confused he looks at the stone and realizes that it is his.

Alexander L. Harris

Friend, Protector,

Hero

His stone is clean. The letters on the stone are still clear. There is no date. He figures that it was Giles idea. The thing that surprises him the most is that there are flowers at the foot of the stone.

"They all visit at least once a week. Willow even talks to you." She says.

"How do you know?" He asks her.

"I came here two days ago. As I was leaving I saw Buffy her mom and Giles come over the path. They stopped at your grave for a little while and placed those flowers on your grave." She explains.

"And Willow?"

"When I first woke up from my coma I was trying to find someone that I could turn to. I took a shortcut through this cemetery to get to your house when I saw her sitting next to your grave. I hid behind that mausoleum." She says pointing to the building not far from his grave. "I heard her talking to you about her day and stuff like that."

"Why did you want me to see this?"

"You seemed distracted ever since we got here. I figured you were wondering about your friends. I knew you wanted to go out and talk to them but…" Her sentence hangs in the air for a second. "I just thought you would like to know that they still think about you Xander."

Xander stands there for a second and looks at his grave. His friends after all this time and even through his apparent death still thought of him, still loved him. Walking over to Faith he wraps his arms around her and holds her body close to his. With his mouth close to her ear he whispers to her, "Thank you."

Faith answers her head under his chin. "You're welcome."

"I'm glad we found each other in that alley Faith. You know what I mean?"

Looking into his eyes and smiling she says to him, "Yes, I think I do." She leans in closer and kisses him lightly on the cheek. The kiss speaks of tenderness, affection and friendship. The meaning in the kiss is not lost on the recipient.

"Faith, I…" his sentence is cut short by Faith who gestures behind him. Coming over the hill are Giles, Buffy and her mother Joyce. Their car was just around the corner but between them and the car was the trio approaching them. "Damn." He mutters under his breath.

"What should we do?" Faith asks worriedly. "I was able to fool Buffy and Willow yesterday but I'm not sure about Giles or her mom."

"We'll have to wing it." He says casually.

"Wing it!" She whispers sharply to him. "What do you mean wing it!"

"Just wing it! If they don't talk to us we're cool but if they do just make some story up ok?" He whispers back. Offering his arm to her they both start to walk up the path towards the car. As they walk they draw nearer and nearer to Buffy and the two adults. The masks of Harry and Amanda now replace Xander and Faith and they hope that none of the three would recognize them. They were only a few yards apart from each other and still no sign of recognition. As they draw nearer they are able to hear Buffy explain to the other two adults how unreasonable it was for her to take Calculus in college. Had it been another couple walking by they would have assumed that they were a normal family but Xander and Faith know better.

"So you see there is no real reason for me to take Calc. Don't you think it's unfair to ask non-engineering majors to take this kind of math?" Buffy says to the two.

"Well I can see your point but the fact of the matter is that you need the course for a well rounded education."

"I agree with Mr. Giles Buffy. You still need to take the class."

"All I am saying is that Calc is evil. I will never ever have to triangulate the trajectory of a stake as it flies through the air will I?" Seeing a blank look from her watcher she adds, "I thought so."

Turning to face the path she sees two other figures walking in the opposite direction, one of which she recognizes immediately.

After seeing the look on Buffy's face Xander thinks that their cover is blown and that he would have to tell them the truth about his immortality. He is about to say something when he hears the words coming out of Buffy's mouth. "Amanda!"

Looking down at Faith she is smiling widely with acknowledgement at Buffy. Then it hits him, he isn't supposed to know Buffy. Buffy hasn't even met Harrison Pierce.

"Buffy right?" Amanda says walking up to greet the other woman.

"Yes I'm glad you remembered."

"Of course how could I forget? Not many people go around this town accusing me of being someone else." Xander's heart nearly jumps out of his throat when he hears Faith say those words. But Faith is smiling the whole time.

Buffy blushes slightly at the comment. She really didn't recognize them. "I'm sorry about that. How are you?"

"I'm doing fine. Oh where are my manners? Buffy this is Harry my husband." She introduces Xander.

"Hi, nice to meet you." Buffy says.

"Likewise." He replies. "So you are the young woman that accosted my wife the other day?"

The red hue in Buffy's cheeks go up a few notches. Faith cuts in, "Harry!"

"Just kidding Buffy. I hope you're not offended?"

"I'm ok. Just a little embarrassed is all."

Faith quickly changes the subject. "Are these your parents?" she says looking past the young woman.

Xander almost laughs out loud when he sees the slight blush Giles and Mrs. Summers share when Faith mentions them as Buffy's parents. It seems to Xander that Giles and Mrs. Summers have been sharing more than the responsibility of raising a slayer. That was interesting in its self. Looking at Buffy he sees that she either doesn't know or is in some serious denial.

"No this is my mom Joyce and a very close friend of the family Ruppert Giles. But everybody calls him Giles."

"Nice to meet you." Joyce says shaking both of their hands. Xander can see the uncertainty in both of their faces. As he shakes Giles' hand he thinks that he might have recognized them. Deciding quickly to change the subject he asks Giles, "You're British?"

"Yes quite." Giles answers back easily.

"You sound like you attended Eaton. Have you ever been?"

"Actually yes but I continued my studies at Oxford. Why do you ask?"

"My father is Welsh and he attended Eaton and Oxford as well. You both have the same vocal inflections."

"Really in that case I may have met him then."

"You may have, his name is Benjamin Pierce. Does the name ring a bell?"

"Pierce? As in Pierce industries?" Seeing the young man nod he continues, "Yes I think your Father was a year or two ahead of me at Oxford. He had the reputation of being able to imbibe the most liquor out of any upper classmen."

"Really? I'm going to have to ask him about that one." He says with a smile.

"Small world." Buffy says. "What were you guys doing walking around a cemetery anyway?"

"We were driving around town and saw that there were so many cemeteries in this town. We decided to stop by one just to see if we could find out why there were so many."

"Sunnydale has had more than its fair share of disasters. Many people have been laid to rest over the years but the town just continues to move forward." Giles explains hoping that they will accept his explanation.

