Teamwork
Episode 6
The Cemetery:
It had been a week since Jake had left. Everyone was down. They couldn't believe that he had left. He hadn't even said goodbye.
"Take that!" Sarah shouted as she staked a vampire.
It exploded into dust and blew away in the light breeze. Sarah and Buffy had been patrolling together a lot lately. Both had taken their anger out on vampires they had come across.
It was getting close to midnight after Buffy and Sarah just dusted that last group of vampires. They were both getting tired. They had been out patrolling since nine.
"Come on, Sarah," Buffy said, "Let's head back."
"Alright," she replied, "I've had enough slaying for one night and I'm exhausted."
It took them fifteen minutes to get back to headquarters. When they got back, both of them went and took showers. As Sarah was entering her room, she started to break down. Tears were rolling down her face. That's when Buffy walked by.
"Sarah! Oh my god! What's wrong?" she asked as she ran over to comfort her.
Sarah stopped crying and said, "It's just, I miss him so much. I want him to come back."
"I know, Sarah," Buffy said, "We all want him to come back, but it's his decision."
"I know," Sarah added, "I just wish he would have said goodbye."
"Come on." Buffy said, trying to cheer her up, "We should get to bed. Maybe you'll feel better tomorrow."
"You're right," Sarah told her, drying her eyes and standing up.
"Goodnight!" Buffy said and walked down the hall to her room.
"Goodnight!" Sarah said as she opened her door and walked in.
She changed into a pair of boxers and a spaghetti strap shirt. Then, climbed into bed and fell asleep. She was still thinking about how Jake had left them. She thought about how he had helped her while she was training and how they had freed Buffy and Angel together. She also thought about how he wouldn't get to slay his ex-girlfriend.
Erie, Pennsylvania:
Jake lay in his bed. It was a little after midnight. He had been at Cindy's house for about a week. Cindy and her sister, Stephanie, had been treating him like family. He hadn't found a job yet, but he hoped to get one soon. He also needed to enroll in college, but that wasn't until September. It was now February and too late to sign up for winter classes.
He laid thinking about all that he had given up of left behind in Sunnydale. He had left the slaying, his best friend, Sarah, the others, and a job. Even if the job didn't pay, it was still a job.
The sisters had given him his own room. It was a normal size room with a queen-size bed. It had a dresser, nightstand, and a closet. The only thing that the room didn't come with was a bathroom, but that didn't matter. They all shared one.
He was just about to doze off, when he heard a loud crash outside his window. He jumped out of bed and put his shorts on. He ran out of the room and down the stairs. He flung open the front door and went around to the side of the house.
There stood a guy, wearing all black. The trash cans were lying all over the place.
"Hey!" Jake yelled, "What the hell do you think you are doing?"
The guy turned to face Jake. His brow went back and his lips curled back revealing fangs.
"Oh shit!" Jake murmured, "I thought I got away from all the vampires."
"You!" it spoke in a raspy voice, "You were the one that killed my friend."
"Your friend, what are you talking about?" Jake asked.
That's when it hit him. It was Jon, a kid back when Jake lived around here.
"Jon? Is that you?" Jake asked.
"You killed James and Kenneth!" he shouted, "Now you must pay!"
"Yea, sure I will," Jake told him, "But first let me find a weapon."
Jon didn't respond. He charged Jake, fangs bared. Jake wasn't prepared and ended up getting kicked into the trashcans. He stood up in time to get punched several times in the face.
"That's it!" Jake shouted, "That's all the free shots you'll get!"
He kicked Jon in the chest and sent him flying into the side of the house. Jon stood up, but Jake was ready. He ducked the punch and dished out a few of his own. Jon fell to the ground. He picked Jon up and threw him. Unfortunately, he flew into a fence, shattering wood.
"Oh man!" Jake mumbled, "I just know I'm gonna have to pay for that!"
He bent down and picked up a piece of splintered wood. He walked up to where the vampire was lying and shoved the stake through its heart. Jon eyes flew opened as he exploded into dust, which blew away in the wind.
Jake threw the stake into the rest of the splintered wood and went back inside. He hoped the neighbors didn't see him do it and that they would blame vandals. He went back into his room and went to bed.
Council Base: Sunnydale, California:
"We have trouble on our hands once again," Giles told everyone.
"What is it this time?" Buffy questioned.
Everyone had gathered in the meeting room. Giles sent for all of them. All they were told was that it was important. Angel entered and sat next to Buffy, after Giles had already begun talking.
"Hello Angel," Giles said, "So glad of you to join us."
"Sorry, I just woke up."
