Chapter 75
Shannon was bruised badly all over her body. She lay in bed covered with bandages. Buffy had just asked who had done this to her. "He was a minister, or something.. At least, he dressed like one. I thought he was trying to save me.. at first."
"He.. he picked you up on the side of the road?" Buffy asked.
"Bringers were chasing me. He said they were his boys.. right before he burned me." Shannon removed the bandage over the burn on her neck. Willow took a digital camera out of her purse and snapped a picture of the burn. "He wanted to tell you something. Before he.. cut me.. he told me to give the slayer a message."
"What is it?"
"He said, 'I have something of yours.'"
Buffy's eyes widened and she looked at Angel. They were both thinking the same thing. Angel thanked Shannon and said they would be back to check on her. Buffy took Angel out to the van and got in while Willow got in Xander's car. Buffy looked at Angel as he got in the driver's seat. "You don't think.."
"He couldn't have. He was on the road ahead of us."
"Well, we're going in. We're going to find where this priest guy is and we're going to find out what he has of mine. Or maybe ours."
Twenty minutes later, Buffy stood in front of all the potentials and the Scooby Gang. "We've got a new player in town. Dresses like a preacher. Calls himself Caleb. Looks like he's working for the First."
"He's taunting us, calling us out." Angel said. "Says he's got something of Buffy's. Could be another girl.." He glanced at Buffy. "Could be something else."
"Don't know, don't care. It's time you all get out there and start learning instead of training. He's got something of mine? Fine. I'm getting it back, and you guys are coming with me."
"Now, go and start getting prepared." Angel said. Everyone left except Willow, Xander, Giles, Faith, and Spike.
"We need to start arming the girls. I wanna be ready to move when we find him." Buffy said.
"We don't even know where we're going." Willow said.
"That's why I figured we'd do a little recon first." Buffy turned to Angel and Faith. "You two up for it?"
"Point me where you want me." Faith said.
"And you're certain this is the best course of action?" Giles asked. "You don't even know what this man has of yours.. if he, in fact, has anything."
"It could be a girl, a potential trying to get to us." Angel argued.
"Could be a stapler."
"Going in anyway."
"With the girls? Most of whom have yet to be in the field, let alone in a life or death situation."
"Then it's time we test them."
"Look, we'll just take the ones that have been here the longest. The rest can stay behind." Buffy said.
"Could be that's just what he wants you to do the old bait-and-switch." Spike said.
"Yeah, he lures us away and then kills the girls we leave behind." Willow said.
"I know." Buffy said. "That's why I need you to stay here with them. You're my most powerful weapon, Will. I know you can keep them safe if anything happens."
"An unknown man breezes into town, says he has something of yours." Xander said. "Buffy, this thing's got 'trap' written all over it."
"He won't be expecting a full attack.. not this soon."
"That's why we have to move." Angel said.
"We know nothing about this man. We cannot go into battle unprepared. We have to have more time." Giles said.
"Giles, we don't have time. And you're not going into battle. You to stay behind with the others."
"Help the girls who still need a teacher." Faith said bitterly.
Buffy looked at her, understanding she was angry. The two Slayers and Angel grabbed their coats and headed out the door. Faith smiled. "Too bad you told the limo to go back to LA. We could've been patrolling in style."
Buffy gave her a small smile. "Yeah."
They started to walk. "So, what's up with the whole limo thing? I missed the big explanation this morning at breakfast."
"Angel and I own Wolfram and Hart now."
"Get out."
"Lilah said we won and they gave us the LA branch." Angel said.
"How'd you manage to 'win'?"
"We stopped world peace." Buffy and Angel both said.
"Say what?"
"You wouldn't believe us if we told you." Buffy said sadly.
"Trust me, I'd believe anything you tell me. I've seen some weird stuff."
"Maybe some other time, huh? It's an extremely long story and I just found what's going to lead us to preacher guy." Angel said, pointing up ahead. A Bringer was headed towards the edge of town. The three dropped back and then followed from a distance. They followed the Bringer into the woods and Buffy cocked her head, staring intently. She and Angel had been out of the Sunnydale loop for a while now. Everything was a little bit on the new side right now.
