Realization

Episode 7

Downtown Haynesville:

            Giles ran as fast as he could. He had to find Buffy. She had to know what was going on. She had to know that the First Evil had not been destroyed back in Sunnydale. She had to know that it was here in Haynesville, Louisiana.

            He didn't know where to find her though. He'd only seen her once and that was when she tossed him through the bus windshield. As a matter of fact, he hadn't seen anyone since he woke up, besides Wood. He just had to find Buffy, had to warn her.

The Sewers:

            Spike sat alone. Buffy had left him a few hours ago. She had to get back to the place where she was staying or else the person would get suspicious. She had confessed that she loved him and they had kissed.

            But there was one thing Spike had forgotten to mention. He had gotten so worked up about Buffy telling him that she loved him, that he forgot. He had to warn her about what was coming. He had to tell her that she hadn't destroyed the First Evil. He had to tell her that it was here, in this town. He stood up and disappeared into the darkness of the sewers. He had to find her.

Unknown Hotel:

            Faith began to panic. She had no clue what to do or what was going on. She was terrified. She had learned that the First Evil had not been destroyed. She had discovered that it was back and here in this town.

            She had to tell Buffy everything. She had to tell her that the First Evil was back. But first, she had to find her. Buffy never told where she had been staying. All she knew what that she was staying with some guy that hunted vampires.

            She found someone on the street and asked where an exterminator's store was. The person told her it was called Axel:  Exterminator and pointed her in that direction. She took off, racing towards the place. Buffy had to find out as soon as possible.

Axel's Place:

            Axel and his friends had gone off for a few weeks for business, leaving Buffy alone. She was relieved. Maybe now, she could meet up with her friends and figure out what they were going to do.

            First of all, her first real threat had arrived in town. Dani, the former vampire queen, had traveled here. It had taken Buffy a while to realize it, but her dream was starting to come together. Maybe this town really was on a hellmouth.

            She was sitting alone, eating a late dinner, when she heard a knock at the door. She went over and opened it.

            "Faith?" Buffy questioned.

            "Hey B," Faith said, "Geez, it took me a while to find this place."

            "Sorry about that," Buffy apologized, "I should have told you guys where I was staying."

            "It's cool," Faith said, "So where's this vampire-slaying hottie?"

            "Actually, he isn't here," Buffy informed.

            "Oh?" Faith questioned.

            "Yeah, he and his friends left town on some business for the week," Buffy replied.

            That's when she heard another knock at the door. She left Faith and went over and opened it.

            "Spike?" Buffy questioned.

            "Buffy, we need to…" Spike began but was interrupted.

            "Spike?" Faith questioned from the other room.

            Faith came walking in. She stared at the vampire in confusion.

            "But didn't you die?" Faith asked.

            "It's a long story, Faith," Buffy informed.

            Ignoring her, Faith went on, "How the hell did you ever escape that crater? I mean, everything just caved in, there would have been no way out."

            "Faith!" Buffy shouted.

            "Yes, B?" she asked.

            "I said, it's a long story," Buffy repeated, "I'll tell you when everyone else is around."

            That's when she heard a third knock. She turned and opened the door. She gasped at who she saw.

            "Giles?" she questioned.

            "Giles!" Faith shouted.

            Giles stood in the doorway of Axel's place. He looked very tired.

            "Get back!" Faith shouted, "Stay away from us!"

            "Relax Faith," Giles said, "I'm no longer under a trance or whatever I was under."

            "Oh?" she questioned.

            "Buffy, I never thought that I'd find you," Giles said to her, "Even though this town is small, it still took a while to find you."

            "Giles," Buffy began, "What's wrong?"

            "B!" Faith exclaimed, "We need to talk!"

            "Buffy," Spike said, pulling her shirt sleeve, "I need to talk to you."

            "Alright!" Buffy yelled, "Everyone just shut up!"

            The three stopped talking and focused their attention to her.

            "Okay, here's the deal," she began, "Dani, the former vampire queen, is here in town. I ran into her last night, but she fled. We need to hunt her down and dust her."

            "B, you have to listen to me!" Faith shouted.

            "No!" Buffy yelled, "First we handle this threat, then I'll listen to all of you."

