The halls in this part of the newly renovated office building were dark. The complex was massive, housing libraries, computers, training facilities, meeting rooms, private offices and one of the most advanced telecommunications systems ever designed. The staff numbered in the dozens and grew almost everyday. This was part of the new Watcher's Council headquarters that few had ever seen however. This was his private office, a sanctuary of sorts where he could go to simply concentrate on his work in private without fear of interruption.
It was a place where Rupert Giles did not want to be on this day. The news he was discussing was grave and brought back to many old memories. It was days like this that made Giles wonder why he had taken this job upon himself. It wasn't like he owed the council anything. That wasn't true, he owed the council more than he could ever admit. Everything he was, he owed to them and it was this debt that drove him to seek to rebuild the council to help fight the modern war against evil.
"Robson I want you to see personally to the notification and care of his family," Giles took his glasses off, holding them in one hand and rubbing his forehead with the others, trying to sooth the pain that had settled into its usual place in front of his temples. The last couple days, since he had first received the news that they were still discussing, were marked by Giles receiving very little sleep and even less actual rest.
Robson, seated across the large, dark wooden desk from Giles nodded. "What are we to do about this Giles?" He asked like the leader of the council actually knew the answer. "The police report that they have no leads, no witnesses, no suspects and this is the third murder in four weeks of a watcher in this manner."
"I don't know," Giles felt completely helpless with this situation.
"Giles we are under attack," Robson pointed out the obvious. "The First waged war against the watcher's council and nearly destroyed us, now something else is picking up where it left off."
"I realize that Robson but what do you want me to do? The First is gone, it's minions are scattered. We don't know who is behind this attack on us," Giles was growing increasingly frustrated with their general lack of information, not that it wasn't something he was used to.
"We have to fight Giles," Robson suggested what Giles already knew had to be done. "When the First attacked, we waited to long to try acting against it. By the time the council made a decision to act, it was too late. We cannot wait so long as to put ourselves in jeopardy before we act."
"Damn it Robson don't you think I know that!" Giles pounded his fist on his desk, a sound echoing off the dark wooden walls of his office. "But we don't know who to fight and I cannot order a war against an unknown coward who hides in the shadows refusing to show himself!"
"You're right," Robson couldn't begin to imagine the amount of stress Giles was under and hadn't realized until that moment that he wasn't doing anything to help his old comrade. "I'm sorry. I just don't want to see last year happening all over again, too many people died, too many good people."
"Such things happen during apocalypses," Giles relaxed, slightly leaning back in his chair and placing the end of his glasses in his mouth, slightly chewing on the frame, a bad habit he had settled into during the last few months. "I often wonder how and more importantly why I've survived as many as I have."
"Is that what we're looking at here?" Robson came to a grave realization. "Another apocalypse? Another demon seeking to try and finish what the First started? Wiping out the council and the Slayer line? It's what I would want to do if I were evil."
"This doesn't have quite the apocalypse feel to it," Giles thought about all the information they had on the murders. "Whoever this killer is, they have made no attempt at killing any of the potentials, and one was nearby when the first murder took place. As far as we know, neither Buffy or Faith have been targeted either. No these attacks seem to be much more selective, targeted only against the counsel, perhaps to try and disrupt us as we try to rebuild it."
"But who would do such a thing?"
"The council is not without it's enemies," Giles shrugged, he really didn't know who was behind the attacks or know where to begin looking for the fiend. "I wager there's more than a few groups and individuals out there that would like nothing better than to see us permanently wiped from the face of the earth."
"But who has the resources?" Robson asked next. "And the knowledge to carry out the attacks that have been done thus far with such precision. Whoever this killer is seems to have a knowledge of the workings of the council as well as knowing who our operatives are and where he can find them when they are vulnerable."
"I don't know and worse yet, we have nothing that could potentially lead us to the identity of the killer," as if it were listening to him, the speakers on Giles' desktop computer chimed, indicating that he had received a new e-mail. He navigated the cursor icon on the screen to his e-mail program and clicked it open. The message was addressed to his private e-mail account, one very few people knew of, from an unknown sender.
As he opened the message, Giles gasped. He had seen his share of death in his time, more gruesome than the photos attached to the front of the e-mail but it was the way they were done that took Giles by surprise. The way the bodies of the dead watcher in each photo was arranged, the lighting, the prominence in which the wounds were vividly displayed. This was somebody's idea of art. "My god," Giles whispered, prompting Robson to circle around his desk and look at the computer monitor, reacting in much the same was Giles did.
