FIRST THREAD: Part Sixteen
"Got it," Mr. Trick called out as he crossed the firehouse to where Kakistos was sitting in his chair.
He didn't even have to say what he got, Kakistos instantly knew what the younger vampire was talking about and sat up straight.
"Where is she?" the large vampire demanded.
Trick glanced at the small laptop in his hand. "She's been staying at a motel at the edge of town. A real fleatrap. Girl must seriously be low on funds to hole up in a place like--"
Kakistos shot to his feet and was suddenly towering over Trick. "I don't care why she's there!" This got the attention of all the vamps in the main chamber. "She's going to die for what she did!" With a cloven thumb he traced the scar that ran down the right side of his face starting from his forehead, over his dead white eye, and down his cheek.
Trick praised himself for not stepping back and manged to keep his voice steady as he said, "As soon as the sun sets we'll head out. We can be there in about an hour."
Kakistos continued to glare down at him but he didn't say anything else. For a moment, Trick thought the big vamp may actually be considering taking his frustrations out on him and he was about to take a step back when Kakistos finally sank back down into his easy chair.
Trick resisted the urge to sigh in relief and turned his attention to his laptop as a way to avoid the master's gaze. And where the hell was Spike? he thought. The sun was nearly down. If he was going to attack he had better start soon, otherwise Kakistos would be able to escape into the night. And despite his better judgment, Trick had doubled the guard on the sewer access in the back.
There was a knock at the large doors at the front of the firehouse and Trick looked over his shoulder with a frown.
"Did someone order food?" he asked.
The four other vampires in the chamber looked at one another and shook their heads.
Nodding to one of the vampires, Trick said, "Theo, check that out. Maybe it's a Jehovah's witness."
Complying, one of the young vampires headed towards the doors, walking pass the pile of corpses of various delivery guys, that had accumilated during the past two days. The food the unfortunate humans had delivered were discarded and untouched, while the vamps' *real* food was drained of their blood.
With interest, Trick and the others watched Theo approach the smaller access door, pulling on a long welder's glove, that would protect his arm when he reached out to grab the unlucky soul standing out in the sunlight.
Ready, Theo grabbed the knob with his ungloved hand, turned it, and swung the door open. Trick saw Theo reaching out to grab the person whoever it was , but an arm from outside struck out like a snake and snagged the shoulder of Theo's jacket and, if Trick hadn't been looking on, he would have said that the young vampire had simply vanished. Unfortunately, for Theo, that was not the case, as the young vampire's screams echoed from outside as he burned in the fading, but just as deadly, sunlight.
The screams were abruptly cut off when Theo burst into ashes and everyone inside didn't move for a few seconds. Even Kakistos seemed taken aback, but the large vampire finally rose to his feet and was about to give his minions an order when someone stepped through the small door.
With his vampire reflexes, Trick could have saved his computer when it slipped from his fingers, but the shock of what he was seeing didn't even let him register the sound the expensive laptop made when it hit the concrete floor. And the new arrival just stood there in the shaft of orange sunlight coming through the door behind him.
Unharmed, Spike took the opportunity of everyone's shock to light a cigarette. Holding the cig between his fingers, he exhaled and eyed each of the vampires in turn. He grinned.
"Okay, who wants to be second?"
*****
Kendra found the motel which was located just off the highway leading out of town. Faith had told them where she was staying but Kendra and the others had not been there yet, nor had the new Slayer invited them over. Seeing the place, Kendra could understand why. Even some of the un-airconditioned buildings she had stayed in her own country were in better condition then this place. Not that comfort had any bearing on her being the Slayer, she thought, and actually approved of Faith's choice. It was adequate and simply served its purpose which was all a Slayer needed. A place to rest and heal wounds.
With a haven from the demons, even a temporary one, and given enough time, a Slayer could heal almost any wound she suffered. Providing it didn't kill her outright, Kendra thought, and reflected on a time when she had received a rather severe wound, the worst she had ever suffered, she realized.
It was shortly after her return home from traveling to Sunnydale and meeting her predecessor for the first time. Even though she had hid it, Kendra had been as surprised as Buffy to realize that there were now two Slayers in the world. But no one seemed to have been more shakened by this news than Mr. Zabuto. She immediately noticed a difference in his demeanor. Though he was not a man who readily showed much emotions, she had known him for too long not to see the tension in his body that was there, even in subtle movements of his head. But since Mr. Zabuto felt so strongly about never letting emotions interfere with one's duty, she gave it little thought.
On that night she had retreated to a small inn of the nearby village, unable to make it all the way home, wearing a long coat --confiscated from one of the demons she had slain-- to hide her wounds, trying to drip as little blood as possible. Kendra barely made it to her room before collapsing on the bed, her blood quickly soaking through the bedspreads. From what remained of her supplies she started to dress her wounds but must have passed out before she had the first wound completely bandaged. For the next thing she was aware of was someone kneeling beside the bed and, through her hazy sight saw an Oriental woman tending her wounds. Kendra had recognized the woman as her amah from when she was younger, but it had been years since she had seen the woman, ever since Kendra's mastery of the Chinese language and having just reached her teen years, Mr. Zabuto had dismissed the woman, declaring her duty to his Slayer complete.
Her amah had left that same day and Kendra had nearly missed her leaving the home, only catching sight of her as she was walking out. But she had looked back and saw the young girl she had taken care of for years and seeing the sorrow and tears in the woman's eyes brought out emotions in Kendra she had never felt before. Sure she had cried during hard training sessions or whenever she injured herself, but that was from a physical pain Kendra could identify and, with strong words from her Watcher, over time had learned to suppress.
But what she was feeling at that moment, she could not identify. It hurt as much as anything that had happened to her physically, but she did not know how to suppress this kind of pain. Nor stop the tears from falling down her cheeks. Upon seeing her charge start to cry, the woman could not keep herself from crying. Mr. Zabuto had grown angry at this and hurried the woman out and Kendra cried harder. It seemed like hours before her Watcher had been able to calm her down and he tried to explained to her that what she was feeling could get her killed during a fight, citing how dangerous it was for her to allow such emotions to deter her mindset.
The next weeks that followed had been almost continuous training and meditation exercises. Anything and everything Mr. Zabuto could have her do to hone her focus, not let anything distract her. That had been the last time Kendra could remember crying.
Now seeing the same woman who had cared for her all those years ago suddenly by her side, tending her injuries as if she had never stopped, made Kendra remember those long buried emotions she had felt. She had tried to speak, to confirm that she was indeed awake and not dreaming the woman's presence, but her amah had pressed a soft finger to Kendra's lips and shushed her quietly. In her weakened condition, Kendra had been unable to stay awake and had faded back to sleep. When she woke up the following day to discover the sun already setting, she found Mr. Zabuto in her room, sanitizing fresh bandages for her wounds.
He took her report about her mission for the night before, as he changed her dressings and was displeased that she had not completed her mission. Though she had succeeded in slaying the leader of the pack and his strongest minions Kendra did feel all the mission objectives were met, but really couldn't argue with her Watcher's assessment since she did in fact leave a few of the demons alive. Even though they did pose little threat. He also reprimanded her for not contacting him last night and that she was lucky she was able to wrap her wounds before she bled to death. What if she had lost consciousness? As he told her it was lucky he had come into town to look for her, her mind was racing to determine if maybe she had dreamt her amah being with her last night. She *had* lost consciousness, that she had no doubt about, but could she have really woke up during the night and treated her own wounds and not remember doing so?
