The Arrival
Episode 18
It was nice to have Faith back. She liked having someone around that understood her. They got along well now ever since Faith had reformed. Buffy knew that Faith had been through some hard times throughout her life. She had to wait until Faith let her in, not ask about it as she'd done before.
Faith had gone off soul-searching months before. She wanted to redeem herself for all the bad things she had done since meeting Buffy. Just as she promised Buffy, she had returned just in time for the apocalypse. Buffy was glad that Faith kept her promise.
The two slayers were walking through the only cemetery in town. Faith hadn't been in there before. Buffy had, it seemed like she was there every single night. She had gone up against so much here lately. And she'd discovered many different things also.
"So B, did I miss a lot around here?" Faith questioned.
"Oh no, nothing important," Buffy replied sarcastically, "You know, just the occasional meeting of a goddess that created the evil in the universe."
"What happened to Spike?" she asked, "I haven't seen him around yet. I need to thank him for helping me out."
"Well there's a slight problem with that," Buffy informed.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"That wasn't Spike."
"Are you kidding me?"
"No. It was the goddess. She had me going for a while. Then Angel showed up and filled me in on what was going on. He told me how that wasn't Spike."
"Hmm…well that's interesting. So the ex-lover came back to you?"
"What? No, no, no," Buffy replied, "He gave me some information on the goddess."
Faith nodded her head, showing that she understood Buffy. The two were looking for some action. They couldn't stand being boarded up in that apartment any longer. Reading books just wasn't their style.
"You know B I thought there'd be some sort of action out here with the whole end of the world thing coming soon." "I did too. Unfortunately, it must be one of those slow nights."
"Say I wonder where that Ubervamp thing is. We should go find it."
Buffy didn't respond. She was staring at the forest on the edge of the cemetery. Something was moving around in there. And she was going to find out what it was. She took off running.
"Hey! Where are you going?" Faith said, surprised, "I was talking."
Buffy made it to the edge of the forest and peered in between the trees. There was definitely something evil in there. She could feel it.
"Do you feel it, Faith?" Buffy asked.
"You mean horny? No, not yet. That's after I…" Faith replied.
"No Faith," Buffy interrupted, "Do you feel the evil radiating from this forest?"
"Oh…" Faith responded, slightly embarrassed.
Suddenly something leaped down from the trees. It landed on top of Faith. Buffy turned her head looked at her friend. The Ubervamp was now straddling Faith, punching here in the face. Faith didn't know what had hit it. She was too bewildered to do respond.
Buffy tackled the Ubervamp, causing it to fall to the ground. She wrestled with it, while Faith just lay there. The vampire rose to its feet quickly; so did Buffy. Unfortunately, Buffy wasn't fast enough. It kicked and sent her flying through the air. She landed with a thud on her back.
Faith finally came to her senses and stood up. She watched as Buffy soared through the air. She ran at the Ubervamp and jumped kicked it. She fell to the ground; the vampire was unfazed by her attack. It bent down and lifted her up by the throat. It held Faith above the ground and began strangling her.
Buffy saw what was happening as she came to. She charged the vampire, stake in hand. She stabbed it into the vampire's back, causing it to drop Faith and turn its attention to Buffy. It swung it massive fist, but Buffy ducked. Faith stood up and kicked the vampire in the back, causing it to stumble forward.
Buffy gave the vampire a quick front kick to the face, then a roundhouse kick. Faith tripped the vampire, then straddled it, punching it across the face much like it had done to here. Buffy stood and watched.
Suddenly, Faith was lifted off the vampire. Thick hands were wrapped around her neck once again. Buffy turned her head in the direction of Faith when she heard the girl gagging. Another Ubervamp had Faith by the neck. Buffy couldn't help her because the first one had gotten up and she was trying to block its attacks.
The vampire hit her across the face, knocking her to the ground. It proceeded to kick her in the gut. That's when the vampire was tackled to the ground. Both the vampire and the dark figure had stood up and were facing off. The Ubervamp got in a few more hits, but then the figure went on the offense. The figure began knocking the vampire around. Within a few moments, the figure snapped the vampire's neck and it was dust.