He scrolled past the pictures and to the actual text of the message. Giles read it aloud. "The council no longer sees. To win the war, I have returned. Signed, The Inquisitor."
"My god," the meaning of at least a part of the short message hit Robson. "I thought he was –" the watcher trailed off.
"So did I," Giles admitted. He backed away from the computer screen and again pulled his glasses off of his face. "But as we should well know, bad things have a habit of not letting death bother them." Giles regained his composure, picked up his telephone and dialed a four digit extension to another phone in the building. "Yes, I need an e-mail traced, as soon as possible."
"Do you think he would be so sloppy as to leave a trace?" Robson seemed to doubt it.
"Can you think of a better option?" Giles looked at his friend's face that gave a resounding negative answer. "If there's even a chance he left he any sort of a footprint, we have to do what we can to locate him." Giles paused for a moment, considering the implications. "He knew more about the old council than I did and probably knows a great deal about the new council as well. If he has turned against us, nobody is safe."
"What are we going to do?"
Giles again picked up his phone, dialing another extension within the headquarters building. "I need you to find Buffy for me, get her on the satellite phone as soon as possible." He replaced the receiver, his action drawing a skeptical glance from Robson who did not understand what his colleague was planning.
"The Slayer?"
Giles confidently nodded. "If he wants a war then we use our strongest warrior."
***
Their backs had been turned while ascending the stairs to the press box, hence they did not witness the mind controlling flash of energy from Harmony's medallion. Xander, Preston, Kennedy and Dawn all ranked this as a good thing, especially as they watched the legion of Harmony followers poor out of the stands and onto the field, slowly closing on Faith and Robert while chanting, "Kill her," like something straight out of a bad zombie movie.
"We need to help them," Kennedy wasn't exactly sure what they could do to help but it seemed like the right thing to say at the time when the group paused near the top of the bleachers to watch Harmony's new army moving out.
Preston snatched the tranquilizer gun away from her. "You all go and help Faith, I will handle Spike," his sudden display of confidence did not seem to suit him.
As the other seemed to juggle with the decision of letting Preston go alone and probably get killed, Xander stepped up to the plate. "I'll go with him. Two ordinary guys should be able to take one of the most infamous vampires in history don't you think?" That did not garner confidence from Kennedy or Dawn.
The potential Slayer reached behind her jacket to the small of her back and tossed a mini-crossbow to Xander. "I'd use it before he has a chance to do anything," Kennedy suggested as she and Dawn took off running towards Robert and Faith. Xander and Preston finished ascending the stairs in the middle of the bleachers to the closed press box door. Preston tried the knob. It barely jiggled and did not open.
"Locked," he stated the obvious. The watcher backed up. "Cover me," acting as if he had done it a million times, Xander readied the crossbow and aimed past Preston's head. With a swift the move, the watcher kicked the door, shattering the lock and allowing them access. He quickly readied the tranquilizer pistol and methodically walked inside, making sure to check corners and other potential hiding places with Xander following him, shadowing his movements.
It did not take long to find their target. Hanging over the microphone, Spike slowly turned to face them, a grin forming on his face from one corner of his mouth to the other. His eyes shot down to the two men laying unconscious at his feet and then again to Xander and Preston. "Well, well, well, look who's come to save the day and stop the bad guy." The vampire took three slow steps towards them, Xander responded by taking aim with the crossbow.
"One more step and you're dust." By the sound of his voice, Spike knew there was nothing idle to Xander's threat.
"You'd like that wouldn't you?" Spike stood his ground, not moving closer nor falling back. "Finally have your excuse to dust the vampire that's give you so much trouble. The one who tried to kill you, tried to kill your friends," Spike's grin grew wider. "The one who slept with your girl," Xander began to put more pressure on the crossbow trigger, steadying his aim as he did so. "And the one that neither Slayer ever took care of."
"You're making the deal all the more enjoyable pal," Xander, despite the fact that Spike had also saved his life and helped save the world on more than one occasion, still had no qualms about ridding himself of Spike once and for all.
"Well give it your best shot," without anymore urging from Spike, the bolt flew from the crossbow. Seeing the attack coming, the vampire was able to easily sidestep it. The bolt impaled the wooden wall of the press box as Spike laughed. Preston fired next with his tranquilizer pistol. Spike moved quickly, wrapping his fingers around the dart before it impacted against his skin. Preston was shocked as Spike briefly studied the dart. Before Xander or the watcher could react, Spike tossed the dart into Preston's neck. Overwhelmed by the potent tranquilizer formula, Preston collapsed on the floor.
