1:49 am, Wednesday – Slayer Base HQ

Buffy stumbled into the room and fell from exhaustion.

"Buffy!" Willow yelled.

Giles was in the other room when he heard Willow. He rushed out to see his Slayer a mass of bruised and broken flesh.

"Oh dear Lord," Giles said. "Buffy! Buffy! Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm... alright. I just... need... to rest... a bit," she said, struggling to get the words out.

"Certainly," said Giles. He then helped her take off her jacket as Willow prepared an ice pack and a wet towel to tend to her wounds.

Buffy lay down on the sofa, exhausted from the fight and the walk home. She immediately started to drift asleep.

As Willow gently wiped some of the blood away, Giles hoped that, after a night's rest, Buffy could tell them what happened. He wanted to know how this happened, and more importantly, who was responsible. He wanted to make them pay.


2:15 am, Wednesday – Sara Pezzini's Apartment

Sara had made it to her apartment in one piece, surprisingly. Back at the docks, she approached her bike and slowly walked it for about a half-hour until she felt good enough to ride it. The Witchblade was working overtime to heal her wounds and every step she took was nearly unbearable. She had to work through the late-night crowd on the road, as well as the extreme pain in her wrist making itself known every time she tightened her hand on the handles. But she made it.

The first thing she wanted to do after she locked the door was get an ice pack for her wounds. Turned out the first thing she did was pass out and collapse in a heap onto the floor.


7:42 am, Wednesday – Slayer Base HQ

Buffy's eyes fluttered at the sunlight. Well, one eye fluttered; the other one just kind of waffled due to a swelling that had gone down since last night. On the floor next to her, she found Giles and Willow sound asleep. What would I do without you guys? Buffy thought. Deciding on a hot shower to help soothe things, she made her way toward the bathroom. She wanted the grime, grit, and blood off of her before starting a new day.

Buffy let the heated water run over her skin. It stung in some places, but mostly felt like ecstasy. She let the remnants of last night's... experience... wash away.

After pruning up considerably, she patted herself gently with a towel and put on her robe. Hobbling on her still-sore knee, she exited the bathroom and woke Giles and Willow.

"Hey guys," she said.

Willow was the first to awaken. Rubbing her eyes, she poked at Giles. "Giles, Buffy's awake!"

Giles awoke groggily. "Huh, what... Oh, Buffy! You're up!" He shot up and hugged her in his enthusiasm.

"Ow! Ow! Knee! Knee!" exclaimed Buffy.

"Oh, sorry about that," Giles said sheepishly. "How are you feeling?"

"Still sore in too many places, but ready to start the day."

Giles went into the kitchen to prepare some tea for them all, in particular for Buffy, who probably needed it the most. As he turned on the stove he asked, "So what happened last night?"

Buffy took in a deep breath. "Well, I got a tip from Willy the Snitch." She saw their jaws drop in surprise. "Yeah, he's working for his cousin at a bar," she said. "Anyway, I got a tip that a warehouse was being used by weird types and I went to check it out. That's when I felt something. I felt it on the plane when we were getting ready to land."

"You felt something when you arrived?" Giles asked.

"Well, it was actually more like feeling... a reaction. Yeah, that's it. It was more like a reaction, a reaction to my presence."

"Like a mystical feedback," Giles replied. "Interesting..."

"Interesting?" Buffy inquired. "Giles, whatever it was, it wasn't 'interesting'. I could tell you what this thing thought of me: it hated me." Giles and Willow looked at Buffy in a subdued surprise.

Continuing she said, "Well, anyway, I brought out my scythe and soon as I turned the corner it met with some kind of sword. There was this blast and we both flew back. We started fighting in the warehouse and I got a good look at the figure through the moonlight. It was a woman sporting a funky metal glove."

"Like the Glove of Myhnegon?" Willow asked. They had all remembered Gwendolyn Post, a.k.a. the now-dead evil ex-Watcher, and her little excursion into Sunnydale to find said glove. The idea of another one out there gave her disturbed her.

"Well, it looked like it," said Buffy. "But it didn't sport any lightning bolts coming at me head on. More like a retractable sword."

"Retractable sword?" Giles said, as if trying to recall something.

