"What now?"
The question was so good that it couldn't be answered. It just echoed through the halls until it finally died out, unanswered. Buffy and Spike were sitting beside each other, leaning against the wall. It would have been an odd sight to see for anyone who saw them only a few days ago. Especially since their shoulders were touching in a borderline friendly way and neither moved to change it.
Neither of them were people who liked to sit on the job. But they were both drained, out of ideas and cookies.
"I only got five cookies," Spike mumbled.
"There were only twelve in the box!" Buffy cried indignantly.
"For someone so skinny, you eat a lot."
Buffy rolled her eyes and forced herself to stand up. Spike did the same but besides that, nothing changed. There was still silence in the hallway and no plans formed.
"Was it just me, or did it seem like the women in the dorm were acting very strange?" Spike wondered aloud.
"They were acting very suspicious," Buffy agreed.
"I have an idea," Spike announced and started walking back down the hall.
"Spike," Buffy hissed, "we can't form plans around suspicions! Well, okay, sometimes. No, I mean never. Spike!"
"Be quiet, slayer," Spike commended. "I know people, I've been around them long enough."
They had reached the end of the hall and Spike motioned for Buffy to be quiet before she could protest. He opened the stairwell door and crouched behind it. For a moment, Buffy stood her ground but finally she decided to try the vampire's plan and crouched down beside him.
"You look very stupid, just so you know," Buffy whispered to Spike as he positioned himself in front of the door crack to watch for any activity.
****
"I don't like this," Karen murmured.
"What do you mean?" Cullena asked.
Karen shook her head and crossed her arms, rubbing them as it she was cold.
"Those people... they could tell something was wrong," Karen explained.
"We probably did seem pretty suspicious," Charlotte observed.
"Well what do you suggest we do?" Cullena asked, somewhat annoyed.
"Couldn't we go somewhere else? I'm worried that they'll come back," Karen said.
"And where exactly would we go? We set fire to our last hide-out," Cullena replied sharply.
"You burnt it?" A puzzled Charlotte gulped.
"Look, it doesn't matter," Reina interjected. "If you guys want to get out of here, you'll have to think of a place to go."
After exchanging glances, Karen and Charlotte thought for a moment.
"We could go to another coven member's dorm," Karen suggested.
"I don't really want to get them involved," Charlotte said.
"They're already involved, remember? They did the spell with us," Karen said in annoyance.
"We might want to move quickly. Time is of the essence and all that," Cullena informed them.
"All right, I know what we can do," Charlotte said calmly. "We can stay in Tara's dorm for the night. I'm pretty sure she doesn't have a roommate. And it's right down the hall so we can listen for any activity."
"Good idea," Cullena confirmed.
She paused by the door for a moment and pressed her eye to the peephole. After thoroughly inspecting the hallway, she deemed it safe. They all moved out into it cautiously but only Karen and Charlotte were nervous. They both knew it was all to convenient that no one was out walking the hall, even at this hour in the night.
From behind the door to the stairway, Spike saw something that made him freeze for a moment. Buffy eagerly pushed him out of the way of the thin strip of light between the door and the wall. She peered through it to see ten women loitering in the hallway. Their position was close enough to the group for her to make out the faces of the three women from the dorm they visited earlier. 'But there had only been those three in the dorm, not ten,' Buffy thought. 'Unless they were hiding something like- Willow?' Suddenly Buffy saw what had made Spike freeze when her red haired best friend pushed her way towards the other redhead in the group. Then she realized they were whispering to each other and strained her ears to pick up on the conversation.
"... investigate it?" A black haired girl who Buffy didn't recognize asked.
"I'll go alone, to make it look less suspicious," the redhead replied in a low voice.
"But they'll run away," someone protested.
"Not if I run faster," the redhead said with a smirk.
Before Buffy knew what was happening, the women was bounding up the hallway. She did it soundlessly and with surprising speed. And this caught Buffy so off guard, Spike had to pull her out of the way when the door burst open.
"Maybe you can catch me up with the times," the red haired women proposed as she stood before them. "What's the term for people like you? Stalkers? Peeping Toms? Or just plain sickos?"
"What about you guys? Do you prefer the term gang? Or is this some kind of orgy?" Buffy quipped as she regained her composure.
"College is the time for experimenting, am I right?" Cullena said, relying on the knowledge she gained before being locked up 40 years ago.
At this point, Spike and Buffy both knew this wasn't just some peeved college girl holding a bake sale with her pals. She had to be one of the demons they were after. She'd proven to have strength and speed, whether it was from magic or not, and she had felt their presence.
"And it looks like you're doing more than sexual experimenting." Buffy refused to back down. "Looks like you started some experimentation in the black arts."
"We're not the only ones. I seem to recall a certain redhead with green eyes, who was tall and cute as hell. She messed around with magic too, didn't she? She's the reason you guys are in this situation, if I remember correctly."
