Disclaimer: Any character that you've seen on the show is owned by Joss, not me.

Colleen

The new slayer

Jordan

Psychic who receives The Visions

Holly

Half Sellar Demon

Dawn

The Key

Aaron

Currently exploring magicks

*****

Jordan sighed. Honors English used to be a really fun class. Now it was just annoying. The little group in the corner had a major rift in it now in the form of the awkwardness between Aaron and Dawn. Whenever Holly or Jordan tried to start a conversation it would be either Aaron or Dawn who would actively participate in it. If they both talked it would be mostly one word statements.

"Aaron," Holly tried to get Aaron's attention. "Did you think that you could help me out with my Algebra later?"

"Huh," Aaron said without looking up from his book. He realized what Holly had asked. "Oh sure."

There was another pause. Jordan and Holly exchanged an exasperated expression.

"Dawn," Jordan attempted to get her to talk. "When is that next lab report due?"

"A week from Wednesday," Dawn told him.

More silence. Something had to be done about this, and soon.

*****

"I thought you said that you were still going to be friends," Jordan pointed out to Aaron as they walked off campus towards their homes at the end of the day.

"I realize that we are still friends," Aaron pointed out. "But it's a little hard to talk to her when I poured my heart out to her and the only thing she could do was complain that I got her shoes wet."

"No offense Aaron," Jordan told his friend, "But you know there was a chance that she wouldn't feel the same way when you decided to tell her how you felt."

Aaron stopped. "At first I thought it would tare me apart, not knowing how she felt about me. I remember thinking that anything would be better than not knowing." Aaron paused. He looked up at the sky and took note of how blue it was. "But it turns out that I was wrong."

"Aaron stop," Jordan told him.

"I wasn't going to go storming off," Aaron told him. He noticed the way that Jordan stared off into space with his eyes glazed over. It was a sight that Aaron had grown used to. "Oh," he said simply, "I get it."

Jordan watched as he was shown a clearing in the forest. There was a cliff that had a cave. The area surrounding the cave was dead. Jordan watched as Kaoryn and Gunner, with several other vampires, allowed another vampire to cast a spell to locate the key. The vision seemed to fast forward through time showing the vampires all leaving and the sun coming up shining on the spot where they performed the ritual.

"Kaoryn and Gunner are trying to find the Key," Jordan told Aaron. "There doing some spell in a clearing in the woods."

"What's going on?" Aaron said, questioning Jordan's very confused expression.

"It's nothing," Jordan told Aaron, "It was just a weird vision."

"How so?" Aaron asked.

"It was just different," was all Jordan said.

*****

"So when do you get to close this place up?" Colleen asked. She had just gotten to the Magic Box about two minutes ago and was nervously pacing through the store.

"Nine," Aaron said. "Just another ten minutes."

"Should Aaron get some supplies?" Holly asked. "In case that he needs to counter the spell?"

"The plan is to just go interrupt the spell," Colleen told her. She still continued to pace nervously.

Aaron stood behind the counter finishing counting down the cash register. Jordan, Holly, and Dawn all sat at the table towards the back of the story. Colleen paced near the table. She was nervous. The last time that she had faced Kaoryn she had frozen up. She knew that Kaoryn wasn't her mom. She knew that when she saw her that it was actually what had killed her mom. Knowing this didn't stop her from remaining nervous.

"So where's Mike?" Dawn asked Colleen.

"Mike's not a part of the team," Colleen told her.

"But where is he?" Dawn asked.

"The game," Jordan pointed out to Dawn. "He had a basketball game tonight."

"Oh yeah," Dawn said. "I forgot."

Colleen continued to pace. She was starting to make everyone else just as nervous as she was.

"Maybe you should sit down," Jordan told her. "You don't want to get yourself all worked up before the fight. Or wait, maybe you should be getting yourself worked up? Which is more conducive to slaying?"

"We can go work out in the back," Dawn suggested. "It's mostly a storage room now but there's still some space that we can work out."

"Sure," Colleen said. "You want to come Holly?"

