For the second time in a week, Buffy Summers woke up to find her bed disturbingly empty. Glancing at her clock, she saw it was 9:30 am.

'He must have gone to work' she thought, frowning.

Looking at the table between her bed and Willow's, she saw a folded piece of paper with her name on it. She picked it up, opened it, and read it.

Buffy,

I had to go to work this morning. I'm going to stop by after work, around 6 o'clock, to check on you. Have fun in class. Say hi to Wills for me.

-X

Buffy smiled, thinking of her friend. 'He always knows just what to say' she thought.

"Morning, Buffy. How are you feeling today?" Willow asked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

"Much better, thank you," Buffy said, peppily. "Xander says 'Hi.'"

Willow looked around for a second, confused. "Xander?"

Buffy nodded, handing the piece of paper to her roommate.

Willow read the note then looked up at her roommate. "He stayed here?"

Buffy nodded again. Willow smiled. "I see," she said, shaking Oz awake.

Oz woke up, and gave Willow a quick peck on the nose. Willow showed him the note. After reading it, he turned to look at Buffy, then turned back to Willow, smiled and nodded, then lay back down.

"What was that all about?" Buffy asked, gathering her things for a shower.

"Oh. . . nothing." Willow said, still smiling.

"What?"

"Nothing! Go. Shower. Clean yourself."

"Hey, what time is it?" asked Oz.

"9:32," said Buffy.

Oz groaned, and got up, putting on his shoes.

"Class," he said, giving Willow another kiss and heading out the door.

"Bye sweetie," she said.

Buffy smiled and headed for the showers,

* * * * *

"Harris!"

Xander looked up from the wood he was cutting. "Yeah, boss?" he asked, wiping sweat from his forehead.

"You got a visitor! Some guy in a suit."

"Right. Be there in a minute," Xander said, preparing to finish his cut. Satisfied with the job he had done, Xander took of his safety glasses and walked towards the entrance to the construction site. Taking off his hardhat as he left the work area, Xander made his way past the trailer/office, and towards the gate.

"Giles, how was your trip?" Xander asked.

"Xander, hello," the Brit said. "The trip was very. . . informative."

"Informative good, or informative bad?" Xander asked.

"Well, good, in that we now know what's coming," Giles said. "But bad, in that, well, now we know what's coming."

"Big?"

"Very. When do you get off work? We must start preparing immediately."

"Right," said Xander. "I'll be done here about 5:30. I told Buffy I'd drop by her place after that, but I can be back right after that."

"Actually, I was about to call her, to see if she, Willow and Oz might be able to come over earlier."

"Oh," Xander said, a little disappointed that he wouldn't get to keep his promise to Buffy. "That makes sense, I guess."

"Is something the matter?"

"Huh? No. It's just. . ."

"Just what?"

"Harris! Work, yeah?"

"Right on it, boss," Xander yelled. "Look, Giles, don't worry about it. I'll. . . tell you later tonight."

"Yes, of course. 5:30, then?"

"Or as close to it as I can get."

"Right. So long, then."

"Bye, Giles," Xander said, walking back towards his project.

* * * * *

"Harris! Your ride's here!"

Xander looked at his watch. It read 5:30.

"Ride?" he asked.

"Yeah," his boss said. "Some redhead."

'When did Willow get a car?' Xander thought.

"Right. Let me just finish this one thing. . ."

"Ah, go on, kid. You did good today."

"But it'll just. . ."

"Hey, I said go."

"Right. Thanks, boss," Xander said, moving to the exit and hanging up his hardhat on the way.

"Hey, Will, since when do you-you're not Willow," he said, upon seeing who was waiting for him.

"You noticed that too?" Oz asked, sporting hair much brighter and redder than it had been the day before.

"Giles?"

"Giles. Got a present for you in the back," Oz said, motioning towards the rear of his van as he went around to the driver's side door.

Xander opened the sliding door, and saw a fresh pile of clothes.

"Thanks," he said, climbing in the van. "But I could have just changed when we got back."

"I know," Oz said. "But Willow read your note this morning, and thought you might want to not smell like sweat."

Xander grinned at this. "She did, did she?"

"Yep."

"You know, if I had any sense at all, I'd be head over heels for her."

". . ."

"Good thing I'm dumb as a rock, huh?"

Oz smiled. "You're not, but I don't mind," he said, reaching in his glove compartment and tossing some deodorant to Xander.

"Thanks," Xander said. "Now avert your eyes, you peeping tom."

