Well, here we go! Chapter Two! I tried to add some actual plot this time. I
hope it's not too slow. Feedback is wanted and needed desperately, but
please be kind! Remember, this is my first fan fic. ever! Hope you enjoy!
And I still don't own the Buffy characters and blah blah *insert whatever*
blah blah.
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Willow, Xander, and Giles were talking in the living room when Buffy came downstairs. "Morning Buff!" said Xander pleasantly. Buffy forced a smile. "Good morning", then she went into the kitchen. Giles turned back to Xander and Willow to continue their conversation. "I really think we should look into this. There's been five suicides in just this past week. This town is very small, and I can't help but think something is going on". "We'll look into it Giles", responded Xander. "Ya! And I'm sure I can get the police reports online" said Willow. Of course they knew she would need to hack into the police's system in order to get them, but that wasn't a problem. "Giles, shouldn't we tell Buffy what's going on?" asked Xander as he looked at Giles questioningly. "I think right now Buffy has enough on her mind," said Giles as he rubbed a cloth on his glass's lenses. "We don't even know if this really means anything. If it gets serious, of course we'll tell Buffy," he said as he put his glasses back on.
As the rest of the gang talked, Buffy sat at the kitchen and ate some corn flakes. Andrew sat across from her and watched her as she ate. "You seem kinda depressed lately Buffy" said Andrew. "Is there anything I can do?" he asked, only with the best of intentions. Buffy looked up at him. "No. It's just PMS Andrew. I can explain more if you'd like," she said menacingly. Andrew quickly got up and nervously shook his head. "No, no, of course not. I'll just um, g-get going now. Bye Buffy" he said quickly as he raced out of the room. Buffy couldn't help smirking as she continued with her cereal.
"I'm going to go for a walk guys, I'll see you later" Buffy said as she stepped outside. It was much nicer than yesterday, and the dark clouds had been replaced with a warm sun. Buffy walked down the street as she examined the small town. They had rented a small place here, in a town not too far from where Sunnydale once stood. Most of the slayeretts had gone off now, but some of them were staying in hotels near by, one of them of course, being Kennedy. Buffy couldn't help but feel a little homesick as she walked around the small town streets. She really did miss Sunnydale. She missed the memories there, the good and the bad.
Buffy felt a pang of sadness as she walked by the town graveyard. She had spent plenty of time in graveyards, but looking at this one she couldn't help but think of all the people she had lost. She lost so many people who had grown close to her. She sighed sadly and had to hold back tears as she thought not only of Spike, but also of Anya. She missed having Anya around. Sure, they tried to kill each other once before, but Buffy knew that Anya really was an amazing person, and things weren't the same without her. But then Buffy realized that throughout all her horrors in Sunnydale, there were three people who had always been there for her, even from the beginning. Xander, Giles, and Willow. They were her original Scooby gang. And there was a kind of peace in knowing that things had returned to the way they had been in the beginning. Sure, Andrew still hung around, but he didn't really do much of anything anyway.
"Here we go! I got something!" exclaimed Willow as she moved the lap top screen so that Giles and Xander could see it. "The names and addresses of the people who died. The police reports don't seem to say much, except that it was very strange. Most of the people who died had no history of depression." Willow began to look more confused and interested as she read on. "The friends actually said that the victims seemed in quite a good mood in the days, even hours, before their death". Willow's eyes widened "One was actually with the woman at the time of her death" continued Willow. "This is sounding pretty suspicious," said Xander. "Maybe we and Will should drop by some of the friend's houses". Giles nodded in approval. "I'll read more of this police report. Come back in a few hours with whatever information you have".
Willow and Xander walked up to the doorstep of a small yellow painted house not far from the center of the town. "So this lady was a good friend of one of the suicide victims?" asked Xander. "Yup" said Willow, "She was a friend of the lady who died just a few days ago. She said that the person who died, Lisa Marchen, was with having coffee with her just hours before she died". Xander knocked on the wooden red colored door and stepped back to wait. A lady about the age of 35 opened the door and looked at them. She was medium build and had short, curly blonde hair. "Hello, may I help you?" she asked. "Umm...Hi! You must be Mrs. Talmen," said Willow, trying to be friendly. "We were wondering if you could tell us anything about Lisa Marchen's death". "Why, yes, I'm Mrs. Talmen," answered the lady, slightly surprised. "And who are you?" Willow drew a blank and glanced at Xander, desperate for help. "Oh, we use to know Lisa." began Xander. "Oh!" exclaimed the blonde woman. "Are you two her students?" "Uh, yes! Yes, we are. We were very close to her," Willow said, catching on quickly. "Ya, we were so surprised to hear she committed suicide. She always seemed like such a happy person. We just kind of thought you might be able to answer some questions for us", continued Xander. "Oh, well, of course. You kids can come right in," said Mrs. Talmen, stepping back to let them in.
