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
*****
Aaron was bored. He felt like he was out of the loop on something. He looked around at his friends that were sitting at the library table. Next to him was Colleen. He knew exactly why Colleen was depressed. Her boyfriend had almost been killed by the woman who had once been her mother and when she had gone to see if he was okay he had broken up with her. Mike was quickly becoming one of Aaron's good friends and he understood where he was coming from. Mike had almost died and the reason for him being hurt was nothing more than he was close to Colleen. Still, Aaron couldn't help but feel that Mike had been a little too hard on Colleen. The whole situation was just really complicated.
Dawn was still being distant to Aaron. It wasn't as bad as when Aaron had first asked her out and they were both being distant. They had gotten over it slightly but there was still tension. Aaron had noticed that Dawn was being more distant in general and usually he would have been able to tell what was wrong with Dawn immediately but now he couldn't guess what was up.
Holly was the most upbeat out of everyone but she was still slightly depressed. Her and Mike had almost been brother and sister so it was understandable that Holly would be upset with Mike's injuries. What no one else other than Holly and Jordan knew was that Holly had very strong feelings towards Mike.
Jordan looked like he was under a lot of pressure lately. There was something that was bothering him and he hadn't even told Aaron. Every moment of the day Jordan debated what he should do with his information regarding Dawn. He knew that he couldn't just sit there and not say anything. He had to do something but he still didn't know what.
Mike was absent from study hall. He had yet to come back to school. Aaron and Jordan had visited him a few times but Mike hadn't talked to any of the girls.
"Let's play the movie game," Aaron suggested. Everyone gave him various forms of no and grunts in response. "Fine," Aaron said. "I'll play by myself." Aaron tried to play by himself but it got boring very fast.
"Do you want me to do the patrol tonight?" Holly asked Colleen.
Colleen shook her head. "I'm going. You can come too if you want. There haven't been many vampires lately."
"Have you seen Kaoryn since the Oracle thing?" Jordan asked Colleen.
Colleen shook her head. "Not a sign of her."
Kaoryn had announced that she thought that Jordan knew who the Key was. Jordan had explained that he can't read a vampire's mind so that he couldn't know who the Key was. What no one knew was that Kaoryn was right. Jordan did know exactly who the Key was; he just wasn't sure what he should do about it.
"How's Mike doing?" Dawn asked Aaron and Jordan. Even though no one suspected it Dawn felt worse than Colleen and Holly about what happened with Mike. In her mind it was all her fault.
"He's getting better," Aaron told them. "He should be back in school pretty soon."
No one really said anything after that. The mood was awkward and everyone had their own reasons for the awkwardness but no one had the whole picture. Time passed slowly through study hall. This was a brand new feeling for everyone because before it seemed like study hall would just fly by. With only about five minutes left in the school day everything got a lot more interesting.
Jordan was the rightful receiver of The Visions. Holly, because of her demon heritage, was somehow able to tune in on a vision when Jordan received it. She got the basic gist of it but she missed out on some of the finer points. This wasn't an issue for this vision though.
"What's the deal?" Colleen asked Jordan. Everyone had gotten used to the signs that Jordan was having a vision.
"It was very short," Jordan told them.
"But why do I get the feeling you're not going to say that it was very sweet?" Aaron asked.
"Demon," Jordan explained. "Big guy. Like seven foot tall maybe?" Jordan looked over to Holly to see if she could confirm. She shrugged.
"Height isn't the most pressing issue," Colleen told Jordan. "Now teeth, claws spikes? That's the kind of thing we're looking for."
"He wasn't really big on spikes or anything," Holly said.
"No," Jordan pointed out. "He was just a big guy."
"So that's it?" Aaron asked. "Just a big guy?"
"Strong big guy," Jordan told them.
"How could you tell?" Dawn asked.
"Trust me," Jordan and Holly said in unison.
"So that doesn't sound so bad," Colleen said. "I just have to kill some big demon guy looking demon."
"Why is he in Sunnydale?" Aaron asked Jordan and Holly.
Jordan looked to Holly. She shrugged again. "I don't know," Jordan said. "It was kind of just a vision about the guy."
"It's the Hellmouth," Dawn pointed out. "It's probably like Demon spring break or something."
"If the Powers sent us this vision then it's probably serious," Holly pointed out to Colleen.
"So do you still want to come on patrol?" Colleen asked.
"Maybe we should do teams?" Holly suggested. "We don't have any idea where this thing is going to be or what it's going to do."
"I'm in," Aaron said. "Maybe if he really is that powerful I might be able to find a spell or something."
"I can't," Dawn said. "I have homework. But call me if you need backup."