"Right," Oz said, starting up the engine and driving off.

Quickly changing and freshening up, Xander hopped into the passenger seat next to Oz. Five minutes later, they pulled up outside Giles's apartment.

"Oz, hold up a minute," Xander said, as they got out of the van.

"What's up?" Oz asked.

"Listen, about what I said back there. I know we haven't always gotten along too well, not that, for the most part, there's been open hostility. I also know that a lot. . . ok, that's pretty much all my fault."

"Okay."

"She's happy now. More than I've ever seen her."

"Me too."

"Will's happiness is more important to me than breathing."

"Me too."

"So thank you. For giving her that."

Oz looked at him for a couple seconds. "She's yours, you know. Always will be."

"Yeah. I know. But she's yours, now, too."

Oz thought about this for a second, then nodded. "Thanks."

"Right," Xander said. "Let's go."

* * * * *

"Uh oh," said Willow, standing in the open doorway of Giles's apartment.

"Uh oh what?" Buffy asked, not looking up from the book she was reading.

"Boys. Talking."

"That's an uh oh?"

"They have this 'serious talk' look."

"Oz has a 'look'?"

"Okay, Xander has a 'serious talk' look, and Oz is there with him. Oh, they're coming."

"Hey guys," Xander said, entering the apartment.

"Xander, good, you've returned," said Giles. "We have some things to go over."

"Hey sweetie," Willow said, greeting Oz with a kiss.

Oz smiled at her.

"What was all that about out there?" she said, as he wrapped his arm around her waist and led her over to the couch.

"Nothing," Oz said. "Guy stuff."

"Is everything ok?" she asked, a little worried.

Smiling, Oz said "It's great."

"So, what's the what, G-man?" Xander asked, sitting down at the table with Buffy.

"Well, I have found what is coming, and what must happen to stop it."

"Right. And this is good, yes?"

"Well, yes, we do know how to stop it. The problem is not so much the knowledge, but the application." 'How much can I tell them? And what if things do not proceed as they must?'

"Okay. . . so give us the knowledge, we'll figure out how to apply it," said Buffy.

"What do we need to know?" asked Xander.

"Well, the demon in question is a Fargath demon, probably with some vampire lackeys, and it shall be performing the Rite of Zarkom on the night in question."

"Hey," said Xander. "Is it just me or does everybody have vampire lackeys. How come we don't have vampire lackeys?"

"Probably because they're evil," Willow said.

"Oh right, that. Ok, so what's a Zarkom?"

"A very difficult and powerful ritual, designed to bring hell to earth. Or vice versa, I'm not quite positive of the translation. Suffice to say, not good things will happen if it is completed."

"Okay, so how do we stop it?"

"That's where the difficult part comes in. Once the ritual is begun, there are only two places where it can be safely interrupted. The first time is when the demon must. . . well," Giles sighed, removed his glasses and cleaned them. "I shudder at the thought, but it must defecate into the center of a fiery pentagram."

The rest of the room burst into laughter.

"It's quite serious, I assure you," said Giles.

The laughter died down a little.

"It's not that it's not serious Giles. . . but come on, who comes up with this stuff?" asked Buffy.

"Talk about needing to catch someone with their pants down," Xander said.

Buffy swatted his arm playfully. "Xan, eww."

"Yes, well, laugh now, but when we're all suffering eternal torment, just remember who tried to warn you."

"Sorry Giles," Xander and Buffy said together.

"Right. Yes. Well, the second instance the ritual can be interrupted is when the demon drains the blood of a virgin. This takes place approximately five minutes after. . . the other instance."

"Does the virgin have to be alive, or can it be like refrigerated virgin blood?" asked Oz.

"It must be fresh, which means the demon must have a sacrifice with him."

"Hey, I don't get it," said Xander. "Why are there only two times we can kill this guy?"

"Or girl, as the case may be. The nature of the ritual involves the very fabric of the dimensions. If the ritual is interrupted at the wrong time, while it is certainly true that Hell may not come to earth, it is entirely possible that Earth and this entire dimension may cease to exist."

"Okay," said Xander. "I vote we rule out untimely killing. Who's with me?"

All the Scoobies raised their hands.

"Yes, good plan. Don't inadvertently destroy the world," Giles said, bitterly.

Everyone looked a little shocked.

"Giles," Buffy said, quietly, "I'm sorry if we don't seem to be taking this seriously. We are. But we've faced apocalypses before, and always come through with a smile. . . well, almost always. The point is, we can deal. And joking about it helps with that, some."