"Why not," Holly said. "There's nothing better to do." Holly and Dawn stood up and walked with Colleen towards the back room.

Aaron finished counting down the cash register and put it in the safe. He turned off the lights in the office and went to go lock the door. When he got to the glass door though, he was startled by someone else walking in. The boy who walked in was about the same age as Aaron. He was taller than Aaron, who was average height. The boy had dirty brown hair and green eyes. His face seemed to belong to someone who experienced more than could ever be possible for a boy his age.

"I'm sorry," Aaron said. "The store's closed for the night."

"I'm not here to shop," the boy told Aaron. His voice was very hollow. Every syllable was projected just to serve its purpose of communication and nothing more. It was as if the boy only bothered with talking because it was the only way to express what needed to be done. "I'm here to help you."

"Help me?" Aaron asked.

"I'm here to help the Slayer," the young man said simply.

"Jordan," Aaron called back to his friend. "Go get Colleen."

Jordan looked over at the scene questioningly and then retreated into the back room. Aaron walked past the stranger and locked the door, turning the sign so that it read closed. Shortly after he had entered the back room, Jordan returned with Colleen, Holly, and Dawn.

"You're the slayer," the stranger said. He wasn't asking a question, he was stating a fact.

"I'm Colleen," Colleen introduced herself. She came closer to the stranger and got a good look at him. She immediately found herself short on breath. It was almost like she had known the stranger her entire life but never realized it until that very moment. Every molecule of her being pulled her closer to him. When she looked into his eyes, it was almost like she could see some other part of herself that before then had remained hidden.

"I'm Eben," Eben told her. "I'm going to help you tonight."

Colleen took a long look at Eben. She knew that she really wasn't thinking like herself but she couldn't figure out how to think like herself at that moment. "How do you know what is going on?" Colleen asked him.

"I'm a warrior for The Powers That Be," Eben explained. "I was close to Sunnydale and I was able to receive a vision that you would be fighting tonight. I came here to help you fight."

"Not to offend you or anything," Aaron said. "But what makes you a warrior of The Powers That Be?"

Eben smiled. He turned to Aaron and effortlessly lifted him high above his head with only one hand. Once he had him already in the air he let go and Aaron remained floating in space. Eben kept his palm slightly apart from Aaron's chest and began to concentrate. Aaron floated higher into the air until Aaron's back was against the ceiling.

"Oh," Aaron said. "I see." Eben smiled at him and softly floated him back down to the ground.

"If you receive The Visions that means that you have to at least be part demon," Jordan said to Eben.

"At least part," Eben said.

"So how do we know you are on our side?" Dawn asked.

"Would The Powers That Be trust a force of evil with The Visions?" Eben asked.

"No offense," Aaron said to Eben, slightly afraid that he would be back up against the ceiling in a less friendly way, "but how are we supposed to know that you receive The Visions? I mean, you could have made all that up."

"I believe him," Colleen said. "I think he's on our side."

Everyone's head turned towards Colleen. Eben gave her a small grin. Holly walked closer to the slayer.

"Colleen," Holly said to her friend quietly, "Are you sure that's a good idea?"

"Yeah," Colleen said. "If he was a threat I think The Powers would have warned up by now. And besides, between the two of us I think we could take him."

"OK," Holly said, although she wasn't exactly sure that Eben could be trusted.

*****

The six teenagers walked through the woods together in a close group. Jordan and Dawn were towards the front since they were holding the two flashlights. Aaron was closer to the back of the group. He held his hand above his head and a soft glow of light illuminated from it thanks to a spell he had cast.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Aaron asked Jordan.

"Almost completely sure," Jordan told Aaron. "At least, I think I'm almost completely sure."

"This is the right way," Eben assured them.

Colleen walked close to Eben. She kept an eye on him at all times. In the back of her mind was the thought that he could possibly be up to no good but she really didn't think that he was. Meanwhile, Holly kept her eye on Colleen. Ever since Kaoryn had revealed her connection to Colleen, Colleen hadn't exactly been 100% on her game.

