Note from Rain: My cousin Sunny wrote this fanfic, I'm just posting it for her because she cannot.
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon is the god of the Buffiverse. I just borrowed his children for some fun. All the characters in this story belong to him, except the evil ones who belong to Rain. Thanks Rain for letting me play with them.
I do
by Sunny
CHAPTER FIVE
Meanwhile, in the living room Riley was trying to understand everything he had just heard. "You slept with him didn't you?" he finally asked. They hadn't actually said anything, but it had been implied.
"What?" Buffy asked opening her eyes and looking at Riley. She was still so tired. She lay on the couch with her head propped up on pillows. She was an awful gray color and her eyes were dull and lifeless.
Joyce, looking at her daughter from the back of the room, was very scared. She supposed she should be used to the danger her daughter was in, but every time she learned that Buffy's life was in danger her heart fell into her stomach. She wanted to go to her daughter and hold her close, protect her, but she knew she couldn't do that. Buffy was too independent for that. Besides she hated letting anyone see any weaknesses.
"At Thanksgiving, when you went to see him. You slept together, didn't you?" Riley persisted in questioning. He couldn't let it go. He felt betrayed.
"You don't have any right to question me," Buffy replied a hint of steel entering her voice.
Riley smashed his fist into the mantle and tumbled a glass figurine from its place. It fell to the floor and shattered. It felt like his heart. Broken, into a million pieces. Her evasion of the question only confirmed his suspicion. "I am your fiancée," Riley said.
"At the time we weren't even dating," Buffy reminded him. She pulled the blanket that was across her legs up to her neck and snuggled down into the sofa. She felt really cold suddenly.
Riley ignoring the voice of his rational mind continued to give Buffy the third degree about that eventful Thanksgiving weekend. "But we are together now, and I think I deserve an answer," her shouted angrily.
"But I don't think you deserve one," Buffy said. "It had nothing to do with you and is therefore none your business."
"You are my business," Riley said through clenched teeth. A vein in his neck was throbbing and his fists were clenched.
"I am my own business," Buffy returned. "Now leave this alone, Riley. I am not going to tell you anything more about that night. It is something that exists just between Angel and myself." The anger drained out of Buffy and she closed her eyes not wanting to see the irate man standing before her. It was all too tiring.
Riley turned away from Buffy still very upset. He hadn't meant to argue with her, not in her condition, but he couldn't help it. He was jealous of the relationship she seemed to have with Angel. He had hoped that they had been building a deep and loving bond, but now he could see that she would only be able to have that kind of bond with Angel. And it disgusted him. How could she have built such a connection with a monster?
Riley began pacing back and forth in front of the fireplace. He desperately wanted to leave. He felt like he had no place in Buffy's life, like the past 5 years had been a lie. His rational mind, however, was telling him to stay and fight. It reminded him that Buffy's life was in danger and he knew he couldn't walk away from her now. Saving Buffy's life was more important than anything else was. He looked over at Joyce sitting so still and rigid. He knew she wasn't ready to lose her daughter yet. He knew that the world still needed Buffy in it. She was the Slayer. And most importantly, he still needed Buffy in the world. He wasn't ready to let her go either. So with the decision to stay and fight for the love of his life made, Riley turned to Buffy preparing to apologize for the argument. Buffy, however was asleep. He decided she needed the sleep more than she needed his apology and didn't try to wake her.
He was vaguely curious about the gathering in the dining room, but after giving the group one measured stare he decided to stay in the living room with Buffy. He didn't think he was in any condition to be civil to Angel. He resumed his seat and stared intently at Buffy, watching her sleep. Suddenly he noticed that her breathing was coming in fast gulps and that her legs were twitching. It was almost as though she were running. He got up and went to her, sitting on the edge of the coffee table. Buffy moaned in her sleep as one arm came unwrapped and was flung against the back of the sofa. She started to kick out with her legs and managed to kick the blanket off of her entirely. Riley knew she was having another nightmare and was determined to be the one to bring her out of it. He took her hand stroking it softly while he called her name. He got no response. She jerked her hand out of his hold and punched him. She screamed and delivered another kick to the enemies she saw in her dreams.
"Buffy, its only a dream," Riley said capturing her hand again. "Wake up Buffy, its only a dream."