"I see." Xander says. Looking at his watch he says, "Oh wow, is it nine-thirty already? I need to get to the office. Sweetie could you drop me off?" He says to Faith trying to end their conversation before one of the three recognizes who they are.

"Sure thing." Faith says. Turning to the group she says "It was nice seeing you again Buffy and it was nice meeting you as well Mr. Giles, Joyce. We really should get together sometime Buffy. I really haven't met anyone yet and other than Harry's mother I don't have anyone to hang out with."

"Sure thing. You have a pen?" Xander pulls one out and hands it to Buffy who has pulled out a small piece of paper and quickly jots down her phone number at her dorm. "That's my dorm number call me there first, if I'm not there just leave a message."

"Thanks I'll call you sometime this week and we can have lunch."

"That'll be great. See you later."

"Bye." Faith says waving as Xander nods to each of them in turn and they both walk to their car.

Getting into their car Xander is the first to speak. "What were you thinking back there?"

"What? You told me to wing it!"

"Yes wing it! Not plan to have tea with Buffy! We are trying to keep a low profile here remember?"

"Sorry if that wasn't what you expected but I didn't see you come up with any better ideas AND we were able to leave fairly quickly weren't we?"

Xander opens his mouth to say something but searching his mind for something to say he found that she was right. Where he went into a mental relapse Faith was able to come up with a valid story quickly all while in character. Xander sitting back into his chair just chuckles to himself.

"What's so funny?" Faith asks.

"I can't believe you came up with all that stuff off the top of your head."

"What the driving around and stopping by bit? That was easy. What about you picking up on the Eaton accent?"

"I remember Giles saying something about it before. Adam had told me he actually spent some time as Benjamin Pierce when he attended Oxford. The two matched up perfectly. But that was luck. What you came up with was amazing."

"We'll I've had a lot of practice with deception." She says quietly her mood suddenly somber.

"Hey, none of that. What we are doing now has nothing to do with what has happened in the past. You aren't that person now. You know it and I know it." Changing the subject quickly he says, "Besides you're the amazing one remember?"

A smile tugs on the corners of her lips as she says, "Alright, alright, no more broody Faith. I promise." Looking at him from the corner of her eye she says, "But I'm still going to have lunch with Buffy and Willow."

Xander noticed that Faith didn't use the nicknames she used for Buffy and Willow while she lived in Sunnydale. Probably it was another conscious step away from her old persona. He respected Faith a great deal for the effort she is making to change. It takes both courage and will to change yourself Adam had told him once. He was able to change himself and if there was anyone on the planet that had enough courage and will to change it was Faith.

"Go ahead and do that, see if I come to your rescue if they find out who you are."

"I know you'll come and save me anyway. You're my knight in shining armor and plus you can't say no to me remember? I'm irresistible!" She says with a dazzling smile.

"Yes you are. Yes you are." He says as they pull up to the office building.

As they see the car pull away Giles says to Buffy, "Do you think that was wise?"

"Was what was wise?" Buffy said innocently.

"Ruppert what are you talking about?" Joyce asks.

"Willow's friend Tara says she witnessed those two slay a group of vampires last week. They haven't come out and declared their loyalties nor have we seen them out and about actively fighting and patrolling. So they are some what of a questionable presence here in Sunnydale."

"And Buffy just accepted an invitation from a potentially dangerous person to go and have lunch?"

"Yes."

"I'm standing right here you know! Don't talk like I'm not here." They turn to look at Buffy. "What? I am the chosen one, one who is gifted and all that right? Don't you two think that after a few years of doing this gig that I can't handle myself? How many people here have defeated master vampires, closed the Hellmouth and stopped the mayor from unleashing hell on earth?" Buffy raises her hand. Looking at the other two she says, "Uh huh. I see. I'll be fine mom, Giles I'll be okay. Let's go and visit Xander ok?" Buffy turns around and starts to make her way down the path.

Giles sighs and Joyce asks him, "I keep forgetting that she has done so much already."

"Yes I know especially for one so young. I've found that she is one of the most stubborn, headstrong"

"Don't forget incorrigible."

"Yes thank you. Incorrigible people I know. However she is also the most selfless, caring.."

"And special."

"special young ladies I have ever had the pleasure of knowing. I am glad that I was able to help at least a little with her growing up."

"I'm glad that you were there as well Ruppert." She drapes her arm around his shoulders and says to him, "Thank you for being there for my little girl." Her arm stays around him as they walk down the path to Xander's grave.

Sunnydale High School

Aaron and Keith watch as their master escorts a young man into the room. He is about six feet tall and very pale. Without preamble their master speaks, "This is Jonathan." He points to the man. "I have enlisted his help to create some distractions for the…protectors of this city. Jonathan here claims to be a master vampire of sorts. I really don't care what he is as long as he helps further our cause." Seeing the look of disdain on the vampire's face he continues. "Spare me your looks vampire" he spits out. "I have seen and done more evil in two thousand years than you could possibly imagine and remember this vampire, I have a soul."

Jonathan under the intense scrutiny the man who refers to himself as the master flinches. He had never in his life ever met a mortal with such power. His mere glare was unsettling to him.

"Now Jonathan I have a plan." The Master tells the vampire. "It is a plan that I have put into place and have waited for nearly fifteen hundred years." Seeing that the vampire's attention wasn't focused completely on him his hand strikes out faster than possible catching Jonathan by the throat. The strength of the man surprises him. The fact that he is being lifted off of the floor by his throat isn't what is worrying him.

The Master voices the thoughts going through his head. "Yes vampire," He spits the word out as if the mere taste of it is repulsive. "I understand that you do not need to breathe but," His hand begins to squeeze tighter and his nails start to dig into the vampire's cold skin, "if I tear your throat out you will feel pain and if I tear your head off you will die." Looking down into the master's eyes cold evil stares back at him. This man has given himself totally to his cause and has both the strength and the will to carry out his plans. Nodding quickly the Master releases him.

"Jonathan my good friends here," he gestures to Keith and Aaron, "are more than capable to carry out what I need them to carry out. However they have come under the…scrutiny of certain parties in this fair haven. What I need you to do is to provide some noise to cover the tracks my good friends here will undoubtedly leave behind. Do you understand?" Seeing that the vampire understood he continues saying, "Good. As long as you do your job correctly you will paid very handsomely."

