Remorse

Episode 20 (Part I)

The Hospital:

            Willow sat next to an unconscious Xander. She was very upset over what had happened to her best friend. He had lost his left eye and would have to wear a patch on his eye for the rest of his life.

            "Willow?" Xander questioned.

            Willow glanced up and saw that Xander was finally awake. She smiled as best she could.

            "I lost it, didn't I?" he asked.

            "Yes, you did," she replied.

            "I guess I'll be just like Captain Longbeard," he said, "Arg matey."

            Willow smiled at the fact that he was making jokes even though he was badly injured.

            "Where's Buffy?" he asked.

            "I don't know," Willow replied, "No one has seen her since you all came back from the vineyard. She's taking the loss pretty hard."

            "How are the potentials?" he asked.

            "Annabelle is dead, Molly has a broken arm," Willow answered, "The others just have minor injuries. They should be okay."

Buffy's House:

            "Where is Buffy?" Giles questioned.

            "I'm not sure," Jake replied, "She was here last night and then she left. She looked pretty upset."

            "I hope she comes back soon," he said.

            "Why?" Anya questioned, "She got them all hurt by barging in there. It's all her fault. She shouldn't even bother coming back."

            "Anya! Don't say that!" Jake shouted.

            "It is true though. The part about getting them all hurt," Giles said, "Her impatience cost us dearly."

            "It's her fault that Xander lost his eye!" Anya shouted, obviously upset.

            "Calm down, Anya," Giles comforted, "Everything will be okay."

            "No it won't!" she yelled, "How can you say that? Xander is missing an eye, Annabelle is dead, Molly has a broken arm, and everyone else is injured."

            "We will get through this," Giles said, "We always do."

            The front door opened. They all perked up, hoping it was Buffy.

            "Buffy?" Giles called, "Is that you?"

            "It's just me," Faith said, coming into the kitchen.

            "Did you find Buffy?" Giles asked.

            "No, I search the whole town. I couldn't find her anywhere," Faith reported.

            "Do you think she could have fled town?" Andrew asked, coming into the room.

            "I'm not sure if she would have abandoned us during this time," Giles replied.

            "I sure hope she didn't flee," Jake said, "We need her for this war."

The High School:

            Buffy had given up on just wandering around town. She decided that she better go talk to Principal Wood about not being at work lately. She figured that he would fire her, but that didn't matter right now. She was too upset about letting her friends down to care about work.         

            She entered the high school and headed for her office. She noticed that the school was completely empty. It didn't disturb her that much because much of the town had also evacuated. She walked into her office. All her stuff was still in the same spot as she left it.

            She found a note from Principal Wood. It read:

Dear Buffy,

                I'm sorry that I didn't contact you. I had to close down the school. Barely any kids and teachers were showing up. It would have been pointless to keep classes going. I left all of your stuff where you had it. I knew that you'd be back sooner or later. Remember if you need help, just let me know. I'm more than willing to help out. See you around.

                                                                                                        Principal Wood

            She smiled. At least someone was still on her side. She didn't know if she had her friends' trust anymore after last night. That's when she noticed a picture sitting on her desk. It was her, Willow, and Xander. She broke down crying

            "Here comes the waterworks," someone said.

            Buffy spun around and came to face to face with Caleb. She wiped the tears from her eyes.

            "What are you doing here?" she questioned, angry now.

            "How's Xander doing?" he asked, "If you want, I could remove that other eye for him."

            "If you come near Xander again, I'll kill you," she threatened

            "Just like last time, right?" Caleb asked.

            He punched Buffy but she blocked. She gave him a sidekick to the head, but he ducked the blow. She began hitting him furiously in the chest, but the blows did not phase him. He just smirked.

            "You're pathetic," he said.

            He raised his fist and punched her. She flew through the air and hit the office window. She went right through. Glass shattered everywhere. She hit the lockers and landed on the ground. She was out cold. He smirked and headed out of the office.