            "B, I ran into her last night," Faith began, "She was terrorizing Jake. Before she fled, she…"

            "Enough!" Buffy shouted, interrupting her, "Like I said, we kill her first and then I listen to what each of you has to say. Okay?"

            Faith, Spike, and Giles all agreed to this.

            "By the way," Buffy added, "Don't mention anything to the others. We're doing this alone."

Haynesville Cemetery:

            "B, I really don't think that she'd be hiding out here," Faith said, "I mean, this would be a really obvious place."

            Buffy ignored her. She was bent on finding this former queen vampire and slaying her. Buffy had thought the vampire was completely gone. They had spent a few months searching for her before, and then she had finally taken off for Paris. It pissed Buffy off that she'd returned.

            "Buffy, maybe Faith is right," Giles put in, "This place is the first place we're searching and a vampire like Dani would know it."

            "Look Giles," Buffy said, "I don't want to here it from you. You left me to die. I'm still pissed at you. So I suggest you shut your mouth."
            Giles knew she was right. He had left her to die in Sunnydale. So he did keep his mouth shut.

            The four continued walked through the dark cemetery. It was obvious that they were lost, but none really seemed to notice. That's when a large group of vampires appeared, blocking their path.

            "Hi, I'm Buffy," she said, "Would you by any chance know where a vampire named Dani is?"

            The vampires didn't speak. One stepped forward and approached Spike. He sniffed Spike and then stepped back.

            "They are vampires except that one has a soul," he told the others, pointing to Spike.

            Buffy was surprised. For one, the vampires thought that they were all vampires. Second, they could smell the soul on Spike. She didn't know they could do that.

            Buffy repeated her question, "Do you know where a vampire named Dani is?"

            Another vampire stepped forward. He was a lot bigger and looked very strong.

            "You mean the queen?" he asked.

            "Yes, her," Buffy replied.

            "Well, she just arrived here after a long trip returning from Paris," the vampire informed, "She's resting over there in that crypt. If it's important business, I'll let you talk with her."

            The vampire pointed to its left. Buffy looked in the direction that the vampire was pointing. She noticed a crypt less than ten yards away. Buffy smirked.     

            "So where are you and your gang headed off to?" she asked.

            "Well, my buddy here claims to have run into a slayer a few nights back," the vampire informed, "We're going to see if we can find one."

            Another vampire stepped forward. A look of horror spread across his face when he saw who else Buffy was with.

            "That's her!" he exclaimed, pointing to Faith, "That's the slayer!"

            "Damn," Buffy muttered under her breath.

            The vampires charged at the small group, fangs showing. Buffy pulled out a stake and stood there calmly. She held it out as the first vampire approached. It impaled itself on the stake.

            Everyone spread out and seemed to be holding there own, even Giles. Buffy was fighting gracefully. She remembered her short time fighting with the scythe. She remembered it all too well. Unfortunately though, she had left it in the hellmouth.

            She thrust the stake forward into the heart of one vampire, then shoved it backwards, into the heart of a second that was behind her. Both dusted instantly. She sensed something, then turned and gave another a side kick, causing its neck to snap.

            She glanced around and noticed that all the vampires were dust. Spike, Giles, and Faith walked back over to her.

            "Now we head up to that crypt and dust that nuisance," she informed.

            She carefully and quietly head up to the crypt. There was a very tiny window on the door. She walked up and peered in. Sure enough, there was the queen, standing in the middle of a room. Buffy was confused when she noticed that the vampire was speaking to someone. She glanced all around, but could see no one.

            "There's someone else in there," Buffy said, speaking to the group.

            The others didn't reply. They remained silent, waiting for a command. Buffy could now here everything that was being said.

            "You never said anything about a slayer being in town, let alone two!" Dani said.

            "I wanted to protect you," someone said, "Make you fearless so that you could go up against anything."

            "But what if I had run into one, like I did last night?" Dani questioned.

            "I didn't think you would. I didn't think that both would be here in town," the other thing said.

            "I could have been killed," Dani went on, "And then you would have lost another servant."

            "But you weren't," the other said, "You're still here. And from now on, I'm not letting you die."

