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Episode 7

Buffy's House:

            The slayer boarding house had been full of tension since last week. They hadn't come across any Bringers or the Ubervamp since then. Buffy and the others had spent the week resting. She hadn't even taken them out on patrol, for fear of them getting killed. She needed a plan to stop this ancient vampire and to weaken the First.

            Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Anya were in the dining room discussing possible ways of how she could take out this vampire. Molly, Kennedy, and Annabelle were in the basement, training. Jake and Julia were talking in the family room. They were becoming closer to each other and neither of them realized it.

            Giles and Cindy were still away on their journey looking for more potential slayers. The others knew that they wouldn't return for a while. Spike was still at the mercy of the First, who would torture him countless times.

            "Look we need to find a way to defeat this Ubervamp," Buffy began, "It has beaten me twice, even when I was prepared for it."

            "Buffy, maybe this thing is unbeatable," Willow informed.

            "She does have a point," Anya added, "It was created by the First Evil, the supposed unbeatable force."

            "No!" she shouted, "Nothing is ever unstoppable! There is always a weakness in everything."

            "She does have a point you two," Xander agreed.

            They were split on their opinions and none of them could figure out how they could possibly defeat the Ubervamp and protect the potentials. Just then the phone wrung. Buffy went into the family room to answer it. The others followed. The potentials came upstairs and Julia and Jake ended their conversation.

            "Hello."

            "Buffy? This is Giles."

            "Giles? What is it? What's wrong?"

            "I have some rather bad news."

            "Giles, is there a time where you will ever call just to say hello?"

            "Sometime I will, Buffy. I promise."

            "Alright, so what is it?"

            "Well I hate to inform you of this but Cindy has gone missing and I presume that she is dead."

            "Excuse me?"

            "We were trying to find a potential slayer the other day. The girl fled into some nearby woods when the Bringers showed up. Cindy gave chase and so did the Bringers. Neither of the two ever came back. They were most likely killed."

            "How sure are you?"

            "Pretty sure. I wouldn't be calling if I wasn't. I have something else that I want you to keep to yourself."

            "Alright, I will."

            "If Cindy has been killed, it may mean that a new slayer has already been called."

            "But Giles, the slayer line is through me, remember?"

            "No, it isn't Buffy. I have figured it all out. After you were killed by those mystical energies, the succession of the slayer line went to Faith. Another slayer was not called after you died the second time. After Faith died, Cindy was called."

            "Are you telling me that I'm not really the slayer?"

            "No, you are still the slayer. You have the power of a slayer. The only thing is if you die, another slayer will not be called."

            "I see."

            "Buffy, one of the potentials that are staying with you may have been called or another one somewhere out here in the world may have been called. Keep this all to yourself. It will surely scare the others if they find out that one of them is the slayer."

            "But won't a watcher come to find her?"

            "Buffy, remember, the Watcher's Council was destroyed. Any watchers that are still out there have no way of knowing who or where a potential is located. I am the only one that does. Well, there is that Covent in England. They have the power to locate beings with power anywhere in the world. They have been informed to contact you if they detect a potential living in Sunnydale."

            "Alright, Giles. I will keep this to myself. Good luck."

            "Goodbye, Buffy. I hope to return within a week with more potential slayers."   

            "I look forward to then, since things have been getting very complicated around here lately."

            "Everything will be okay, Buffy. Goodbye."

            "Goodbye."

            "What did Giles want?" Willow asked.

            "He just called to check up and see if everyone was okay," Buffy informed.

            "Well that's good," Anya added.

Unknown Location:

            Cindy sat up. Her head really hurt. She glanced around. She was in a small clearing in the woods. She looked up at the sky. It was morning. She couldn't remember why she was lying here in the clearing.

            She slowly stood up and glanced around the clearing, once more. The ground was stained with blood. Her eyes followed the trail of blood to the body of a young girl. That's when the memories all came back.

            Giles and Cindy had arrived in Wales a few weeks early. They had finally been clued in to as where a potential slayer was staying. They headed for her apartment complex.

            "The girl is probably  inside," Giles told Cindy.

            "Well then, let's go in and get her," she replied.

            The two walked up to the apartment building and headed inside. They came up to the front desk. The woman sitting there smiled at them.

            "Can I help you?" she asked.

            "Yes," Giles began, "We are looking for Amber."

            "Last name?" the woman asked.

            "I'm sorry," Giles said, "I'm not sure of her last name."