"Stupid git," Spike muttered, watching Preston's limp body fall to the floor before he looked at Xander who was hastily trying to reload the crossbow. Before he was successful, Spike snatched the weapon away and threw it a safe distance across the room. The vampire closed in on Xander, pushing him against a corner. "You know, I've always wanted to get rid of you too; thought you were pretty much a worthless pain in the neck, not really good for much." The vampire continued grinning as his face shifted to it's demonic form. "Guess I'll just have to be a pain in your neck one last time."
"Spike listen to me," Xander pleaded as the vampire's fangs inched closer to his neck. "Harmony has something that is controlling people. You don't want to do this. She's done something to you."
Spike pulled his head away slightly. Something jarred inside of him, making the vampire consider what was happening. "You know you're right," Spike agreed, sparking a temporary feeling of relief in Xander. "She has done something to me," Spike brought his fist up, striking Xander in the head, knocking him unconscious.
"Made me feel like I haven't felt in a longtime." Spike left the press box.
On the field, Kennedy and Dawn pushed their way through the slowly advancing crowd and regrouped with Faith and Robert. Without saying anything, they ran behind the bleachers, taking temporary cover and buying a much needed few extra seconds for the crowd to reach them.
"What the hell is going on?" Faith leaned against one of the metal support beams and looked for an explanation from anyone who could potentially provide her with one.
"It's a Noc'Mar medallion," Robert offered a quick answer. "The energy it emits makes whoever looks directly at the stone very susceptible to suggestion from the wielder."
"So all she has to do is tell them what she wants and they do it?" Kennedy did not like the way Robert was making it sound, especially since it meant they were outnumbered several hundred to one.
"Yeah, yeah, we got that," Faith took charge. "How do we stop it? Short of killing everybody?"
"Take out the medallion," Robert was actually not sure but it seemed as good of a solution as any. "Or it might work if we take her out also. I can't be sure though, I've only seen one of those used once before and didn't stick around long enough to see how they turned off the effects."
"Then let's be on the safe side," Faith reached into her coat, drawing a stake for each hand. "Take out both her and the medallion." She heard the chanting of Harmony's followers drawing closer to them and knew she had to come up with a plan quickly. "Dawn, you and Kennedy try to draw them away, just by Robert and I a few minutes, we'll take care of Harmony."
Dawn glanced over her shoulder as the chanting sounds of the mob drew closer. "And how are we supposed to do that exactly? I mean, it's not like we can just pretend to be you and –" Kennedy grabbed Dawn by the hand, effectively cutting off her rambling as she led her out of the bleacher's cover.
"We'll think of something," the potential Slayer eagerly accepted their assignment and ran towards the crowd with Dawn in tow. When they could see the mob only a few feet behind them, Dawn asked if she had a plan to which Kennedy replied, "Something like that." Without warning, she began jumping up and down, pointing in the opposite direction from where Faith and Robert remained hidden. "Over there! She's over there!" The crowd's direction and purpose did not fluctuate.
An idea hit Dawn. She did not bother to use the few seconds they had filling Kennedy in on it, hoping instead that her friend would catch on. "Kill her, kill her," Dawn began chanting, walking in the opposite direction from where the Slayer was hiding. Kennedy picked up on the plan and began doing the same. Soon after, the chanting crowd changed directions and began following the two girls. As they led the group, Dawn turned and looked at Kennedy. "If you can't beat them, join them."
At the center of the field, the sounds of the crowd fading into the distance, Spike joined Harmony who was bouncing giddily with excitement. "Look at them Spikey! All of them, obeying me, loving me, doing as I command and killing the Slayer for me! I'm a god to them Spikey!"
"Oh yeah babe," he completed a half-circle around Harmony, wrapping his arms around her waste, pulling her close to him as he planted kisses on her neck. "You're the bloody second coming. Thanks to your little toy that is."
"Excuse me," Harmony did not act well to what she believed to be an almost rebellious comment. "How come you're all moody? What's your problem?"
"Well," the unmistakable sound of the Slayer's voice came from behind the two vampires. Faith and Robert had circled around from the bleachers and come up behind Harmony and Spike while the two were distracted watching her followers fall for their diversion. "For starters," Faith casually approached them, a stake in both hands and Robert at her side. "Both of you are fixing to have a very severe case of stake in a very uncomfortable place."
Spike pulled away from Harmony and nudged her behind him, stepping up to protect her. "Walk away Slayer, no need for this to come down to bloodshed."