Faith walked up to Buffy, injured. She had been able to dust the vampire that she was fighting too. Buffy and Faith watched as the figure walked towards them. As he stepped into the moonlight, Faith gasped and Buffy smiled.
"Angel," Buffy said, smiling.
"Told you I'd be back," he replied.
That's when they heard a growl coming from the forest. The three turned around and saw what it was. A small army of Ubervamps were charging towards them through the trees.
"Hey Angel!" someone called.
An African American man and a familiar man came running up towards the little group. The African American held an axe in his hands and the other had a crossbow.
"Wesley?" Buffy questioned.
"Hello Buffy," he replied, "It's good to see you again."
"You're Buffy Summers?" the other man questioned, "The slayer?"
"Hey Gunn," Faith called, "She's a slayer. I'm the other."
"Now's not the time to be arguing," Buffy interrupted, "We have trouble."
"Buffy, Faith, this is Charles Gunn," Angel introduced.
"Nice to meet you," Buffy replied.
The army of vampires came trudging through the forest. They had axes and other weapons. They were definitely ready for a fight. Unfortunately, Buffy and her little 'team' were not prepared at all.
"What the hell are those?" Gunn asked.
"Vampires," Buffy replied.
"They sure don't look like any vampires that I've ever seen," Gunn said.
"Look, we can't fight all of them," Buffy informed, "They're too strong. Retreat!"
"Fine by me, B," Faith called as they ran away from the vampires.
The vampires were giving chase. Buffy didn't like that fact. She knew they couldn't fight all them off. There were way too many, at least fifteen. She had a feeling that they'd end up fighting though.
"They're giving chase!" Gunn called, "What do we do?"
"Keep running!" Buffy shouted back.
"Why don't we just fight?" Wesley asked.
"How 'bout you stay and fight and we'll run?" Faith offered.
"I'll pass," Wesley said.
Buffy came stopped running at the cemetery gates. It was that time. She couldn't let them get out into the town. They had to handle them right now. Now the others had noticed Buffy had turned towards the vampires.
"Their skin is tough to penetrate which means it's hard to get a stake in them," she told them, "Your best bet is to go for the head."
"What are you talking about, Buffy?" Wesley asked.
"Hello?" Faith questioned, "It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. If you aren't gonna use that crossbow, then hand it over."
"Are you sure this is a wise decision?" Wesley questioned.
"I don't have time for this, Wesley!" Buffy yelled, "We're fighting them."
The five of them stood ready for the fight. Buffy, Faith, and Angel had no weapons, making it tougher for them. Wesley and Gunn were not strong enough to handle the vampires, but Buffy needed all the help she could get.
"Get ready!" Buffy called.
The vampires came at them fast. The fight was on with Buffy taking the lead. She ran straight past the first one then gave it a roundhouse kick to the back. It stumbled forward and she gave it another kick, knocking it over. She flipped over another one and it tripped over the one that she knocked down.
Angel was knocking around one Ubervamp. He gave it a few punches to the face. The vampire growled in pain. Angel attempted a kick to the chest, but landed on his back instead. The vampire bent down and lifted him up. It tossed Angel into Gunn. Angel landed on top of him.
Angel stood up and then helped Gunn to his feet. Three Ubervamps came at them. Gunn swung his axe, decapitating one vampire. But the other two knocked it from his hands. The axe spun through the air and landed on the ground.
Buffy and Faith were double-teaming four vampires. They stood back-to-back, fending them off. They weren't doing too good though. Both were pretty beaten and it was getting worse. The vampires were too strong for them to handle.
Wesley was fairing poorly himself. He had lost his crossbow and had nothing left to fend them off. It had been snapped in half by one of the vampires. He had cuts and bruises all over. Blood was dripping from his nose and various cuts.