            He stopped to glance at her body, lying there on the floor, surrounded by glass. He smirked again. Then he turned and walked down the hall, leaving Buffy's unconscious body to lie there.

            "I can't wait until I get the chance to tame you," Caleb said.

Buffy's House:

            Xander was allowed to go home. The doctor Okayed everything and gave him some pain medication. Willow drove him home. Everyone but Spike was waiting for him to return back to the house.

            Willow walked in first and Xander followed. All the potentials gave him sad looks. Anya tried to look happy that he was okay, but it didn't turn out that way.

            "Buffy is missing," Giles said.

            "What? Where did she go?" Willow questioned.

            "Faith searched the whole town, but couldn't find a trace of Buffy or her whereabouts," Giles informed.

            "I could do a locator spell," Willow said, trying to cheer everyone up.

            "It might work," Xander said.

            "I fear that she may have skipped town," Giles informed.

            "What?" Willow questioned.

            "She seemed really upset over everything. It may have been too much for her and she may have left, thinking it was for the better," he replied.

            "That's a good thing," Rona said.

            "No, its not," Willow countered.

            "Yes, now that she's gone, we don't have to deal with some tough leader," Rona went on.

            "She's right," Molly agreed, "Now Faith is the leader."

            "Huh? What?" Faith questioned, "I don't want to be the leader. I can't handle all that pressure."

            "Why Faith?" Kennedy questioned, "I should be the leader."

            "Kennedy, if anyone is the leader, it's Faith," Molly informed.

            "No way!" Kennedy argued, "It's obvious that she doesn't want to be the leader. So why should we make her?"

            "Look as much as I don't want to be, I have to assume responsibility as the leader  here," Faith butted in, "I have more experience, even though I don't think I can handle the responsibility."

            Meanwhile, Spike sat at the laptop, searching for details on Caleb. He wanted to know what he had that belonged to Buffy. He found what he was looking for. A local mission had some sort of carving with the same markings as Caleb's ring did. Spike turned off the laptop and headed out the back door.

           "Here's the deal," Faith informed, "We need to find out everything we can about what Caleb has. In order to do that, we need to capture a Bringer.

Downtown Sunnydale:

            Kennedy was wandering through the streets of Sunnydale. As she walked, she came upon an alley. She decided to check it out. She walked in and sat down, leaning against a dumpster. She was upset that she couldn't take leadership role, so she left.

            Suddenly, there was a loud crash. Kennedy jumped to her feet, scared.

            "Who's there?" she called, glancing around the dumpster.

            A Bringer lunged at her with a dagger in its hand. Kennedy jumped back. She was terrified. The Bringer swung the dagger. Kennedy ducked, it barely missed her head. She turned to run. She ran straight into the end of the alley. Then she turned to face the Bringer. There was a look of horror on her face.

            The Bringer drew closer, menacingly waving its dagger in the air. That's when a net was sprung over its head. It fell it the ground, tearing at the net. Faith, Julia, and Danielle jumped down from the roof and quickly bound the Bringer with rope.

            Kennedy breathed a sigh of relief. She actually thought that the Bringer was going to get her. She didn't think that they would throw the net down in time. She helped the others carrying the Bringer back to the house.

A Mission Outside Of Sunnydale:

            It had taken Spike all night to get to this mission. Luckily he had gotten a motorcycle and that made it easier to get there. The sun was just coming up as he entered the mission. He would be stuck in there all day until the sun went down.

            It was a rustic old building. Spike began wandering around, looking for this carving. There were several large curtains hanging all over the walls. He wondered if anything was behind them and began looking. It took him a few minutes, but finally he found something.

            There was a secret passage behind the one curtain. There were stairs leading down into darkness. Spike glanced around the room and the headed down the stairs. It was very dark, damp, and cold. He reached in his pocket and pulled out his lighter. He flicked it on, lighting up the stairway.