As the months passed it seemed as if Mr. Zabuto was growing increasingly unsuccessful in keeping his emotions in check, and was even becoming short-tempered. When Kendra failed in little tasks on missions, which just a few short months before he would otherwise overlook, he would reprimand her severely. Sometimes, needlessly, Kendra felt. It was almost as if her each success was not good enough. No matter how big the threat that was put down or how dangerous the demon she faced, Kendra was receiving less and less praise for her accomplishments, though Kendra herself sought none. She was still getting used to the high --comparatively speaking-- praise she received from Mr. Giles.
It wasn't until the night before she would return to Sunnydale that things became a bit more clear. It was a restless night and Kendra was on her way to the training room when she heard Mr. Zabuto's voice, having little success in keeping it from raising in anger, as he spoke to someone on the phone. Or rather arguing with that someone. She remained hidden on the other side of the slightly opened door and listened to the heated conversation. From her Watcher's side of the discussion she discovered he was actually speaking to one of the council members, recognizing the name Travers, who was the go-between for the Slayers and the rest of the Watchers Council. Mr. Zabuto was implying that the Council was treating his Slayer as a back-up unit for the *former* Slayer.
Kendra had never heard him refer to Buffy as that before. It was as if he no longer considered Buffy a real Slayer. She listened as he continued to argue that the Council was not giving enough attention to the needs of his Slayer --she also noticed that Mr. Zabuto had not used Kendra's name throughout the half of the conversation she overheard.
Was that why her Watcher seemed so stressed lately? she wondered. Because Kendra was not the sole Slayer? That Buffy, who during her first year as the Slayer, had already made an impressive mark for herself by slaying the legendary Lothos, was still around after surviving her first death, thus activating Kendra as the next Slayer? Buffy had also defeated, the even more legendary Master, the vampire who killed her. Kendra, during her months as the Slayer, had yet to face a foe as legendary as either of those two.
The next day her Watcher sent her to Sunnydale to assist Buffy, telling her that recent portents had indicated a powerful dark rising looming on the horizon. But from his conversation with the Council, she didn't believe the order came from him.
Kendra shoved all thought of what happened next aside as she stepped up to Faith's door and knocked sharply on it.
"Yeah?" she heard Faith's voice from inside two seconds before the brunette swung the door open.
She just stood there a beat, trying to hide the surprise of seeing Kendra standing at her door.
"Hey, Ken," Faith greeted. "What brings you to the poor side of town?"
*****
The last bell had rang about twenty minutes ago and Oz and Willow were back in the library, sitting at the table. Giles was in his office calling the retreat in England once again. With the first phone call he had discovered that Faith's Watcher had not shown up at the retreat and they would try contacting her in Boston then get back to Giles as soon as they could. But since this morning there was still no word from them and Giles had decided to give them another call.
But with what Giles had told them about what happened to Xander last night, Faith's recklessness had taken a back burner. Well, a sideburner, anyway, Willow thought. Giles had made it clear that Xander completely believed that it was Buffy who had saved him last night. Just suddenly appearing and mysteriously vanishing shortly after.
"This is all so . . ." Willow trailed off. "I don't think weird is a strong enough word for what this is."
"Do you think Xander really saw Buffy?" Oz asked.
Willow turned her head towards him and was about to reply. Then stopped, seeing the expression on his face. Most would not have noticed anything beyond the calm stoic exterior which was Oz's trademark, but Willow saw a hint of his true emotions reflected in his eyes. Oz had always been there for her, been strong for her. Especially those weeks following Buffy's death. Never once faltering or giving in to his own pain. Feeling just a little selfish, she realized that it never really occured to her that Oz might have been in need of support himself. True he hadn't been as close to Buffy as Willow and the others were, but they had been friends.
Willow took his hand in hers and gave it a reassuring squeeze, not sure if it was for him or herself. Probably for both, she thought.
"I don't know what to think," she finally said. "I mean," she hesitated. "Buffy did come back from the dead before, but--but that was only after she had been gone for just a couple of minutes. This was more . . ."
Willow stopped again, mouth trying to form the word. She was about to say "bloody" but just couldn't bring herself to. True she had missed nearly everything that had happened in the library that night, having been knocked into a coma early in the fight. But she had seen the library after getting out of the hospital, in fact had insisted on going there. The library was still marked a crime scene and she had Oz help her out of the wheelchair, she was confined to, in her weakened condition, as to avoid rolling through the blood that had yet to be cleaned. A lot of the blood, especially at the foot of the stairs, she knew had been Buffy's.
"It was . . ." Willow began again.
"Different," Oz said, gently.
Grateful, Willow said, "Yeah. And she couldn't be a vampire." Her voice took on a note of dread. "I mean, even if we had somehow missed noticing her grave being disturbed, don't you think she would have come after us?" She quickly shook her head, feeling the tears come to her eyes as the words just started to tumble out. "Not Buffy, of course. I--I mean vampire Buffy. She would have come after those she cared about, I mean that Buffy-Buffy cared about, the--the same way Angel came after all of us. But then why would she show herself now after so long, and--"
"And Kendra told us Buffy didn't feed off Drusilla," Oz interjected, more to stop Willow. And the redhead did take the opportunity to calm herself and managed to blink away the tears from her eyes. "We shouldn't jump to any conclusions just yet. There's still the possibility that Xander was mistaken about what he saw."
Even though Willow did not completely believe that, she nodded. "I hope so." Her eyes widened as she realized how that sounded. "I mean, not that I don't want Buffy to be alive again, it just--"
Oz patted her hand, offering her a small smile. "I know what you meant. We shouldn't get our hopes up."
"You're right. Becoming a vampire is just one way someone could come back." Willow frowned. "And the other ways aren't anymore appealing . . ." She trailed off once again. Then said, "I think we should wait to see how Giles wants to handle it."
As Oz nodded in agreement, Cordelia walked into the library.
"Well, I called Xander's house again," she announced, as she headed for the table. "He still hasn't been home today. At least, that's what his mother says." She scoffed slightly as she sat down across from them. "As if she would notice if he walked through the front door."
Worried, Willow said, "I don't like this. We should go look for him."
"But what about Kendra?" Oz asked.
"Well," Willow started, conflict in her expression. "Kendra's probably on her way to find Faith. She should be fine. Even if this Kakistos guy is here gunning for Faith, two Slayers would be a handful for any vampire to handle."
"The sun is going to be down soon," Cordelia added. "If Xander's out there wondering around he could get caught in the middle of it. And we all know what an expert he is at getting himself into trouble."
Before anyone could say anything else, Giles stepped out of his office. He looked up and saw them.
"You're all here. Good." He stopped just a few steps away from the table and Willow immediately picked up on the not so pleasant vibes coming form him.
"What did they say?" Willow asked, not really anticipating good news. "Did you talk to Faith's Watcher?"
Giles took a deep breath. "Her Watcher is dead."
This struck everyone silent as the words sank in. It was Oz who finally broke the silence. "How?"
"They're not sure of the details," Giles said. "But searching through the news archives, they suspect that she was killed perhaps three weeks ago. Her body was only discovered ten days ago." His voice lowered to a near whisper as he removed his glasses, avoiding eye contact. "What was left of it."
"So these guys are after Faith," Cordelia stated.
"It would appear so."
"We have to tell Kendra," Willow said. "She needs to know. If Faith finds out that Kakistos's in town she might run away again leaving Kendra to fight them alone."
"I knew I didn't like her," Cordelia said, bitterly.
"Let's not be hasty," Giles said, reasonably. "Faith obviously came to us for help."