"Yeah. Know anything about it, Giles?" Buffy asked.

"I believe I heard about something like that once before," he responded as he was searching through his books. ""Ugh, this is so frustrating. If the Council's library was still intact we might be able to find some reference to it."

"Do you think it could be our killer?" asked Willow.

"Could be," replied Buffy. "Then again, it could be the ubiquitous, super-powered lackey. You know how the Big Bads always seem to have one lying around."

"Well, can you tell us anything else about her?" Giles asked after giving up on his texts.

Buffy continued. "Only that she was strong. Or at least the glove was. And she fought like delivering pain wasn't just a side hobby. We tumbled out of the second floor window. She landed in the water, but I couldn't see her. I decided to head back in the get my stuff and get a quick look around before coming home."

"Well, maybe we'll have better luck than you had last night. I wanted to go talk to the president of the Wicca group those twins were in. Her address is listed in the student directory. I figured since the cops probably got to her already, we could avoid any problems," said Willow.

"Let me get dressed and we'll head over there," Buffy said. "I want to start walking on this knee before I head out again." Her stomach growled as she stood. "Right after some food."


9:10 am, Wednesday - 11th Precinct

Sara Pezzini arrived at work with sunglasses over her eyes. She had awakened around 7:20 am from her somewhat sound slumber on the floor of her apartment. Taking a look in the mirror she had hoped that a cold shower and a raw steak to the face would alleviate any swelling and bruising. They did, if only a little. Luckily, she found her wrist was only sprained; it still hurt like hell. She found some spare sports tape for it and wound up the busted wrist. The Witchblade hadn't made much progress in healing her. Normally it would have been much quicker, but to her it seemed to be taking its sweet time in repairing her. She wondered, as she got ready, if it just felt like acting that way.

She knew Jake and Danny would ask about the injuries; that was a given. She was just hoping Dante wasn't around. She knew what to expect if he was: he'd notice her wounds and make some smart-ass remark and she'd stuff down trying not to hit him, thus raising her blood pressure and thereby making her headache even worse.

She saw Danny and Jake sitting near Danny's desk going over some of case files. She quickly made it over to her desk and sat down. Taking off her sunglasses, Sara opened her drawer discreetly, hoping they wouldn't notice for a couple of minutes.

"Pez, what the hell happened?" Jake asked. So much for that notion.

Sara winced. "Fell off my bike last night." She had rehearsed that six-word answer on her way to the precinct. It had sounded better in her head.

"Fell off your bike, huh?" asked Danny, unconvinced.

"Yeah," she replied, giving Danny her patented 'look'. Danny knew that look; it was the look that said it was best to move on to another subject.

Understanding she didn't want to talk about what really happened, he merely said, "Oookaay... Anyway, me and Jake been going over these files. We compiled a list of possible victims from NYU, SUNY, you name it. The colleges are easy since the clubs there have e-mail lists of members. Outside of the schools is a different story; people don't just advertise about being a witch and all. But we got a few hits. We're still perusing the stuff, but it's going to take some time. Want to help?"

"Nah, I want to check out the president of the club over at NYU; she might have gone home last night," said Sara. Sara got her keys ad got up from her desk, determined to get out of the building. She didn't want, nor need, any more questions about last night. There was also a second reason for her rush: she wanted to get to a local drugstore to pick up some aspirin.

"Pez, you need any help on this one?" Jake asked.

"Nope."

"Well, make sure you get yourself checked out, okay? Don't need you having a closed head injury or anything," Jake said.

"Got it, McCartey," Sara said rushing out.

"Wait, Pez!" Danny said rushing up to her.

"What is it?" she said in an annoyed voice.

"Sara, are you all right?"

"Look, I'm fine. I just fell off my bike," she replied.

"If you're in some sort of trouble..."

"Danny, don't worry about it, alright? Look, I've got to get the Carlson place. I'll see you later, OK?" she said before hurrying out.

Danny just watched her leave, feeling helpless. She was always so guarded. Walking back to his desk he looked at Jake, who looked back at him with concern in his eyes. With a sigh, they turned back to their work.


9:15 am, Wednesday – Apartment Building of Dana Carlson

After a light breakfast Buffy, Willow, and Giles made it over to Dana's apartment building. It was an old building, somewhat run-down. Still, it had charm. Buffy pressed the buzzer, hoping the girl was in.