"It's ok, "Giles continued, "So as I was saying. There is trouble again. The queen has been spotted on the far edges of Sunnydale."
"Yea, that was what you've been telling us every day," Buffy said, "And we still haven't dusted her."
"This time, our spies inform that she has been slowly building up a vampire army once again, to take back Sunnydale," Giles added.
"But we're not gonna let her accomplish that!" Sarah exclaimed.
"Exactly, that's why we have to search for her again today!" Giles told everyone, "Same groups as it's been. Check everywhere and I will see you all back here later."
Everyone got up and left. Angel and Sarah were one group and Giles, Amanda, and Buffy were the other group. Angel and Sarah had been searching through the sewers all week, so they had been filthy when they returned back to headquarters. Giles, Amanda, and Buffy looked in abandoned buildings and warehouses.
Angel and Sarah were searching in the sewers, when they came across three vampires. They dusted two and then held the other for questioning.
"Tell us where the queen is!" Angel demanded while Sarah held him.
"Never!" he shouted.
"Well then," Sarah said, "I guess we'll have to take you outside this tunnel and see what happens."
"We know how much you vampires love the sunlight," Angel added.
"Alright, alright!" the vampire said, "I'll tell you!"
"Now we're getting somewhere," Angel added.
"She is in an underground hotel. It's about two miles from here, using the sewer system. You'll have to follow several pipes to get there. You'll most likely get lost."
"Well, I'd say that's all we need," Angel said and shoved a stake into the vamps heart.
They had already continued walking before its dust hit the damp floor of the pipe. It had taken them two hours, but they had found the hotel. It was pretty big!
"I wonder how a hotel like this got under here," Sarah said.
"I haven't the slightest clue," Angel said, "Come on! Let's go inside!"
"Shouldn't we go get reinforcements?" Sarah asked.
"No, because we don't know how long she'll be in here for," Angel told her, "And besides, they won't be expecting us."
Angel walked right up to the front door, which wasn't guarded. Sarah followed.
"See," he said, "I told you."
He opened the front doors and walked in. The lobby was completely empty. He walked up to the elevators. They were working, which meant someone was here. He pressed the button to go up and in a few seconds, the doors opened.
"Do you think she's here alone?" Sarah asked.
"I'm not sure, but we'll find out shortly," he answered as he stepped on the elevator.
After Sarah got on, he pressed the button for the top floor. The doors closed and the elevator began moving upwards.
"I doubt that she'll be in the hall where the elevator doors are, so we won't have to hide," Sarah told Angel.
The elevator came to a stop and the doors opened. Sarah was right. Dani wasn't standing right there. This hallway was completely empty, just like the lobby. There were three doors up here. One said exit, which led to the roof.
"Let's try this one!" Sarah said.
She walked over and flung open the door. It was just a closet with a broom in it. She grabbed the broom and broke it into four pieces. She gave two to Angel and kept two for herself.
Angel walked over to the last door and slowly opened it. There she was, the queen of vampires!
"You two," she hissed at Angel and Sarah, "How could you have possibly found this place?"
"One of your buddies told us," Angel smirked, "But he's dead now. There's no way to punish him."
"That's ok," she said, standing from her desk, "You guys will have to get punished for coming her!"
She rushed Angel. She checked him into the door, which splintered when he hit it. Angel was out cold.
"Sarah, how good of you to stop by and see your old friend," Dani said.
Sarah reached behind her and drew out the sword from its scabbard. She held it at chest level.
"It's time for your undead life to end!" Sarah shouted and ran at Dani, sword raised.
Just as she was about to bring the sword down on Dani's head, she was kicked in the chest. The blow caused her to fly back onto Angel. She too passed out.
"Ah!" Dani smiled, "It's dinner time and time to add to my army. Another slayer would do perfectly."
She bent down to bite Sarah, but Angel opened his eyes and kicked Dani backwards. She flew into her desk, which broke in half. She wasn't out yet. Angel slid Sarah off of him as Dani ran at him. He stuck his foot out and she tripped over it, falling out through the broken door.
That's when Sarah came back to. She stood up and now it was two against one.
"You're outnumbered, Dani!" Angel shouted.
"Maybe so, but I'm not out skilled," she smiled, "Neither of you have the strength or skills to defeat me!"
Angel picked up his crossbow and fired a bolt. It just missed Dani's head.
"See!" she smirked, "I told you so!"
She kicked the crossbow out of Angel's hand and grabbed it before it landed on the ground.
"Looks like I have somebody's weapon!" she smiled and fired a bolt. Sarah didn't move fast enough and it hit her left shoulder. She went down.
