Chapter 5

The morning sun rose slowly like a glowing ball of fire and cast out long black shadows from every object that was touched by the red orange glow. Buffy and Angel stayed sleeping in her old room, Buffy in her bed and Angel on the floor, and they would be there for the better half of the day. Sleeping in was one of the only perks of being a vampire.
The rest of the Scooby Gang had been up for hours as they discussed what was going on and how they could help. Xander was standing off against a wall with Spike opposite him. Willow and Dawn were setting on the couch watching the front door closely when the knocking noise sounded off. When the gentle thuds hit their ears they all jumped a bit.
Willow was the first to get to the door and open it to see the face of her first true love. Oz, her boyfriend for the longest, stood looking at her with his same expressionless face.
"Hi", she said in a voice that was lined with hidden joy.
"Hi", he returned the word with no expression in his voice. "Can I come in?" He asked in his monotone voice as he already started to walk in. He had heard about Willow's girlfriend and wanted to say he was sorry but figured that it was probably a sore subject so he held off.
They briefed him on the subject for about an hour and then he was brainstorming with them. They ended up coming to one simple conclusion. They had absolutely no idea what to do. Brainstorming for nine hours had gotten them nothing. All that they had was that they couldn't kill the slayer, they needed Giles, and they needed to talk to Buffy again.
An hour or so before sunset Buffy came walking down the stairs with Angel not far behind, each looking like they'd been awake for hours.
"Oz?" Buffy said with a bit of surprise in her voice. "How did you hear?" She asked.
"Willow called me. I called her from Canada five months ago to drop a line and left a number that she could call me at. Said I needed to come in a hurry and that it was an emergency. Now I can smell why she would say that." He smiled a bit. Oz didn't usually smile but he figured that she could use a smile.
"Either way, I'm glad that you are here", she said. "Have you all come up with anything else yet?"
She was meet by blank stares and looks of sorrow. She figured as much and wasn't that disappointed. Just as she was ready to set down and help with the planning she heard a voice screaming from outside.
"Buffy!" Jennifer Longheart yelled from outside. "I know you're in there." She said it with an almost taunting voice. "Why not come out here and face little ol' me?"
"The doll's got a wee bit of an attitude doesn't she?" Spike said in his thick British inflection. "I like that one", he said with a smile.
"Shut up Spike", Angel said.
"I know you've got your friends in there with ya's so I am going to catch up with you on another occasion. I'll see you around." She said and the voice was gone. For the first time since Buffy had heard her she realized that Jennifer had a New York accent.
"We've got to do something", said Buffy.
From across the room Oz noticed that Willow had been staring at him since Jennifer started yelling. He could smell the distinct smell of lust on her. He almost smiled.
"What can we do Buff?" Xander asked as he crossed his arms. "I mean, she's a slayer. It's not like we can kill her."
"Xander is right. We are going to have to do something else", said Angel.
"Thank you Mr. Obvious", the British accent rang out. Everyone looked at Spike telling him that he was to shut up.
Time stretched on until it was time for the Gang to hit the sack with the exception of Angel, Spike, and Buffy. As they walked out the door to go patrolling Oz and Willow were talking about something at the foot of the stairs while Dawn and Xander were already asleep. They walked out into the night and let the chilly and brisk air wrap itself around them.
They ended up walking aimlessly and without any words until they ended up at the playground at a near by elementary school. An eight-foot demon was slowly walking around the merry-go-round with its head down. The demon itself was large with an off color green skin color and no eyes. Two sets of horns were on each side of its head and it had a large mouth lined with razor sharp teeth. A few low groans came from its mouth as it continued to wander around.
Just as they were ready to jump out and attack the beast, Jennifer jumped out from the other side and threw a punch, landing hard in the monster's torso. Buffy's face showed her surprise and she quickly started to watch on and take mental notes of her fighting style. It was becoming more that obvious that it would be very hard to fight her and she wasn't sure she could even win.