"As long as you pay me handsomely the job will done correctly." The vampire replies.

A cold smile plays across the Master's face. "You're answer is what I expected from your kind vampire. You will be paid. Now go, I expect to hear a lot of noise tonight."

"Of course…Master." Jonathan says with a slight bow.

"Come now Jonathan. No need to be facetious." He says turning back to the vampire. "You pride yourself on the power you have over the mortals. The way you feed off of their blood. Makes you feel God-like no?" He says leaning closer towards the vampire. "Well, I have absorbed the souls of men better than you! Generals, leaders, warriors, priests, I have taken them all! So if you wish to be facetious do so around those who find you intimidating, do so around those who find you important but here you will defer to me! I am your master and you will never forget that!"

Jonathan had heard stories of older vampires that have gone mad with bloodlust. Their minds are lost and the only thing that exists for them is the hunger and the need to satisfy it. They are all but unstoppable, willing to preserve great pain in order to fulfill their needs. If it wasn't for the sound of the Master's heart beating in his chest he would have sworn that the Master was a vampire gone mad.

"Now go vampire and do not disappoint me."

Xander makes it into the office a little after ten-fifteen. Upon walking into the office he sees that Tara is already at her desk in the office across from his going through some papers.

"Good morning Tara."

"Good morning Mr. Pierce."

"Please call me Harry."

"Sure thing Mr…"

"Harry."

"Harry."

"There that wasn't so bad was it?" he says.

"No it wasn't."

"Now Tara do I have any messages?"

"You have one but it is from your father. He says that you two have to go over some numbers. He says that he has the papers ready he just wants to get your opinion on a few things."

"Did he say when he wanted to go over the numbers?"

"No he said it was important so I'm thinking probably as soon as possible."

"I'll see to it then. Thanks Tara. How you holding up?"

"You're welcome. I'm doing ok so far nothing too big has come up yet but if something does come up I think I could handle it."

"Good. Keep up the good work." He says as he walks down the hall towards Adam's office.

Xander knocks on the door. "Come in." He hears Adam's voice call out. Closing the door behind him Xander takes a seat in front of Adam's desk.

"What's up?"

"Another girl was found murdered last night." He says handing him the dossier that he created to hold all the information he had found. "Same as the last girl. Eyes and tongue missing and again she had a blood eagle performed on her."

"Damn. How could we miss him?" Xander asks.

"Well Cassandra and I have a theory that there is more than one person at work here. At the end of the file you'll see there was a failed mugging around the same time of the last mugging. Only nothing was taken the woman was found unconscious."

"So you think that there are at least two of them working at the same time trying to get the parts? That way no matter what they do they will have all the parts harvested at the same time."

"Exactly. In the folder there are a few more things I want you to look over. I already have the window of opportunity that is needed for the sacrifice, but we have to find out where they will be next."

"I'll go over these files and see what I can come up with."

"Great. Do you have any other ideas?"

"As far as trying to figure out what is going on in the city?" Adam nods the affirmative. "You can try this bar it's owned by a guy named Willie. He has a lot of information on what is going on in the city, especially with the undead crowds. If anyone in the city knows what is going down it's Willie. The only other resource I can think of is Giles. He has a lot of books on the occult and things like that."

"Your friend Giles?" Xander nods. "No he is out of the question if we approach him he may recognize you." Seeing that Xander has become uneasy he asks, "What is it?"

"Well Faith and I kinda had a run in with him already."

"What!"

"Yeah there is more too. He was with Buffy and her Mother."

Adam just stares at him for a moment. "Did they recognize you?"

"They might have thought that there was a resemblance but since Buffy didn't recognize us I think that the other two just disregarded the thought altogether."

"You were lucky this time. I'll visit this Willie today with Cassandra."

"You sure you don't want me or Faith to go?"

"Yes, this guy doesn't know me so I should be safe. Besides you're going to be busy tonight."

"Why is that?" Xander asks him.

"You are going to attend the opening of a new club here in town. A club that you have put some considerable investments into."

"So Faith and me will keep up the appearances of the young multimillionaire couple?"

"Exactly. Take the file and look over it. Send me what you find."

"Okay."

Xander exits the room and makes his way back to his office. Stopping by Tara's desk first he asks her, "Tara could you hold all my calls this morning? I'm going to be busy with this stuff," He says holding up the file. "Just tell them I'm in a meeting or something."

"Sure, no problem." Tara says.

"Great. Thanks!"

Tara watches her employer's retreating form as he closes the door to his office. She needed to get some information on Harrison Pierce. The best place for such information is inside his office. If there were information to be found it would be there. But she had to go through his office when he wasn't there. Going back to her work she glances at the door from time to time. She would have to wait for her opportunity.

Giles and Buffy were on their way back to campus after dropping off Buffy's mother. "Buffy there was another murder last night exactly the same as the one last week. Eyes and tongue missing with a blood eagle performed on the body."

"Do you have any info on why this is happening?"

"No I've be searching through my books for rituals that requires the Blood Eagle and the removal of the eyes and tongue. So far I have come up with nothing. I was hoping you could see if you could find out anything from Willie."

"I'll go see him with Riley this afternoon. But first you need to get me to class. I have a quiz today and my GPA cannot afford another missed quiz."

Xander comes out of his office around four o'clock and sees that Tara is eating a salad at her desk. "You worked through your lunch?" he asks her.

"Yeah, I had a few things I want to get finished before I leave today and I thought that this would be best."

"Fair enough but I want you to know that I don't expect you to work through your lunch. Okay?" She nods. "Good. I'll see you tomorrow."

"See you later."

Xander makes his way to Adam's office and lets himself in. Adam looks up from his desk and asks him, "Did you find anything useful?"

"No just more of the same stuff we found last week."

"I was afraid of that. I was about to see this Willie person you told me about. I was going to pick up Cassandra and go to his bar right now. I was going to ask you for some directions."

"Sure." He says taking a pen from his pocket. "You have some paper?" Xander takes the paper and jots down the direction and a small map of the area as well as a few ways of exiting the place if needed. "there you go."

"Thanks. Have you told Faith about the club opening tonight?"