"No eyes, but look at him go. Has he got sonar or something?" Buffy asked.
"Or something, I guess. Pretty good when they attack." Faith said.
"Do they just roam free around town?" Angel asked.
"Well, normally, they show up out of nowhere, and then either stab or get stabbed, and then they run off. Looks like this guy wants to be found. Lends weight to the whole 'it's a trap' theory, huh?"
"I'm don't really want to wait around for people to attack us." Buffy said.
"Hey, I'm with you. Drop me in the hornet's nest, what the hell? We got a rough sitch here, trying to turn a bunch of little girls into an army.."
"They're potential slayers, just like we were."
"Right. Maybe they'll do as good as us." Faith sighed. "They're getting better."
"Angel and I'll work with em. Some of em seem real eager. They seem like they're ready to fight."
"Buffy.." Angel stopped and they all looked at a barn-like building that the Bringer walked up to. "What is this place?"
"Look, there's more of them." Faith said.
"I think we just found our hornet's nest." Buffy said.
"Let's get the cavalry." Angel said, turning away and leading the women back to the main road. They got back to the house and found Xander giving a speech about Buffy and Angel. "Sure both of them have been away for a long time. But I've been through more battles with Buffy and Angel than you all can ever imagine. They've stopped everything that's ever come up against them. Both of them have laid down their lives.. Literally.. to protect the people around them. Buffy has died two times, and she's still standing. You're scared? That's smart. You got questions? You should. But you doubt thier motives, you think their all about the kill, then you take the little bus to battle. I've seen Buffy's heart and in that I get to see Angel's, and this time.. not literally. And I'm telling you, right now, both of them care more about your lives than you will ever know. You gotta trust them. They've earned it."
"Damn. I never knew you two were that cool." Faith said.
Everyone turned to look at them as Buffy looked at Faith. "Well, you always were a little slow."
"I get that now."
"All right, let's saddle up." Angel said.
Buffy, Angel, Faith, Spike, Rona, and Kennedy got in the van while Xander, Molly, Chao-Ahn, Amanda, and another potential got in Xander's car with him. They drove the small gang to the edge of the woods and then walked them to the Bringer's hide away. They strolled up to the front door, then Buffy paused to address the team. "Ok. Set up a perimeter. Guard the door. I don't want anything getting in behind us. My team goes in first, we check the place out. You guys are our safety-net. If this place is a trap, we give the signal, you guys come in, guns a-blazing."
"So, what's the signal?" Xander asked.
"I'm thinking lots and lots of yelling." Angel said.
"Got it."
Angel turned to Buffy. "Shall we?"
"We shall." Buffy said, opening the door and stepping in. Behind them, their team consisting of Molly, Kennedy, Rona, and Chao-Ahn followed them. So far, the top floors were clear. Angel found a door and said it smelled like wine. They decided it was worth a shot and they walked down the steps to a large wine cellar.
"What is this place?" Molly asked.
"Looks like an old vineyard." Buffy said.
"An evil vineyard, huh?" Kennedy asked.
"Like Falcon Crest." Angel said. Buffy looked at him and he shrugged.
"Stay alert, you guys. Bringers are here somewhere. Just need to find out where." Buffy said.
"Shouldn't be too hard."
Bringers came out of the shadows, from behind the barrels of wine, and attacked Buffy, Angel, and the gang. The fight was fairly even. Suddenly, the Bringers stopped fighting and walked back into the shadows. Preacher guy walked out into the light. "Well, now, you girls are just burning with righteousness, aren't you? Problem is, you think you're blazing like suns, when really you're burning like matchsticks in the face of the darkness. You having fun? Now, I hope my boys haven't worn you out too much.. I need you fit for when I purify you."
"Save the sermon, padre. I heard you have something of mine." Buffy said, looking around for any sign of Connor. She looked at Angel and he shook his head.
"Well, I do now. You liked my little message, did you? You know, I ruined a perfectly good knife on that girl. Got her soiled blood all over the place. I may have to get a new truck. So, you're the Slayer. The Slayer. The strongest, the fastest, the most aflame with that most precious invention of all mankind.. the notion of goodness. The Slayer must indeed be powerful." With one powerful punch, he sent Buffy flying across the room.