"More like to duck for cover."
"Then why wouldn't she tell us what happened?" Willow asked.
Looking down at the glasses in his hand, Giles started to pace slowly in front of the table. "Her Watcher had just been killed. I'd imagine she's going through a rather rough time right now."
"Well, she sure knows how to hide it well," Cordelia put in, not too unkindly.
"She may even blame herself for not being able to protect her Watcher," Giles continued. "Nevertheless, it's more important now than ever to find her and talk to her. We must reassure her that we are on her side. And we don't want to appear confrontational. We don't want to make her start running again."
"So it might be a good idea to find her before Kendra does?" Willow suggested. She saw the look Oz and Giles gave her and added quickly, "I know I was the one who said it would be best for her to talk to Faith, but she doesn't know about this. And-and she's not exactly the nonconfrontational type of Slayer."
"There's a contradiction in terms," Cordelia said. "No such thing as a subtle Slayer."
"Then we should hurry," Giles said.
Willow stood up. "What about Xander? I'm worried about him."
"We could split up," Oz suggested.
"I'll drive out to the Bronze," Cordelia replied. "That's where he supposedly saw Buffy. He'll probably go back there."
"I'll go with you," Willow said.
"Uh, Willow," Giles spoke up. "I think it would be best if you accompanied me to find Faith. You and Xander did seem to get along with her the best."
"I suppose," she admitted, a bit reluctantly.
"Don't worry." Oz took her hand, reassuringly. "I'll go with Cordelia. We'll find Xander."
But Willow was unable to keep the worry out of the smile she gave him. "Okay."
"We'll go in your van, Oz," Cordelia said, as the two of them headed out of the library. "Just in case Xander's gotten himself beaten up again and dripping blood."
Willow rolled her eyes as she watched them leave.
"Faith told you where she was staying, yes?" Giles asked.
"Yeah. I think I can show you where it is," she told him as they followed the others out.
*****
"Kill him!" Kakistos roared.
As the first fanged minion charged Spike head on, the blonde vampire was calmly reaching inside his leather duster and pulled out a metal flask, quickly unscrewing the top. He threw his head back taking a quick swig and the first vampire was nearly on top of him when Spike spat the liquid directly in his face.
The vampire screamed in pain and began to claw at his face as his wet flesh started to sizzle, smoke rising while he staggered back. Spike wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and returned his cigarette to his lips. Stepping forward, he placed a hand on the side of the vampire's head and nonchalantly shoved the writhing creature aside, where he fell to floor, still clutching his disintegrating face. Spike grimaced at his hand, but then grinned as he wiped it on his shirt.
Seeing the stunned faces of the other vampires, Spike chuckled. "Messy bit'o business, eh?"
"How . . ?" Mr. Trick's mind was racing to explain how this vampire had been able to walk in from direct sunlight, seemingly take a drink of holy water, and yet remain uneffected.
"You have the Gem!" roared Kakistos. Even though Trick had no idea what the master was talking about, it seemed the large vampire knew exactly how Spike came to possess such miraculous endurance.
Spike just continued to grin smugly. "Be surprised what you can find with a bit'o digging."
Enraged, Kakistos roared. "Get him! I want that gem!"
The vampire to Trick's left, and closest to Spike, charged the blonde vamp, but Trick raised an arm in front of the other two vampires to his right before they started to move. The two, a male and female, gave him a dubious look. Trick just shook his head at them.
"Let's see what happens, hmm?" he said, quietly.
Kakistos didn't notice this betrayal from his right-hand man, for he was following the other vampire heading towards Spike.
Again, Spike seemed to wait til the last minute before he reached into his coat once more. Seeing this, the charging vampire tried to reach him before he could pull out whatever weapon he was reaching for, but he was not expecting the wooden cross Spike shoved in front of him. The vampire growled in pain, bringing his arms in front of his face, trying to stop his forward momentum. And he succeeded in stopping before he collided with the cross. As he tried to backpeddle away, he did catch a glimpse of the hand holding the cross and noticed the absence of burning flesh. Before he could take even a step back, Spike reversed his hold on the cross, revealing the longer end, sharpened to a point, and slammed it into the vampire's chest.
In the three seconds it took for the vampire to turn to dust, the cross continued to burned his chest from the inside, smoke rising, until the creature's screams were mercifully cut off when he finally disintegrated.
The quick dispatch of another one of his minions, caused Kakistos to hesitate. But the monstrous vampire quickly recovered and charged at Spike once more. Spike was already pulling out a liquor bottle from his coat.
Seeing that the bottle was filled with a clear liquid, "Holy water," Trick muttered, and he and the other two vamps started to step back.
With great force, Spike threw the bottle down at Kakistos' feet, and the master vampire instantly stopped in his tracks, his feet skidding slightly in the large puddle. A second later, he realized his soaked legs were not burning. Kakistos raised his eyes at Spike and sneered.
"I guess you forgot to have it blessed, tiny vampire," he growled.
Spike just raised an eyebrow and tilted his head, not looking terribly concerned. "Bugger me, then." With that, Spike plucked the cigarette from between his lips and tossed it down.
The instant the burning tip hit, the puddle ignited surrounding Kakistos in a blaze that quickly flared up his legs. In less than two seconds, he was completely engulfed in flames.
Roaring in pain, and mostly rage, Kakistos thrashed within the fire that was charring his flesh, as Spike just stood back and watched.
"Well," Spike said, "now that that's taken care of--"
But he was cut off when the unliving flame that was Kakistos suddenly lunged forward at him and Spike tried to dodge.
"Oh, sod it--"
But he was slammed to the floor with the large vampire on top, who was determined to take Spike with him. Trick lost sight of the blonde vampire under the fire. Guess he wouldn't have to deal with Spike after all, Trick thought with a grin. But he did appreaciate the sly vampire for taking out the big guy for him.
Then Kakistos suddenly exploded in burning embers of ash and Trick saw that Spike was still moving. The blonde vampire, nonchalantly it seemed, rose to his feet. This, despite the fact that he was half on fire himself, which he removed when he slipped out of his coat and let it drop to the floor. He stomped the fire out with his heavy boot.
"Bloody hell," he muttered, picking up his burnt coat, examining it for a moment. Then he ran a hand over his hair, and smiled when he found it was unscathed, as the rest of himself was.
As Trick and the other vampires gaped, they watched Spike walk calmly past the fire towards them, slipping back into his coat, which was still smoking in some spots.
Just then, three more vamps rushed into the main chamber from a back corridor and stopped in their tracks as they took in the scene. Spike just grinned at all of them.
"Good," he said. "Now that we're all here, what say we get this meeting on the way?"
"Where's the master?" demanded one of the new arrivals.
Spike eyed the three vamps for a moment, then just shook his head with a sigh. "I suppose we could postpone the meeting a few more minutes."
End of Part Sixteen
********
SECOND THREAD: Part Seventeen
Angel woke with a start, gasping needlessly for breath. Just a long remembered human reaction to a very inhuman nightmare. But unlike the countless other nightmares he's had in the hundred years since his human soul was first returned to him, this nightmare was quickly fading, as if he was somehow unable to keep it in his memory. Not that he mind. The feelings of dread, and fear . . .
Yes, he thought. Whatever the dream had been about, it had frightened him deeply. A type of fear that he felt only when something terrible was about to happen, or when someone he cared for was in danger. And that feeling was still with him, even though the remnants of the nightmare were almost gone.
Sitting up in his bed in the mansion, he realized that his whole body was trembling. He swung his legs off the bed and leaned his hands on his thighs, trying to calm himself down.