"Retreat!" Buffy shouted.
No one hesitated at all. They all turned from their enemy and headed for the cemetery gates. Buffy reached the gates and shoved them open. The rest of the group ran out after them. Angel ran towards a truck that was parked in front of the cemetery. The window rolled down. Buffy noticed that there were two others inside the truck, a woman and a demon.
"Get in!" Angel shouted.
He tore open the back of the truck. He motioned to the others to get in that way. They headed towards him. The Ubervamps burst through the cemetery gates and came barreling towards the truck. They rushed the truck, almost knocking it over. Buffy and Angel were the only ones not in yet.
The vampires noticed them and charged towards them. Suddenly, the first three fell down. It seemed like they had been knocked out. Soon, the others were lying on the ground also. Buffy looked up and noticed several helicopters hovering above the cemetery. She wondered what was going on.
Several men came sliding down ropes from the chopper. The men went towards the vampire and quickly dusted them. Faith, Gunn, and Wesley climbed out of the truck to join Buffy and Angel, who were obviously confused. One man stepped towards them. He looked very familiar to Buffy.
"Hello Buffy," Riley said.
Downtown Haynesville:
Spike was wondering down the streets. At least he wasn't floating like a normal ghost. He was glad for that. He'd finally made it to where Buffy had settled. The only problem was that he had no idea where to find her. Oh well, at least he'd gotten away from Angel and the others.
He came to an apartment complex. He saw a familiar face walking towards it. It was a young girl, probably around sixteen. She was one of those potential slayer girls that had lived with Buffy back in Sunnydale. He figured that she would know where Buffy was.
"Hey!" Spike called as she came closer.
The girl turned around, confused at who was calling her. Then she spotted the bleach-blonde man.
"Hi," she answered, trying to figure out who this man was.
Then it hit her. She remembered him. It was that vampire with a soul that had died closing the Sunnydale Hellmouth.
"You're dead," she said.
"I guess you could say that, luv," he replied, giving her a half smile, "I'm a ghost. I think. Or something like that."
"What are you doing here?" she questioned.
"Actually, I'm looking for Buffy," he told her.
"She's probably inside," the girl informed, "Follow me."
The girl turned and entered the building. She held the door open for Spike, but he just walked through the second door. She didn't even notice and walked down the hall, Spike followed. Soon, the girl approached a door and knocked. It opened almost right away.
"Why hello, Ashley," Giles said, opening the door, "What can I…Spike?"
"Hello there, mate," Spike said.
The Cemetery:
"Riley?" Buffy questioned, "What are you doing here?"
"Well I heard there's something big coming soon," he replied.
"You aren't wrong about that," she told him.
"Hello Angel," Riley said with some hostility.
Angel didn't respond, he just growled at the man. Riley wasn't surprised. Angel never really liked him. Not that he liked Angel that much either.
"Riley, this is Faith, Wesley, and Gunn," Buffy introduced.
"Nice to meet you all," Riley said to them, "Buffy, I'm here to help."
"We don't need it," Angel replied quickly.
Buffy glared at him. She then returned her attention to Riley.
"Are they here to help too?" Buffy questioned, motioning to the military men behind Riley.
"No they're just here to drop me off," he replied, "Do you need more help? Because, you know, they could always hang around here."
"I need all the help I can get," she began, "But I don't think guns and helicopters are going to be able to beat this thing."
"I take that as a no," Riley said, "All right boys, you're free to go."
Several rope ladders dropped down from the many helicopters hovering above them. The men grabbed on and began their climb back on to the choppers. Within a few moments, the helicopters were gone.
"So do you wanna cue me in on what's going on around here?" Riley questioned.
"Let's wait until we get to Giles's place," she replied, "That way everyone can get the full scoop."
Giles's Apartment:
"Spike?" Giles questioned, "But you're dead."
"Yeah kinda," Spike replied, "It's a long story."
Since Giles was blocking him from entering the doorway, Spike walked through the wall. Giles gasped in shock.