"Buffy!" Angel yelled, wheeling angrily on the Preacher.
"So, what else you got?"
Angel vamped out and attacked Preacher guy. PG pushed him down with ease. Angel tried to get up, but PG head-butted him, then threw him across the room into a huge wine storage tank that busted when Angel hit it. Wine poured out of the tank and washed Angel across the floor. Kennedy and the other potentials got into gear and joined the fight. The Bringers came back out of the shadows to fight the potentials as well. Kennedy stormed PG but had to engage a Bringer instead. PG punched Kennedy, knocking her into a stack of wine barrels. Rona ran toward Kennedy, but Caleb cut her off. She swung the spiked baseball bat at PG, but he caught it and looked her in the eyes.
"Miss, I do believe you have your own problems you should be worrying about." PG broke Rona's arm with ease, sending her reeling back in agony. He chuckled and bent to pick up a knife from the floor. He tossed the knife to a nearby Bringer, who swung it back ready to plunge it into Rona's body.
An arrow pierced the Bringer's forearm as he reared back. They turned to look, and saw Xander standing there with a bow. Faith and Spike were there beside him. The Bringer let Rona and fought with Xander.
"Oh, good. There's more of you." Preacher guy said. Faith charged at him.
Xander saw Buffy lying unconscious against the wall where she fell when the Preacher guy threw her. "Buffy!" Xander ran to Buffy, fighting off Bringers on his way to her side. Holding a knife in each hand, Faith engaged the Preacher in a fight, but she didn't seem to faze him. He looked at her. "Well, you're the other one, aren't you. Your Cain to her Abel." Faith threw a knife at him. "No offense meant to Cain, of course."
Faith attacked him with her other knife, but he grabbed her arm, twisted it, and crossed it with her other arm in a fashion such that she couldn't move, but was looking right at him. He squeezed her hands until she was forced to drop the knife. Faith grunted at him and kneed him in the crotch, causing him to let go of her just enough so that she could escape his grasp. She backhanded him across the face. "Never was much for the good book."
He grabbed Faith's arm and twisted it painfully behind her back, causing her to double over. She fell to her knees as he twisted and pulled her arm and walked around to the front of her. "Oh, it has its moments. Paul had some good stuff, for instance. But overall I find it a tad complicated." He slapped Faith. "I like to keep things simple." He kicked her across the room into a stack of wine barrels. "Good folk, bad folk.." Chao-Ahn swung at him, but he grabbed her sword, then her face. "Clean folk, dirty folk.." He snapped Chao-Ahn's neck and dropped her to the ground.
"No!" Molly yelled.
"Yes." Preacher guy walked towards Molly.
Buffy looked up at Xander weakly. "Xander, get them out of here. We have to retreat. Do it." Xander let. Preacher guy walked menacingly toward Molly, who backed up slowly, frozen with fear. She raised her arm back to stab him, but he grabbed her wrist, then her neck. Another potential fought a Bringer. A Bringer threw Amanda against a wall and attacked her. Buffy stood just as Preacher guy squeezed Molly's neck, lifting her off the floor. Buffy tried to go to her, but Bringers kept attacking her, slowing her down.
"What can I say? I work in mysterious ways." Preacher guy stabbed Molly and let go of her neck, dropping her to the ground. "Also some fairly straightforward ones."
Enraged at seeing what he did to Molly, Buffy rushed Preacher guy. She fought him more evenly this time, avoiding his punches, and landing a few of her own. She punched him so hard, he was sent flying across the room.
Angel grabbed Buffy's arm. "We're all leaving."
"No!" Buffy said.
Angel picked Buffy up and hauled her away from the fight. Xander went to Kennedy's side. "Are you ok?" Kennedy nodded. "Let's go. Come on." He helped Kennedy to her feet. Spike escorted Rona and Faith out of the building. "Let's go! Come on!"
Preacher guy grabbed Xander and turned him around so he was facing him. "You're the one who sees everything, aren't you?" He reared his hand back in front of Xander's face. "Well, let's see what we can't do about that." He plunged his thumb into Xander's left eye, gouging it out. Xander screamed in agony. Spike charged Preacher guy, knocking Xander away from him. Xander, bleeding from his eye, stumbled back, falling to the ground in front of wine barrels.
