FOUR

"You did a good job," said Restin as Buffy walked into the parking lot of her own motel. "Although to be honest, I expected you to have finished it much quicker than you did."

"They don't always cooperate," said Buffy. "Thanks for the heads up."

"Just a good faith offering you might say," said Restin.

"So," said Buffy, "just what are you? You mentioned 'we' earlier. Who are we?"

"An interested group," said Restin. "Let's just say that we're interested in people like you. People who can make a difference in the world."

"So I'm supposed to just trust you now?" asked Buffy. "Simply because you pointed out one werewolf to me?"

"I don't think so," said Restin. "You don't trust easily."

"No, I don't," said Buffy. "And I definitely don't trust anyone who won't tell me who they are or what they want. You've said a lot of things but you really haven't told me anything. And I'm getting tired of the runaround."

"I'll answer all of your questions," said Restin, "in good time. As I said, you have a new destiny ahead. I'm simply here to help you with it."

"What kind of destiny?" Buffy asked. "I'm no longer the only Slayer. "There are a lot of them now."

"I know," said Restin. "A side affect of fighting The First Evil. With the help of your friend, Willow, as I understand it."

"You seem to know an awful lot about me," said Buffy.

"I couldn't help you otherwise," said Restin.

"Which brings us right back to where we were before," said Buffy. "You're wanting me to trust you without any reason. Listen, Restin or whatever your real name is, I'm through being used. I didn't ask to be the Slayer. I was forced into it. I even tried not to be the Slayer. It didn't work. I've been manipulated and coerced and betrayed by people I thought were my friends. I'm through with all that. And just because you can vanish into thin air doesn't mean I'm going to buy all of this new destiny crap you keep spouting."

"I know," said Restin. "I'm not going to try to manipulate you. Believe me, I know exactly what that's like. I'm not even going to ask anything of you. I'm just going to give you some advice and whether you take it or not is up to you. I know you've told your friends about me. But they won't have any luck discovering who I am."

"We'll see," said Buffy. "But just keep this in mind. You try to manipulate me in any way and I'll make you sorry you ever tried."

"I'll remember that," said Restin, smiling. "For now, I'll leave you to rest up. You have a lot of work ahead of you. You're going to need your strength."

Restin simply vanished. Buffy looked around not really knowing what she expected to see. This Restin person was certainly very odd. Whoever or whatever he was, she knew she shouldn't trust him. And yet he had pointed out a werewolf who was apparently stalking young women in the area. Still, it would take more than that for her to let down her guard with him. Thinking about her mysterious benefactor, she headed for her room at the motel.

* * *

"So the guy really was a werewolf?" Dawn asked after Buffy told them about her encounter.

"Complete with fangs and fur and yellow eyes," said Buffy. "If I hadn't been there he would have killed that girl. From the looks of things he's already killed about nine other girls."

"Which means he's been stalking them here for about three months," said Giles. "I would imagine he moved into an area and stalked young women for a few months and then moved on before anyone got wise to him."

"Any idea who this Restin is yet?" asked Buffy.

"Not yet," said Giles. "It may take some looking. And it would certainly help if we knew more about him."

"Can't tell you any more than what I already have," said Buffy.

She hadn't told them about her meeting with him after killing the werewolf. There was something about him. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. Every instinct in her told her not to trust this guy. But she found she liked him. And that disturbed her.

"We'll keep looking," said Giles. "In the mean time, if you should see him again, see if you can find out some more about him. The more information we have on him the easier it will be to figure out who he is. And what he wants."

"Okay," said Buffy. "Right now, I think it's time we moved on. This power that Willow sensed. I think we should check it out. I don't think it's coincidence that Restin shows up at the same time Willow senses something powerful in San Francisco. For all we know Restin is this power she sensed."

"I don't think so," said Willow. "Whatever it is, it's still somewhere around Los Angeles. If it had come here, I would have sensed it move."

"They might still be connected," said Buffy. "And the only place we're going to get any answers is San Francisco. If it was there, I'm willing to bet that Piper, Phoebe, and Paige know something about it."

"Surely they can handle whatever this is," said Giles. "They are the Charmed Ones, after all."

"Maybe," said Buffy. "I'd still feel better if we checked it out. We can be in San Francisco by morning. Then we can find out just what's going on."

Before any of them could answer a bluish light suddenly appeared in the room. When it subsided, a woman about Buffy's age stood near the door. She had reddish blonde hair and stood looking at the four. Willow stood up and raised her hands in a defensive posture. She clearly saw this young woman as a threat.

"Easy," said Buffy, moving over to stand next to Willow. "She's a friend. Hello, Paige. We were just talking about you."

"Hi, Buffy," said Paige. "Hello, Giles. And these must be Dawn, Willow and Xander. Buffy, you never told me Xander was such a cutie."

"What brings you here?" Buffy asked, ignoring Paige's comment.

"I came to get you," said Paige. "Something has happened. Something that involves you. Piper and Phoebe and I thought it best if you came to the manor."

"We were just planning to do that," said Buffy. "Willow has sensed something in San Francisco and we were coming to check it out. Plus there's something else I want to check with you about."

"Great," said Paige. "I need to orb you there immediately. What about your friends?"

"We'll drive up," said Giles. "At the moment, the bus and what we have in it are the only possessions we have. We should be there by morning."

"Good," said Paige. "Get there as quickly as you can. I'm not sure how much of this involves the rest of you but it's best if you're at least prepared. I'll let Piper and Phoebe know you're coming."

"You guys watch yourself," said Buffy to the group. "My new friend may be after one of you instead of me."

"What new friend?" Paige asked.

"I'll tell you when we get to the manor," said Buffy. "It's the other thing I mentioned."

"Okay," said Paige. "Come on. Orbing is actually kind of fun."

Buffy put her hand on Paige's arm and Paige orbed them out of the room. Giles simply watched commenting that it was "fascinating". Then, he, Dawn, Willow, and Xander began to collect their few belongings and headed for their bus.