"Who is it?" a voice answered curtly.

"Um, Dana? Hi, you don't know me, but my friends and I wanted to talk to you about something," Buffy said.

"Go away," the voice said.

"Look, we know what's going on and we need your help. We just want to ask you some questions and then we'll be on our way," Buffy replied.

"You cops?" the voice asked.

"No," Buffy said.

"Then go away."

Buffy was defeated. She could have just pummeled her way up there, but she wanted to be as diplomatic as possible. Just when she had given up, Willow spoke on the intercom.

"Look, Dana. I know what's been happening. I'm a practitioner too and we just want to help. Your friends were more than friends to you; they were sisters. I know what it's like to lose a good friend all too well, and I know you're hurting. But with your help, we might be able to catch this guy. We just want to talk for a little while. What do you say?"

After a few seconds of silence that seemed like an eternity, the door buzzed and unlocked.

"Thanks, Will," Buffy said, as they headed in.

They made it up to the apartment and knocked on the door. "She placed some wards on the place. Pretty good ones, too," Willow said, impressed. The door opened and Dana stood there, her eyes showing signs of crying.

"Hey, Dana," Buffy said.

"Hey," was all Dana replied. "Come on in."

All three of them made their way in. As Willow entered, Dana sensed her power, flowing with goodness. "Wow, that's some power you've got there," she said. Willow just smiled. Giles, in his polite British way, said, "Thank you for having us, Ms. Carlson. We know this is a difficult time for you."

"Kyrie and Kelly were my some of my best friends. I want this guy found," she said angrily.

"Did they mention anyone following them, anyone weird?" Buffy asked.

"No. If someone was they never mentioned it. But they did tell me something strange a few days ago. They said they both felt something, something powerful and evil. They also said that they saw glimpses of it, like parts of a movie trailer in their heads. Being as talented and powerful as they were I didn't deny it, but I never felt it myself. Now I wish I had."

"Did they say anything about this evil, any clue as what it is?" Willow asked.

"They said something about 'the power of five', about it bringing something dark and evil into the world. That 'the strength of five' would soon show itself and that I'd best prepare for it. I didn't tell the others because I didn't want to start a panic, in case the twins were mistaken. I've been researching since last night after getting materials for my wards, but I've come up with nothing."

"Five could be anything," said Willow. "Five people, five items, five... hearts."

"Five hearts? I didn't know the details of the murder. I just went to get the materials for my wards," Dana said. "That explains that murder on Monday!"

"Then there was Ms. Valakesh a few weeks ago, and now the twins. One more and the big evil is going to make its way here," said Buffy.

"We've got to find this person quickly," said Giles. "They might have already chosen their next victim."

"How are we going to find him, Giles? We'd have to locate every living, powerful witch in New York. And Dana's just number one on that list,"said Buffy.

"We could do a locator spell, but I would have to get the materials," Willow said. She would already have some of her stuff with her, but her supply had been dwindled because of Sunnydale's demise. Add to that the fact that sage looked a lot like marijuana and you weren't likely to get far in an airport.

"Well, we'll have to work quickly then and try and find the most likely targets," said Giles. "Ms. Carlson, keep yourself in this room and don't go out tonight. Strengthen the wards if need be, but be ready to leave if they get past them." Dana just nodded.

As Buffy and Giles left the apartment, Willow touched Dana's arm and said, "Thanks a lot, Dana." Catching up with Buffy and Giles, they started talking about what their next move would be.


9:31 am, Wednesday – Apartment Building of Dana Carlson

Sara had arrived at the building and proceeded to go up to Dana's apartment. She had made her way in by one of the tenants who was on his way out. Walking up the steps she was glad the aspirin had kicked in when it did as her head was aching again, like a brass section was rehearsing 'Ride of the Valkyries' in her cranium. Focusing on the pain, she faintly heard a group of people talking. As she ascended the steps, Sara felt the same sensation she had felt last night, and just as strong. She stopped and looked. There at the top of the steps she caught sight of the last person she expected to see.

"You!" the young woman yelled.

"You!" Sara exclaimed.

The Witchblade came to life.