"No!" she shouted in her sleep. Her agitation increased and she twisted on the sofa in her attempt to evade her attacker.
Joyce jumped up from her seat and ran over to her daughter. She didn't understand what was going on, but she somehow knew that it was important to wake her daughter up. "Buffy," she called. "Buffy, its time to wake up. You don't want to be late for school." She hoped that by mentioning school it would shock Buffy into consciousness.
"No!" Buffy shouted again.
By this time Riley was attempting to get Buffy into his arms. He was trying to calm her with his physical presence. Unfortunately it didn't seem to be working. Buffy punched him again, hitting him in the shoulder. She continued to kick and twist around on the sofa. Riley was a little concerned that she might fall off.
"Angel!" Buffy cried out obviously calling for his help. "Angel! Help me!"
Angel came running from the dinning room, followed by the others. He took Riley by the shoulders and hauled him away from Buffy. He gathered her into his arms and began crooning to her. He called her name and stroked her hair with a trembling hand.
"Wake up, Buffy," he pleaded. He was so scared. He didn't think he had ever been this scared before. He could feel her slipping away and he was worried that there wasn't anything he could do to stop it. The tears rolled down his cheeks but he didn't notice. He was too intent on trying to reach Buffy. He knew he had to wake her up before the demons could kill her. If she died in her sleep it would be the end. He didn't want it to end this way. He didn't want to be alone anymore.
"What's wrong with my daughter?" Joyce asked grabbing Giles by the shirt. "What is going on?"
"She's having a nightmare," Giles replied prying her fingers off his shirt. Then he brought Joyce close to him and enfolded her into his embrace. "Angel will wake her up." He said that as much to convince himself as to convince her. He needed to believe that Buffy would be okay. She was a like a daughter to him and he wasn't ready to let her go. He didn't think he would ever be ready to let her go.
Xander, having put his plate down, had an arm around Willow. They both watched with terrified looks on their faces as Buffy continued to struggle in Angel's arms. Willow had tears in her eyes as she watched her friend fight for her life. She knew that this could be the end and she wasn't sure she could handle losing her best friend. How could she go on fighting the forces of evil if Buffy wasn't there to help her and protect her.
Xander was also very scared. He knew he would miss Buffy very much if she weren't in his life. She was the first girl he had ever truly loved. She was also the only girl that could protect him from the big evil that lurked in the dark.
Wesley also watched from the doorway of the living room, with an arm around Cordelia. Cordelia in perfect sympathy with Buffy for once turned her head and buried it into Wesley's shoulder. She couldn't watch anymore. Buffy may not have been her most favorite person in the world, but she knew that life without Buffy would be very, very different. And not a good different.
"Buffy, you can beat them," Angel said still trying to contain her struggles. "Buffy, you have to beat them and come back to us."
Riley lay still on the floor where he had fallen. His head was resting on his forearms as he lay face down. He couldn't watch. He couldn't watch as the man he hated brought the woman he loved back from the brink of death. He knew that it was vitally important that Buffy wake up, and he would be glad when she did, really he would, but he had wanted to be the one to save her. He wanted to be the one she cried out for.
"No!" Buffy shouted again. She freed an arm from Angel's grasp and punched into the air.
"Buffy, please come back to us. We can't live here without you. You have to beat them, Buffy. You have to wake up," Angel said into her hair. He pressed a kiss onto her forehead and began rocking her.
Buffy's breathing became more labored and tears seeped out from under her eyelids. "No!" she said again her voice hoarse. "I won't let you."
"That's it, Buffy. Fight them," Angel told her. "Come back to us. I need you. Please wake up."
With her friends and family standing around her, concerned looks on their faces, Buffy heaved herself out of Angel's arms and threw rapid punches into the air. She made no sound as she fought the demons inside her head. Her legs twitched and her arms continued to fly about. Suddenly she fell back into the protection of Angel's grasp and began to moan softly.
"No, no, no," she whispered defeat evident in her voice and posture.
Angel knowing this was the end shouted her name, "Buffy!" He grasped her arms and shook her gently. "Buffy, wake up." His words were more of a command than a plea. She had to wake up.
Gasping for breath Buffy suddenly jerked herself awake. Realizing that she was in Angel's arms and not laying in the dirt in a cemetery she began to cry. It had been just another nightmare. It had been very vivid, but still just a dream.