"What!" Harmony was quick to protest. "There's every need for this to come to bloodshed! The Slayer has to die!" She started to think Spike wasn't understanding the Slayer dying part of her Slayer dying plan.
"What are you that afraid Spike?" Faith ignored Harmony's babble and decided to focus on trying to win the mind game with her former ally. "Are you so scared of trying to take me on that you're willing to just let me walk away rather than risk you neck?" The Slayer shook her head and smirked. "Doesn't sound a whole lot like the infamous Spike I've heard so much about."
"I'm not kidding," Spike did not back down as Faith and Robert continued to approach him. "This is your last chance to walk away before I decide to get mean."
"Now that's sounds a little bit more William the Bloody to me," Faith's words as well as her expression and the fire burning in her eyes as she gazed into Spike's did nothing but mock the vampire. "Think you still got any of him left in you or is that pesky little soul keeping you from being all the vampire she wants you to be?"
"You think I won't hesitate to kill another Slayer?" Though he did not back down, neither did Spike advance on or attempt to attack Faith or Robert. He simply stood his ground, not feeling the desire to attack but also knowing he could not let them stop Harmony.
"You're hesitating right now Spike," Faith had waited for the vampire to make that slip up. "I mean, I never came up against you before but something tells me that in your glory days, if a Slayer had been standing this close to you, you would have done a little bit more than try to scare her away by showing your teeth. Of course," Faith considered her own remark. "You haven't even done that yet."
On demand, Spike's face shifted, the vampire's angered expression displaying a full view of his fangs. "You're about to get a much closer view of them," Spike finally took a step forward, challenging Faith which was met by a similar response from the Slayer.
"Hey looks like you're finally starting to grow a pair," Faith took another step closer to Spike, their bodies almost touching in the process. Robert hung back. "Care to put them to the test?"
"I'm going to enjoy this Slayer," Spike pulled his fist back, moving it forward for a strike. Faith was ready, having anticipated and planned for this action. She sidestepped the punch, grabbed his arm and tossed him towards Robert, the vampire almost crashing into her comrade. Taking advantage of the second Spike needed to recover, Robert moved in, striking the vampire twice in the face.
Faith glanced over her shoulder. Confident that Robert would be able to keep Spike busy for the time she needed, the Slayer advanced on Harmony who was nervously stepping back away from her. The Slayer wasted no time in going to work. She leapt into a spinning kick, striking Harmony in the face. When she was back on her feet, Faith continued her attack, striking the blonde vampire with a right cross. This was followed by a left hook which Harmony managed to block with her left arm.
This did not stop the Slayer. She twisted Harmony's left arm, holding it in place before delivering a series of blows with her right fist to Harmony's face. She ended her attack by kicking her in the stomach, sending the vampire several feet backwards. Harmony recovered, dusting the grass off of her outfit as Faith again advanced on her, stake in hand.
"Do you have any idea how hard grass stains are to get out?" One of the first things Harmony noticed were green streaks on her clothes from where she had slid across the field. As the Slayer closed, Harmony launched a counterattack. She ran towards Faith, swinging with both fists clenched but all of her blows were easily blocked by the Slayer who knocked the vampire's fists away with her own. Faith dropped down, sweeping Harmony's legs out from under her.
Harmony knew her time was short. Faith lunged the stake towards her chest but Harmony rolled out of the way just in time, Faith impaling the ground with her weapon. Back on her feet, the vampire knew she had to act. She reached into her jacket pocket and removed the medallion, waiting for Faith. The Slayer spun around, looking directly at Harmony and hence the medallion.
"You will st –" Before Harmony could finish her sentence and the power of the medallion take effect, Faith kicked it out of her hand, sending it high into the air. A few feet away from that battle, Robert gained the upper hand in his fight against Spike, striking the vampire with his elbow. This bought him the few seconds he needed to draw his sidearm, take aim and fire a single shot. The bullet shattered the stone in the middle of the medallion as it fell to the ground. Spike's eyes flashed and the vampire looked around, confused as to what was going on. Robert did not take time to try and help him, instead rushing towards Faith as the distant chanting of the crowd stopped entirely.
"You broke it!" Harmony was infuriated. She charged towards Faith, hitting the Slayer in the nose with an openhanded strike. Faith spun the stake around, aiming for Harmony's chest. Harmony stopped the attack, blocking Faith's arm with one move and knocking the stake from it with the other. "They were going to kill you!" The vampire continued her attack, striking Faith multiple times in the face. She then jumped into a scissor-kick, striking the Slayer once in the stomach and once under the chin.
