Saturday Evening
"Okay let's see. Double Meat Burgers?" Xander asked. Potential Slayers came from everywhere and grabbed the large handful of burgers.
"Salads?"
Willow smiled and took the salads from her oldest friend.
"Let's see, pizza?"
Faith yanked the pizzas from his hands with a smirk and sat them down between she, Dawn, and Buffy.
"Sub sandwiches?" Giles and Kennedy took them off of Xander's hands.
"You eat subs?" Buffy asked Giles.
"They're low in fat." Giles defended.
"Let's see…Hot Pockets?" Xander asked.
Andrew eagerly grabbed the frozen foods and ran for the kitchen.
"Like I had to ask. Okay, porterhouse steak already prepared?"
Principal Wood raised his hand and Xander had Anya hand him the large To Go box full of steak. Anya scowled.
"Be glad we got it. We waited forever and used up valuable shopping and sex time on you." Anya snarled.
"Well, I'm glad you were…uh…noble enough to sacrifice that for me." Robin Wood said, not knowing really what to say.
"And finally, after my shame clears up, I have some blood from the butcher's shop and some Wheat-A-Bix. God only knows who would eat this." Xander said leveling his gaze at Spike.
"Least you remembered the Wheat-A-Bix this time." Spike said taking the blood bags and the box from Xander.
"Okay, well, now that we've depleted the treasuries of several small countries to feed this house, what's the meeting about?" Xander said with a laugh.
"Well, I figure its time to go after Caleb again." Buffy said as she bit into pepperoni and cheese.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Stop the Planet of the Apes. I want to get off. Last time we tried to take him down, someone died." Xander said in reference to the Potential Slayer, Molly, that Caleb had killed, "And yours truly nearly lost one of his beautiful brown eyes."
"I know." Buffy said looking down, "There's not a day that goes by that I don't regret that. But we have to take him out. He's the First's right hand man, at least here in Sunnydale. Caleb has to go down."
"And you figure you can do it this time? If memory serves me, he kicked your ass all over the place last time because of your brilliant battle plan of going in and taking him on in his place." Kennedy said glaring at Buffy.
"Yeah, and that's why this time we're not going back in there. We're bringing him outside." Buffy said, glaring back to the head Potential Slayer.
"And how do you plan on that?" Kennedy questioned, her ire still raised.
"Well first of all, it would involve you shutting up I imagine." Spike said loudly.
"Not helping Spike." Buffy explained, "But since you want to know we're going to play a different game than we did last time. We tried taking him on. I couldn't fight him straight up, neither could Spike, Faith, or Tara. So we're not going to fight him straight up. We're going to do something else. Willow, Tara, and I will be going into the vineyard."
"What?!" Kennedy shrieked when she heard her lover of the last few months and her newest lover were going in with Buffy.
"Let me finish. Caleb can't really hurt Tara. I can run interference for Willow. While I'm doing that, Willow and Tara are going to be concocting a nice little teleportation spell to send Caleb to a place of our choosing. About a mile up." Buffy smirked.
"You can do that?" another Potential, Rona asked.
"Well yeah. We did it to this goddess called Glory once. It really drained us but we're both a lot more powerful now. Glory survived the fall. Caleb might not if we're lucky." Willow explained.
"In case Caleb does survive, Spike will be there waiting. With Xander's machine gun. That should finish Caleb off if he's still alive." Buffy continued.
"What if he isn't?" Xander asked.
"That's where you come in. When you had those soldier memories put into your mind that Halloween, is the explosives part of the training still there?" Buffy asked.
"Molotov cocktails, shrapnel or plastique?" Xander asked, getting an idea of what the plan was.
"Surprise me." Buffy smirked, "And if he's not done by then, he will be because we're all going to attack. Me, Faith, Willow, Tara, Spike, all the Potentials. All of us."
"Bloke doesn't have a prayer." Spike smirked.
"Is this your doing?" Xander said with a wry smile towards Giles.
"Partly. Most of the credit belongs to Buffy and Tara." Giles explained.
"Tara?" Xander asked.
"She kept us from yelling at one another long enough to figure this out." Giles admitted.
"Outstanding. Where is our little crow friendly cutie pie anyway?" Xander asked.
"She's out helping a friend." Willow said with a smile.
Spike's old tomb door creaked open as Poe flew into the room and looked around. Tara saw through his eyes. Nothing was amiss here.
"Come in Ernie." Tara said, turning behind her.
The large zombie shuffled in and looked around.
"Kind of dank and depressing. I like it." He said.
"Sorry about this. We're kind of full over at Buffy's." the avatar to the crow said.
"It's alright. I've stayed in worse places back in Jersey." Ernie said finding a corner and sitting down in it.
"You're from New Jersey?" Tara asked, sitting in front of him.
"Originally." Ernie answered quickly.
"I'm from Alabama." Tara smiled.
"You don't sound it." Ernie said with a slight smile.
"No, I guess I don't. The only time I used to speak before meeting my friends was to the mirror practicing other accents. I wanted to be in drama, but I was too shy." Tara said.
"You got the makeup chapter down." Ernie said in reference to her white face with black mascara.