            That's when he heard a loud crash. It came from further down the stairs. He carefully made his way further down. He saw something move quickly in front of him. It looked like a hooded figure. Spike smirked, realizing he would have a chance to take out a Bringer.

            The thing moved in front of him again. This time, Spike dove at it. Both tumbled down the stairs and landed at the base. Spike instantly stood up, leaning over the Bringer. He reached down and pulled the hood off the figure, revealing a person. Spike was taken aback.

            "What the bloody hell are you?" he questioned.

            "I am the priest of this mission," the man answered, "Although I am the only one left."

            Spike backed up. The priest slowly rose to his feet, rubbing his back.

            "What are you doing here at this mission?" the priest questioned.

            "I came for some information," Spike replied.

            "Information on what?"

            "Information on a man that goes by the name, Caleb, ever heard of him?"

            "Yes, in fact I have."

            "What can you tell me about him?        

            "Well a few years back, he came to us here. He was searching for something. He found this secret room down here. But something here made him angry. He burned his ring into my face and then killed everyone. I managed to escape him with my life."

            The priest pulled down his robe, revealing the scar on his check. Spike recognized it immediately. The girl that had encounter Caleb on her way to Sunnydale also had that scar."

            "What did he find in that room?" Spike asked.

            "There is something etched into the wall," the priest informed, "You can go down and see for yourself, if you wish."

            And with that, the priest pulled up his hood and headed back upstairs. Spike turned and headed towards the door at the other end of the room. He pulled it open, revealing a large open room. It was a normal room, with a bed. It also had a small desk.

            Spike noticed small letters written on the far wall. He headed over to check it out more closely. He was shocked at what he read: It is not for thee. It is for her alone to wield.

Sunnydale High School:

            Buffy opened her eyes and glanced around. She was at the high school, lying in the hallway next to some lockers. She slowly stood up and rubbed her head. That's when she noticed the glass lying on the floor around her. That's when it hit her. She remembered exactly what had happened.

            She came to the school and found the note from Principal Wood. She then decided to gather her stuff and leave. That's when Caleb showed up and knocked her through the window. She realized that she was lucky that he didn't kill her.

            She forgot about gathering her belongings and headed out of the school. She had to figure out where to go. She thought about leaving town but knew that she couldn't just abandon the place that she had protected for the last several years. She couldn't go back to her house. She was afraid to face everyone. She had to find somewhere else to live.

            She headed out of the building and began walking the streets of Sunnydale once again. The town was evacuating. People were closing up their stores, packing up their cars, and leaving town. The roads were crowded with people trying to leave. The usually clueless citizens now had a clue what was going on.

Buffy's House:

            "What does Caleb have?" Faith demanded, hitting the Bringer across the face.

            They had the recently-captured Bringer tied tightly to a chair in the kitchen. Giles, Willow, Kennedy, Rona, and Julia were all standing around the room, eying the Bringer, while Faith interrogated.

            "Come on!" Faith shouted, hitting it again, "Tell me what he has!"

            "It's not at the vineyard, like you thought," Andrew replied.

            "What the hell is he doing in here?" she demanded.

            "It's obvious that this thing is mute. I did a spell to allow it to talk through Andrew," Willow replied.

            Faith turned back to Andrew.

            "What is it?" she demanded.

            "That I do not know," he replied.

            "Where is this thing at then?" she asked,

            Andrew didn't say anything. Faith glanced over at the Bringer. It sat there with a solemn look on its face. It wasn't going to talk anymore.

            "You're gonna talk!" Faith shouted, "We have ways of making you."

            She brought back her fist and hit the Bringer in the jaw. She continued hitting it in the face until she drew blood. She brought back for one more hit.

            "No stop!" Andrew shouted, "I've had enough. I'll talk."

            "Well, we're all ears," Faith said, "Where's this thing?"

            "It's below the streets of this very town, where we gather and store," he answered.

            "What is it?" she demanded.

            "I told you, I do not know," he replied.

            Faith turned to face the gang.

            "We have our information," she informed, "I'm taking some of the wannabe's and getting this thing."

