Helping Friends

Episode 14

Buffy's House:

            "Buffy, something is wrong with Spike," Willow informed as the two were pouring themselves some cereal.

            "What do you mean?" she questioned.

            "Well, yesterday while you were on your date, I found Spike in the basement holding his head a yelling in pain," Willow informed, "He thinks it has something to do with the chip and so do I."

            "The chip?" Buffy questioned, "Do you think it has something to do with his soul interfering with the chip?"

            "I don't know," Willow said.

            "Well, I'll figure something out," she reassured, "By the way, how's Xander doing?"

            "He's doing fine," Willow replied, "He's just in a lot of pain. Luckily the demon didn't stab him, just sliced him."

            "Well that's good," she said, "I'm going to go ask Spike about his headaches.

            She finished eating her cereal and then headed downstairs, into the quiet, dark basement. She flicked the lights on as she slowly walked down the stairs.

            "Spike, are you okay?" she questioned, walking over to his bed.

            "What do you mean?" he asked.

            "Well, Willow told me about the headache that you had yesterday."

            "Oh that. Yeah, I'm fine."

            Suddenly, he began to grasp his head and yelled out in pain. His eyes rolled back in his head. Buffy backed away, frightened. A few moments later, the pain stopped and Spike caught his breath and returned to normal.

            "Fine, huh?"

            "Okay, I think the chip is acting up."

            "What do you mean, acting up?"

            "I think it is deteriorating."

            "How's that possible?"

            "It might be old," Willow said, butting in.

            "Huh?" Buffy questioned.

            "It is probably getting to old. I mean it has been in his head for almost four years now," she answered.

            "Maybe I wasn't supposed to live this long," Spike said, quietly.

New York City:

            "We were so lucky to get out of that tricky situation," Faith said to the others.

            "Yeah I know. I can't believe we actually managed to beat that large group of Bringers," Cindy agreed, "I mean who would have known that I had magik still left in me."

            "What do you mean?" Liz questioned.

            "Last year, I was attacked by some demon," Cindy began, "I was knocked out and when I woke up, my magik abilities were gone."

            "It must have been temporary," Faith said.        

            The group of girls had just arrived in New York City. The boat trip was long and hard. They spent most days below deck fighting the Bringers. It had taken them a few days, but they had finally won.

            "So what do we do now?" Liz questioned.

            "Well, now we begin our journey to Sunnydale," Faith said.

            "And how do you plan to do that?" Cindy questioned.

            "You see, there are many ways to get cross-country. They all take several weeks except for planes. There is no way we are getting on a plane without money, so that's out of the question," Faith informed, "That means we'll be hitchhiking our way cross-country."

            "Excuse me!" Cindy exclaimed.

            "What?" Faith questioned.

            "Do you know what happens to people that hitchhike, especially women?" Cindy questioned.

            "Of course I do," she replied, "And no one will mess with a slayer, a potential slayer, and a witch."

            "She does have a point," Liz put in.

            "Alright, well let's go then!" Faith exclaimed.

Buffy's House:

            "I tried contacting Riley and the Initiative," Buffy said, coming downstairs.

            "What did they say?" Spike questioned.

            "Well, I couldn't get to them," she replied.

            "What do you mean?" he asked.

            "I got a flower shop. I figured it was some kind of setup in case anyone suspected anything," she answered, "But I think it really was a flower shop."

            "Bollocks!" Spike shouted.

            "What?"

            "I'm gonna die from this bloody chip!"

            "No. We'll find someway to help you."

            "Buffy, there is no possible way to help me now. I'm gonna die and I just have to live with it."

            Just then Willow came walking downstairs, carrying a box.

            "What's that?" Buffy questioned.

            "It's some stuff that, I think it was Principal Wood, dropped off," Willow replied.

            "Principal Wood?" Buffy asked.

            "Yeah, he said it was some stuff that might help you," she went on, "He told me to give it right to you and that's what I'm doing."