"Xander!" Buffy screamed. Angel dropped her to her feet and they ran over to Xander. Buffy and Angel lifted Xander to his feet, and carried him out, one supporting each of his arms. Preacher guy sat up but didn't pursue them as they walked out.
Later that night after checking on Xander and Rona at the hospital and the rest of the potentials at the house, Buffy walked out the door and walked down the street. Angel followed her out and kept his distance for a while. The Slayer walked to the bluff overlooking Sunnydale and sat cross-legged near the edge. She sighed and looked out at the darkened city. After a minute, Angel walked up and sat down beside her. She looked at him gratefully and took his hand.
"What went wrong?" Buffy asked quietly.
"It wasn't your fault. None of us knew." Angel said.
"No, I meant with me. What went wrong with me? I know better than to go in blind."
"We all do."
"Faith's been slaking off with these girls. I think we did so poorly because they're not exactly trained."
"Then we up everything. Make them work harder and give them lessons on everything. Weapons, combat, new types of fighting skills.. Whatever we can arm them with, we do it."
"They're going to hate us."
"So what? They're not here on a vacation, Buffy. They're here to help save the world and keep the Slayer line from being killed off one by one. The Watcher's Council is gone. There's only two Watchers left."
"Then we bring Wesley in. We bring in Gunn, Fred, Lorne, and whatever forces we can get from Wolfram and Hart. We own it now and they take orders from us. We could do this and keep the potentials out of it."
"But we're not." It wasn't a question. "These girls need to learn is my point. There's not going to be anybody there to train them when or if they're called. They have to learn now or get out now and try not to die."
"So, choices are: we up the training and become Sunnydale's most hated or we let them slack off like they have been and everyone dies. I think I'll take the former."
"It's settled then. You're the boss now Buffy."
"We're the bosses Angel. Whatever I do, I want you to be there with me and stop me if I go too far."
"Always. I'll back you in whatever you decide."
Buffy sighed and looked out at the city. "Nice view huh?" Angel smiled and pulled her into his arms, leading her between his legs to lean back on his chest.
Shannon was bruised badly all over her body. She lay in bed covered with bandages. Buffy had just asked who had done this to her. "He was a minister, or something.. At least, he dressed like one. I thought he was trying to save me.. at first."
"He.. he picked you up on the side of the road?" Buffy asked.
"Bringers were chasing me. He said they were his boys.. right before he burned me." Shannon removed the bandage over the burn on her neck. Willow took a digital camera out of her purse and snapped a picture of the burn. "He wanted to tell you something. Before he.. cut me.. he told me to give the slayer a message."
"What is it?"
"He said, 'I have something of yours.'"
Buffy's eyes widened and she looked at Angel. They were both thinking the same thing. Angel thanked Shannon and said they would be back to check on her. Buffy took Angel out to the van and got in while Willow got in Xander's car. Buffy looked at Angel as he got in the driver's seat. "You don't think.."
"He couldn't have. He was on the road ahead of us."
"Well, we're going in. We're going to find where this priest guy is and we're going to find out what he has of mine. Or maybe ours."
Twenty minutes later, Buffy stood in front of all the potentials and the Scooby Gang. "We've got a new player in town. Dresses like a preacher. Calls himself Caleb. Looks like he's working for the First."
"He's taunting us, calling us out." Angel said. "Says he's got something of Buffy's. Could be another girl.." He glanced at Buffy. "Could be something else."
"Don't know, don't care. It's time you all get out there and start learning instead of training. He's got something of mine? Fine. I'm getting it back, and you guys are coming with me."
"Now, go and start getting prepared." Angel said. Everyone left except Willow, Xander, Giles, Faith, and Spike.
"We need to start arming the girls. I wanna be ready to move when we find him." Buffy said.
"We don't even know where we're going." Willow said.
"That's why I figured we'd do a little recon first." Buffy turned to Angel and Faith. "You two up for it?"
"Point me where you want me." Faith said.
"And you're certain this is the best course of action?" Giles asked. "You don't even know what this man has of yours.. if he, in fact, has anything."
"It could be a girl, a potential trying to get to us." Angel argued.
"Could be a stapler."