"You're a ghost?" he asked.
"Similar to, but not," Spike answered.
"Spike?" Xander questioned as he rose from his place on the couch.
Willow and Oz's attention focused towards the doorway when they heard Xander. They saw Spike standing in the next to Giles. They saw Ashley move away from the door just as Giles closed it.
"What are you doing here?" Xander asked, "You're supposed to be dead."
"I came back you stupid git!" Spike exclaimed.
"But how?" Willow asked as he approached the couch.
"That's not important now," he said, "I need to see Buffy."
"She's not here," Giles informed, "She's out patrolling with Faith."
That's when the door opened. Everyone's attention was turned towards the door. Buffy stood there in the doorway. She looked like she had been beaten up.
"Giles, we have a bit of company," she informed.
"That we do," Giles said, motioning to Spike.
Spike smirked when Buffy looked his way. She gasped in shock when she saw him standing there next to Willow and Oz.
"Spike?" Buffy questioned, "B-but how?"
"I see you've met the ghost that's been haunting me for months," Angel said, coming into the room.
"Angel?" Giles questioned.
Faith came in behind Angel. Both of them moved out of the way to let the others inside. Wesley and several others came in also.
"Giles, this is Charles Gunn, Winifred Burkle, and Lorne," Buffy introduced.
"Call me Fred," the girl told them all.
"You can call me Gunn," the African American male told them.
"Riley?" Willow questioned.
"Whoa!" Xander exclaimed, "What is going on here? It's like a big Scooby reunion tonight. Except that no one told me."
Oz began, "The gang's all here except for…"
"Hi guys," Cordelia said, entering the apartment.
"Cordy," Xander finished.
"Oh my god, Xander!" Cordy exclaimed, "What happened to your eye?"
"Well, it's a long story," he replied, "I'll explain it sometime."
"Will someone explain to me why everyone is here?" Willow asked.
"I received some information that something evil was brewing here in this town," Riley began, "My unit and I came to investigate. I didn't expect to find you all here."
"An ancient evil is here in this town," Angel interrupted, "Wesley's department had discovered information about it a few months ago."
"Excuse me, did you just say department?" Xander questioned.
"Yes, he did," Gunn replied.
"So you guys own like some huge company or something like that?" Xander asked.
"Wolfram and Hart to be exact," Spike chimed in.
"The evil law firm?" Giles questioned.
"Yup," Spike replied.
"Dear heavens, how did you manage to take over that?" Giles asked.
"We're not quite sure," Wesley answered, "They just offered it to us and we accepted."
"Interesting," Giles said.
"Anyway," Angel continued, "We've been monitoring this demonic activity for the past few months. There is some sort of prophecy, about the attraction of demons to this Hellmouth."
"The Gathering," Giles added.
"Yeah, that one," Angel responded, "The Goddess of Evil is here in Haynesville. And she wants Buffy out of the way so that she can destroy this world."
"Goddess of Evil?" Riley questioned.
"She is one of two gods that helped create the universe. She is the one that created all evil in the universe," Wesley informed.
"Well what do we do?" Gunn asked.
That started a massive argument between everyone. Buffy was getting frustrated and backed away from everyone else. That's when she realized that the loud mouth wasn't there, Kennedy was no where to be seen. She walked up to Willow and tapped her on the shoulder. Willow spun around and followed Buffy. They headed into the other room.
"Where's Kennedy?" Buffy asked.
"Why?" Willow questioned.
"Because I can't have anyone out around town on their own, it's too dangerous. Where is she?" Buffy questioned.
"Axel's place," Willow responded and disappeared back into the other room.
"Axel's place?" Buffy wondered aloud, "What could she be doing there?"
That's when it hit her! She knew why now. Willow had told her something a few weeks back that she had seen Kennedy kissing some guy. It had to be Axel.
She pushed through the crowd and disappeared out the door. No one even noticed that she had gone. She headed out of the apartment complex and dashed down the street towards Axel's place.