Giles sighed.

"I know, of course," he said, cleaning his glasses. "I think I'm just still a little worn out from the flight. The seats are so small and cramped, and the stewardesses can be so rude some times. They always smack my elbow with those damned drink carts. And they don't even give you those peanuts anymore, it's pretzels now. Pretzels! Bloody worthless, if you ask me."

"Tell ya what, G-man. After we wrap up here, I'll go out and get you a whole jar of peanuts."

Giles chuckled. "Yes, thank you Xander. I would enjoy that."

"I did good," Xander said, giving Buffy a big thumbs up.

Buffy smiled at him appreciatively.

'There's that smile again' he thought. 'I think I would actually kill someone to see that smile. Well, a demon, anyway, but a really big, human looking demon'

"So," Xander said. "Best case scenario, we kill this guy before the ritual starts. If not, what, we get a rifle, line up a few hundred yards away, and when he goes to squat, it's bang to the face, yeah?"

"If only it were that simple. I have come across a few references to the ritual which describe the only way to interrupt it. It's the same in every one. The White Knight and his - a-and the Chosen, acting as One, must pierce the heart of the caster."

Willow was the only one of the group to notice Giles misspoke. 'What does he mean 'his Chosen'? And why did he correct himself?'

"What's it mean 'as One'?" asked Buffy.

"Yes, well, um. . . that remains to be seen."

"You mean you don't know."

"Well. . . yes."

"Okay," said Buffy. "So. We research here for a little bit, then me and Xan go patrol-"

"Oh, hey, I meant to ask, is it okay if I patrol too, tonight?" asked Oz.

Everybody looked surprised.

"Um. . . yeah, sure Oz. You guys are always welcome," said Buffy.

"Why do you want to patrol, sweetie?" asked Willow.

"Devon busted an amp today. Got shocked fixing it," he said, holding up a bandaged finger.

"Okay, so, the three of us will patrol-"

"Wait, I want to come too, now," said Willow, pouting her lips. "I feel left out."

"Oh, Will, don't feel left out!" Buffy said. "Of course, you can come too. Ooh, idea! Why don't you and Xander start off at Restfield Cemetery on the west side of town, and Oz and I will start at Covington, on the other side, and we can meet in the middle. It'll take half the amount of time that way, and I can get back to the dorm and get my beauty sleep."

"How on earth did you come up with those pairings?" Giles asked.

"Well," said Buffy. "Willow and Xander haven't had much time to catch up since he got back, and I need to ask Oz's expert opinion on some nail polish issues. Plus, one powerhouse per team. Makes sense."

"Nail polish?" asked Giles.

Oz held up his hands, with every other fingernail painted black, and one on each hand a dark green.

"Yes, I see. Alright then, to work, shall we?"

* * * * *

11:30 pm.

"This is such a slow night! I can't believe we haven't seen one vampire," said Buffy. "Sorry I can't produce when you need to work off your frustration, Oz."

"Oh, that's okay," he said. "The fresh air seems to have done it. Plus, I stepped on a spider."

"A spider?"

"It was a big spider," said Oz.

"Hey guys!" Willow yelled, skipping up to Buffy and Oz.

"Hey Wills," Buffy said, "Where's Xander?"

"Oh, he'll be here in a minute, he thought he heard something in a tomb up there, wanted to check it out."

"You think he needs back up?" asked Oz.

"Nah, I think he can handle-"

At that moment, an airborne Xander crashed into a headstone 300 feet in front of them, causing him to glow white for a moment, and breaking the headstone.

"You know, or he does," said Willow, as they rushed up to help their friend.

Jumping up from his sitting position, Xander grabbed the sword he had dropped and ran back towards what had hit him. Closing on the fight, the group saw a 9 foot demon and a couple of vampires with their game faces on.

"Oz, Will, the vampires," Buffy ordered as she rushed in.

Oz pulled up short, raised the crossbow he'd been carrying and fired. Seeing the vamp he aimed for dust, Willow gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"We should really get that last one," Oz said, reloading the crossbow.

"Oh, yeah, one sec," Willow said, turning towards the fight. Concentrating and raising her hand, Willow said, "Incendiere," and the vampire caught fire and quickly dusted.

"We win!" she said.

"Still that demon," Oz pointed out.

"Bah," said Willow, hooking her arm into Oz's. "Those two crazy kids'll get it."