"Buffy," his hoarse throat barely allowed him any voice.
He told himself it was just a dream, but he needed to know if it really had been about Buffy, if for no other reason than to give himself peace of mind. Peace of mind, he scoffed silently, as he closed his eyes and tried to recall anything from the nightmare.
It seemed there had been anything but peace of mind as of late. Bad enough that the Mayor of Sunnydale had some great big evil plan scheduled on graduation day, or even that Faith had recently joined his side, not to mention that he and Buffy's relationship was on a "break"--
Now his mind had to start giving himself imaginery things to worry about.
He understood completely why Buffy needed to take some time away from him, but he couldn't keep himself from feeling just a little bitter at her decision. True she was dealing with quite a bit right now. All the more reason to let him help her, he thought.
Even though the past week away from her had been not unlike torture, he was respecting her wish and staying away. But not out of reach, he told himself.
During his own patrol he had spotted her a couple of times and had resisted the urge to go to her. The temptation to follow her had been even greater. Thinking about it made him feel alittle remorseful of the vampire he had run into after seeing her. He had taken a little longer than usual to slay the creature.
Okay, he admitted to himself. Maybe a lot longer than usual.
He opened his eyes again. There was nothing of the nightmare he could remember. It was more a feeling now. And not knowing what had caused these feelings of impending doom, was even more aggravating than being able to see the danger right in front of him.
But what did it have to do with Buffy? he wondered. Or was it just his longing for her that was associating Buffy with the nightmare? It made sense. It wasn't as if she was ever very far from his thoughts. There was probably a span of five minutes during the week when he actually hadn't been thinking about her, he thought.
"That's gotta be a record," he said, softly.
Whatever it was, no matter how much he believed it was just a dream and meant nothing, Angel knew he wasn't going to feel better until he actually went to see Buffy. Knew she was all right. Even if it meant he would have to see from a distance and not talk to her.
Wouldn't be the first time, he realized.
He got up to get dressed, knowing the sun would be down very soon.
*****
"This is unacceptable," declared Wesley. "Buffy knows perfectly well how important finding out about the Mayor's Ascension is. She should be here."
"Do calm yourself," Giles said, mildly as he walked past the young Watcher to the table setting down the book in his hand. He sat down and took a sip of tea from his cup. "I'm sure we can navigate the perils of research without the Slayer for a few hours."
"Well, I'm more concerned with what our Slayer might do left on her own."
"She's just having dinner with her mother," Willow told him. She was sitting across from Giles.
Sitting beside her, Xander frowned at her. "Uh, Will, Buffy did tell you that Faith was with her mom last night, didn't she?"
"Yeah, she did." Xander just raised his eyebrows in an expactant manner, which prompted her, "And?"
"*And* that she said she was going to kill Faith?"
"So?" was all Willow said.
Xander let out an exasperated sigh. "Will, I know you don't like Faith all that much . . ."
"Only in that `not at all' kind of way," Willow said, in a cheery voice.
"Okay. But you're not even just a little worried about Buffy?"
"Of course I am. With Faith being such a big threat to Buffy and her mom."
"No. I mean that Buffy might actually go out Faithhunting."
Willow shook her head. "Even as dangerous as Faith is, Buffy wouldn't do that. She wouldn't kill anybody. It's just not in her nature."
Xander didn't reply and, seeing his expression, Willow glanced at Giles and saw the concern in the librarian's eyes and he brought his cup back to his lips.
"Right?" she asked.
"You weren't here when she said it, Will," Xander told her gently. "It was kinda scary."
"But you don't really believe she would actually do it?" she demanded.
Giles was looking down in his cup, as he answered, "Buffy can be a bit headstrong at times. Not to mention quite a force when she sets her mind to something." He took a breath. "But I'm sure she'll do nothing rash."
"Right," Willow agreed. "And she is home having dinner with her mom, right now. How much trouble can she get into anyway?"
*****
"Mom, I'm home," Buffy called.
She was closing the front door when her mother's voice came from the kitchen. "In here, Buffy."
Buffy made sure to lock the door and slide the chain in place. Little good would they do if Faith decided she really wanted to get into the house, she thought. But at least the noise of the door getting kicked in would provide some warning for them.
She hung up her coat and headed for the kitchen. As she walked through the dining room, the aroma of cooking food filled her nose.
"Mom, I said I would help you fix dinner."
"Oh, I know, honey," Joyce said, as Buffy stepped into the kitchen. "But we thought we'd get things started."
But Buffy had stopped hearing her mother's voice at "honey." She was also stopped in her tracks by what she was seeing.
"Besides, it gave us some time to talk a little," Joyce said, as she stirred a pot of sauce on the stove.
Behind her, Faith was rinsing off a head of lettuce at the sink. The brunette smiled at the blonde Slayer as she looked over her shoulder at Buffy's shocked expression.
"Hey, B," Faith said. "Just in time."
End of Part Seventeen
********
FIRST THREAD: Part Eighteen
"We need to talk," Kendra said, walking inside the room past Faith.
Still facing out the door, Faith said, "Please, come in."
The brunette closed the door and turned to face Kendra who was standing in the middle of the room looking at Faith.
"It's about de vumpires we fought last night."
Walking towards the bed, Faith said, "You know, you really need to do something about all that small talk, Ken. You gotta learn to just get right down to business." She grinned as she sat down on the edge of the bed. But Kendra was just looking at her with the same serious expression on her face.
Faith rolled her eyes.
Then she noticed Kendra's gaze was on the bed. The bed that was still unmade. After her night, not to mention morning, Faith thought, with Scott. Kendra saw that Faith was looking at her and turned away, as if sizing up the rest of the room.
Faith smiled. "Sorry about the mess. I didn't have much time to fix the place up. I actually just got up myself." She lazily stretched her arms over her head. "Kind of a long night, y'know."
Kendra just glanced at her, trying to keep her expression neutral but Faith could tell that she was really making the other Slayer uncomfortable and didn't try to keep her smile from widening.
"So do you know Scott?" Faith said, in a casual tone.
"No," was all Kendra said.
Faith tilted her head nonchalantly. "He's a real cutey." She chuckled slightly. "And a lot better than I thought he would be. But I think he thought that what we did really meant something. Like it would be something special. You know what I mean?"
Kendra didn't respond.
Faith feigned surprise. "Oh. Sorry. Forgot who I was talking to."
Now Faith was sure she saw anger boiling up inside Kendra.
"But who knows," Faith continued. "Hang out with me more often and I might be able to show you how to meet boys and--"
"Kakistos."
This stopped Faith cold, her smile disappearing as if a switch had been flipped. She was sure all the color had drained from her face as well.
"What?" she said, through a suddenly constricted throat.
"Kakistos is in Sunnydale," Kendra told her in a cold tone.
If she hadn't been reeling from the shock, Faith might have noticed the tint of satisfaction on Kendra's expression. But it was all Faith could do not to scream, and was suddenly aware that she was digging her fingernails into her thighs, as she sat there, almost feeling them penetrate through the fabric of her jeans.
Before she could draw blood, Faith clenched her hands into fists. She looked around her room, her head jerking from side to side. She saw her shoulder bag on the floor and shot to her feet crossing the room to pick it up.
Kendra just watched her stoically, as Faith yanked opened the drawer of the dresser and started stuffing her clothes into the bag. But Faith had almost forgotten that the other Slayer was still present.
"Why is he after you, Faith?" Kendra asked.