"Going in anyway."
"With the girls? Most of whom have yet to be in the field, let alone in a life or death situation."
"Then it's time we test them."
"Look, we'll just take the ones that have been here the longest. The rest can stay behind." Buffy said.
"Could be that's just what he wants you to do the old bait-and-switch." Spike said.
"Yeah, he lures us away and then kills the girls we leave behind." Willow said.
"I know." Buffy said. "That's why I need you to stay here with them. You're my most powerful weapon, Will. I know you can keep them safe if anything happens."
"An unknown man breezes into town, says he has something of yours." Xander said. "Buffy, this thing's got 'trap' written all over it."
"He won't be expecting a full attack.. not this soon."
"That's why we have to move." Angel said.
"We know nothing about this man. We cannot go into battle unprepared. We have to have more time." Giles said.
"Giles, we don't have time. And you're not going into battle. You to stay behind with the others."
"Help the girls who still need a teacher." Faith said bitterly.
Buffy looked at her, understanding she was angry. The two Slayers and Angel grabbed their coats and headed out the door. Faith smiled. "Too bad you told the limo to go back to LA. We could've been patrolling in style."
Buffy gave her a small smile. "Yeah."
They started to walk. "So, what's up with the whole limo thing? I missed the big explanation this morning at breakfast."
"Angel and I own Wolfram and Hart now."
"Get out."
"Lilah said we won and they gave us the LA branch." Angel said.
"How'd you manage to 'win'?"
"We stopped world peace." Buffy and Angel both said.
"Say what?"
"You wouldn't believe us if we told you." Buffy said sadly.
"Trust me, I'd believe anything you tell me. I've seen some weird stuff."
"Maybe some other time, huh? It's an extremely long story and I just found what's going to lead us to preacher guy." Angel said, pointing up ahead. A Bringer was headed towards the edge of town. The three dropped back and then followed from a distance. They followed the Bringer into the woods and Buffy cocked her head, staring intently. She and Angel had been out of the Sunnydale loop for a while now. Everything was a little bit on the new side right now.
"No eyes, but look at him go. Has he got sonar or something?" Buffy asked.
"Or something, I guess. Pretty good when they attack." Faith said.
"Do they just roam free around town?" Angel asked.
"Well, normally, they show up out of nowhere, and then either stab or get stabbed, and then they run off. Looks like this guy wants to be found. Lends weight to the whole 'it's a trap' theory, huh?"
"I'm don't really want to wait around for people to attack us." Buffy said.
"Hey, I'm with you. Drop me in the hornet's nest, what the hell? We got a rough sitch here, trying to turn a bunch of little girls into an army.."
"They're potential slayers, just like we were."
"Right. Maybe they'll do as good as us." Faith sighed. "They're getting better."
"Angel and I'll work with em. Some of em seem real eager. They seem like they're ready to fight."
"Buffy.." Angel stopped and they all looked at a barn-like building that the Bringer walked up to. "What is this place?"
"Look, there's more of them." Faith said.
"I think we just found our hornet's nest." Buffy said.
"Let's get the cavalry." Angel said, turning away and leading the women back to the main road. They got back to the house and found Xander giving a speech about Buffy and Angel. "Sure both of them have been away for a long time. But I've been through more battles with Buffy and Angel than you all can ever imagine. They've stopped everything that's ever come up against them. Both of them have laid down their lives.. Literally.. to protect the people around them. Buffy has died two times, and she's still standing. You're scared? That's smart. You got questions? You should. But you doubt thier motives, you think their all about the kill, then you take the little bus to battle. I've seen Buffy's heart and in that I get to see Angel's, and this time.. not literally. And I'm telling you, right now, both of them care more about your lives than you will ever know. You gotta trust them. They've earned it."
"Damn. I never knew you two were that cool." Faith said.
Everyone turned to look at them as Buffy looked at Faith. "Well, you always were a little slow."
"I get that now."
"All right, let's saddle up." Angel said.