Mrs. Talmen led them to a small kitchen where they sat down. "Um, you were with Ms. Marchen just a few hours before she died, weren't you?" asked Willow. "Yes," said Mrs. Talmen, gravely. "We were having coffee together. She was fine, and was actually quite excited about a handsome man she had met recently". She looked down into her drink sadly. "She was suppose to go on a date with him next week". "Can you tell us how she died, what exactly happened, Mrs. Talmen?" asked Xander. The lady looked up at him. "It was the strangest thing really. It was a nice night, so we went for a walk as we sometimes do. This town is so small, no one ever worried about murders or anything like that." Willow fidgeted in her chair a little as the lady continued. "So, we were just walking, and Lisa was fine. We were discussing different breeds of hamsters. Then we got to my house, so I waved goodbye and went to go inside. Lisa continued walking. Before I even got in my house, I heard a gunshot. I ran to where it came from and found Lisa on the ground, with a gun in her hand, dead." Mrs. Talmen paused, and tried to keep her composure. "Um. Mrs. Talmen, did you see anything strange when you found Lisa. Anything a little unusual?" asked Willow. "Well, it's funny you should ask" she said. "I didn't bother mentioning it to the police. They would have thought I was crazy. When I first came around the corner, I saw the strangest thing. There was the large, dark red kind of creature, with black horns, standing a few feet away. Then it just disappeared". Willow looked at Xander, not hiding her surprise and excitement, then turned back to the lady. She was too absorbed in her story to notice Willow's excited expression. "I figured it was just some flash from all the emotion," said Mrs. Talmen. "I've read about it in psychology books, and it's not uncommon for that kind of thing to happen" she said. "Please don't think I'm crazy or anything". "We don't" said Xander reassuringly. "I'm sure it's nothing," said Mrs. Talmen quickly, "but it feels good to tell someone". Willow got up and Xander followed. "Thank you so much Mrs. Talmen. It makes me feel a lot better to know how Mrs. Marchen really died". Mrs. Talmen looked at Willow with much confusion and surprise. "It makes you feel better? Knowing the details of her gruesome death?" she asked in shock. "Um...we really have to go. Thanks again!" said Willow as she grabbed Xander and raced out of the door.
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Willow, Xander, and Giles were talking in the living room when Buffy came downstairs. "Morning Buff!" said Xander pleasantly. Buffy forced a smile. "Good morning", then she went into the kitchen. Giles turned back to Xander and Willow to continue their conversation. "I really think we should look into this. There's been five suicides in just this past week. This town is very small, and I can't help but think something is going on". "We'll look into it Giles", responded Xander. "Ya! And I'm sure I can get the police reports online" said Willow. Of course they knew she would need to hack into the police's system in order to get them, but that wasn't a problem. "Giles, shouldn't we tell Buffy what's going on?" asked Xander as he looked at Giles questioningly. "I think right now Buffy has enough on her mind," said Giles as he rubbed a cloth on his glass's lenses. "We don't even know if this really means anything. If it gets serious, of course we'll tell Buffy," he said as he put his glasses back on.
As the rest of the gang talked, Buffy sat at the kitchen and ate some corn flakes. Andrew sat across from her and watched her as she ate. "You seem kinda depressed lately Buffy" said Andrew. "Is there anything I can do?" he asked, only with the best of intentions. Buffy looked up at him. "No. It's just PMS Andrew. I can explain more if you'd like," she said menacingly. Andrew quickly got up and nervously shook his head. "No, no, of course not. I'll just um, g-get going now. Bye Buffy" he said quickly as he raced out of the room. Buffy couldn't help smirking as she continued with her cereal.
"I'm going to go for a walk guys, I'll see you later" Buffy said as she stepped outside. It was much nicer than yesterday, and the dark clouds had been replaced with a warm sun. Buffy walked down the street as she examined the small town. They had rented a small place here, in a town not too far from where Sunnydale once stood. Most of the slayeretts had gone off now, but some of them were staying in hotels near by, one of them of course, being Kennedy. Buffy couldn't help but feel a little homesick as she walked around the small town streets. She really did miss Sunnydale. She missed the memories there, the good and the bad.