Angel pulled Buffy closer to him and just held her until her crying stopped. His relief poured out of him as a wide smile replaced the anxious look he had been wearing moments earlier. Joyce seeing that smile released her death grip on Giles and stepped away from him. She gave him an apologetic smile and went over to sit down on the couch next to her daughter.
"If I don't stop crying soon, I am going to turn into a prune," Buffy said. She was pale and her hands were trembling. She tried to move out of Angel's embrace but found she didn't have enough strength.
"Can you tell us what happened?" Giles asked gently. He didn't want to have to ask that question, but in light of what they had found out about the vampires he knew it was vital.
"I guess," Buffy replied. She sat quietly for a few minutes and then took a deep breath to collect her thoughts. "I was back in the cemetery fighting those demons, or whatever they are."
"Psychic vampires," Giles supplied.
"Oh. Well, anyway, I was fighting the psychic vampires in the cemetery and I was losing. They were so strong. I couldn't kill them. I tried a stake but they didn't go poof. I even tried holy water and a cross. Nothing, nada, zip, zero, zilch or any other word or phrase commonly used to mean a humiliating lack of success."
"The big goose egg," Xander added.
"Yeah that too," Buffy replied. "I could see that I was in real trouble, but then I heard Angel calling out to me. Telling me to wake up, that it was just a dream. I wanted to believe him but it seemed so real. I tried to focus on his voice. I thought that if I could find him he would help me. They wouldn't let me. They told me I had to fight on my own. That everyone had left me and that I was alone. I was going to die in the dirt alone. I tried to fight them. They had me pinned beneath them on the ground next to my own tombstone sucking the blood from me when Angel finally woke me up. Another few seconds and I would have been dead." Buffy shuddered and allowed Angel to wrap the blanket around her again.
"Joyce, I think Buffy needs some food," Angel said. He was very worried about Buffy. She hadn't regained her color and she was still trembling. He felt like she would disappear at any moment. "She needs to get some of her strength back."
"What is going on?" Buffy asked. She really needed some answers. "Psychic vampires?"
"Yes, well, I suppose it does sound a little odd," Giles began not really sure how he would explain this to Buffy.
"And odd things never, ever happen in Sunnydale," Xander interrupted reminding everyone that this was the Hellmouth they were talking about.
"He's got a point there, Giles," Willow said. "I don't like admitting it, but when the boy's right, he's right."
"So lets give him a gold star," Cordelia snapped. "Now shut-up and let Giles finish. I for one would like to get this settled so I can go home. I have a hair appointment tomorrow."
Joyce brought a plate of food and a glass of orange juice in from the kitchen and set it down in front of Buffy. Buffy grabbed the glass of juice, took a long swallow and then looked expectantly at Giles. "So, you were about to explain about psychic vampires," she reminded him.
"Oh, right," Giles said stopping in mid pace. "Well, it seems that during the mid to late 1600's a rise in mysticism was seen in the peasant folk of Ireland. Several men and one woman were charged with being witches because they had predicted the future. The Master, apparently in the area at the time, saved them and took them back to his lair. I can only assume that he intended to use their knowledge for some nefarious deed.
"Do you think he found out about them from the Psychic Friends Network?" Xander asked.
"The Master?" Riley asked. He was confused. "Whose master?" He was sitting on the floor facing away from Buffy and Angel. After assuring himself that she really was awake and safe he had turned away from the painful sight of her lying in Angel's arms.
"He was like the king of the vampires. Buffy killed him the first year she was here," Willow explained.
"The Master turned these psychics into vampires?" Buffy asked before anyone could explain that she had also been killed in her fight with the Master. She knew it was painful stuff for her mother and she didn't like reminding her mom that she was vulnerable to danger.
"Guess, he didn't like what they saw in their crystal ball," Xander quipped.
Giles rubbed the bridge of his nose and settled his glasses back into place. He knew it wouldn't do any good to remonstrate with Xander. He seemed to enjoy playing the idiot. It was better just to ignore him. "Yes, although it's not clear why."
"If they had displeased him in anyway, he would have killed them, not made them into vampires. He considered that to be a gift, a reward not a punishment," Angel said. "He had a disgust for all humans and would not have turned them into vampires unless he had a very good reason to do so."