Since Colleen paid a little too much attention watching Eben, she didn't notice the upturned root in front of her. She tripped and would have fallen if Eben wouldn't have grabbed her by her elbow. He gently pulled her back up and let her regain her balance.

"Thanks," Colleen said to him, looking into his eyes again.

"Don't worry about it," Eben said to her and kept on walking.

The group traveled a little bit further into the woods. As they kept moving Jordan became more and more familiar with the stretch of woods that they were in. The more they walked the more certain he was that they were on the right way.

"We're close," Eben said to Jordan.

"Yeah," Jordan agreed. He pointed his flashlight over to a path which seemed to lead down a hill. "It's right over there."

"OK guys," Colleen said. "Flashlights off." Jordan and Dawn turned off their flashlights. Aaron said a quick phrase in Latin and the light that had streamed from his fist slowly faded. They walked down the path and spotted the ceremony. There couldn't have been more than ten vampires, but two of them had proven themselves to be quite strong.

"You three stay back here," Colleen said to Aaron, Dawn, and Jordan. Dawn and Aaron moved back and made sure to stay on either side of Jordan. Colleen turned to Holly and Eben. "Let's go," she said to them as she pulled out a stake and made her way down the path. Holly followed her and shifted into demon form once she got to the trail. Eben barely even seemed to notice the change in her appearance.

"What's the plan?" Holly asked as she crouched down next to Colleen. They were only a few yards away from the vampires at this point.

"I say we each take out one with a surprise staking in the back," Colleen explained. "We'll all get as far away from each other as possible and try and see if we can take out as many of the follower vampires as possible…"

Colleen trailed off on her plan because as she was talking Eben had made his way out and staked two vampires at the same time. He then started working his way around the circle.

"Or we could just do that," Colleen said with a sigh. She and Holly then joined the fight. Colleen took out the vampires on the edge. She didn't want to admit it but she was afraid to fight the woman who had once been her mother. Holly could sense Colleen's fears. Holly quickly tried to stake the vampire who was attempting to cast the spell but she was intercepted by Gunner.

"Not so fast goldy," Gunner said to her as he punched her in the mouth. "I called first dance." Holly was quickly back on her feet and found herself matched up with Gunner. She quickly realized how much stronger Gunner was than the other vampires she had fought previously.

Colleen fought two vampires at the same time. She timed her attacks carefully so that she was still able to defend herself. It didn't take her very long to stake both of the vampires. She began to move towards the vampire who was casting the locator spell when she fell over from a hard kick to her back.

"Come on Colleen," Kaoryn said as she picked up Colleen by the back of her neck. "I saw you avoiding me. How is that suppose to make a mother feel?" Kaoryn threw Colleen so that she hit a tree hard. Colleen lay on the ground in pain and looked up to see Kaoryn running towards her. Colleen reacted in time and kicked her legs hard into Kaoryn's stomach, flipping her into the same trick.

"There we go," Kaoryn said as she stood herself up. "Now you're playing the game." Colleen, as much as it made her want to throw up, was now fighting the dead body of her mother. Colleen remembered all the times that she had gone to sleep at night wondering where her mother was. All the memories that Colleen had of her mothers were all of the same woman who was so unhappy. It was as if she felt that faith had dealt her a bad hand. Colleen thought that her mom believed that she deserved more than her suburban life.

Colleen fought hard against the monster that had killed her mother. Although for the majority of the time Colleen was never very close to her mother. Still, there were those moments when Colleen would be held by her mother and felt love. That woman was gone. The creature before her was evil. It was a demon.

Colleen had taken the upper hand in the fight. She landed a few blows and had managed to get Kaoryn on her back. She pulled out her stake and immediately began to plunge it towards the vampire's heart. Colleen caught a glimpse of Kaoryn's face as it shifted from the face of a vampire into the face of her mother. Colleen hesitated. Kaoryn took advantage of the situation and quickly regained the advantage in the fight. Colleen was still slightly fazed and that allowed Kaoryn to hold her from behind, leaving Colleen unable to fight.