So there it was. The women standing before them admitted to being a demon, as they suspected. She was one of the Sirenial Sisters. They could end this all right now.
And that's what Buffy was thinking when she kicked Cullena, sending her against the wall. Cullena seemed physically hurt by the attack but she didn't fight back. Spike grabbed onto the hand rails that lined the stairs heading upstairs and hoisted his body up and onto the stairs. Buffy stayed on the small cement landing with Cullena. Frustrated that Cullena wouldn't fight back, Buffy punched her again, once to the face and twice to the stomach. Suddenly, Cullena's eyes clouded over as Buffy moved to kick her again. Quickly seeing the change in their opponent, Spike pushed Cullena out of the way of Buffy's kick.
"She's trying to go a sp-"
Spike was cut off by a sudden blast of energy created by Cullena.
"Out of my way," she hissed as she grabbed the destiracted Slayer and held her tightly.
The energy blast didn't cause Spike any harm, Cullena only wanted to disorient him, not kill him or Buffy. But it left him blinded for a moment, a moment long enough for Cullena to murmur a small chant and then drop Buffy's body to the ground.
As Spike's vision cleared, he caught sight of Willow standing in the doorway looking at him with indifference before Cullena grabbed her arm and said a chant causing them to disappear. The rest of the Sirenial Sisters grabbed onto the mortals and chanted in the same way causing them to disappear also. By then Spike's vision had cleared and he ran to Buffy's side. Her eyes were shut but Spike noticed the steady rising and falling of her chest. She was alive. Spike considered what he should do. Should he move her? He had to, he had to take her somewhere safer. But that was one of the tricky things about spells. Spike figured that spells were usually more complex than just causing someone to fall unconscious. But what was the catch? Was she not allowed to be touched? Was she going to become blind? Were all her bones going to melt? He had to risk it.
So as gingerly as possible, Spike scooped Buffy into his arms and lifted her off the ground. So far so good. Giles house would be the best place to take her. Maybe if he went to Giles house he could meet up with some of the others. They'd help him form a plan of action. Then he remembered who 'the others' were. A soldier, a women who thought she was a demon, a whelp, and a watcher with amnesia who was probably passed out from drinking so much anyway.
"Bloody hell," Spike mumbled to himself as he walked down the stairs hurriedly. "Things were so much easier when my only planning consisted of where to find a decent meal."
The question was so good that it couldn't be answered. It just echoed through the halls until it finally died out, unanswered. Buffy and Spike were sitting beside each other, leaning against the wall. It would have been an odd sight to see for anyone who saw them only a few days ago. Especially since their shoulders were touching in a borderline friendly way and neither moved to change it.
Neither of them were people who liked to sit on the job. But they were both drained, out of ideas and cookies.
"I only got five cookies," Spike mumbled.
"There were only twelve in the box!" Buffy cried indignantly.
"For someone so skinny, you eat a lot."
Buffy rolled her eyes and forced herself to stand up. Spike did the same but besides that, nothing changed. There was still silence in the hallway and no plans formed.
"Was it just me, or did it seem like the women in the dorm were acting very strange?" Spike wondered aloud.
"They were acting very suspicious," Buffy agreed.
"I have an idea," Spike announced and started walking back down the hall.
"Spike," Buffy hissed, "we can't form plans around suspicions! Well, okay, sometimes. No, I mean never. Spike!"
"Be quiet, slayer," Spike commended. "I know people, I've been around them long enough."
They had reached the end of the hall and Spike motioned for Buffy to be quiet before she could protest. He opened the stairwell door and crouched behind it. For a moment, Buffy stood her ground but finally she decided to try the vampire's plan and crouched down beside him.
"You look very stupid, just so you know," Buffy whispered to Spike as he positioned himself in front of the door crack to watch for any activity.
****
"I don't like this," Karen murmured.
"What do you mean?" Cullena asked.
Karen shook her head and crossed her arms, rubbing them as it she was cold.
"Those people... they could tell something was wrong," Karen explained.
"We probably did seem pretty suspicious," Charlotte observed.
"Well what do you suggest we do?" Cullena asked, somewhat annoyed.
"Couldn't we go somewhere else? I'm worried that they'll come back," Karen said.
"And where exactly would we go? We set fire to our last hide-out," Cullena replied sharply.
"You burnt it?" A puzzled Charlotte gulped.
"Look, it doesn't matter," Reina interjected. "If you guys want to get out of here, you'll have to think of a place to go."
After exchanging glances, Karen and Charlotte thought for a moment.
"We could go to another coven member's dorm," Karen suggested.
"I don't really want to get them involved," Charlotte said.
"They're already involved, remember? They did the spell with us," Karen said in annoyance.
"We might want to move quickly. Time is of the essence and all that," Cullena informed them.