"You knew this guy?" Riley asked in amazement. He glanced back at Buffy as if to say, this is the guy you fell in love with.
Angel decided to ignore Riley's question. "He probably just wanted to make sure they would be able to serve him for eternity," he suggested.
Buffy shoveled a fork full of food into her mouth and nodded thoughtfully. "Right so he turns them into vampires and then what? I assume they didn't stay with the Master or I would have run into them before now."
"What happens next isn't exactly clear. Willow's friend was not able to find a lot of information about their life with the Master. I can only assume that they lived much like other vampires. Feeding off of humans. Living on their blood. We aren't even sure when or why they left the Master," Giles reported.
"So they are the normal every day, garden variety vamps, then right?" Buffy asked. She set the plate she had been eating from aside and struggled to sit upright. She was grateful when Angel assisted her.
"Are you going to finish that?" Xander asked cutting off Giles who had been about to answer Buffy's question. Buffy indicated that she was finished with the food and passed the plate to Xander.
"Not exactly," Giles said when he was allowed to speak.
"What do you mean by 'Not exactly'?" Buffy inquired. She didn't like it when Giles was evasive. It usually meant that he had bad news to divulge.
Giles, Willow and Wesley shared a nervous glance. Giles turned back to Buffy and cleared his throat. "Well..um..you see they seemed to have perfected their skills."
"I would have expected that," Buffy replied seemingly unconcerned. She was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. "They are about 400 years old. I am sure they have killed a lot of humans in their time."
"That's not exactly what I mean," Giles said. He again shared a nervous glance with his Watcher cohorts.
"Look, Giles, maybe you should just give it to me straight. I don't think we have enough time for you to be beating around the bush," Buffy said irritation evident in her voice.
"Right," Giles said nodding his head in her direction as if conceding the point. "Okay then. They perfected their psychic abilities. They learned how to read the minds of their victims, how to control their victims. They were even able to enter the minds of their victims. There is no record of exactly when this came about, if it happened while they were with the Master or after."
Buffy nodded her head showing that she understood him so far. She sat up a little straighter and some of her color was coming back. Focusing on her foes instead of her personal problems seemed to help her recover from whatever it was that was wiping her out. Here comes the other shoe, she thought.
"Once they learned how to do this, they discovered that they could live without blood."
"Vampires who don't suck blood?" Xander asked. "Isn't that a little like Superman without Clark Kent?" He was confused. He hadn't really paid any attention to the group in the dining room. He had been too busy eating.
Giles again ignored Xander's interruption. He was becoming an expert at ignoring Xander. "They found that by entering their victims minds they could steal a person's life force."
"Life force?" Buffy asked. She had never heard the term before.
"It's like a person's spirit," Willow answered. "Without it a person is just a shell, there is no will to live, no drive to attain even basic human needs. Once the life force is gone people just give up and die."
"Kind of like Cordelia without a Neiman Marcus," Xander said.
"Or Xander without the HoHo's," Cordelia responded with a glare. Maybe she didn't miss him all that much after all.
Again Giles employed his famous Watcher stare and the two verbal combatants looked down at the floor and mumbled their apologies. He turned back to Buffy and noticed that she was staring off into the distance a pensive look on her face. He remained quiet knowing that she would eventually ask the question that was forming in her mind.
"Okay, so they steal a person's life force instead of their blood, but how and why?" Buffy asked finally looking at her Watcher.
"Apparently, they have evolved into a new species of vampire. Because of their special abilities they seem to be able to live off of the human life force instead of human blood," Giles explained.
"You said they were able to enter a person's mind. How do they do that?" Buffy knew she had to get as much information about her foes as she could. She had to be prepared if she was going to defeat them.
"Again the details are a little sketchy, but it appears that they enter a person's mind when they are the most vulnerable," Giles said.
"Which would be when?" Buffy asked.
"When they are sleeping."
"Oh…..Oh!" Buffy exclaimed. Her dreams suddenly seemed to have an explanation. "They enter a person's dream and steal the life force."
"Yes," Giles said pleased that Buffy had grasped the importance of her dreams. "They can also alter a person's dream and use them to control the behavior of the person. It seems that they don't always kill the person. Sometimes they just take a little, but not enough to kill. This usually results in dreams where you are being chased by an unseen foe. Usually you wake up when you trip, just before you fall."