"I'll be backup too," Jordan said. "I should probably get caught up on homework too." Jordan hated to lie, but he thought that this might be his best chance to talk to Dawn.
*****
Colleen walked through the cemeteries on the east side of town by herself. They had decided that it would be better if they split up and Aaron was going with Holly. Colleen was the better fighter, so it made sense that Aaron should go with Holly. It's not like Aaron would be a lot of help in a fight, but he was still nice to have around. Aaron was good at cheering people up, and lately Colleen really needed cheering up.
Colleen was hoping that she would at least come up against some vamps, and she was really hoping that she would find this demon guy. She wanted to get into a fight. Fighting had become such a tension reliever for Colleen in the last 2 years and right now she needed to relieve some tension. Mike had relieved a lot of tension for her and now he was gone.
Colleen didn't like to think about that. Sure she had thought that maybe things weren't working out between her and Mike the way that they should be she never wanted to break up. She hoped that maybe they could work it out. Of course they were fundamental problems that had a lot to do with the way that Colleen felt inside, but Colleen had hoped that she would be able to get over her doubts.
"So did you think that you would never see me again?" a familiar voice called out to Colleen from behind her. She turned to see who it was.
*****
Holly was in demon form fighting against two vampires. She and Aaron had stopped in an alley when they saw two girls walk in with three guys who definitely looked like they hadn't been alive for the death of disco. They had stopped the vampires from feeding on the girls and bought the girls time to escape but now they had to fight. These weren't fledgling vampires; they had been around for a while. Holly thought that she would easily be able to dust one but she was struggling against the two.
Meanwhile, Aaron found himself pinned up against a wall by the third vampire. The vampire held him by the throat and as much as Aaron kicked and thrashed he couldn't get free. Holly was so caught up in her fight that she didn't notice how much danger Aaron was in. The vampire smiled realizing he had Aaron beat. He began to bend his mouth towards Aaron's throat. In a moment of desperation Aaron reached into his pocket and grabbed a handful of a powder that was in there. He threw the fire in the vampires face and in his moment of confusion his grip loosened slightly on Aaron and Aaron managed to drop to the ground.
"Sunt ignitium!" Aaron yelled at the vampire in Latin. Holly had just staked one of the vampires and was turning to help Aaron when she saw the vampire suddenly burst into flames. Both Holly and the last vampire were a little startled by the pyrotechnics. Holly noticed the vampire wasn't paying attention to her and calmly staked him through the back. Holly shifted into her human form and walked over to help Aaron back to his feet.
"Nice spell," Holly complimented Aaron.
"Thanks," Aaron said. "I wasn't sure if it would work or not."
"Lucky for you it did," Holly told him.
Aaron and Holly walked out of the alley and back onto the street while they made their way to the next cemetery. Those vampires were the first either of them had seen since their encounter with the Oracle. The slow night meant that they had a lot of time in between to talk.
"So is Mike really going to be okay?" Holly asked Aaron.
"Yeah," Aaron told Holly. "He's at home now. He's just needs to recover a little more before he can go back to school. The doctors just want him to rest up a little bit more."
"I mean emotionally," Holly corrected Aaron. "Is he going to be okay?"
Aaron sighed. "You know how Mike is always smiling and always looks at the world like he's in on some inside joke?"
"Yeah," Holly said.
"I think he's on the outside now," Aaron told her.
*****
Mike lay on his bed. The school work that he was supposed to do before he came back was lying on his nightstand. He had done most of it but he still had a little left before he went back. He had to thank Aaron; he got him really caught up.
Mike thought about his last conversation he had with Colleen. It was harsh. He knew it was. He felt bad about it. But the fact remains that what Kaoryn had said to him had been true. Mike was hurt because he had allowed himself to get so close to Colleen. He was lucky to be alive. Mike knew that right now he should be dead.
Of course a lot of this was his fault though. Mike had insisted that he should be a more active member of the group. Colleen had tried to stop him because she didn't want him to get hurt. It turned out that Colleen was right.
Mike knew that he had made a mistake. Hopefully Colleen would understand that a few mistakes are allowed shortly after a near death experience. After thinking about it since he had left the hospital, Mike had decided then and there that he would call Colleen tomorrow. He was going to fix this thing between them before it got any worse.
*****
"Eben," Colleen said, turning to look at the taller boy. "Should have figured that you would be here tonight. You know, figuring how you never call or anything."
"I just go where The Visions send me," Eben told her.
"What's so bad about this guy that you would get sent here too?" Colleen asked him.
"I don't know," Eben told her. "I just got a vision of a demon in Sunnydale so I'm here to help."
"Our vision wasn't exactly detailed either," Colleen told him.