"Yeah, she wished that you would tell us about these things a little earlier though."

"Why is that?"

"Because she said if she knew that they were going out she would have bought something yesterday with Cassandra. But I think she is going to manage."

"I'm sure she will." Adam says with a smile.

The door to Willie's bar opens and two figures walk in, a man and a woman. At first the patrons are worried that the Slayer and her boyfriend have returned asking for some information. As they step out of the shadows they see that the couple are not who they think. The man tall and lanky is wearing a long coat. The woman is beautiful and also wearing a long coat. Both have a feeling of royalty about them. Their eyes show no fear or apprehension. Just wariness. The older patrons of the bar decide quickly that messing with the pair will only lead to trouble. The younger ones however do not have the wisdom to leave them alone.

The woman walks right up to the bar and asks, "Are you Willie?"

"Why do you want to know?" the bartender asks.

"I heard that he could tell me some information about this." She pulls out a few pictures of the girls who were murdered. "I want to know who did this and why."

"I don't know anything about that." He says nervously as he notices some of the younger vampires in the room slowly make their way towards the man standing behind her.

The man turns around quickly and looks at the three vampires that tried to ambush him when his back was turned. The man smiles at them. "Now that wasn't nice." He says and continues to stare at the three. Willie thinks the guy is crazy three vampires are staring at him like he is their next meal and he just smiles at them. But suddenly something changes. The vampires in front of him suddenly grab their heads and scream in pain. The other vampires begin to cry out as well. The demons in the bar have terrified looks on their faces as they try to scramble out of the bar. The man picks up one the vampires and throws him against the wall. He calmly walks to the pool table and picks up one of the pool cues and throws it across the room, spearing the young vampire through the heart. As he crumbles to dust the cue stays suspended embedded in the wall. Looking around the bar the man dares any of those left to try to attack him. Seeing that there are no takers he walks back to the bar. Horrified Willie backs away breaking a glass on the bar behind him. He curses as he feels the broken glass cut his hand.

The man gestures at his hand the woman sees he is bleeding. "You are mortal? Well in that case you will tell me what I want to know."

Her voice echoes in his head. He feels compelled to answer her questions. Willie tries to resist but the woman speaks to him again. "You cannot resist. Tell me what I want to know."

"I don't know who is killing the girls." Willie says slowly. "I've heard rumors that someone has come into town. Someone powerful enough to have one of the most powerful vampires in the area work for them."

"Do you know anything else?" The man asks

Willie shakes his head. "No."

The man asks the woman, "Is he telling the truth?"

"Yes, I'm using the voice, he cannot lie while under its effects."

"Very well then lets go." Turning to Willie he says, "If I find out that you know more I will be back."

The pair leaves the bar. The moment they are outside Willie sags to the ground mentally and physically exhausted. "Jesus." He mutters under his breath. He stands up and uses the bar to support him while he is upright. Looking around he sees that the patrons that were sitting at tables had left hastily and those that remained were gathering their things to leave. Within minutes the bar is empty leaving Willie to shiver at the bar with fear.

Back in the office Tara is inside of Harrison Pierce's office. There are papers on the desk, pie charts, marketing forecasts and a note showing an opening of a club downtown but nothing really helpful. To the left of the desk there is a legal pad but flipping through it there is nothing written down. Looking at it however she sees that a few pages have been torn out already. Tara traces the paper with her fingers and feels the indentations on the pad.

Looking around on the table she finds a pencil. Rubbing its edge on the paper she starts to see words come out from behind the graphite rubbings. From her preliminary work she sees the words 'awakening' and 'blood eagle' on the page. Rubbing on another part of the paper she sees the words 'need more information' come out.

Tearing the paper off of the pad she gently takes it with her to her desk. Picking of the phone she dials the number to Giles' shop. "Come on Giles please be there."

[Magic shop.]

"Giles? This is Tara."

[Yes Tara, what's wrong?]

"Nothing is wrong. I think I just found out why the Pierces are here in town."

[Well come out with it, why are they here?]

"I think they are here because of something called the 'Awakening"

[Awakening? I'll have to research it to be sure anything else?]

"Yes, I think they are trying to stop it. It looks like they are researching it trying to find more information. There is also some mention of a 'Blood Eagle"

[Are you sure?]

"Yes."

[Then this 'Awakening' has something to do with the murders this week and last. Buffy is going to talk to Willie soon. I'll have her ask him about it. Good job Tara. Make sure no one suspects anything your safety is paramount to any information you can get understand?]

"Yes Giles. I'll be leaving here soon."

Buffy and Riley are walking towards Willie's bar. Turning her head to Riley she says, "A lot of the demon and vampire population in the city come here. So expect to see a lot of unfriendly faces here. Keep sharp and let me do the talking. Me and Willie have a nice working relationship going."

"And that would be?"

"I won't beat him up if he tells me what I want to know." She says with a smile.

"Can't argue with that. I'll watch your back while you talk to Willie."

They were at the door to the bar now. "Ok you ready?"

"Yeah let's do this." Riley says.

Pushing the door open they prepare to walk into the bar when they hear Willie's voice call from inside. "I told you I don't know anything else! I swear!"

Buffy says coming out of the shadows with Riley behind her says, "Willie are you saying your lines a little bit out of order? You usually don't say that one until I threaten to beat you up."

Willie now getting a closer look at the newest patrons of his establishment sighs with relief. "Slayer, its only you." He turns away and starts to put stools back on the bar as if he was getting ready to close it. She notes that his hand is bandaged. Looking around the bar she sees that it is uncharacteristically empty. Across the room a pool cue is sticking out of the wall and below it is the telltale pile of dust.

"Willie I have some questions to ask you about these pictures." She says pulling out pictures of the crime scenes from the murders.

"Get in line toots. I don't anything about those pictures and all I can tell you is what I told the other two."

"Other two?" Riley says curiously.

"What are you talking about Willie? What happened here?" Buffy asks him. Willie was acting more nervous and jumpy than usual. The fact that the bar was empty and his hand was bandaged shows that something happened tonight something bad.

"Yeah another couple came in here asking about those pictures. A broad and some guy and by looking at them you wouldn't have guessed that they were any trouble at all."