            She walked into the family room. Kennedy, Julia, and Rona followed. Giles and Willow stayed in the kitchen watching the Bringer. Faith rallied up a group of potentials, armed them, and left.

            "We can't let it go," Giles told Willow.

            "Why not?" Jake questioned, coming into the kitchen.

            "It may inform the rest of them and Caleb that Faith and the girls are going," he replied.

            "Well, what are you going to do with it?" Willow asked.

            "The only thing we can do," Giles responded, "Kill it."

            "But Giles…" Willow protested.

            "You can't do that!" Jake exclaimed.

            "This thing is a danger. It is part of the group that has been terrorizing us and killing potentials around the world," he informed, "Who knows how many girls this one has killed? There is nothing else we can do."

            "Giles, can't we just think this over?" Willow asked.

            "I've thought it over already," he answered.

            He took up the Bringer's dagger. Gripping it in his hand, he slashed it across the throat. It died in a few instantly.

The Bronze:

            Spike entered the Bronze. He glanced around, looking for someone. There were so many people there, so he wasn't sure if he was going to find the one he was searching for. He finally spotted the person over at the bar, alone.

            "Are you okay, Buffy?" he asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

            Buffy spun around at the feel of his hand and the sound of his voice. She smiled, but it was apparent that she was still upset.  

            "I think so," she replied, "I just feel so bad about what happened."

            "I know, luv," he said, "But I found out something that might cheer you up."

            "What's that?" she asked.

            "You were right all along," he answered.

            "About?"

            "The vineyard."

            "So Caleb does have something of mine?"

            "Yes."

            "What is it?"

            "I'm not sure. But I went to a local mission and found something that you might like."

            "What did you find?"

            "I found something carved in the wall. It read, 'It is not for thee. It is for her alone to wield'."

            "And that her would be me?"

            "I believe so."

            "And you think Caleb has this thing in the vineyard."

            "Yes, I do. You were right all along."

            Buffy rose to her feet and turned to go. She headed towards the exit, but turned back to face him.

            "Spike, if anything happens to me, take care of my friends," she told him.

            And with that, she was gone. Spike stood relieved that he had helped her out greatly, but scared that she was going into the vineyard, alone.

The Sewers:

            Faith and a large handful of potentials were searching for this hidden area where the Bringers hid their weapons. They finally made it to a large opened area. Faith smirked when she saw large crates leaning against the sewer walls.

            "Stay on high alert!" she commanded as they entered the area.

            She was right to tell them that because as they neared the crates, Bringers popped up from all over. They brandished several different kinds of weapons and charged the girls.

            "Attack!" Faith shouted.

            The potentials spread out and began attacking the Bringers. They seemed to have the upper hand already. The girls had finally mastered the art of fighting.

            Faith swung her fist and sent a Bringer flying through the air and into a crate. It burst into splinters. She smiled when she saw the weapons that were inside. She dove over two Bringers and grabbed an axe.

            Swinging it, she took off both their heads. The potentials also began retrieving weapons and making use of them. Kennedy grabbed two daggers and pierced a Bringer's chest, killing it almost instantly.

            After several more minutes of fighting, all the Bringers were dead. The girls cheered. They had won their first real battle.

            "Alright," Faith began, "Now we find what we came here for."

            Her and the girls began busting up the remaining crates, looking for the thing that Caleb supposedly had. The crates only contained weapons.

            "Hey!" Amanda called, "I found something under this one!"

            Faith rushed over to where Amanda was standing. The other potentials came over too. Faith saw it, a small metallic box below a grate. She had finally find whatever it was that Caleb had.

            She busted open the grate. Instead of pulling the box out, she left it where it was and busted the small lock open. She reached and opened the box and stared in horror. A bomb was ticking down.

            10…9…8…7…6…

            A look of horror was spread over Faith's face.

            "Get down!" she shouted in panic.

            5…4…3…

TO BE CONTINUED