            "Then I can't help you," the woman informed.

            "Please, she is my long-lost daughter and I was told that she was staying here," he lied.

            "Yes, please miss," Cindy began, "I loved my sister dearly and I'd be so very happy if I could see her again."

            The stern look on the woman's face changed to a smile. Giles noticed a tear falling down her cheek.

            "Alright, let me check," she said, "but I can't guarantee that there is only one person named Amber staying here."

            She went to the computer and typed for a few moments. She glanced at the screen and smiled at the results.

            "Well I have some good news," she informed, "There is someone named Amber staying here. Her apartment number is 301. Take the elevator there. It should be the first room on the left."

            "Thank you so very much," Giles said and the two of them headed for the elevator.

            Giles and Cindy reached apartment 301 and Giles knocked on the door. A few moments later, a young girl stood at the doorway. She was about medium height, had strawberry blond hair, and brown eyes.

            "Can I help you?" she asked.

            "You must be Amber," Giles said.

            "Why yes, I am," she replied.

            "Hello, my name is Giles and this is Cindy," he introduced, "We need you to come with us."

            "Excuse me?" she questioned.

            "I don't have much time to explain," he began, "They will be here soon."

            "Explain what?" she questioned, "Who will?"

            "You are part of the line of the Chosen One, the slayer," he went on, "The slayer's chosen duty is to protect the world from the creatures of the night. You are one who is Chosen to become the next slayer if the current one dies."

            "And I'm supposed to believe that?" she asked, "It sounds like something out of a cartoon."

            "It is real and you must believe me!" he urged.

            "Giles!" Cindy called from the end of the hall.

            She was peering out the window that was facing the front of the complex and out to the street.

            "They're here!" she exclaimed.

            "Look, you must come with us. There is something very bad after you and it wants you dead!" he shouted to the girl.

            "Here they come!" Cindy shouted as three Bringers charged up the stairs closest to her.

            She gripped a pipe overhead and kicked the one in front. It made the others fall back down the stairs.

            "Giles!" Cindy yelled, "We need to leave! Now!"

            Two more Bringers appeared at the other end of the hall. The other three managed to get up the stairs. Cindy ran to Giles and urged him that it was time to go. Cindy was fed up. She grabbed Amber and put her over Giles' shoulders. She grabbed a Bringer and tossed it through the window. It knocked another out with it. She picked up a fallen dagger and stabbed the remaining one, blocking their way.

            Cindy and Giles, with Amber on his back, proceeded down the stairs and out of the building. Cindy glanced off to the front desk and noticed that the lady at the desk had been killed.

            The two Bringers followed them down the stairs. Giles ran out the door first, Cindy followed. Just as one Bringer was about to come through the door, she slammed it on its face.

            "That should buy us some time!" she exclaimed, "We need to run though!"

            The three of them made it to the end of the road and stopped to catch their breath. Giles put the young girl down.

            "What the hell were those?" she demanded.

            "They are the things that want to kill you," Giles informed.

            "Uh…Giles?" Cindy began.

            "Yes?"

            "They're back."

            "I can't take this anymore!" Amber shouted.

            She turned and headed off into the woods. The Bringers were drawing closer.

            "Go after her!" Giles shouted.

            "But what about you?" she asked.

            "I'll be fine!" he yelled, "Just save her!"

            Cindy didn't hesitate. She ran off into the woods after the young slayer candidate. Her slayer strength allowed her to run fast and she quickly caught up with the young girl. She grabbed the girl's arm.

            "Stop!" Cindy shouted and gripped her arm tightly.

            The girl stopped and caught her breath.

            "This is all just a horrible nightmare. I'm gonna wake up and I'll be back in my apartment," Amber told her.

            Suddenly three Bringers came crashing through the underbrush.

            "Sorry to tell you this, but it isn't a dream!" Cindy yelled and picked up the girl.

            She was running pretty fast, but the Bringers were catching up quickly. She reached a small clearing, where she was ready to fight. She put the girl down at the other end and turned to face the Bringers.

            The Bringers came crashing into the clearing. They wielded their normal weapons, axes and daggers. They rushed her. She tripped one, causing the other two to trip and fall. Cindy took this opportunity to arm herself. She ripped a dagger out of one of their hands.

            She raised her arm and brought it down in a quick pace. Something gripped her arm in midair and prevented her from stabbing the Bringer. They stood up and backed off. Cindy broke the grip, turned and gave whatever it was that had grabbed her, a sharp kick.