"All right, I know what we can do," Charlotte said calmly. "We can stay in Tara's dorm for the night. I'm pretty sure she doesn't have a roommate. And it's right down the hall so we can listen for any activity."
"Good idea," Cullena confirmed.
She paused by the door for a moment and pressed her eye to the peephole. After thoroughly inspecting the hallway, she deemed it safe. They all moved out into it cautiously but only Karen and Charlotte were nervous. They both knew it was all to convenient that no one was out walking the hall, even at this hour in the night.
From behind the door to the stairway, Spike saw something that made him freeze for a moment. Buffy eagerly pushed him out of the way of the thin strip of light between the door and the wall. She peered through it to see ten women loitering in the hallway. Their position was close enough to the group for her to make out the faces of the three women from the dorm they visited earlier. 'But there had only been those three in the dorm, not ten,' Buffy thought. 'Unless they were hiding something like- Willow?' Suddenly Buffy saw what had made Spike freeze when her red haired best friend pushed her way towards the other redhead in the group. Then she realized they were whispering to each other and strained her ears to pick up on the conversation.
"... investigate it?" A black haired girl who Buffy didn't recognize asked.
"I'll go alone, to make it look less suspicious," the redhead replied in a low voice.
"But they'll run away," someone protested.
"Not if I run faster," the redhead said with a smirk.
Before Buffy knew what was happening, the women was bounding up the hallway. She did it soundlessly and with surprising speed. And this caught Buffy so off guard, Spike had to pull her out of the way when the door burst open.
"Maybe you can catch me up with the times," the red haired women proposed as she stood before them. "What's the term for people like you? Stalkers? Peeping Toms? Or just plain sickos?"
"What about you guys? Do you prefer the term gang? Or is this some kind of orgy?" Buffy quipped as she regained her composure.
"College is the time for experimenting, am I right?" Cullena said, relying on the knowledge she gained before being locked up 40 years ago.
At this point, Spike and Buffy both knew this wasn't just some peeved college girl holding a bake sale with her pals. She had to be one of the demons they were after. She'd proven to have strength and speed, whether it was from magic or not, and she had felt their presence.
"And it looks like you're doing more than sexual experimenting." Buffy refused to back down. "Looks like you started some experimentation in the black arts."
"We're not the only ones. I seem to recall a certain redhead with green eyes, who was tall and cute as hell. She messed around with magic too, didn't she? She's the reason you guys are in this situation, if I remember correctly."
So there it was. The women standing before them admitted to being a demon, as they suspected. She was one of the Sirenial Sisters. They could end this all right now.
And that's what Buffy was thinking when she kicked Cullena, sending her against the wall. Cullena seemed physically hurt by the attack but she didn't fight back. Spike grabbed onto the hand rails that lined the stairs heading upstairs and hoisted his body up and onto the stairs. Buffy stayed on the small cement landing with Cullena. Frustrated that Cullena wouldn't fight back, Buffy punched her again, once to the face and twice to the stomach. Suddenly, Cullena's eyes clouded over as Buffy moved to kick her again. Quickly seeing the change in their opponent, Spike pushed Cullena out of the way of Buffy's kick.
"She's trying to go a sp-"
Spike was cut off by a sudden blast of energy created by Cullena.
"Out of my way," she hissed as she grabbed the destiracted Slayer and held her tightly.
The energy blast didn't cause Spike any harm, Cullena only wanted to disorient him, not kill him or Buffy. But it left him blinded for a moment, a moment long enough for Cullena to murmur a small chant and then drop Buffy's body to the ground.
As Spike's vision cleared, he caught sight of Willow standing in the doorway looking at him with indifference before Cullena grabbed her arm and said a chant causing them to disappear. The rest of the Sirenial Sisters grabbed onto the mortals and chanted in the same way causing them to disappear also. By then Spike's vision had cleared and he ran to Buffy's side. Her eyes were shut but Spike noticed the steady rising and falling of her chest. She was alive. Spike considered what he should do. Should he move her? He had to, he had to take her somewhere safer. But that was one of the tricky things about spells. Spike figured that spells were usually more complex than just causing someone to fall unconscious. But what was the catch? Was she not allowed to be touched? Was she going to become blind? Were all her bones going to melt? He had to risk it.
So as gingerly as possible, Spike scooped Buffy into his arms and lifted her off the ground. So far so good. Giles house would be the best place to take her. Maybe if he went to Giles house he could meet up with some of the others. They'd help him form a plan of action. Then he remembered who 'the others' were. A soldier, a women who thought she was a demon, a whelp, and a watcher with amnesia who was probably passed out from drinking so much anyway.
"Bloody hell," Spike mumbled to himself as he walked down the stairs hurriedly. "Things were so much easier when my only planning consisted of where to find a decent meal."