"So you're patrolling for him?" Eben asked her.
"Yeah," Colleen told him.
"Then let's go," Eben said to her.
They walked through the cemetery together in silence at first. Colleen was never a huge fan of silence. She wasn't the kind of person that would talk for hours on end but she didn't like being in complete silence. At least, she didn't like being in complete silence with someone who was basically a stranger. She tried to talk to Eben about things like where he was from or if he was in school but Eben didn't exactly give straightforward answers. Colleen tried a different approach to talk to Eben.
"So how long have you been fighting the good fight?" Colleen asked him.
"Forever," Eben told her. "I've been training for as far back as I can remember."
"Wow," Colleen said to him. There was more silence. "How old are you now?"
"Sixteen," Eben said to her.
"Me too," Colleen said to him. "But I've only been fighting since I was fourteen."
"You're a good fighter," Eben told her.
"As you told me the last time we met," Colleen told him.
"Sorry," Eben told her. "I don't have much experience with um," Eben searched for the right word.
"Fighting?" Colleen asked him. "You've been doing it a lot longer than me."
"I meant talking to girls," Eben told her.
"Oh," Colleen said, a little embarrassed.
*****
Dawn sat at her desk doing her homework. She wondered if maybe she had made the right decision by staying home instead of going to help fight. Of course, what good would she do? She could sort of fight but she didn't have any powers. Unless of course she counted the fact that she was the Key.
Dawn sighed. She was never going to be able to get it out of her mind. As long as she was alive she was going to be the Key. She knew that if something didn't change soon she was going to drive herself insane. She had to get this off her chest soon. She cared too much about her friends to keep lying to them.
Dawn's thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. "Come in," she called out. The door opened to reveal Jordan in the doorway.
"What's up?" Dawn asked Jordan.
"I think I know who the Key is," Jordan told her.
Dawn felt her heart stop.
*****
Colleen was in love with Mike. She knew that she loved Mike. She reminded herself that she was in love with Mike. She didn't know why Mike didn't tell her that he loved her when they broke up but she just chalked it up to the ordeal he had just gone through. He had always told Colleen how much he loved her. There's no way that it could have all been fake. Yet Colleen knew that there was a chance. If she had those nagging voices in the back of her head the entire time maybe Mike did too. She just wanted to talk to Mike again. She just wanted him to return her phone calls.
Colleen sighed.
"Is everything okay with you?" Eben asked her.
"Yeah," Colleen said. "Well no. It's nothing. Just boring teenage girl stuff."
"About a boy?" Eben asked her. "Your boyfriend?"
Colleen knew that she should say yes. Mike was her boyfriend. Well, not in the technical sense. She should still say yes. "No," she told Eben. Colleen wondered what she was doing. She didn't have time to really ponder this though because the demon that they were looking for suddenly appeared from around a mausoleum.
"Showtime," Colleen said as she held up the small axe she carried by her side. She rushed up at the demon and began to fight him. It didn't take her long to see why this demon was vision-worthy. He blocked her every attack, knocked the axe out of her hand, and punched her so hard that she went flying back about ten feet.
Eben took his turn next. He tried to match him in fisticuffs but it wasn't turning out well. Eben did a back flip to get some distance from the demon and blasted fire at the demon's chest. The demon just smiled and came after Eben again. Eben dodged a few more attacks but as the demon was about to make contact with his face Eben teleported behind it. He tried his fire trick again, this time aiming at the demon's back. The demon howled in pain. Eben prepared to attack again but the demon turned around and swatted at him, sending him flying back as well.
"A regroup would probably be in order," Colleen said to Eben as she stood by his side.
"Agreed," Eben said, taking Colleen's hand as he stood up. Their hands stayed in contact for a moment longer than was necessary until Eben turned to leave shouting "run!"
*****
"See," Jordan said. "Doesn't it all make sense now? Holly has to be the Key."
"You do have a lot of evidence," Dawn said. Jordan had gone off on his theory of why Holly had to be the Key. "It's just that…"
"What?" Jordan asked Dawn.
"She just can't be the Key because she's a demon," Dawn told Jordan. "The Key has to be pure. And plus Holly has a family. And a past. A real past. And real memories. And nothing about her is a lie. And it doesn't matter how insecure Holly feels because she's still real. She wasn't created by monks…she had parents and a childhood and she knows who she is."
At this point the emotion had begun to show in Dawn's voice. Jordan looked her in the eye. Dawn's eyes showed sadness. The beginnings of tears were showing. But there was something else in her eyes. Something that Jordan took to be relief.