Faith's head swung around to look at her. Then she quickly went back to packing.
"We just got into a major beef back in Boston," Faith failed to keep her tone anything less than near-panic. She forced a chuckle. "Didn't think he would take it so personally."
Not bothering to close the drawer, Faith grabbed up her boots and sat down on the bed again as she frantically pulled them on.
"What did he do?" Kendra asked.
"It's what I did to him," Faith replied, not looking up.
"Ye hurt him," Kendra stated.
Faith had been pulling the laces of her boot tight, and one of the ends snapped. She cursed under her breath, throwing the piece away, but still managed to tie the boot with what little lace was left.
Not as much as he hurt me, she almost said aloud. Or how much he hurt *her* before he killed her.
"And now he wants revenge," Kendra continued. "So ye decided to run away."
Faith shot to her feet standing right in front of Kendra and the other Slayer didn't even flinch.
"Hey! You don't know me! You have know idea what I've been through!"
Not backing down, Kendra said, "And ye t'ought it would make tings better if ye ran. Instead dis master vumpire is chasing you. Ye left y'self in a defensive position dat will just wear you down."
Faith just sneered at her. "Right. 'Cause you know all about strategy and how it is to be the perfect Slayer, because you've had a Watcher since you were a baby. Well, I wasn't that lucky, okay! I've been on my own since I was little. I took care of myself then and I'm the only one who can take care of myself now."
"Alone and on de run ye will never defeat Kakistos," Kendra told her.
"I don't have to beat him," Faith countered. "I just have to stay one step ahead of him."
"Until when?" Kendra demanded. "Until he gives up? He is immortal."
"And I suppose you have a better idea," Faith spat.
"We work together. Last night, ye told me ye wanted to find dese vumpires. Well, dey are de ones chasing you. We took care of dem last night, we can handle de rest of dem."
Faith took a step back, regarding Kendra for a moment. She had picked up her bag again, but just stood there. Letting Kendra's words sink in. Wanting to believe them. Kendra must have realized the effect her words were having.
"Or was dat just all talk?" she challenged.
Which struck a cord in Faith and she lifted her chin a little and her eyebrows narrowed. Maybe this Slayer did know a thing a two more than Faith first thought.
With her breathing slowing down, Faith noticed how her heart was hammering inside her chest. And with that sound, she closed her eyes and remembered how hard it had been beating when she was forced to watch Kakistos torture and kill her Watcher. And all the blood.
Faith shook her head, and escaped the memory by opening her eyes, refusing to let the fear get the better of her again. And she met Kendra's gaze. That calm expression. Those stoic eyes, which did have that gleam of power behind them that gave a sense that she would always know what to do. Trained for every situation.
Hell, Faith told herself, Kendra's Watcher had died and she was still alive.
Was Kendra really so conditioned that she knew no fear? Faith wondered. After discovering her own powers, Faith had stopped being afraid. Even after all the vampires and demons she had slain over the summer, none of them had frightened her to the point of panic. None of them except Kakistos.
He was just a vampire, she told herself. Okay, he was bigger, older, and much stronger than most vampires, but he was still just another no-good bloodsucker that would die with a piece of wood struck through his heart. Just like all the rest.
"I don't talk to impress anybody," Faith finally said.
Kendra just nodded.
"And my name's `Faith'."
This caught Kendra off guard. "What?"
"Fai-th. With the `th' sound. You keep saying `Fate'."
"Faith," Kendra tried.
Faith shook her head, grinning. "I gotta tell you, Ken, that accent can be a real guy-magnet if you let it. But you got to learn how to say your friends' names correctly."
Now it was Kendra's turn to regard Faith, and Faith realized Kendra was reacting to Faith saying they were friends.
"I'll do me best," Kendra finally said, not actually smiling.
Faith nodded. "Good."
"And *my* name is `Kendra',"
Faith winced. "Touche'."
"*Fate.*"
Faith almost chuckled. "Okay, how 'bout this? I'll call you `Ken' until you can say my name right."
Kendra narrowed her eyes a little. Then she sighed and said, "I accept yer terms."
Faith frowned. " `You accept my terms?' " She chuckled. "Girlfriend, we have got to do something about that."
"About what?"
"You're a Slayer. You can't go around saying crap like `I accept your terms.' You gotta come off sounding cool. Part of the gig and all. When you acknowledge someone, say something like `cool,' `bitchin,' `five by five,' `dude." She shook her head. "Even `cowabunga' would be cooler. And *that's* really saying something."
"Whatever," Kendra said, impatiently.
Faith beamed. "See? You're already getting it! Now all we have to do is *get* you some and your journey towards the Dark Side will be complete."
"We should head back to de library," Kendra turned towards the door and Faith started to walk with her, letting her bag drop to the floor. "Mr. Giles is talking to yer Watcher. Together dey can decide--"
Kendra stopped when she realized Faith had stopped walking. She turned and saw the brunette was staring at her with wide-eyes and open mouth. If Kendra thought Faith had been shocked to hear Kakistos' name, she looked three times that right now.
"What did you say?" Faith demanded, her tone low and dangerous.
Kendra was suddenly unsure. Faith's reaction completely puzzled her.
"Yer Watcher," Kendra said, "Mr. Giles--"
"YOU'RE A LIAR!!!" Faith suddenly screamed.
Before Kendra could respond, she was slammed back against the wall, hitting so hard the impact cracked the plaster around her body and a support board hidden behind it. Pain shot from the spot where her spine hit the board and split the wooden beam in half. Kendra fell forward, away from the concaved dent, and her cheek hit the ugly carpet of the motel room.
Through the haze of her pain and the dizziness she was feeling, Kendra could still hear Faith yelling, though it didn't seem as loud as it had been.
"I thought I could trust you!" Faith screamed.
Kendra tried to lift her head, but was finding that a very difficult task to accomplish at the moment.
"What?! You were trying to be my friend so you can use me as bait? Is that it?" Faith demanded. "Well, that ain't gonna happen!"
Kendra finally managed to raise her head enough to see Faith's bag being yanked from off the floor and she saw Faith's legs move in a near run as she left the room. Slamming the door shut behind her. The bang echoing loudly in the now empty room.
Empty except for Kendra.
And the Slayer's eyes closed as her head sank back to the floor.
***
When she opened her eyes again, she was looking at the same ugly --and not just rough-looking-- carpet of the motel room.
Kendra started to push herself off the floor, but clenched her teeth with the pain that let her know it was still there keeping her spine company.
"Ouch. That must've hurt," a voice said, somewhere above her.
Ignoring the pain, Kendra suddenly rolled away from the voice and was on her knees in a flash, her back coming up against the door of the motel room.
The schoolgirl --demon, Kendra corrected herself-- Anya, was sitting calmly on the edge of the bed. Her chin was on her fists as she rested her elbows on her knees. As if she had been watching Kendra while she was out.
A second later, a stake was occupying Kendra's hand.
Anya sat up, showing her empty hands. "Hey. It's just me, okay?"
Kendra stood, raising the wooden weapon, ready to attack.
"That was supposed to make you not attack me," Anya said, as if Kendra should know that.
"Why shouldn't I?" Kendra asked, taking a step towards her.
"For the same reason you didn't tell you're Watcher about me," Anya offered.
This stopped the Slayer in her tracks.
Anya smiled. "In fact, you haven't told anyone about me have you? Because you're curious about me. You've never met a demon like me before."
Kendra didn't reply, but she lowered her stake.
Anya's smile deflated. "Oh, the silent treatment again."
"What do ye want?" Kendra demanded.