"But they were?" Riley questions the bartender.

"Yeah, three vamps were about to jump the guy and take him down you know. But just before they were going to do that he turns around and smiles at them."

"Did he pull out a sword?" Buffy asks.

"A sword? No, no, he turns around and looks at them you know and something changes. All the vampires in the room start screaming out in pain. Some of the demons were almost climbing up the walls," He gestures to the walls showing them the scratch marks. "Then the guy picks up one of the vampires and throws him against the wall walks over to the pool table and spears the vampire right there in front of everyone."

"He walked back to the vampire and stabbed him?"

"No he threw it across the room and spears him through the heart."

Buffy reaches into her pocket and pulls out another picture out of her pocket and shows it to Willie. "Did they look like this." She asks showing the picture of Harry and Amanda Pierce from the society column.

"No, they were a little older I think. But definitely not the same couple."

"Well what did you tell them?"

"I told them that someone had come into town, someone powerful enough to have one of the more powerful vampires in the area working for him."

"Which vampire?" Riley asks.

"A guy named Jonathan. A real piece of work, if someone has come into town and was able to get Jonathan to work for him you have to know that whoever this person is has to be a million times worse than Jonathan. But I know something they don't."

"And what would that be?" Buffy asks.

"No matter how bad this new person is someone just as bad is looking for him. When they find each other this town will feel it, trust me."

"Thanks for the head up Willie. You closing up for the night?"

"Yeah, I don't want to be around when the shit hits the fan. I'm getting out of Dodge at least for a little while. Rumor has it that there's going to be some action downtown." He says. Buffy and Riley move to walk out of the bar when Willie says, "Watch yourselves. When this thing goes down, it'll go down hard."

Turning to face him both nod and walk out of the bar. They need to get a hold of Giles and tell him what they had found out. Looks like they were going to patrol downtown tonight and if Willie was right tonight is going to be a busy night.

"You ready yet?" Xander calls up to Faith.

"Almost! Give me a second!" He hears her voice call from upstairs.

He would never be able to figure out why it took women so long to get ready. He was more surprised at the fact that Faith was taking so long. Usually it took Faith a few minutes to get ready and they were out the door. Albeit that they were going to be dressed very nicely but it had only taken him about twenty minutes to get ready. He decided on wearing a charcoal suit. His shirt and tie were a deep burgundy. Smiling at his reflection in a mirror he thought that his Regis look was pretty much complete. True it hadn't taken long for him to get ready for the opening in retrospect he really didn't take that much time to get ready for any function. He was ready for prom in about fifteen minutes.

He fiddling with his tie as he hears Faith's voice call from the stairs. "I'm ready."

Turning around he sees her come down the stairs. The figure that descends the stairs is the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, Ingrid Bergman or any actress past or present in terms of beauty, style and grace could hold a candle to the woman who stood before him. In short she left him breathless. Her hair is worn up piled on top of her head and falling down in soft curls. Her lips are outlined in a shade of red making them seem sweet giving out the gentle urging to taste them. Her now green eyes are now accented by the emerald teardrops hanging from her ears and around her neck as a pendant. The chocolate brown dress she is wearing hugs her is just the right places. The curve of her hips, the swell of her chest and the slow gentle curves of her legs are both accentuated and hidden by the dress. The sheer intensity of her beauty radiated off of her and he could feel wave after wave of the energy hit him, warming him pulling him towards her.

He hears her voice calling to him, "Xander, are you okay?" He is now standing right in front of him.

"You are beautiful." He whispers to her looking into her eyes.

Faith uncomfortable under the scrutiny says, "Thanks, but this isn't all that special."

"Yes it is."

"You better close your mouth because you're going to have to mop up all that drool you're leaving on the floor." She jokes trying to focus his attention elsewhere.

Xander wasn't going to have any of it. Making up his mind he decides to show her what it is he feels. "I'll do better than that." Reaching out with his hand he caresses her cheek softly with his thumb. She closes her eyes at the touch leaning into his hand. Tilting her head up slightly Xander leans down and presses his lips against hers. The simple movement sends electricity through his entire body. The electricity coursing through his body only fuels the intensity of the kiss. The embrace becomes more passionate and more pure as time goes until finally after the last crescendo fades Xander pulls away. The sudden lack of warmth on their lips surprises and dismays them both. Faith's hands reach up behind him and pull him closer urging him to continue and they kiss again. This time only softer, this time all the pent-up emotion is channeled through the kiss. Through the first kiss they acknowledged the connection. Through the second they truly understood their feelings and by the end of the second kiss they accepted it completely. They were now hugging each other her head tucked under his chin as it usually was while they slept. Their hearts beating fast both taking long deep breaths there they stood in the entryway of their home it was there that they silently professed their love for each other.

Faith is the first to speak. "Xander, I…I"

He brings up a finger to her lips to silence her. "Shhh. I know Faith. I know."

Nodding mutely she just stands there in his arms.

Pulling her away from him he looks at her. "Let's go. The sooner we get there the sooner we can leave."

"And after we leave?"

"I think we'll be able to find more than enough to keep us occupied."

Faith smiles as she feels Xander take her hand and leads her out to the car.

Tara and Willow are waiting outside of the newest club in Sunnydale. Outside the line was getting longer as people waited to get inside to see what the newest club in downtown Sunnydale was as hot and exciting as it was advertised.

Willow dressed in what she termed as her 'clubbing' outfit was standing next to Tara close to the front of the line. "Tara why are we here again?"

"Because Harry and Amanda are going to be here. I want to see them together maybe we can see them slip up and we can find out more about them."

"But isn't that why you are working for him?"

"Yes but I know next to nothing about Amanda. I mean you talked to her once? What else do we know?"

"Good point."

A car pulls up to the sidewalk and out of the driver seat Harrison Pierce gets out. Walking over to the passenger side he tosses the valet a key for him to move his car. He talks to the valet and shows him where he wants his car to be parked. Continuing over to the passenger side he opens the door to let out his wife Amanda Pierce. As they make their way up the steps to the club Tara and Willow note that the two make a stunning couple. Holding hands the entire way up towards the doors smiling as they lean into each other to whisper words. As they reach the door Harrison shakes hands with the other owners of the club and introduces them to his wife.