            "Like you didn't look through it," Buffy commented.

            "Okay, fine!" Willow exclaimed, "I did take a peak. But you have to look for yourself if you want to know what's inside."

            "I'll look later," Buffy said, "Right now, I need to find someway to help Spike out with the chip."

            "Why don't you take him to the Initiative Caves?" she suggested.

            "Initiative Caves?" Spike questioned, "They're probably all blocked up by now."

            "I don't think so," Willow said, "I mean, there's most likely stuff that they still need in there. I'd say it's still open."

            "And the best way in is that secret entrance in the woods," Buffy said.

            "Well then, let's go before those bloody headaches return!" he exclaimed.

The Cemetery:

            "I wish Buffy wasn't so mad at me," Giles spoke.

            "Well, you did bring it on yourself," Willow commented, "You should have kept your mouth shut."

            "What did you do, Giles?" Anya asked.

            "Nothing, Anya, nothing," he replied.

            Giles, Willow, and Anya had taken a small handful of the potentials out slaying in the cemetery. Kennedy, Rona, and Julia had gone training with Buffy so they already knew a little. The other two, Chao-Ahn and Molly hadn't gone before.

            "What are we doing in a cemetery?" Chao-Ahn asked, in Chinese.

            "What'd she say?" Anya asked.

            "She's glad that she's safe with us," he incorrectly translated.

            "Are you sure you're correctly translating?" Willow asked.

            "Yes, of course," he replied, "I'd be in big trouble if I wasn't."

            "Now girls," Giles spoke, "How many of you have ever killed a vampire?"

            "I have," Kennedy said.

            The other girls all stood there, looking ashamed.

            "It's nothing to be ashamed about," Giles reassured, "You are all beginners. Buffy was a beginner herself once, just like everyone is at something one point in their lives."

            Willow and Anya kind of walked off from Giles' lecture to engage in their own conversation.

            "Do you think it was wise to leave Jake and Xander there by themselves with the girls?" Anya asked.

            "Huh? What kind of question is that?" Willow questioned.

            "I mean what if they do stuff to them?" she asked.

            "The guys to the girls or the other way around?" Willow asked.

            "The girls to the guys," Anya answered.

            "Yeah Anya," Willow began, "The potentials are gonna seduce Xander and Jake and make those two have sex with them. I'm sure that'll happen."

            "Hey, you never know," Anya argued.

Buffy's House:

            "Babysitting!" Xander exclaimed, angrily, "Is that all I'm good for anymore?"

            Jake walked into the family room, where Xander was seated on the couch, watching television.

            "Well maybe if you weren't injured, you could have gone with Giles and the others," Jake commented.

            "That's not my fault that I was stabbed," Xander retorted.

            "It kinda was," Jake replied, "You fell into that demon's trap."

            "Fine!" he shouted, "You're right. Wait a second!"

            "What's wrong?"

            "Where are the potentials?"

            "Oh man! You're right! Where'd they go?"

            Both of them stood up and began searching the house for the girls. How could seven girls mysteriously disappear like that? The returned to the family room confused.

            "Where the hell did the seven of them go?" Jake questioned.

            "You got me," Xander replied, "It's a little hard for seven teenage girls to sneak out of here without making noise."

            "We're gonna be so screwed when Giles and the others come back and the girls aren't here," Jake stated.

            "That means we have to go out and find them," Xander said.

            "I just hope the Bringers don't get to them first," Jake put in.

Initiative Caves:

            "So what do you remember about being here?" Buffy asked.

            "Not much. Every time I acted up those blokes gave me that drug and I was in happy land," Spike replied.

            Buffy and Spike were walking through the old Initiative laboratory. They needed to find information on the chip in Spike's head.

            "I bet they have files in here somewhere or some kind of medication," Spike said.

            "Probably," she answered.