"Shhhh…" Kaoryn whispered to Colleen in a mock attempt to calm her. "Calm down baby, it's going to be OK." Colleen cringed away from the voice but couldn't shut it out. She looked ahead of her in horror as she realized the second vampire that was quickly coming towards her staring at her neck. Her eyes grew wide and she quickly began to struggle again. "I said calm down," Kaoryn said as she tightened her grip, "this will all be over very soon."

The vampire got closer and closer and there wasn't a thing that Colleen could do about it. She looked over at Holly who was still fighting with Gunner. She searched for Eben but there were two more vampires that were between him and Colleen. As the vampire lowered her head towards Colleen's neck she closed her eyes and tried to brace herself. Suddenly, the vampire burst into flames. Both Colleen and Kaoryn were stunned, but Colleen recovered first and flipped Kaoryn over her shoulder. She looked towards the source of the flame and saw Eben with his eyes glowing red. Eben turned from Colleen towards the vampire that was performing the spell and watched as flames poured out of Eben's outstretched hands and ignited the vampire.

After Eben's little pyrotechnic act the only vampire's left were Kaoryn and Gunner. With three on one, the odds weren't looking very good for the two vampires. Kaoryn took off towards the cave and Gunner gave Holly one last punch and followed Kaoryn. Colleen and Eben raced into the cave after them with Holly a little further behind.

"Where did they go?" Colleen asked looking around the small cave. The light of the moon was the only thing illuminating the cave but it was obvious that there were no secret tunnels or exits. The only part of the cave was the small chamber they were in.

"Can you do some more torch action?" Colleen asked Eben.

Eben extended his hand and his eyes flickered red but no flames were emitted. Eben shook his head. "Sorry," Eben told her, "I'm a little drained."

"Where could they have gone?" Holly asked.

Colleen shrugged. "They seem to be familiar with magic. Maybe they teleported out."

"Regardless we stopped their spell," Eben said as he walked towards the exit. Holly and Colleen were soon behind him. They walked back up to where Aaron, Jordan, and Dawn were waiting. Jordan sat awkwardly in silence between Aaron and Dawn. When they saw the other three returning they stood up.

"Everything go OK?" Dawn asked.

"Spell was stopped," Colleen informed her. Dawn gave an expression of relief. To the others it seemed like she was glad that Kaoryn and Gunner hadn't found the Key. In reality it was relief that her secret was still safe with her. Pretending to not know about the key was tearing her up inside. Dawn wasn't sure how much longer she could keep this charade up, especially when it meant that her friends were risking their lives.

"And Kaoryn and Gunner?" Jordan asked.

Colleen shook her head. "They got away."

"Well," Eben said as he started walking off into the woods. "Although I'm pretty sure you guys could have handled this on your own I'm glad I could help."

"Where's he going?" Aaron asked as Eben kept walking off into the shadows.

"Keeping up his mysterious mystique?" Holly suggested. She smiled at her witty comment. She liked being able to be herself with her friends.

"Wait here," Colleen said. "I'll be right back." Colleen raced after Eben. He was walking slowly but they were far enough away from the others for them to be undisturbed.

"Wait up," Colleen said as Eben turned to look at her. "I just wanted to say thank you."

"You're welcome," Eben said. "And you're a good fighter. Maybe better than me."

Colleen smiled. "Well you kind of saved my life back there."

Eben smiled back. "Don't worry about it." He turned to leave again.

"Will…" Colleen began. Eben stopped and looked back at her. "Will we ever see you again?"

A white smoke began to flash somewhat around Eben as he began to fade into the night. "What do you think?" he asked as he disappeared completely.

Colleen stared at the emptiness where Eben once stood for a few moments thinking to herself. "As if my life wasn't complicated enough already," she said as she turned to regroup with her friends.

*****

Author's Note: What do you think of Eben? Personally he's one of my favorite characters. I've been thinking about making a webpage for my story and getting photos of actors and actresses that I think look like my characters. Maybe I'll do that down the line. Anyway, I'm going to keep this series going for a pretty long time. I'm not going to admit how far into the future that I have it planned, but it is a pretty good length. All of the seasons are going to be twelve chapters long though. Next two chapters make up a two-parter and make up a milestone for this season.