Tara sees this as her opportunity and yells out "Harry! Harry!" Harry looks around and sees who is calling him walking over to the line he and his wife pull up next to Tara and Willow.

"Tara! What are you doing here?"

"I heard about a new club opening up so me and my girlfriend decided to come by and check it out."

"Willow! What a surprise!" Amanda says.

"Tell me about it! We were here to check out the new club and we run into the both of you. What are you doing here?"

"Harry here is a part owner of this club" Amanda explains to the two girls. "He needed to be here when it opened and I love to dance so I forced him to take me along."

"You didn't need to force anything I was going to take you with me if you wanted to or not!" Harry jokes.

"Harry don't make them stand in line take them in with us!" Amanda says.

"No really we don't want to impose." Tara says.

"Yeah, we're already in the front of the line we'll be fine." Willow adds

"Oh no you don't. Frank!" He calls to one of the bouncers at the door to come to him.

"Yes Mr. Pierce?"

"Frank I told you to call me Harry."

"Yes Mr. Pierce."

"Never mind, Frank these two are coming in with me and my wife. Make sure that they have access to the owner's VIP section ok?" Turning to the two girls as Frank removes the velvet rope holding them in line. "Come on inside and I'll show you around before it becomes to full to walk."

Leading them into the club he shows them the multi-storied dance floors. The platforms and cages that litter the main dance floor. TV screens hang from the ceiling now blank but as Harry explains that they will have images and scenes on them to add to the overall flavor of the club. He points out the lights and the DJ booth and the bar. After taking them through the club once he and Amanda led them to the bar where the bar tender was getting everything ready for the potential crowd.

Turning to the other two girls he asks them, "You two are old enough to drink right?" They both nod and he turns to the bar tender. "Jim? These two girls are special guests of my wife and mine. See to it that they do not pay for anything while they are inside here ok?"

"Yes Sir Mr. Pierce."

"Why doesn't anyone want to call me Harry?"

"If it makes you fell any better honey I still call you Harry." Amanda says

"And I'll still call you Harry at work." Tara adds.

"And I'll call you Harry whenever I'm around you." Willow says.

Harry chuckles. "Okay, I guess that is good enough for me." The music starts to play as the club starts up, hard bass bumping. The lights and the TV screens come to life truly bringing the club into an atmosphere made for dancing. "Looks like they're starting to let people in. We'll be in the booth from time to time tonight. You are more than welcome there as well. Have fun you two."

The DJ in the booth says into his microphone as people from outside filter in taking positions all over the dance floor, "Welcome to the hottest new club in Sunnydale! Club Transit! Here we will take you to places you've never been to before and have you dancing to hours that you didn't even know existed!"

Tara and Willow watch as Harry and Amanda move to the dance floor writhing is time with the music. They look at each other, shrug and decide to join the droves of people already dancing.

Outside a large group of people is waiting outside to get in. The largest group sends one person to talk to the bouncer and asks him, "Hey I am welcome to come inside?"

Looking over him the bouncer says, "As long as you are within dress code, you're old enough and if you pay the cover charge you and all of your friends are welcome inside."

"That's just what I wanted to hear." The man says with a smile and gestures for the rest of his group to follow him inside. The bouncer doesn't think much as the twenty people walk into the club. What he doesn't know is that he just allowed twenty vampires into a very full and crowded room. He had no idea what kind of havoc he was letting into the club. He also had no idea that the last vampire to walk past him was going to grab him from behind. He also didn't know until it was too late that he was going to die.

From the second floor VIP section of the club Willow and Tara could see the entire main dance floor. The atmosphere of the club was as intoxicating as the drinks that were being served from the main bar. The music goads everyone here to move in some sort of the tribal dance moving in sync with the beat. They had just stepped off of the dance floor to take a rest and thought that the VIP lounge would be the best place to keep an eye on the Pierces.

They were in the middle of it all close together moving with the music. Their movements complement each other as they let the music take control of their bodies. They looked happy together smiling and talking to each other on the dance floor. If they didn't know any better they would have thought that they were a normal couple who went out and had fun together. But Tara had seen them fight vampires. She had seen them in action and she knew that they held the key to what was happening to the murders. They weren't the ones committing them but they knew something, something that could help them end the monstrous deed being done in Sunnydale.

Tara and Willow were watching them when, for some unknown reason Amanda stopped dancing suddenly. A look of concern crosses Harry's face as she gestures to the doors of the club. Tara grabs Willow's attention and points her into a direction of the doors. A group of twenty people walk in. One of them is holding the bouncer Frank but unceremoniously drops him to the floor. The way the body falls the way the body lies on the floor they can tell that he is dead. Tara looks back to the crowd to search for Harry and Amanda. She does not see them until she scans over to the stairs leading to the VIP lounge. They are half way up the stairs and the looks on their faces reminds her of the look Buffy sometimes gets before she goes into battle.

"Harry? Amanda? What's wrong?" Willow asks them.

"Both of you need to get out of here now." Harry says.

"Why?" Tara asks.

"Because a large group of people just got in here and they do not want to dance." Amanda says

"What's so bad with that?" Willow asks.

"I think they want to kill everyone here." Harry says pulling on his long coat. Looking to Amanda he throws her a silent question to which she nods.

"What?" Willow says. "You can't be serious!"

"Look Red. Just get out of here before you get hurt." Amanda says before she rushes down the stairs with Harry following quickly behind him.

Willow's face goes pale and Tara asks her, "Willow? What's Wrong?"

"She…she called me…" Willow doesn't finish her sentence because the screams and yells of people below begin to filter up to the balcony. They both rush to the balcony to see that the twenty people who had just walked in were all vampires and were now making their way through the crowd killing and feeding at will.

"Oh no!" Tara says seeing the carnage below looking at the opposite end of the room she can see Amanda and Harry pushing through the fleeing crowd. "Willow! We need to help them!"

"Protection spells?"

"Yeah and whatever else we can think of!"

They quickly chant the spells that would give them insight and protection in battle. Hopefully it would be enough. From where they were any other types of spells would be dangerous to those trying to run away. Looking down they see Amanda and Harry reach the first vampires.