* * * * *

"Come on," Xander said, dropping into a fighting stance as the first of the two vampires aiding the demon turned to dust from a crossbow bolt. "Is that the best you got?"

Holding his sword out in front of him, Xander taunted the demon some more, slowly circling it to the right. "I mean really," he said. "You hit like I used to."

"Tell ya what," he continued, as the second vamp burst in to flames. "I'll even it up a bit. No sword, right? That way, you'll have at least a bit of a chance against me." So saying, Xander threw his sword away and leaned against a headstone. "Are you planning on attacking anytime soon?"

The demon, oozing pus from its eyes, roared in anger and got ready to charge Xander. It never made it, though, as a sword was shoved through its chest, slaying it.

"Tell me you weren't going to fight that thing hand to hand," Buffy said, coming into view as the demon's body fell to the ground.

"Come on, Buff, I saw you guys when I hit that headstone back there. I knew it wouldn't take you long, so I threw the sword in your path. Figured I'd be distraction-guy."

"Threw the sword in my path?" she asked, grinning. "That was like the worst throw I've seen in years."

"Ah, you wound me, Summers," he said, putting a hand over his heart. "First you kill my demon, then you insult my manliness by implying my aim is somehow less than perfect."

"First, you just said you wanted me to kill it. And second, YOUR demon?" she asked.

"Well, I saw him first. Standard 'finders-keepers' rules apply."

"I'm sorry, did you want it to die, or take it as a pet?"

"Well, as cute as the big guy is, I think Giles might object to having to house train him."

"You might be right," she said, leaning against the headstone next to Xander. "So, want to bet this isn't our guy?"

"I don't take a sucker's bet. Can I have my sword back?"

"No," she said. "I've grown fond of it, I think."

"But that's my sword, Giles said so!"

"If you can take it from me, you can have it back," Buffy said, teasingly.

"Hey guys! Quick kill, huh?" Willow asked as she and Oz approached.

"Willow, tell Buffy to give me my sword back!" Xander whined.

"Aww, is the widdle Slayer being mean?" asked Willow, patronizingly.

"Nobody likes a tattler, Xan," said Buffy.

"And nobody likes a snobby Slayer, either," he replied.

"I am not snobby," she said, indignantly. "And now you're never getting this back."

"Oh, I'm getting it back," he said, making a quick grab for it which was easily deflected.

"Not on your life, Harris. This sword is now mine," she said, holding it behind her back.

"Oh come on!" he said, making another grab.

"No! Not until you apologize!"

"Apologize for what, you stealing my sword?"

"You threw it at me!"

"I thought you'd give it back!"

"You thought wrong!"

"They don't even see it, do they?" Willow asked Oz while Buffy and Xander continued to argue.

"Nope," said Oz.

"How long do you figure?"

"Knowing those two? No telling. I think we have the king and queen of Denial-land."

"Yeah, I suppose you're right," she sighed.

"Hey, guys, quit fooling around," Willow called out, seeing Buffy had Xander in a headlock and was giving his shield a noogie.

"I can't feel that, you know," he was mocking. "Ahh, finally immune to the strength of the-oof!" he said, as Buffy pushed him on his back and slammed him with an elbow drop.

Xander grabbed her, flipped her over him so she was face down on the ground, and rolled over so he was sitting on her legs, holding her arm solidly behind her back. Her other arm was pinned under her, still holding the sword.

"Give it up Buff," he said. "You've been beaten."

"Fine," she said.

"Say it," Xander said, "say uncle!"

"Uncle," Buffy mumbled.

"Yes!" Xander exclaimed, standing up. "I have defeated the Slayer!"

Buffy stood up, and gave Xander the sword. "But you get to carry the demon head back to Giles so he can make sure it's not the. . . thingy."

"Fargath demon?" asked Willow

"Yeah, that."

"Come on, guys, let's go," Willow sighed. "Giles will want to look at that thing."

"Okay, let me just get it," Xander said . He walked over to the demon, chopped its head off and skewered it on the sword

"Xan, eww!" Buffy squealed.

"Wimp," he said, sticking his tongue out at her.

Willow rolled her eyes and headed off towards Giles's house.

* * * * *

3:45 am.

"Buffy!" Willow said wearily. "Go to sleep!"

"I can't," she said. "I can't seem to get comfortable."

"Well, if you don't stop shifting around, I'm gonna have to knock you out."

"Sorry," said Buffy. "I'll try to stay quiet."

-----------

End Chapter 5