"This isn't makeup." Tara said waving her hand in front of her face. Her face paint disappeared and was replaced by normal flesh tones, "It's just a glamour. Less time consuming than putting on makeup before I go out every night on patrol."
"Patrol?" Ernie asked, cocking his head.
"Yeah, protecting people from vampires and demons." Tara replied.
"I know a vampire. Her name's Chastity. Haven't seen her in a while though. She's probably still back in Jersey." Ernie replied to her.
"Nice legs on that number." Smiley, the psychotic button said licking its lips.
"Is he always so crude?" Tara said with a smile.
"Most of the time. It's why we're friends." Ernie explained.
Tara glanced at her watch. Eight o'clock. She was missing dinner.
"You can go if you want." Ernie said to her.
Tara looked at the creature in front of her. He was so angry, yet so sad.
"No, I think I'll stay for a while. You need someone to talk to you." Tara explained.
"You sure?" Ernie asked.
"Yeah. Want to play poker?" Tara asked.
"You got any cards?" Ernie asked.
"Sure do. Right in my duster pocket. Sometimes the town's kind of dull on patrol, so we play cards. I'll deal." Tara said as she withdrew the cards and began to cut and deal them for two people.
"AHEM." Smiley cleared his throat, even though he technically lacked one.
Tara sighed and began dealing for three.
Later that night, at a vineyard across town a solitary figure knelt before a hanging upside down cross. His eyes were closed, his hands folded. He bent his knee to the unholy symbol in front of him and silently prayed, his lips moving only slightly. His neck was clad with the tale tell sign of the clergy, a white preacher's collar. His handsome features and sandy blonde hair hid a heart that purely and simply, evil. Eyeless Bringers stood behind him, "observing" the sight. He had been still and silent for hours, until a voice broke that silence.
"Caleb."
The unholy clergyman lifted his head to the symbol in front of him.
"That you a talkin' Lord?" Caleb asked in his southern accent.
"It is."
"Good to hear from ya. Thought my prayers might have gone unheeded." Caleb smiled as he rose.
"You're praying to me?" the voice asked.
"Old habits die hard, Lord. What can I do ya for?" Caleb asked.
"I want confession."
"You want confession?" Caleb asked genuinely surprised, "That makes sense I suppose. It's a selfish act really. Sinful. Laying your problems out for a priest and just hopin' that he can give you absolution. It makes sense, considering you are who you are. Selfishness comes from you oh Lord. So sure, I'll listen. I'll listen real careful like, and only you and me will ever know."
Caleb ushered the Bringers out of the room and walked to one of the large barrels of wine in the room and sat on it.
"So, how long has it been since your last confession?" Caleb asked.
"I have never confessed prior to this moment. I wish only to state my shortcomings."
"Alrightily Dightily, neighborino. Lay it on me." Caleb said with a smile.
"There have been certain inadequacies in the past. Choices have been made that have proved regretful."
"What kinds of choice Lord?" Caleb asked.
"Choices of beings to lead my campaigns. For example, the vampire known as the Master. Crafty, cunning, physically powerful, yet too tied to superstitious dogma and prophecy. He died as a result of idiocy. He consulted a prophecy that stated that he would kill the Slayer, and he did. However, he didn't even consider that she might have been brought back to life to kill him.
Spike was my next choice, but he proved to be a major disappointment. Too wrapped up in wanting a battle with the Slayer or too jealous of his grandsire to be effective in my plans. Drusilla on the other hand was too insane for my purposes. Angelus, now he had potential. Of all my mistakes, it was he who came closest to carrying out my plans. However, he toyed when he should have struck and he paid for this in the end when his soul was restored.
Mayor Richard Wilkins was a master of striking, even before he became a serpent. However, he was also too wily to be of any true use to me. I know he would have turned on me eventually. His ever loyal Faith was also unfit for my plans. She was too wrapped in wanting to feel sensations or wallowing in her own pathetic self-pity.
Adam was an improvement. Basing his entire programming on evolution. On adaptation. He was strong, intelligent, resourceful, a master of psychology. His sole weakness was in relying too heavily on science to give magick any regard at all.
Glory was an impudent, spoiled, child. Despite her blood thirst, she was too addled by living on the mortal plane. Physically she was powerful. Mentally she was an idiot. Her weaknesses were easily apparent and exploitable.
The Trio of Warren, Jonathon, and Andrew were simply weaklings playing at being powerful. Of them all, Warren was closest to my ideal, but he was still light years away. Willow on the other hand had limitless potential for destruction, but it was rooted too heavily in loss and grief. Had her idiot friend not talked her down, then she would have eventually come around and stopped herself."
"So what are you saying Lord?" Caleb asked.
"I'm saying I've been let down by the help. No matter where I turn they are turned back, defeated, humiliated. I have had enough of this. I am tired of my pathetic minions being trounced at every turn. I am sick of it!"
Caleb smiled in realization, "If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself."
"Exactly. I am coming Caleb. I have awakened and now I am coming. Coming to torture, to destroy, to do whatever I want because of one simple edict: I can! Prepare for the end Caleb! Prepare for Revelation! Prepare for the first and only coming of the First!"
Caleb smiled evilly, "Thy will be done. Hallelujah."