Anya let her shoulders sag. "I thought we already covered this ground."
"Ye told me ye were going to tell me everyting about you next time," Kendra reminded her.
Anya raised a finger. "I didn't say I was going to tell you everything. I just said I wasn't going to give away everything all at once." She scowled playfully at her. "Pay attention."
"I tink I want to know now." Kendra raised the stake again and took another step closer to the bed.
Anya seemed unconcerned by this. "But if you kill me --oh, forgive me-- slay me, you'll never reach your friend in time to save her."
This stopped Kendra again. "What?"
Anya frowned with false concern, "You didn't forget her already, did you? Dark hair. Cute." Anya glanced at the dent in the wall. "Very unpleasant." She glanced over her shoulder at the bed she was sitting on. "Not very chaste."
"Ye can't know dat." Kendra said.
This seemed to amuse Anya. "Oh, like I couldn't know that you didn't tell your Watcher about me, or your friends. Or that Kakistos is dead." She studied the Slayer's expression, even though Kendra tried to give nothing away she knew the demon knew she believed what the creature was saying.
"If Kakistos is dead," Kendra said, "den Faith is in no danger."
"And what do you suppose could destroy a powerful vampire like Kakistos?" Anya said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
"Where is she?" Kendra demanded.
"I could tell you where she is now," Anya nodded, "but by the time you get there, she'll be gone. So I'll tell you where she's going to be."
"Tell me!"
"In just a moment." Anya stood and paced slowly to the other side of the room. Kendra never took her eyes off her. "First you have to figure out how you're going to earn back her trust. Oh, which, by the way I was very impressed how you did that just a while ago." More to herself, but making sure Kendra heard her, "And your friends thought you didn't have the people skills to talk to her." With a glance to Kendra, "Well, boo on them I say."
She stopped when she was in front of Kendra again. "Though you should have waited until after Giles talked to Faith's Watcher."
By this point Kendra stopped asking herself how this demon could know all these things, such as her friend's names. Clearly it was some kind of clairvoyant or second sight demon.
"Then you would have known that her Watcher was dead," Anya added. "That Kakistos tortured and killed her while he forced Faith to watch."
Kendra could not keep the shock out of her expression. Of the grave mistake she had just committed and --if what this creature said was true-- maybe fatal mistake.
"That was a rather important piece of information you probably should have had," Anya said. "Don't you think?"
Kendra had to fight to keep her composure. Not only had she caused more damage than she thought possible, but it could have easily been avoided had she not reacted to what she had overheard while standing outside the library.
Reacted emotionally, she realized.
And she couldn't blame it on this demon, and what it told her yesterday in the hall. Nor could she fault Faith and the way she had acted last night on patrol, letting the other Slayer's words get to her. Faith was just being Faith. Who was comfortable with her emotions --however reckless they were to her duty-- who knew how to be with boys. Who could talk to them without so much as flinching.
Kendra was brought out of her thoughts when she noticed that Anya had stopped talking. The demon girl was staring intently at her.
"My," Anya said, "the thoughts that must be going through your mind right now."
"Can ye not see what I'm tinking?" Kendra said.
Anya smiled at her. "I'm afraid I don't work that way."
"And how do ye work? By causing dese problems and watching us for yer amusement?"
"*You* are the only one I'm watching," Anya said, taking another step closer. "Oh, I'll admit that I am causing some problems, but not where you're concerned. You're more of a special interest and I very much would like to see how your story turns out. But my other project is starting to move much faster now and time is running short. Which is why I'm gonna help you this one time."
"Why do I interest you so much?" Kendra asked.
Anya just smiled. "I think that's enough information for now. I'll tell you the rest when I see you again. After it's over. Assuming you're still alive."
Anya took a step back as if to turn away, but stopped and looked at Kendra again. "I just had a thought on how you could relate to Faith better. Why not tell her how your first Watcher died?"
Kendra was not aware of her actions until after her fist struck Anya across the face with as much power as she could put behind it. The demon was rocked by the blow and staggered back a few steps. But surprisingly, she stayed on her feet and when she regained her balance, she just smiled at Kendra. For the first time, the Slayer was not trying to hide her emotions, letting the raw anger she was feeling bubble up to the surface. As she stood there, breathing heavy, her body trembling, she saw that Anya didn't seem too concerned.
"You're right," the demon said mildly. "You're absolutely right. What was I thinking? After all, her Watcher was killed by a monster, whereas yours . . ."
She let her voice trail off, watching Kendra's expression and Kendra suddenly felt heavy, as if a large block of concrete had just settled in her chest. Or more accurately, where her heart was supposed to be. And she knew what to call that heavy block.
Fear.
She was no longer trembling because of her rage and she couldn't stop.
Anya grinned, taking delight in seeing the young Slayer suffer. "Well . . . let's just say he wasn't killed by a monster."
In a shaky voice, "Get away from me," Kendra struggled.
Anya raised her hands. "Alright. I'm going." She started to back away as if to leave, even though Kendra stood between her and the door. "You have enough to worry about right now as it is, no need to add to that."
With her next step backwards, Kendra saw that the air around Anya seemed to be pulled, as if she were pressing against a clear plastic barrier. But instead of coming through on the other side, the demon was disappearing as the space around her started to close in front of her. Right before she vanished completely, Anya said, "Oh, and you can find Faith at the high school. Whether you reach her in time is entirely up to y--"
Then she was gone. There was a soft flash of light as the space she just passed through refilled itself and a ripple spread from that point, as if across the surface of a smooth pond, starting out as a large wave but becoming smaller and more invisible as it continued to spread and pass through the walls, floor, bed, and tv of the motel room.
Then there was nothing left to mark the demon's strange exit.
Kendra looked around the room, finding herself alone once again. She took a step back and her knees almost buckled. Then she turned and ran out of the motel room, but her legs didn't seem to be working right. She stumbled into the parking lot and leaned her palms on the hood of the the nearest car, gulping huge lungfuls of fresh air, having to close her eyes when everything started to spin.
But with her eyes closed, she was assualted with images she had no desire to see. Memories she had, over the past two months, tried her damnedest to destroy from her mind. Kept telling herself they served no purpose. A Slayer needed only what was necessary to do her duty. But she could not keep the images away and each one hit her like a sledgehammer to the stomach.
....waking up on the floor
....in the only home she had known since as long as she could remember
....surrounded by blood
....Mr. Zabuto standing on the other side of the room
Mr. Zabuto . . .
When Kendra opened her eyes again, she found herself sitting on the pavement, her knees curled up to her chest as she leaned against the fender of the car.
End of Part Eighteen
********
SECOND THREAD: Part Nineteen
"What are you doing here!?" Buffy demanded.
Joyce looked at her daughter, taken aback.
"Buffy," she said, glancing back at Faith. The brunette just shrugged innocently. "I invited her to dinner."
Buffy gaped at her mother. "You invited--?"
"Buffy, it's not like we haven't had Faith over for dinner before," Joyce said. "I know it's been awhile but I thought this would be the perfect time to get together."
"Yeah, but--"
"Especially after last night."
This stopped Buffy. Then she asked, "What happened last night?"
Faith shook most of the water off the head of lettuce and brought it over to the island counter, setting it on a cutting board. She was acting as if nothing in the world was wrong. At least, not where she and Buffy was concerned. Faith glanced at Joyce then looked at Buffy.
"Oh, it was nothing, really," she said, nonchalantly.
"Nothing?" Joyce grinned. She turned to her daughter. "I wouldn't exactly call saving my life nothing."