            They continued walking through the labs, shining their flashlights over the walls and floors. It was pitch black and the labs were all pretty much destroyed. The place was completely empty or so they thought.

            "This is so pointless, luv," Spike said as they continued walking, "We're not going to find anything in this hellhole. It's been abandoned for several years."

            "You never know. This place was never cleaned out. It could still have some kind of medication that could be helpful to you," she replied.

            "Well we haven't found anything yet," he murmured, "And I doubt we will."

            "Well let's keep looking," she said and continued walking.

            Just then, the lights flickered on. Buffy looked up and saw several men come walking in; their guns aimed at her and Spike.

            "Oh bloody hell," Spike murmured

            "Lower you weapons," the lead man ordered.

            The guns immediately went down.

            "Agent Finn said you tried to contact him, Miss Summers," the man said, "Something about a chip?"

            "Yes," Buffy answered.

            "You have two choices for ass face there," he began.

            "Huh?" she questioned, startled.

            "Those were his exact words, miss," he said.

            "Can you tell me what is wrong with the chip?" she questioned.

            "Well, it is deteriorating. If it stays inside his head, it will kill him," the man informed, "You can either have the chip repaired or removed. Agent Finn said you would make the right decision on this one."

            Buffy stood indecisive. She had no clue what to do, have it removed or repaired. This was one of the hardest decisions that she ever had to make.

Downtown Sunnydale:

            Xander pushed open the door to the Bronze. He sure hoped that the potentials were here. If they weren't, he had no idea where else to look. He walked into the noisy club, Jake followed.

            "We should split up," Xander told him, "That way, we can cover more ground."

            Jake walked off to the left, while Xander headed up to the balcony. He reached the railing and peered over, glancing down at all the people. That's when he noticed several hooded figures walking around amongst the people.

            "Oh great," Xander murmured.

            He dashed down to the dance floor. Now he really had to find the girls. As he reached the dance floor, he noticed Danielle and Ashley walking to the bar counter. He ran up to them. They didn't even notice him.

            "Where are the others?" he questioned.

            They both spun around and came face to face with Xander.

            "Xander?" Ashley questioned.

            "What are you doing here?" Danielle asked.

            "Look, I'll explain later. You all are in danger," he said out of breath, "We have to get out of here and fast. Where are the others?"

            "They're around here somewhere," Ashley replied.

            "Well let's find them and Jake and get out of here before the Bringers get them!" he exclaimed.

            The three of them calmly headed out onto the dance floor, looking for the others. Just then, a Bringer walked right in front of them.

            "Uh oh," Xander mumbled.

            The Bringer lifted its axe and swung it towards their heads. Danielle and Ashley screamed in horror. It was loud enough that the band on stage stopped playing and the bouncers were headed towards them.

            As the bouncers approached, two more Bringers came out of the crowd, weapons drawn. The Bringer carrying two daggers slashed them at one of the bouncers. The other two, who both wielded an axe, attacked the three bouncers.

            Xander took this opportunity to flee the Bronze with the girls. He grabbed Danielle and Ashley by the arms and the three of them burst through the doors and out into the night.

            "Aren't you gonna get the others?" Ashley asked.

            "I'd rather risk five lives then all of ours," he informed, "Besides I was given strict orders by Buffy to retreat instead of fight. And I think Jake may have found some of them."

            "What?" Danielle questioned, "She told you to retreat?"

            "I don't question Buffy anymore because we're in a time of great danger. More serious trouble is lurking around the corners of this town nowadays. And I'm not strong enough to take it on," he answered, "Come on, we better get back to the house."

            "But shouldn't we at least see if we can find the others?" Danielle asked.

            "I can't risk getting you two killed," Xander replied, "I'm sorry."

            He grabbed them by their arms and pulled them back onto the main street. The three of them began their walk back to Buffy's house. Xander was constantly looking over his shoulder to see if they were being followed. He was also thinking of how to explain tonight's events to Buffy and the others when they got home.