Buffy, Angel, Faith, Spike, Rona, and Kennedy got in the van while Xander, Molly, Chao-Ahn, Amanda, and another potential got in Xander's car with him. They drove the small gang to the edge of the woods and then walked them to the Bringer's hide away. They strolled up to the front door, then Buffy paused to address the team. "Ok. Set up a perimeter. Guard the door. I don't want anything getting in behind us. My team goes in first, we check the place out. You guys are our safety-net. If this place is a trap, we give the signal, you guys come in, guns a-blazing."
"So, what's the signal?" Xander asked.
"I'm thinking lots and lots of yelling." Angel said.
"Got it."
Angel turned to Buffy. "Shall we?"
"We shall." Buffy said, opening the door and stepping in. Behind them, their team consisting of Molly, Kennedy, Rona, and Chao-Ahn followed them. So far, the top floors were clear. Angel found a door and said it smelled like wine. They decided it was worth a shot and they walked down the steps to a large wine cellar.
"What is this place?" Molly asked.
"Looks like an old vineyard." Buffy said.
"An evil vineyard, huh?" Kennedy asked.
"Like Falcon Crest." Angel said. Buffy looked at him and he shrugged.
"Stay alert, you guys. Bringers are here somewhere. Just need to find out where." Buffy said.
"Shouldn't be too hard."
Bringers came out of the shadows, from behind the barrels of wine, and attacked Buffy, Angel, and the gang. The fight was fairly even. Suddenly, the Bringers stopped fighting and walked back into the shadows. Preacher guy walked out into the light. "Well, now, you girls are just burning with righteousness, aren't you? Problem is, you think you're blazing like suns, when really you're burning like matchsticks in the face of the darkness. You having fun? Now, I hope my boys haven't worn you out too much.. I need you fit for when I purify you."
"Save the sermon, padre. I heard you have something of mine." Buffy said, looking around for any sign of Connor. She looked at Angel and he shook his head.
"Well, I do now. You liked my little message, did you? You know, I ruined a perfectly good knife on that girl. Got her soiled blood all over the place. I may have to get a new truck. So, you're the Slayer. The Slayer. The strongest, the fastest, the most aflame with that most precious invention of all mankind.. the notion of goodness. The Slayer must indeed be powerful." With one powerful punch, he sent Buffy flying across the room.
"Buffy!" Angel yelled, wheeling angrily on the Preacher.
"So, what else you got?"
Angel vamped out and attacked Preacher guy. PG pushed him down with ease. Angel tried to get up, but PG head-butted him, then threw him across the room into a huge wine storage tank that busted when Angel hit it. Wine poured out of the tank and washed Angel across the floor. Kennedy and the other potentials got into gear and joined the fight. The Bringers came back out of the shadows to fight the potentials as well. Kennedy stormed PG but had to engage a Bringer instead. PG punched Kennedy, knocking her into a stack of wine barrels. Rona ran toward Kennedy, but Caleb cut her off. She swung the spiked baseball bat at PG, but he caught it and looked her in the eyes.
"Miss, I do believe you have your own problems you should be worrying about." PG broke Rona's arm with ease, sending her reeling back in agony. He chuckled and bent to pick up a knife from the floor. He tossed the knife to a nearby Bringer, who swung it back ready to plunge it into Rona's body.
An arrow pierced the Bringer's forearm as he reared back. They turned to look, and saw Xander standing there with a bow. Faith and Spike were there beside him. The Bringer let Rona and fought with Xander.
"Oh, good. There's more of you." Preacher guy said. Faith charged at him.
Xander saw Buffy lying unconscious against the wall where she fell when the Preacher guy threw her. "Buffy!" Xander ran to Buffy, fighting off Bringers on his way to her side. Holding a knife in each hand, Faith engaged the Preacher in a fight, but she didn't seem to faze him. He looked at her. "Well, you're the other one, aren't you. Your Cain to her Abel." Faith threw a knife at him. "No offense meant to Cain, of course."
Faith attacked him with her other knife, but he grabbed her arm, twisted it, and crossed it with her other arm in a fashion such that she couldn't move, but was looking right at him. He squeezed her hands until she was forced to drop the knife. Faith grunted at him and kneed him in the crotch, causing him to let go of her just enough so that she could escape his grasp. She backhanded him across the face. "Never was much for the good book."