"What!?" Buffy exclaimed. "What happened?"
"Calm down, sweetheart," Joyce said. "It was just a couple of vampires. They jumped me while I was leaving the gallery last night."
"My God," Buffy blanched.
"But everything's fine," Joyce told her, seeing her daughter's expression. "Faith happened to be in the area and came to my rescue. They didn't even get a chance to lay a hand on me." She smiled a little humorously with a glance at Faith. "Though one of them was close enough for me to smell his breath."
Faith grinned. "I'll try not to cut it so close next time."
"Not that I really want there to be a next time."
But Buffy was still staring at Faith, finding none of this amusing.
"Faith just *happened* to be there," Buffy didn't try to hide the scorn in her tone.
"Yes." Joyce frowned at her. "Are you all right? You look a little tired."
"Yeah, B," Faith chipped in. "Rough night?"
Buffy shot a glare in Faith's direction and the brunette raised her hands. "Sorry I asked."
"Buffy, what's wrong?"
Buffy looked at her mother, saw the concern on her face, then glanced at Faith. The other Slayer revealed nothing from her expression, as if waiting to see what Buffy would do. She returned her gaze to her mother and released a breath.
"I guess I am kinda tired."
"Well, why don't you go upstairs and wash up and Faith and I will finish dinner?"
"No!" At the look Joyce and Faith gave her, Buffy lowered her voice. "Uh, I mean, I'm fine. I can still help you guys. You know, Slayer constitution and all. We can go on for hours without a break." Then Buffy frowned at her own words. "And when I say `go on', I mean, like on patrol and . . ." She saw the "oh, really?" look Faith was giving her. "And things like . . that. And not in a more . . ."
"I know what you meant, honey," Joyce said, not succeeding very well in hiding the smile.
"Oh, I wonder what's been on Buffy's mind lately," Faith teased.
Even as she glared at the brunette, Buffy felt her cheeks become flushed.
"I'm going to wash up," Buffy said and turned to leave.
She was actually a step out of the kitchen when she suddenly remembered the situation and whirled around. "No!" At the surprised look Faith and Joyce gave her, she quickly said, "I mean, I'll wash my hands here. In the sink." They continued to look at her. Buffy pointed weakly at the sink in question. "Over there?"
Joyce exchanged another glance with Faith, then said, "That's fine, sweetie."
Joyce turned her attention to the sauce pan, sprinkling in a dash of spice. Buffy groaned inwardly. Great, she thought, not only did she have to keep her eye on Faith, but her mother was probably wondering if her only daughter was finally losing it. As she rounded the island counter, she did keep her eyes on Faith. But the brunette didn't look at her as she past by. A million questions were going through her mind. Foremost was what was Faith even doing here? But as long as the other Slayer didn't do anything hostile Buffy was perfectly fine with that. The idea of having a big Slayer brawl right in the middle of the kitchen didn't really appeal to her, especially with her mother so close by. And Joyce didn't know the deal with Faith so she may actually get in the middle of it to try and stop them.
Buffy was almost to the sink when she saw Faith pick up a large kitchen knife which had been out of Buffy's sight on the other side of the cutting board.
Buffy immediately jumped back, putting herself between Faith and her mother. But in the process, bumped into Joyce's back.
"Buffy!" her mother exclaimed. "Careful!"
Faith looked at Buffy but didn't say anything.
"You nearly knocked me into the stove."
Buffy stepped away from her mother but kept herself in between them. "Sorry, Mom. Guess my coordination is a little off today."
Faith used the knife to slice the head of lettuce in half, then proceeded to chop it into smaller pieces.
"Did something happen last night while you were on patrol?" Joyce asked, even more concerned than ever.
Buffy finally took her eyes off Faith. "No. No, I swear. I'm fine."
But her mother didn't really look convinced. "You sure?"
"Yes." she gave her mother a smile. "Just need to get out of Slayer mode, you know."
Joyce narrowed her eyebrows. "You were in Slayer mode in school?"
"No! Of course not. Just residual Slayerness left over from last night."
"So you were still in Slayer mode in school," Joyce reinforced.
"No." Buffy's shoulders sagged. "It's coming out all wrong. I can't really explain what it's like, uh . . . Tell her Faith."
Faith just gave them a quick glance. "She was in Slayer mode in school."
"Big help," Buffy murmured, but took slight comfort in the fact that she did have plans on killing the other Slayer soon. Or did she? she suddenly thought. This wasn't exactly how Buffy pictured Faith coming after her mother.
Whatever was up Faith's sleeve, it could not be good.
Then she became aware that her mother was still looking at her.
"Maybe you should go upstairs and take a quick shower?" she suggested. "Unwind."
Great idea, Buffy thought. But as long as Faith was in the house there was no chance of Buffy letting her guard down, let alone relax alittle.
"I'm fine," Buffy said, in the most reassuring tone she could muster.
Joyce put the back of her hand against Buffy's forehead. Buffy reflexively rolled her eyes. "You should take the night off from patrolling."
Buffy looked at Faith's back. "Actually, I did plan on staying in tonight."
"Good. You can catch up on your sleep." Joyce turned back to the stove.
Buffy stood in front of the sink and quickly washed her hands, but kept glancing over her shoulder at Faith. The brunette continued to chop lettuce. Buffy grabbed a handtowel and was drying her hands when she turned around.
Her breath caught in her throat when she saw Faith look in her mother's direction. She was now chopping the other half of the lettuce head. Buffy spied the knife block on the counter next to the sink and kept her eyes on Faith as she reached for one of the handles.
Even though she slid the knife out as silently as she could, Buffy saw Faith raise her head and she stopped chopping. The other Slayer didn't look back but Buffy saw Faith's hand tighten around the knife she was holding. Again, it was as if she was waiting for Buffy to make the first move.
"Buffy, what are you doing?" Joyce's voice cut through.
Buffy looked at her mother. "Oh, I thought I would help Faith with the salad."
Joyce gave her a wry look. "With a meat cleaver?"
Buffy looked down at the knife in her hand for the first time. "Uh . . ." Then she frowned. "When did we get this?"
"Two years ago when I bought the whole set," Joyce said, dubiously.
"Well this is the first time I noticed it," Buffy tried to sound nonchalant as she returned it to the block and started to reach for another knife. "I'll just--"
"You can just help me drain the pasta," Joyce finished.
Holding the handles with potholders Joyce lifted it off the stove and held it out to her daughter. Wanting to keep her hands free, Buffy hesitated. But her mother still had that "my daughter needs a straight-jacket" expression on her face, so reluctantly accepted it.
As she turned towards the sink, she glanced over her shoulder at Faith, and the other Slayer was now dicing a tomato.
God, this was going to be a long night, Buffy thought.
***
Parked three houses away on the other side of the street, Dectective Stein took a sip from his coffee that had gone cold about an hour ago. And it had nearly been that long since Faith had entered the Summers house. The Summers girl herself had only come home a few minutes ago.
Buffy had walked past the car on the other side of the street, and Stein thought for sure that she would see him. But she never truned her head. She had looked as if she had a lot on her mind.
Well, if I had just committed a murder I guess I would be preoccupied, too, he thought, sourly.
The sun was now completely set. He glanced at his watch and wondered how long the girls would stay inside. Since he had followed the Summers girl last night, he was actually tailing Faith tonight, but was surprised when she lead him here. Maybe this would be the night he would get a break in the case? Especially if they went out together.
From what information he gathered when the case was still open, he learned that the two seemed to be nearly inseparable, but ever since the night of the murder, he had never seen the two of them together.