Harry pulls out his sword and comes to bear on the closest vampire. The vampire thinking an easy prey has stumbled upon him does realize how dangerous the individual in front of him is. Harry's sword flashes once and the vampire is cut open from the hip to the shoulder and then once again and his head falls from its shoulders turning him to dust. The next vampire sees this and prepares for battle by picking up a barstool that had been thrown into the dance floor by the fleeing patrons. The vampire is able to hit Harry across the back breaking the stool. To Willow's and Tara's horror Harry sags to the ground apparently out of the fight. But Harry's hand flashes out and a broken piece of the stool embeds itself into the chest of the vampire turning him to dust.

Amanda on the other hand was taking on three vampires at once. To their surprise she was doing fairly well. A quick jab to the face of one vampire and a side-kick to another and the fight quickly turned into a one on one battle. Amanda's leg swings out with an inside crescent-kick knocking the vampire off balance allowing her to stake it from behind. The other two vampires have now recovered and were charging at the young woman. Had Amanda been Buffy she would have taken them both on at the same time. Amanda however was not Buffy. Amanda sidesteps the two vampires causing them to run into each other and falling to the ground leaving them open for Amanda to stake them both in turn. They are able to see Amanda look over her shoulder and cry out to Harry.

On the floor Xander was having the damnedest time trying to keep up with who was friend and who was foe. There were only three people he is absolutely sure of in the building that he could trust; Tara, Willow and Faith. Tara and Willow were both safe upstairs and out of the way and Faith was somewhere down here in the fray. He was able to take out two vampires quickly but that would soon change because now he didn't have surprise on his side. The upside however was that he was fighting much better than he would have even suspected he was capable of. At this point he might have been able to take on Adam and win. He was only barely able to hear Faith call out his assumed name and see what she is pointing at. Another vampire seeing a threat to his brood is charging. Xander side steps the vampire and cuts off its leg. A vampire that can't walk can't fight. The music in the room was still blaring, the beat machine in the DJ booth was looping a sampled drum line making it hard for him to concentrate. The beat drowns out most sounds and the bass thumping through his body is incredibly distracting but he continues to fight towards Faith until they are back to back.

Faith suddenly feels someone push up against her back and she does not have to second guess that it is Xander. Just like T'ai Chi they were now next to each other complementing each other helping each other gain focus. Now they were back to back trying to keep the vampires at bay. To her dismay the vampires tended to attack her side of the flank because her stakes gave her very limited reach whereas Xander's sword gave his a wide berth of attack albeit limited to the one hundred eighty degrees in front of him. Still despite the numbers they are able to hold their own against the remaining vampires. However she fears that once the other vampires realize that she and Xander are the only real threats in the room they will overwhelm them easily. Despite her training she has gone through the pace that she is fighting at is beginning to tire her out and it is only a matter of time until she makes a mistake that would cost her or Xander very dearly. Fighting three vampires is one thing fifteen was a whole different story. She could feel Xander despite his immortal healing begin to weaken as well. They needed help and they needed it soon. If only they could contact Adam or Cassandra.

To Tara and Willow the ferocity of the fight is astounding. Both Harry and Amanda fight with speed and agility unfathomable to them. But they see that each punch has less power behind it, each swing of the sword is becoming slower and slower and with each movement they become easier and easier prey. So Willow does the only thing she can think of she casts a spell of rejuvenation on Amanda. Seeing what she is doing Tara does the same for Harry. Looking at the pair with their renewed strength and endurance they see that they are fairing better now but it will last only so long against the horde of vampires they face.

What the hell! Are the thoughts that cross through Xander and Faith's minds as they feel like they were somehow filled with energy. Not wanting to take the second wind for granted they continue to fight against the vampires that come at them. However many of the vampires are now carrying weapons, clubs made from broken pieces of furniture now evened out the edge that they had when they were armed and the vampires were not.

A vampire charges at Faith with what looks like a leg to one of the tables by the bar. She lets the Vampire get close enough to start to swing. She has only one second to stop it otherwise the club will crack her head open like an egg. The vampire's arms begin to extend adding more momentum and strength to the swing, Faith's hands come up and catch the club at the point where it's energy is the weakest; just above the vampire's hands. Using the momentum of the swing she is able to yank the club away and while spinning in the same direction of the swing she stakes the vampire in the back turning it to dust. Before the dust falls another vampire takes its place charging through the dust of it's former companion tackling Faith to the ground. While grappling with the vampire on the ground another vampire jumps on her and then another. She can feel their cold hands trying to choke her, hold her down trying to get her into a position where they can kill her easily.

Xander sees Faith go down and then sees the other two vampires jump on her as well. Fear and rage course through his body as he screams out a guttural almost animalistic, "NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" and he tries desperately to get to her before they are able to hurt or even kill her but there are too many adversaries between him and Faith. Cut, slash, punch, stab but still he is too far away to help her as they hold Faith down and the one on top of her holds her head to the side preparing to feed off of her. He is vaguely aware of the doors to the club opening once more. He faintly hears Willow's voice cry out something but his entire essence is focused on saving Faith, on saving the woman he loves. He fears that he has failed again as the vampire lowers its head. He fears that without Faith he has no real reason to go on. All of his fears course through his body as he fights towards her, fearing failure until he sees the end of a stake some through the vampire's chest and it explodes to dust.

Willow and Tara look to the doors again as they swing open. They suspect the worst, if reinforcements for the vampires have arrived then the courageous couple below despite their efforts to win, despite the fact that they were protected and enhanced magically by Willow and Tara would finally succumb to the larger more powerful numbers of the vampires. What they see gives them a glimmer of hope Buffy and Riley move into the room quickly assessing the situation.

Seeing that Amanda is in trouble Willow cries out "BUFFY!!!!!! HELP AMANDA!!! OVER THERE!!!!" she points to the fallen girl being held down by three vampires. Seeing where she is Buffy nods and quickly moves to help her. Riley also moves into the battle helping to alleviate some of the pressure on Harry.