He grabbed Faith's arm and twisted it painfully behind her back, causing her to double over. She fell to her knees as he twisted and pulled her arm and walked around to the front of her. "Oh, it has its moments. Paul had some good stuff, for instance. But overall I find it a tad complicated." He slapped Faith. "I like to keep things simple." He kicked her across the room into a stack of wine barrels. "Good folk, bad folk.." Chao-Ahn swung at him, but he grabbed her sword, then her face. "Clean folk, dirty folk.." He snapped Chao-Ahn's neck and dropped her to the ground.
"No!" Molly yelled.
"Yes." Preacher guy walked towards Molly.
Buffy looked up at Xander weakly. "Xander, get them out of here. We have to retreat. Do it." Xander let. Preacher guy walked menacingly toward Molly, who backed up slowly, frozen with fear. She raised her arm back to stab him, but he grabbed her wrist, then her neck. Another potential fought a Bringer. A Bringer threw Amanda against a wall and attacked her. Buffy stood just as Preacher guy squeezed Molly's neck, lifting her off the floor. Buffy tried to go to her, but Bringers kept attacking her, slowing her down.
"What can I say? I work in mysterious ways." Preacher guy stabbed Molly and let go of her neck, dropping her to the ground. "Also some fairly straightforward ones."
Enraged at seeing what he did to Molly, Buffy rushed Preacher guy. She fought him more evenly this time, avoiding his punches, and landing a few of her own. She punched him so hard, he was sent flying across the room.
Angel grabbed Buffy's arm. "We're all leaving."
"No!" Buffy said.
Angel picked Buffy up and hauled her away from the fight. Xander went to Kennedy's side. "Are you ok?" Kennedy nodded. "Let's go. Come on." He helped Kennedy to her feet. Spike escorted Rona and Faith out of the building. "Let's go! Come on!"
Preacher guy grabbed Xander and turned him around so he was facing him. "You're the one who sees everything, aren't you?" He reared his hand back in front of Xander's face. "Well, let's see what we can't do about that." He plunged his thumb into Xander's left eye, gouging it out. Xander screamed in agony. Spike charged Preacher guy, knocking Xander away from him. Xander, bleeding from his eye, stumbled back, falling to the ground in front of wine barrels.
"Xander!" Buffy screamed. Angel dropped her to her feet and they ran over to Xander. Buffy and Angel lifted Xander to his feet, and carried him out, one supporting each of his arms. Preacher guy sat up but didn't pursue them as they walked out.
Later that night after checking on Xander and Rona at the hospital and the rest of the potentials at the house, Buffy walked out the door and walked down the street. Angel followed her out and kept his distance for a while. The Slayer walked to the bluff overlooking Sunnydale and sat cross-legged near the edge. She sighed and looked out at the darkened city. After a minute, Angel walked up and sat down beside her. She looked at him gratefully and took his hand.
"What went wrong?" Buffy asked quietly.
"It wasn't your fault. None of us knew." Angel said.
"No, I meant with me. What went wrong with me? I know better than to go in blind."
"We all do."
"Faith's been slaking off with these girls. I think we did so poorly because they're not exactly trained."
"Then we up everything. Make them work harder and give them lessons on everything. Weapons, combat, new types of fighting skills.. Whatever we can arm them with, we do it."
"They're going to hate us."
"So what? They're not here on a vacation, Buffy. They're here to help save the world and keep the Slayer line from being killed off one by one. The Watcher's Council is gone. There's only two Watchers left."
"Then we bring Wesley in. We bring in Gunn, Fred, Lorne, and whatever forces we can get from Wolfram and Hart. We own it now and they take orders from us. We could do this and keep the potentials out of it."
"But we're not." It wasn't a question. "These girls need to learn is my point. There's not going to be anybody there to train them when or if they're called. They have to learn now or get out now and try not to die."
"So, choices are: we up the training and become Sunnydale's most hated or we let them slack off like they have been and everyone dies. I think I'll take the former."
"It's settled then. You're the boss now Buffy."
"We're the bosses Angel. Whatever I do, I want you to be there with me and stop me if I go too far."
"Always. I'll back you in whatever you decide."
Buffy sighed and looked out at the city. "Nice view huh?" Angel smiled and pulled her into his arms, leading her between his legs to lean back on his chest.