"They did what I said," she hit Faith again in the face with a right cross, breaking past the blocks the Slayer tried to use. "They loved me!" She hit Faith again with her left fist, the attempted blocks still proving ineffective. Harmony shrugged off and easily blocked three blows from the Slayer, then continued her own attack. "They worshipped me!" She struck Faith again with a series of punches from left and right. She then struck one of Faith's knees with her foot, causing her stance to buckle. "Now," Harmony's anger subsided. "I guess I'll just have to kill you myself," she brought her fist back, aiming for Faith's temple.
When Harmony tried to swing, she felt something grasp her arm, preventing her from doing so. She looked over her shoulder to see Spike holding her arm with a rather angry expression about him. "Harm, you and I are going to have a talk about the right ways to make friends before we let you play with the other children again."
Faith took advantage of Harmony being distracted by Spike. The Slayer grabbed another stake from her back pocket, knocked Harmony's free arm away from a blocking position and rammed the weapon into the vampire. With a stunned expression on her face, Harmony looked down at the wooden instrument of death stuck inside of her before looking back at Faith, her eyes wide. "You staked me!" She quickly looked back at the stake and again at Faith. "Buffy never staked me!"
Getting the message, Spike let go of her arm as Faith pulled the stake out of Harmony's stomach. "You're pathetic," Faith put the stake back in her pocket as a stunned Harmony looked on. "Even for a vampire, you're pathetic. I think it'd be worse for you to live, knowing you'll never be the popular girl you once were. So, walk way."
Faith turned her back; Spike, Robert and her began to walk away as Harmony continued standing in the middle of the field. "Wait!" Harmony insisted. "I'm evil! I'm bad!" She ran to catch up the group until Faith turned around, tapping the stake against her hand at which point, Harmony turned and run the other way.
"She won't come back," Spike reassured them. "She'll lay low for a while." Seeing the expression on Faith's face, Spike knew she wasn't pleased with him. "Which I think I'm going to do also."
"Good idea," was Faith's only response as the vampire turned away from them and walked off into the darkness. "We need to find everyone else," she started to walk off but Robert grabbed her arm, holding her in place before she could do so. "Excuse you," Faith took offense to the rather bold move by Robert.
"Faith there's something you need to know."
***
Preston awoke to the sharp feeling of being slammed against the sheet metal wall of the press box. He felt a tight grip around his neck, allowing him barely enough air to breath. When his eyes fluttered open, he looked down to see Faith holding him up against the wall and Robert standing just behind her left shoulder. He did not panic, simply tried to devise the best way to end this situation. "Faith, what is the meaning of this?"
The Slayer tightened her grip slightly. "You know what Preston, there's a few things I hate and being lied to is right up there at the top of the list," Preston started to say something in response but Faith cut him off by again tightening her fingers around his throat. "It's my turn to answer the questions here and if I don't life the answer." Preston got the point. "Let's start with who the hell are you and what are you doing here?"
"Faith, I don't know what you mean," he tried to salvage a situation he saw to be quickly falling apart around him. "I am Preston Mathers, assigned by the Watcher's Council to," she again cut him off by tightening her grip around his neck.
"Wrong answer!"
"Funny thing," Robert stepped up. "According to the Los Angeles Sheriff's Office, Preston Mathers was killed, three days ago, shortly after he left the airport where he came in on a flight from England." Robert looked him over. "You're looking pretty lively to me," he considered Faith's increasingly tight grip on the imposter's neck. "For now at least."
Faith looked at his eyes which revealed a great deal themselves. "Do I need to ask the question again?" The Slayer wanted answers and wanted them now. She had too many bad experiences in her past with people trying to play off her trust only to use that trust against her.
"Who are you working for?" Robert tossed his own curiosity into the mix.
He glanced at Robert and then looked into Faith's eyes. "Something far greater than you," she again tightened her grip, cutting off his air supply. The imposter squirmed as Faith continued to insist for an answer until Robert finally stepped up and made her stop.
"He's not going to talk Faith," as she released him, Robert pulled his arms behind his back and put handcuffs on him, radioing in to the police department that he had a subject in custody. "I'm going to take him in for processing, I imagine the investigators in L.A. will want to have a word with him." He saw the look in her eyes and knew something was wrong. "You want to talk afterwards."
Faith took a deep breath. She did want to, she needed to. "Just, leave me alone," the Slayer walked away.