"Wait a minute," Cordelia said a frown on her face. "Are you saying these things can control what a person dreams about? That my dreams were caused by those creeps?" Her voice had risen and she began to pace.
"Yes," Angel said getting up from the couch and walking over to Cordelia. He took a hold of her shoulders to stop her pacing.
"What!" Cordelia screeched terrified. She didn't like the fact that something evil could just enter her mind like that. "Giles, isn't there a protection spell that will keep them out?" Cordelia turned frantic eyes towards Giles. "Like the one you used to keep Angel out of Buffy's house when he turned bad?"
"I am afraid not Cordelia," Giles said sympathetically. He felt bad that he could not reassure her.
"Don't they need some kind of invitation?" Riley asked. "I mean they can't enter a person's house without being invited but they can enter a human beings mind just like that."
"No, actually they do need some kind of invitation to enter the mind," Wesley said speaking up for the first time. He was feeling a little left out. He knew he wasn't a Watcher anymore, but he had as much knowledge about this thing as Giles did and he was a little irritated that everyone seemed to be turning to Giles for answers.
"Well, they certainly didn't have my permission to come stomping into my dreams," Buffy replied. "I never asked them to come in and show me something that I was better off not knowing about."
Angel looked at Buffy sadly, knowing that she was talking about that Thanksgiving weekend they had spent together. He knew she was right. She would have been better off if she had never learned of it, but he couldn't really regret it. It had been a terrible burden for him to carry alone and it was comforting to know that she could now share the memory with him.
"Actually you did," Willow said. "When you fought them."
"I most certainly did not," Buffy argued.
"Its not really an invitation," Giles said taking over the briefing again. "They need physical contact with the victim before they can enter their dreams."
"Oh." Buffy again turned her thoughts inward trying to process everything she had heard so far.
"They never touched me," Cordelia said. Her face was white and she had allowed Angel to help her to a chair. "I never saw them before my vision in the church."
Buffy looked up at Cordelia and then over to Giles. She raised her eyebrows and waited for the man who seemed to know it all to explain this.
"We are not sure how they were able to enter your mind, Cordelia," Giles admitted. Cordelia let out a moan and he hurried to finish his thought. "However, it is possible that you were in contact with them without your knowledge. It is not often that they actually attack their intended victims. Usually they settle for brushing up against the human in a crowd."
"But we don't believe you are in any real danger from them," Wesley said. Cordelia looked like she was about to faint and he wanted to reassure her. "We believe that they just wanted to use you to get Angel here."
"Okay, so lets recap," Buffy said trying to put all of the pieces together. "They enter a persons dreams and steal their life force, which they need to live. Now they appear to be after me. Why? Is it for revenge because I killed the Master? And if they are after me why drag Angel into this?
" We don't believe this has anything to do with the Master," Giles said. He began his pacing again. He was frustrated because they seemed to know so little about these creatures. Much of the information they had was sketchy at best and they had been forced to draw many conclusions, which were not necessarily based on any real facts.
"We think they are after you because of who you are," Angel said sitting down with Buffy again. He felt like he needed to be close to her. "Because you are the Slayer."
"Well, that is nothing new," Buffy said. "At least they aren't very original."
"According to the information Willow's friend sent us, these things are especially desperate right now. In fact they usually go after the weak instead of the strong. They usually find their victims among the elderly or in the nursery. Willow's friend believes that whenever someone dies in their sleep it is actually the result of these creatures sucking the life force out of the victim."
"SIDS," Joyce said. She had been listening to the discussion with growing horror. Usually Buffy did not talk about her Slaying duties in front of her. This was quite an education.
"What?" Buffy asked. She was a little shocked to find her mother sitting next to her. She had forgotten her presence.
"Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. Of course they must be the cause," Giles said a stunned expression on his face. His respect for Buffy's mother, already very high, just went up another notch. He could see where Buffy got her native intelligence. She might not be very good at studying but she had good instincts.
"That's awful," Cordelia said. She didn't especially like children. They were messy and noisy, but she liked babies, especially if they were cute. She hated to think that anything bad could happen to them.
"Quite," Giles responded.