Buffy felt a pang of sadness as she walked by the town graveyard. She had spent plenty of time in graveyards, but looking at this one she couldn't help but think of all the people she had lost. She lost so many people who had grown close to her. She sighed sadly and had to hold back tears as she thought not only of Spike, but also of Anya. She missed having Anya around. Sure, they tried to kill each other once before, but Buffy knew that Anya really was an amazing person, and things weren't the same without her. But then Buffy realized that throughout all her horrors in Sunnydale, there were three people who had always been there for her, even from the beginning. Xander, Giles, and Willow. They were her original Scooby gang. And there was a kind of peace in knowing that things had returned to the way they had been in the beginning. Sure, Andrew still hung around, but he didn't really do much of anything anyway.
"Here we go! I got something!" exclaimed Willow as she moved the lap top screen so that Giles and Xander could see it. "The names and addresses of the people who died. The police reports don't seem to say much, except that it was very strange. Most of the people who died had no history of depression." Willow began to look more confused and interested as she read on. "The friends actually said that the victims seemed in quite a good mood in the days, even hours, before their death". Willow's eyes widened "One was actually with the woman at the time of her death" continued Willow. "This is sounding pretty suspicious," said Xander. "Maybe we and Will should drop by some of the friend's houses". Giles nodded in approval. "I'll read more of this police report. Come back in a few hours with whatever information you have".
Willow and Xander walked up to the doorstep of a small yellow painted house not far from the center of the town. "So this lady was a good friend of one of the suicide victims?" asked Xander. "Yup" said Willow, "She was a friend of the lady who died just a few days ago. She said that the person who died, Lisa Marchen, was with having coffee with her just hours before she died". Xander knocked on the wooden red colored door and stepped back to wait. A lady about the age of 35 opened the door and looked at them. She was medium build and had short, curly blonde hair. "Hello, may I help you?" she asked. "Umm...Hi! You must be Mrs. Talmen," said Willow, trying to be friendly. "We were wondering if you could tell us anything about Lisa Marchen's death". "Why, yes, I'm Mrs. Talmen," answered the lady, slightly surprised. "And who are you?" Willow drew a blank and glanced at Xander, desperate for help. "Oh, we use to know Lisa." began Xander. "Oh!" exclaimed the blonde woman. "Are you two her students?" "Uh, yes! Yes, we are. We were very close to her," Willow said, catching on quickly. "Ya, we were so surprised to hear she committed suicide. She always seemed like such a happy person. We just kind of thought you might be able to answer some questions for us", continued Xander. "Oh, well, of course. You kids can come right in," said Mrs. Talmen, stepping back to let them in.
Mrs. Talmen led them to a small kitchen where they sat down. "Um, you were with Ms. Marchen just a few hours before she died, weren't you?" asked Willow. "Yes," said Mrs. Talmen, gravely. "We were having coffee together. She was fine, and was actually quite excited about a handsome man she had met recently". She looked down into her drink sadly. "She was suppose to go on a date with him next week". "Can you tell us how she died, what exactly happened, Mrs. Talmen?" asked Xander. The lady looked up at him. "It was the strangest thing really. It was a nice night, so we went for a walk as we sometimes do. This town is so small, no one ever worried about murders or anything like that." Willow fidgeted in her chair a little as the lady continued. "So, we were just walking, and Lisa was fine. We were discussing different breeds of hamsters. Then we got to my house, so I waved goodbye and went to go inside. Lisa continued walking. Before I even got in my house, I heard a gunshot. I ran to where it came from and found Lisa on the ground, with a gun in her hand, dead." Mrs. Talmen paused, and tried to keep her composure. "Um. Mrs. Talmen, did you see anything strange when you found Lisa. Anything a little unusual?" asked Willow. "Well, it's funny you should ask" she said. "I didn't bother mentioning it to the police. They would have thought I was crazy. When I first came around the corner, I saw the strangest thing. There was the large, dark red kind of creature, with black horns, standing a few feet away. Then it just disappeared". Willow looked at Xander, not hiding her surprise and excitement, then turned back to the lady. She was too absorbed in her story to notice Willow's excited expression. "I figured it was just some flash from all the emotion," said Mrs. Talmen. "I've read about it in psychology books, and it's not uncommon for that kind of thing to happen" she said. "Please don't think I'm crazy or anything". "We don't" said Xander reassuringly. "I'm sure it's nothing," said Mrs. Talmen quickly, "but it feels good to tell someone". Willow got up and Xander followed. "Thank you so much Mrs. Talmen. It makes me feel a lot better to know how Mrs. Marchen really died". Mrs. Talmen looked at Willow with much confusion and surprise. "It makes you feel better? Knowing the details of her gruesome death?" she asked in shock. "Um...we really have to go. Thanks again!" said Willow as she grabbed Xander and raced out of the door.