The strain of the cover-up may be getting to them.
The first night he had tried to follow Faith, he discovered that she was no longer staying in the run-down motel. In fact, he found out she had moved to a brand new top-floor apartment in town. Which helped to prove his theory that these girls had been paid for the murder. But from the looks of things, Faith seemed to be the only one enjoying the fruits of the deed. Perhaps Buffy was feeling guilty about what she did and had refused the money? Or maybe she was cut out of her share? Either way it did make her the weakest link and allowed the possibility of turning her against Faith.
With the black mark by his name, Stein had very few friends left on the Force, but he still had those who owed him favors. Right now he was having one of those favors called in. A second class detective, Clark, was running down Faith's new address for him, find out how she was paying for it and where she got the money from. Detective Clark may actually be the only cop left that he trusted. And with things the way they were, he hoped he hadn't dragged the younger man in over his head. But he couldn't do this by himself.
And for some reason, Stein had the surreal impression that somehow this was going to end tonight.
End of Part Ninteen
********
THIRD THREAD: Part Twenty
This was not good, Cordelia thought, as she rounded the corner on Main Street. The sun had set right before she had walked into town. She figured she would be safe enough with all the people that are usually still out around this time. But she was not prepared for what greeted her in Sunnydale. If she thought the school looked bad, then she had severely underestimated the fates that could cause such . . . badness.
Well, technically, she admitted, it was her who had caused all this. Yeah, like I would really know that there was some kind of wish-granting demon disguised as a girl just waiting to grant my wish. Hello! if you're a genie aren't you supposed to tell your master you get three wishes, or how many wishes they offer? she fumed.
Aura must not have been kidding about the curphew thing. The town was practically deserted. A ghost town would be a more accurate description and Main Street seemed to be in the worst shape.
As she crossed in front of the Sun Cinema, she saw that the box office, along with all the other windows were boarded up, the "closed" on the marquee stating the obvious. She was walking briskly down the sidewalk and a loud screeching noise of metal just to her left made her jump, and she saw it was a man pulling a security gate in front of his small shop, with himself safely behind it. He didn't even raise his head to take notice of her. It seemed as if it was the last shop to close for the night. All the other shops were either secured with their own security bars are boarded up entirely.
Codrelia stepped off the sidewalk and started to cross the street. She didn't have to worry about looking both ways, from the way the fallen leaves littered the street, it didn't look as if many cars past through town. She saw a wrecked car parked just on the other side of the street, its roof completely caved in. It looked like it had been there for awhile, even though she knew the town had not been like this only yesterday.
She seemed to be the only one in town right now.
She did hear sirens off in the distance and someone was screaming much closer, but Cordelia couldn't really tell where it was coming from. She tried to pick up her pace. If she walked any faster it would qualify as running.
She was almost to the sidewalk when somebody was suddenly standing in front of her.
With a gasp, she jumped back, but quickly realized she recognized the person. In fact, knew him very well.
Xander Harris looked her up and down. The bright color of her dress seemed to catch his attention.
"Well, whadaya know?" he said, casually. "Cordelia Chase."
Though shocked at seeing him, Cordelia noticed that he was dressed in black. Leather boots, leather pants, and a leather coat over a white T-shirt, which was just a few shades lighter than his flesh.
"What is this?" she demanded. "Some kind of sick joke? Harmony told me you were dead."
Xander was now looking at her face. "Now, why would she say something like that?" There was a hint of humor in his eyes as he began to ponder that. "Let's think . . ."
Despite everything he had done to her lately, how he hurt her, Cordelia was just glad to find someone who could help her. "Listen to me. We have to find Buffy. She'll figure out a way to save us. She was supposed to be here and, as much as it kills me to admit it . . . things were better when she was around."
Now Xander really was pondering her words. "Buffy? The Slayer?"
Was he kiddin'? Cordelia thought. "No! Buffy the Dog-Faced Girl! Duh! Who do you think I'm talking about?"
Before he could answer, a voice came from the shadows.
"Bored now."
Stepping out into the sidewalk, the first thing Cordelia saw was a pair of slim leather-clad legs walking slowly towards them. And the leather continued up into a corset shaped torso all the way to the bust line which was trimmed with red fringe. But it wasn't the outfit which stunned Cordelia, it was the fact that Willow Rosenberg was the one wearing it.
Not only did the redhead look comfortable in it, it was as if it was made especially for her. Her flesh was also much paler than Cordelia remembered.
"This is the part that's less fun," Willow said, in a slow, playful voice. "When there isn't any screaming."
She walked up close to Xander, putting her arm around him and bringing her other hand up to his chest.
Cordelia frowned at them. "What's up with you two and the leather?"
But they weren't paying any attention to her. Willow just smiled gleefully up at Xander. "Play now?"
"It's not that I don't appreciate your appetite, Will, but I thought we agreed it was my turn," he replied.
Willow pouted at him, making a small puppy-whining sound, and Cordelia noticed the casual way the redhead was caressing Xander's chest, and her jaw dropped as she realized . . .
"No. No! No way!" she protested. "I wish us into Bizarro Land, and you guys are still together?!"
The couple hardly gave her a glance as they contined to gaze deeply into each other's eyes.
In disbelief, Cordelia concluded, "I cannot win!"
"Probably not," Xander said, still looking at Willow. Then slowly turned his head in her direction. Horrified, she watched his features morph into that of a vampire. "But I'll give you a head start," he said around his fangs.
A scream caught in her throat, as Cordelia jumped back. Then she whirled around, dropping her purse, and fled back up the street the way she came. Xander and Willow made no move to pursue her.
"I love this part," Willow said.
Xander looked down at her, and lowered his head and they kissed just as deeply as they had been looking into each other's eyes. Willow giving him her tongue to play with. Xander finally pulled away and looked after Cordelia.
"You love all the parts," he reminded her.
He was suddenly moving, practically flying down the street, quickly closing the distance between himself and Cordelia. Willow followed in a casual stride and watched as he leapt onto the flattened car and launched himself into the air. He landed right behind Cordelia and grabbed her by the back of the neck. The brunette didn't have time to react before he threw her face first onto the pavement and she rolled on the street until she stopped, lying flat on her stomach, unconscious.
Disappointed, Willow walked up behind Xander, who was standing over Cordelia. "No fun. She didn't even hardly fight."
They were bathed in a bright light as a vehicle came screeching from around the corner. Seeing it was a large blue van, Xander sighed.
"Aw, swell. It's the White Hats."
Willow stayed close to Xander as the van screeched to a halt right in front of them. The passenger door flew open and the school librarian, Mr. Giles, hopped out brandishing a large wooden cross forcing her and Xander to back away from the Chase girl. Behind the Englishman, she saw a student, Oz, behind the wheel aiming a large crossbow at them. The sliding door opened next and two more students jumped out. That beef-aloid of a jock, Larry, who had terrorized her Xander when they were younger and . . . well, alive. Xander once told her that he had something special planned for Larry, just waiting for the right moment. The other was a girl Willow only knew by name. Nancy. They were armed with a stake and cross, ready to fight if necessary, but the librarian's cross kept them back.
"I've got them!" Giles told them, not taking his eyes off the vampires. "Get the girl!"
The two teens lifted Cordelia off the pavement and carried her into the van, climbing in again. Oz lowered the crossbow as Giles got back in as well, and had the van peeling out before the passenger door was closed.
Willow and Xander could only watch as the van sped down the street and disappeared around the next corner.
End of Part Twenty