            She turned around slowly and came face to face with an Ubervamp. Amber screamed. Cindy spun around to see Amber being dragged to the opposite end of the clearing by the Bringers. She tried to run to her, but the Ubervamp gripped her by her throat and tossed her into a tree trunk. The last thing she saw was the Ubervamp advance on Amber. Then it all got dark.

            Cindy knew that this one was dead and then remembered Giles. It was now morning and she hadn't returned to him with the potential slayer. She had no clue of how she could get out of this forest and back into town to locate Giles.

Underground Cave:

            "Still fighting?" Harmony asked Spike, "Just give it up already. You can't win!"

            Spike was still in the clutches of the First. He had taken several severe beatings and was starting to lose faith. It dawned on him that the First was right, Buffy wasn't coming for him. The First was now torturing in the form of Harmony, one of his exes. Luckily for him, the Ubervamp hadn't beaten him in a few days.

            "Give up!" she snickered, "She isn't coming for you! You've been here for weeks already and she hasn't even tried. She can't beat my Ubervamp!"

            Spike didn't reply because he knew that it was right. He knew Buffy didn't need him. She'd rather have him die. He just hung there, lifelessly.

Buffy's House:

            "Buff, can't you just take the Ubervamp on again, one on one?" Xander questioned.

            "Xander, I've taken it on twice, one on one and was unable to beat it both times," she replied, "I need a new strategy. The only problem is…I've run out of ideas."

            "I've got it!" Anya exclaimed.

            "Got what?" Xander questioned.

            "We draw the Ubervamp back to the construction site and Buffy kills it there," she told them.

            "That doesn't have anything to do with how she's going to beat it," Willow argued.

            "Yes, it does," Buffy disagreed.

            "How's that?" Xander asked.

            "There is plenty of equipment there that I could use to my advantage," she went on, "We just have to find out where it is and lure it there."

            "I know how you can kill it!" Anya exclaimed, "You cut its head off. That is the only way to kill something that is supposedly immortal."

            "She has a point there," Xander agreed.

            "Then I guess I'll need one of these," Buffy smirked, walking over to the weapons chest and pulling out an axe. We're going to need to survey the construction site and figure out areas that I can use to my advantage."

            "I'll go with you," Xander said.

That Night:

            Buffy and Xander spent the rest of the afternoon surveying the construction site. They had a pretty good plan all laid out that she had to follow in order to beat the Ubervamp. All she needed to do was find a way to draw it to the site without getting herself or anyone else killed.

            "Xander!" Buffy called from the kitchen.

            Xander came walking in from the living room.

            "Yes?" he asked.

            "I'm going to need the girls there to watch me beat it," she informed.

            "Why?"

            "They need to have confidence in my ability to fight and show them that we can defeat the First and its minions."

            "That's a great idea!"

            Just then the telephone rang. Buffy walked over to pick it up.

            "Hello?"

            "Hello. Are you Buffy Summers?"

            "Yes, I am. Who is this?"

            "I am from the Coven in England. I take it Rupert Giles has already informed you about us."

            "Oh. Yes, he has."

            "I have some important news."

            "Let's here it."

            "There is a slayer candidate that has just arrived in Sunnydale."

            "Would you possibly know where she would be?"

            "She is staying in a motel on the southern border of Sunnydale. She is looking for you house and is in danger."

            "I'll get on it right away!"

            "Hurry before they get her!"

            "Thanks for your help. Goodbye."

            "Goodbye."

            Buffy hung up the phone and headed to get her coat.

            "Buffy, what's wrong?" Xander questioned.

            "Change of plans. We aren't gonna go after the Ubervamp tonight. A potential slayer just arrived in Sunnydale and I have to find her before the Bringers get to her," Buffy replied.

            "I'm going with you. You'll need the help," he told her.

            The two left the house and got in Xander's car. They sped away towards the southern border of Sunnydale.

Motel on the Border of Town:

            A young girl gripped her key as she headed to the door of her apartment. She had just arrived in town and was looking for someone. She had been informed that she would be safe here in Sunnydale. She came to her door and slid the key in the lock. Just then, she heard a loud crash from behind her.

            She quickly spun around and came face to face with a hooded figure. She gasped and jumped back. The figure carried an axe. It brought it back and swung it forward. She screamed in horror.