"And besides," Dawn told Jordan. "Holly can't be the Key because I'm the Key." Dawn paused. Jordan just looked at her. "I'm the Key Jordan."
Dawn started to cry. Jordan held her as Dawn let all the tears come out. Dawn cried and Jordan just listened as everything she had kept inside for all these months just came pouring out. Jordan just held her and told her that everything would be okay. Dawn finished telling her story and then just continued to cry. Dawn was just relieved to finally let someone know.
Dawn suddenly pulled away from Jordan. "You already knew!"
Jordan just gave her a sideways smile. Dawn smacked him on the arm.
"You tricked me!" Dawn said to her. "You never thought Holly was the Key. You read my mind or something and you already knew!"
"I didn't mean to read your mind," Jordan told her. "It was when Gunner found out. You just thought about it too hard."
"I can't believe you tricked me," Dawn said. She couldn't really be mad though. There were more emotions that took precedence over anger.
"I thought it would be better if you told me instead of me confronting you about it," Jordan told her.
Dawn stood up. She walked over to her desk and looked at herself in the mirror. She looked down at the picture she had given Buffy for her birthday. It showed Dawn and Buffy at the beach, a trip that had never really happened.
"I'm not real Jordan," Dawn said as tears came down her face.
"You look pretty real from where I'm sitting," Jordan told her.
Dawn smiled a little but the tears kept coming. She composed herself and wiped the tears away. "So what happens now?" Dawn asked Jordan.
*****
Colleen and Eben ran into a cave. The demon followed them. They ran through the cave till they got to a cliff. Past the cliff was a twenty foot drop that ended with some rather sharp looking stalagmites.
"Now what do we do?" Colleen asked Eben. They turned around when they felt the vibrations rock the cave. Colleen was knocked into Eben's arms. She looked at his eyes for a moment and then towards the source of the vibrations. The demon stood there. He had caused an avalanche trapping them in the cave.
"Now we fight," Eben said as he helped Colleen regain her balance. Eben immediately ran towards the demon, Colleen just behind him. They both tried attacking the demon from different angles but it was no good. Colleen managed to get a hard kick to the demons back and it seemed to affect him more than any of the other attacks.
Eben had a plan. He turned to share it with Colleen but the demon punched him in the side of his face and Eben was immediately against the wall of the cave. Colleen fought the demon for a little bit longer but she was soon hit and slid across the cave, stopping only a few inches in front of the cliff. She got back to her feet and the demon came charging at her.
"Jump!" Eben called to her. Colleen didn't know what was going on but she jumped and Eben telekinetically lifted her high into the air. The demon barely managed to stop himself and in order to balance himself he spun around so that his back was facing the edge. Colleen landed in front of him while he was still trying to regain his balance. She knew what Eben had been planning. She delivered a hard roundhouse kick to the demon's chest. The demon fell backwards. Colleen was joined by Eben and they both looked over the cliff at the demon that was impaled by the stalagmite.
"He looks pretty dead," Colleen said to Eben.
"Good work," Eben complimented Colleen. "With the kick."
"Thanks," Colleen said. She noticed that Eben's shirt was ripped and that he was bleeding from his shoulder. "You're hurt."
Eben looked over his shoulder and saw the cut. "It's not that bad."
"Let me look at it," Colleen said. She stood behind Eben and lifted up his shirt so she could see his shoulder. It wasn't a deep wound.
"I heel fast," Eben told her. "Don't worry about me."
Colleen looked at Jordan's other shoulder. There were five Japanese symbols in a column.
"Tattoos?" Colleen asked him.
"Reminders," Eben answered her. His shirt was off. He turned to face Colleen.
Colleen had been attracted to Eben before. Now it was bordering on more than attraction. Now it was a physical want. Eben stood before her without his shirt on and Colleen looked at his muscular chest. Her eyes moved up until they met his. Neither of them spoke.
Colleen didn't know who initialized the kiss. She didn't know if it was her or him or both of them or if it was just the closeness of the situation. Honestly though, she didn't care. She needed this. She needed to feel Eben against her. She needed to know the touch of his skin against hers. The void that she had tried so hard to ignore was now overwhelming her. She needed relief.
As Colleen and Eben moved against the wall of the cave and then to the floor everything became more and more intense. As Eben began to lift off Colleen's shirt she didn't try to stop her. And the thing that bothered her when she woke up later on that night is that she never thought about Mike.
*****
Author's Note: Colleen, Mike, and Eben. Who do you like and who do you hate? Or do you just hate me? Thanks for reading. Also, I would like to introduce everyone to Kristy. Kristy is my new proofreader and she's helping me to make my stories suck less. Half of your thinks should go to Kristy…well, at least a quarter of them.