"I don't follow," Riley said. "If they usually go after the weak why are they after Buffy now?"
"Well, as I said they appear to be quite desperate just now. Remember how I said the Master had saved several of them," Giles said. When he received nods of encouragement and understanding he continued. "Well it seems as if their numbers have dwindled down to just the two. There is no explanation for this."
"So they hope to save themselves by taking a strong life force instead of a weak one," Buffy stated matter of factly. She had become used to demons seeking her out because she was strong, because they sought to prove something or to gain added strength by drinking her blood. "Why couldn't they have gone after Faith?"
"She's too hard to get at," Angel said. "You, however, are here just for the taking."
"Well, I am not going without a fight," Buffy reminded him. "Its not going to be as easy as they think."
"Exactly," Giles replied. Buffy gave him a confused look and he hurried to explain. "One of the reasons they go for the weak ones is because they are easy targets. You are not."
"That is why they needed me here," Angel said taking over the explanation. "They need you to be vulnerable. That is why they manipulated Cordelia's dreams, so they could get me here. That is why they showed you the events of that Thanksgiving. They wanted you to be emotionally upset. It weakens you and leaves you open to their assault."
"So they're done with me, right?" Cordelia asked relief plainly evident in her expression.
"Yes," Giles said. "You were just a means to an end. They never had any intention of killing you, although, they probably took a little of your life force while they were there. Have you been feeling especially tired recently?" Cordelia said that she had and Giles nodded. He really believed that she was out of danger. They were too focused on getting to Buffy to come after anyone else.
"If your presence is putting Buffy in danger, why don't you leave?" Riley asked Angel with hostility.
"He isn't putting me in danger," Buffy insisted. "He only makes me stronger." Buffy turned and looked at Angel. Their eyes met and locked as the connection between them flared to life.
"I am not going any where while Buffy's life is in danger," Angel said glaring at Riley. When would Rambo get that through his thick skull.
"But if you left wouldn't Buffy be strong enough to fight these things off?" Willow said reasonably. She didn't want to offend Angel, but she could see Riley's point. She could also see that this whole situation was very painful for all three of them, but especially for Riley. He looked shell-shocked. He looked like he hadn't been able to comprehend everything that was happening.
"Its too late for that," Giles said. "We all know that if Angel hadn't been able to wake her, they would have succeeded with that last dream. Actually, I don't think Angel's absence would change much. The damage has already been done."
"What do you mean?" Buffy asked confused.
"Since Angel's arrival you have been focused on your personal problems, not on your Slaying duties," Giles explained. He didn't blame her for it, but no one could argue with the facts. "If Angel left now it wouldn't really solve anything, you and Riley would still have things to work out."
"So this is all my fault, now?" Riley asked bitterly. He couldn't believe that they were blaming him for loving Buffy. Didn't they understand how he felt about her? He had put his heart on the line. He knew she didn't love him the way he loved her. He knew she never would, but he had been willing to take what she had to give. Now he was being punished for it.
"No one is blaming you," Giles said kindly. Despite what Riley thought, he did understand the boy's feelings for Buffy. "But you can't deny that things are tense between you and Buffy just now."
Buffy stared at Riley her blues eyes incredibly sad. She had never wanted to hurt him like this. And she knew he was terribly hurt. She instantly forgave him for the arguments they had had. "So what do we need to do?" she asked hoping to distract the others from her problems with Riley.
"You were fighting, right, just before you had the last dream?" Angel asked. Buffy reluctantly nodded. "And you fought just before your dream last night?" Again Buffy nodded.
"And, yesterday when you came home from the church," Willow spoke up. "Remember you were so tired you couldn't even get upstairs by yourself."
"What is your point?" Riley asked trying to defend himself. He felt like he was being attacked.
"It's the arguments that are hurting Buffy," Wesley explained. He too was trying to be gentle with Riley's feelings. He could see that the young man was struggling with some deep emotions.
"I am not leaving," Riley insisted. He felt his inner anger and sadness raising to the surface. He was seconds away from attacking his worst enemy. Only the realization that this would hurt Buffy more than Angel kept him from acting on his urges. He didn't want to do anything that would add to Buffy's stress.