Buffy sees that she isn't going to make it in time and does the only thing she can think of, she takes the stake in her hand and launches it at the vampire attempting to feed off of Amanda. When the vampire explodes into dust she knows she had hit her mark. Continuing to charge she tackles the vampire holding down one of Amanda's arms. The action frees Amanda's arm and uses it to punch the other vampire off of her. Buffy sees that she picks up the stake she threw and dusts the vampire quickly. Amanda looking back seeing Buffy is weaponless throws the stake at her. Buffy catches the stake mid-air and slams it into the chest of the vampire turning it to dust. Buffy looks over the Amanda who smiles and mouths thanks to her. Buffy sees Amanda pick up a broken piece of wood and breaks it over her knee giving her two weapons to fight with.

Xander is overjoyed when he sees that Faith is okay and since there wasn't that much pressure on him any more thanks to Buffy and the man with her he is finally able to make it to Faith. "Are you ok?" he says to her as they continue to fight the vampires whose numbers were starting to dwindle the odds now two to one in favor of the vampires.

"I'm fine." She says as she kicks another vampire in gut and then pushing him into another vampire trying to jump into the fight. "You might want to help out that guy over there though." She says pointing over to the direction of the man who had entered with Buffy. Xander nods and moves to assist the young man.

Riley is holding his own but he feels the tide of battle starting to turn against him as another vampire tries to attack him. Then he hears the word "Incoming!" over the sound of the fight. The universal word for any soldier to get down and protect yourself from what is about to hit. As he drops he hears a whooshing sound just above his head. He hits the ground at the same time as two heads do right next to his face just before they turn into dust. Looking up the Harrison Pierce, the man form the picture that Buffy showed him is looking down at him.

Harrison asks him "You ok soldier?"

Riley nods as he gets up to his feet. Looking over Harrison's shoulder he grabs a stake from his belt and says "Hostile on your six!" Harrison's face shows recognition as he drops quickly to the ground allowing Riley to stake the vampire trying to blind side Harrison. Riley helps Harrison up and says to him, "Thanks for the save, the name's Riley."

"Right back at you, Harry." Harry responds to Riley.

Jonathan had been holding back watching and reveling in the havoc his minions were creating. He was slightly perturbed that there were a couple of humans fighting back and now he is seething with rage as he is forced to call a retreat before he looses all of the vampires he arrived with. He needs to distract the enemies in order to have the remaining vampires retreat safely. Pulling out his silver-plated gun from his shoulder holster he picks out the dark haired girl as his target.

Xander catches the glint of metal and sees the gun and starts to run toward Faith, the vampire's intended target.

Riley sees Harry take off in the direction of Amanda. He sees the vampire pull a gun out and yells, "BUFFY! GET DOWN!"

Buffy hears Riley screaming for her to get down and she does so. She looks over to Amanda who is being tackled by Harry. She is curious as to what is happening until she hears three loud sounds like a thunderclap going off inside a building.

Willow and Tara see the vampire pull out his gun. Harry is running to Amanda and he performs a flying tackle on her pushing her out of the way. Riley screams for Buffy to get down and Buffy hits the deck. The sound of three shots being fired coincides with the flashes of light that emanate from the gun as the vampire pulls the trigger.

Faith can only feel her body being pushed out of the way by Xander's body. She sees as blood sprays and erupts from where the bullets enter his body. As Xander falls on top of her she can feel his warm blood spilling on her as she cries out, "OH MY GOD NO!"

Xander can feel his bones rattle from the impact of the bullets entering him. He knows his blood is spilling onto Faith. He can barely feel Faith turn him over and cradle his head.

Jonathan seeing that his adversaries now completely occupied calls for the retreat. The last of his vampire force quickly exit the building and taking one last look into the room. He sees that the slayer and her companion as well and the dark haired girl were all at the side of the fallen warrior two other girls were making their way to the group from the stairs as well. Mentally taking tally of how many adversaries he was truly up against he exits the building.

"Omigod!" Buffy exclaims.

Tara and Willow finally make it to the group and Buffy asks them, "Can you guys do anything for him?"

Willow shakes her head, "No there is just to much for us to fix."

Riley kneels down and takes a look at the wounds. Amanda sits there rocking Harrison gently saying gently over and over again "Shh. It's going to be okay. Shh. It's going to be okay."

"We need to get him to a hospital," Riley says. "The bullets probably did some major damage to his internal organs."

Coughing up blood Xander says to the group. "No! No hospitals."

"Let's take him to Giles' shop its not that far from here. He might be able to help." Buffy suggests.

Amanda reaches into Harry's pockets and pulls out a set of keys. She tosses it to Willow and says you can drive our car and you two," she says to Buffy and Riley, "can follow."

Riley moves to help pick up Harry but is waived off by Amanda who proceeds to pick up Harry by herself surprising the rest of the group. She moves to where their car is parked across the street where she remembers seeing Xander telling the valet where he wanted his car. Willow opens the back door and Amanda gently puts Harry inside. She quickly goes inside and rests his head in her lap. Willow gets into the driver's seat and Tara gets into the passenger seat. They can hear Amanda talking to Harry.

"You're going to be alright my love." Faith tells Xander.

He weakly replies, "I made a promise to you remember? I'd never leave you alone." He coughs and more blood tickles out of the corner of his mouth. Faith wipes it away.

"Yes I remember." She says smiling at him.

His hand reaches out and touches her cheek. She holds his hand to her face as he says, "I love you."

"I love you too." His hand goes limp and falls to his side. Faith continues to rock his body back and forth slowly and says, "Don't be long, don't leave me alone for long.

Tara looks at Willow and shakes her head. The sight she sees is a woman who has under the greatest of pressures finally succumbs to the shock of watching her husband die in her arms. Tara can see the now glassy eyes of her employer and the comforting rocking motion that his wife is applying to his now dead body.

"Don't leave me alone for long my love." She whispers to the dead body. Tara and Willow can hardly keep their tears from falling as they see what was once a potential ally become almost nothing in moments. Amanda continues to rock the body all the way to Giles' shop.

Thanks for reading through this chapter. I hope to get the next one out by next week sometime. Sorry if the fight scene was confusing for some of you but it was the only way I could think of showing the chaos of the fight from all view points. Again thanks for sticking to my story and I look forward to your comments.