            "You know something," Dani said, "Ever since you left that hellhole town, you've been different. Something is wrong."

            "Nothing is wrong, nothing is different," the other replied.

            "Do you fear her now?" she asked, "Do you fear her like everything else that comes across her?"

            Buffy was confused. She knew that Dani and the other were talking about her. But she didn't know who this other one was. She wanted to find out, but she decided that she would listen a little longer.

            "Fear the slayer?" the other asked, "Just because she won the battle, does not mean she won the war. The war will go on and on until I defeat her and take over the world, until every potential slayer and slayer is dead. I will never fear the slayer."

            "She defeated your army though," Dani informed.

            "That is true, but I can always rebuild another," the other replied, "I can raise my vampires from this town. I can have others, like you, join my army. And once the scales are tipped, I will become corporeal. I will defeat the slayer with my bear hands."

            Buffy stared in horror. She was in utter shock. The one thing she thought was defeated was back. The thing she had risked her life fighting was still here. And it wanted revenge.

            "Before the summer, the slayer will fall," the other said, "And I will have this world."

            Buffy slowly backed away from the others. She felt sick.

            "Buffy…luv…what's wrong?" Spike asked.

            "I didn't win," Buffy muttered.

            "Huh?" Faith asked.

            "I only won the battle, not the war," she replied.

            "What do you mean?" Giles asked.

            Ignoring him, Buffy went on, "I have to end this. I have to before more dangerous things start happening."

            "Soon, I will reveal to her that I'm still here. She will quiver in her slayer boots," it said.

            Buffy glanced back in the window when she heard this. She gasped at what she saw. She stepped out of the shadows. It was in the form of her, Buffy."

            Buffy decided that the time was right. She kicked the crypt door open. It hit the floor of the crypt with a loud crash. She stepped back into the shadows.

            "Slayer?" Dani questioned, spinning around.

            "I've heard enough," Buffy replied.

            "Which is why I said what I did," The First/Buffy said, reemerging from the shadows.

            "Excuse me?" Dani asked.

            "She was standing outside the whole time, listening to everything being said," The First/Buffy went on, "She knows of my plan. That's because I wanted her to."

            "You tricked me!" Dani exclaimed, "You set me up for my own death!"

            The First/Buffy laughed and with that, it was gone. Dani slowly backed up towards the other side of the crypt.

            "No!" she shouted, "You can't leave me here to die!"

            "You've failed me too many times," a voice boomed throughout the room, "You couldn't kill the boy and you couldn't kill the vampire."

            "But it was the slayers' faults!" Dani shouted, "They showed up, ruined everything."

            There was no answer. The vampire continued backing up.

            "I'm guessing that your 'faithful' master left you all alone. All alone to die," Buffy said, stepping forward.

            She pulled a stake out of her pocket and held it forward. Dani began to panic.

            "Now I hear that your slayer powers were only temporary, that you're not as strong as you were before. You're just an ordinary, easy-to-kill vampire," Buffy informed.

            Dani couldn't back up anymore. She was already against the wall. There was a look of horror on her face. Buffy brought the stake up and plunged it into the vampire's heart.

            She screamed out in pain. She turned to dust, which fell to the ground. Buffy turned and headed out of the crypt. The others were all standing there, watching.

Axel's Place:

            "Now what were the three of you going to tell me?" Buffy asked.

            The four of them had returned to Axel's place. Buffy hadn't spoken since she dusted the former vampire queen. The four had gathered in the lobby of Axel's place.

            "Come on," she said, "Spike?"

            "Buffy," Giles said, speaking up, "I was going to tell you what you just discovered."

            "And that was?" she asked.

            "That the First was not defeated," Faith answered.

            "And that it is still trying to terrorize me and the rest of you," Spike added.

            "That's what you all were going to tell me?" Buffy asked.

            "Yes," Giles replied, "I guess each in our own little way."

            Buffy stood in silence. She was letting what the First said, sink in.

            The other replied, "I can raise my vampires from this town. I can have others, like you, join my army. And once the scales are tipped, I will become corporeal. I will defeat the slayer with my bear hands."

            The words repeated again and again in her head. And they were beginning to disturb her. She had lost her weapon, lost her army. She knew that everything was hopeless.