"You don't have to leave. You just have to put your personal feelings aside," Angel told the irate ex-soldier. "This has to be strictly about saving Buffy's life. No discussions about failed weddings or anything else that doesn't have anything to do with destroying these creatures. Can you do that?"
Riley nodded and resumed his seat on the floor. If putting his own feelings of jealousy and rage aside would help Buffy then he would do it. He didn't really want to leave her, not like this, not knowing if she would live or die.
Buffy smiled gratefully at Riley. She didn't want him to leave either. And she would be especially grateful to end the arguments. At least for now. She knew that when this was all over she was going to have to sit down with both of her would-be lovers. She was going to have to come to some kind of decision. But I can't think about that right now. I have to concentrate on these evil little devils that have come to finish me off, Buffy reminded herself.
"So we know why they have come to Sunnydale and how they plan on killing me," Buffy said looking at Giles. "All we need to do now is figure out how I can kill them."
Giles looked extremely uncomfortable. "Unfortunately, that is not going to be very easy. Willow's friend was not able to find any information about how the others died. We don't know anything about their weaknesses."
"Well, they're vampires, right?" Xander asked. "Can't you just stake them?" It seemed logical to him.
"I don't think so," Buffy replied thoughtfully. She raised her arm and rubbed at her forehead. "It didn't seem to work in my dream."
"But that was just a dream," Riley said. "One that they were controlling I might add."
"They weren't just controlling it, they were actually there in her mind," Giles said. "That is why it was so vital that she wake up from her dream before they killed her. If she had died in her dream she would really have been dead."
"You never really die in your dreams," Willow said softly. When the others turned and looked at her she explained, "Whenever you are being chased or attacked in a dream you wake up before they can kill you. You never die in your dreams."
"Or if you do, you aren't able to tell anyone," Cordelia said.
"Okay, so I have to fight them in my dreams," Buffy said. "Now how do I kill them."
"Well with a normal vampire you stake them in the heart, right?" Xander asked. "If you stake them in the thigh it might hurt them but it wouldn't kill them."
"Xander would you shut-up and let the grownups come up with a plan," Cordelia said nastily. Xander stared at her with a hurt expression his face.
"Cordelia," Willow hissed in reproach. "I think Xander was actually leading to something, weren't you?" She looked hopefully at Xander. She didn't want her defense of him to have been done in vain.
"Actually I was," Xander informed them. "But since you grownups don't seem to need my help, I think I will just keep it to myself."
"Xander," Buffy warned. She didn't have time for his childishness. She was beginning to feel a little tired and desperately wanted to go to sleep. She knew she couldn't do that, though, until they had some kind of plan.
"As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted. You stake a normal vampire in the heart because that is where their life force, or whatever you want to call it, flows. The heart pumps the blood they need to live through their bodies, right. Well, with these vampires the brain seems to be the most vital organ."
Giles looked at Xander astounded. Sometimes the lad actually came up with a brilliant idea. It reminded him of the time that Xander had come up with the perfect plan to destroy the Judge.
"So you are suggesting that I stake him in the head?" Buffy asked skeptically. She too was remembering his birthday gift of a bazooka that she used to kill the Judge, but this didn't seem like such a brilliant idea.
"Not exactly," Xander said. "Although, I suppose that would work. I just thought you could cut his head off, or maybe cut it in two. I guess it doesn't matter as long as you destroy the brain."
"That actually sounds like a good plan, Buffy," Angel said. Sometimes Xander showed an intelligence that he rarely let people see.
"Right, so all I have to do is fall asleep and then separate these guys from their enormous ugly heads," Buffy said rubbing her hands with glee. Now that they had a plan she was ready for action. She snuggled back down into the cushions of the couch and closed her eyes.
"Wait, Buffy," Angel said touching her arm, forcing her to open her eyes. "You are too weak right now. You would never win."
"I can't exactly take a nap and go after them when I have gotten some rest," Buffy said a little impatiently.
"I know that," Angel replied. "But you are not strong enough to handle them on your own."
Willow looked up at this and stared intently at her friends. The glimmer of an idea was brewing in her brain. She just hoped she was strong enough.
"Okay," Buffy conceded the point. She was really weak. And she was scared too. "So how do you suggest I get some help. Its not like you can just walk right into my dream and help me."
"Actually he can," Willow said quietly.