Angel ran at Dani and threw her into the wall. The wall collapsed around her. That's when Angel picked up Sarah and carried her out of the hotel. She had lost a lot of blood from that crossbow bolt in her shoulder.
Council Base:
Angel had carried an injured Sarah all the way back to headquarters. She had passed out from the intense pain in her shoulder. He flung open the doors and made his way to the hospital part of the base.
He dropped her off in the emergency room and the doctors got to work on removing the bolt from her shoulder. Angel went to the meeting room, just to see if anyone returned.
To his surprise, Giles and Buffy were there. They both had stern looks on their faces.
"Angel!" Giles sounded angry, which he was.
"Yes, Giles," Angel replied.
"I expected better from you," Giles yelled, "You knew that neither of you could have taken on Dani. She is too strong for both of you. Now look what happened! We are on teammate short. We have to use teamwork to take Dani down!"
"I'm sorry," Angel said, "I just thought she might have escaped if we didn't go in then."
"I'm glad you two found where she was hiding," Giles added, he had stopped yelling, "But you should have come for reinforcements. We must act as a team. This is our assignment, since Faith, Wesley, and others are out hunting those mutant vampires."
"Again," Angel said, "I'm sorry!"
"It's ok, Angel," Giles told him, "You are free to go."
Angel left and went back to his room. He fell asleep thinking of how he had gotten Sarah injured. He hated being human, because it gave him remorse. He now felt guilty for things he had done. Even though he had a soul for more than a hundred years, he still wasn't used the having a soul.
Erie, Pennsylvania:
"Look!" Jake shouted, "There are vampires here! I dusted one last night!"
"All right, Jake," Cindy said, "Calm down!"
"I am calm!" he shouted.
"Look, there are no vampires here. I promise," she said and smiled.
"Cindy, I know what I saw and it was a vampire," Jake told her, "He was someone that I knew from school. I dusted him!"
"It has to be you remembering all that you have been through in Sunnydale," Cindy spoke, trying to comfort him, "I've lived here all my life and have never seen a vampire."
Jake liked the way she comforted him. It made him feel better. He was happy that he had someone like her in his life.
Jake smiled and said, "You're right, it had to be me dreaming."
"You see," Cindy said.
That's when Stephanie walked in. She had blonde hair too. It was a little longer and looked whiter. She was two years younger than Cindy. She was nice though, but also quiet. I think it was just because Jake was around. She treated him like family though.
Underground Hotel:
"Alright everyone," Giles said, "Prepare yourselves for a fight!"
The five of them were in the elevator of the underground hotel. Angel had shown the others how to get to the hotel. They were a few floors away from the top. They all carried weapons with them. When the elevator stopped, the doors opened and they exited the elevator.
Buffy walked up to the door, where Angel had told her Dani had been earlier that day. Buffy turned the knob, but did not open the door. She carefully slid her sword out of the scabbard and held it in one hand. She opened the door with her other hand.
"Alright Dani!" she yelled as she entered the room.
She ran towards the desk. The chair was turned, with the back facing away from the door. Buffy leaped into the air. She used one foot to push off the top of the desk and swung the sword down on the chair. When she landed, she was surprised to see it empty, except for a note.
Buffy picked up the note and walked to the doorway. The others were standing there, weapons drawn. Buffy read the note aloud.
Dear Slayer and friends,
Unfortunately, your attack was a little too late. You just missed me. You actually thought I would stay here after my hide out was found. I'll give you a little hint of where I am headed now. Here's your clue, the home of the steel tower and cheese. Did you figure it out yet? Ah come on! It's so easy! Well, sorry to keep you guessing, but I gotta run. Next time Sarah; you'll get more than a bolt in your arm. I will be back with an army big enough to retake Sunnydale. And when I do, you will all be in big trouble. So long! Hope to see you all so very soon!
Sincerely,
The Queen
"Don't you just love when they leave you mail?" Angel asked.
"You never say stuff like that," Buffy said.
"I just thought I would since Jake isn't here to make those kinds of comments anymore," he said.
"So she's gone?" Giles asked.
"Exactly," Buffy said, "She's gone off to Paris. Do they have vampires over there?"
"Buffy, there are vampires all over the world," Giles informed.
"Well, that's not a comforting thought," she murmured, "So no matter where I go, I'll always have to slay?"
"Precisely," Giles said.
Buffy took the note and crumpled it and threw it into the office trash can. Then she followed the others out of the building and back to the base. They all went to sleep when they returned to the base.
