"Joe? You there? Joe?" Methos entered Joe's apartment and looked around for signs that the watcher was home. The immortal buzz was sometimes both a blessing and a curse as if this were Duncan or Richie's place he would be able to feel weather they were home without having to resort to opening the door and looking around.

"I'm over here," Joe's head poked its way out from the kitchen. "What's up?"

"Do you still have that book on you?" He didn't have to tell him what book

"Yea, it's over there on the coffee table. I was going through it last night trying to find some way of beating this guy without asking the kid to fight him." He sighed defeatedly, indicating it hadn't been accomplished. Nevertheless, Methos asked anyway.

"Anything?"

"Nothing man, I'm sorry." Joe said with a sad shake of his head.

"It doesn't make any sense!" Methos burst out angrily. "Why do this to her? Why would the guardians make a prophecy like that? It's bad enough the slayer has no choice but to fight and die young, why make her potentially an evil?"

"I dunno man, I wish I had the answers." Joe said honestly. "She going to fight him?"

"She's not sure yet." Methos admitted. "But she can't…I won't let her fight until we have some sort of backup plan. If she becomes a danger Joe, then believe me when I say we will wish we had let Klossen live instead."

"I hear you man, but what can we do? I mean, he's too strong for you and Mac to fight." The frustration in Dawson's voice was palpable.

"I have an idea, but I need you to do some research for me." Methos told him. "I need you to find out, if it will be possible for me to take her head."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, none of us can take Klossen's head, correct?" Joe nodded and Methos went forth with his theory. "He's too strong. His quickening would contain too much power. My guess is if anybody BUT the slayer took his head it would only spread the evil, am I right?"

"You are, which is why I don't see how you'd be able to take her head if she became a danger. She'd be even more powerful." Joe shook his head as if to answer the question more fully. "No, I don't think it would be possible."

"Hear me out Joe, just for a second." Methos insisted. He was sure enough of his theory, but he needed Dawson to help prove him right. "The quickening she receives is going to be pretty powerful. And I can tell you from experience that they leave regular immortals weak and dazed afterwards for quite some time…not up to our full strength at all. If my theory is correct, than she'll be weakened afterwards even longer than that…physically anyway. If she's affected negatively by Klossen's quickening than her soul will be gone right away. But her power…well that will take a little while to kick in."

"It's possible," Joe acknowledged. "I could look it up, try to figure a little more out. But how will you know if she's still her or not?"

"I think I'm the only one that will know," Methos said quietly. "I'm the only one that…I'll know. And I'll be there to incapacitate her somehow after the fight. I'm guessing I'll only have about a day or so before the power kicks in. I think I could take her head before that happens and survive it."

"Maybe," Joe murmured. "But Methos if you're wrong…you've done great evil before. Are you willing to take the risk that it could force you to do it again?

"Look Joe, either way we're talking something that could be of dark quickening proportions. I'm your best bet when it comes to resisting." He smiled ironically. "Oddly enough it's that evil inside of me that would make me your best candidate. Duncan is too good, too noble. The temptation would be too great…we saw what happened before. I on the other hand…well I've seen it before, done it before without another power influencing me to do so. I don't have the drive, or the thirst for blood anymore…I know how it feels and I'm the least likely to be tempted."

"That's assuming we're right about the power taking time to assert itself." Joe reminded him. "I don't like planning like this Methos, it feels wrong."

"She doesn't want to become a danger Joe." Methos assured him. "It's what terrifies her the most. Believe me, if I can come up with a way to eliminate that possibility…I think she will fight."

"Is that what you want?" Joe questioned gently. Methos didn't like the look in the watcher's eyes. It was obvious he sensed the depth of his feelings and that made him feel vulnerable, a feeling he tried at all costs to avoid.

"What I want Joe, is for her to be safe." He told him with a sigh. "But I know that won't happen. I want to do whatever I can, however small for her."

"She could still die Methos," Joe pointed out. "All this is hinging on what happens if she wins, she could also lose. We have to be prepared for that."

"Well, if my theory proves true, than I should be able to take Klossen's head the same way right?" He bit his lip thoughtfully. "I mean, I can't take it now…he's too powerful, but if he takes her quickening…it should weaken him the same way. Either way, the quickening is our best bet. But I need to know. I need you to find out for me."

"I'll do my best man." Joe promised him. "Where is she now?"

"Back at my place." Methos said casually, hoping Joe couldn't here the relief in his voice. Her time at Richie's had been nerve wracking in a way he couldn't describe. Every second he worried for her safety and he hated the feeling. "She's taking some time to decide what to do, but without a contingency plan in place, I won't let her do anything. Be quick about it OK Joe? This is too important."

"I'll be in touch." Joe said as he watched the other man get up and leave the apartment. Poor guy, he thought to himself.

Buffy was training with Duncan again at his dojo within a day or so. She said nothing to Methos, Duncan, Richie or Joe about whether or not she actually intended to fight Klossen, but instead chose to take things one step at a time. She had fallen behind on her sword training and if she didn't work extra hard, it wouldn't matter what might happen should she beat Klossen, because he'd end up taking her head and instead. Methos had attempted to ask her if she had made her decision when she announced she'd be going to Duncan's, but all she had been able to tell him was that she would jump off that bridge when she came to it. Methos did not see the humour.

Despite everything weighing on her, she felt lighter somehow. Methos' promise not to allow her to become a danger had relieved her. She didn't know how he would do it, and it really didn't matter if neither did he. She knew he would find a way and that was enough. She had her suspicions that he had an idea and had enlisted Joe in working out the finer details, but he would tell her nothing so she had finally given up asking.

He willingly came with her to Duncan's though, throwing a renewed effort into her training that had been lacking in the recent weeks due to the information they had received. She still couldn't beat him, but she was getting better. Every time he bested her, she learned something about the way he moved, the way he fought. She knew she would never learn everything, for he had been around far too long, but she knew much already about his more clever tricks.

It was necessary to develop cunning and skill as well as work on her strength. That much had to be done alone, for neither Duncan nor Methos were as strong as she was. Thankfully Duncan had a full bodied punching bag that he willingly filled with a heavier substance to make it more difficult for her to hit. Richie had offered earlier to be a human punching bag as his immortal wounds would heal, but she refused to take him up on it, despite Methos' rather earnest insistence that the kid had finally come up with a good idea. Immortal he may be, but that didn't mean she could kick the crap out of him even if it was for a good cause.

She had to suppress her strength when fighting Methos however, for it would be too easy to simply knock him over than to avoid the cut of his blade. She had gotten nicked and sliced a few times and although slayers healed quickly, she did not heal as fast as immortals. More than once she found herself taking a time out to apply first aid to a wound.

At one such point, Methos came over and sat next to her, watching her wince as she applied the rubbing alcohol to the cut.

"You even going to apologize?" She snapped, venting her frustration at losing the last fight at him.

"Why should I apologize for winning?" He responded, unaffected by the anger in her voice. "If anyone should apologize it should be you. That last fight was a complete waste of my time."

"YOUR time!" She exclaimed. "Nobody asked you to be here Methos! You could just as easily be lounging in Joe's and mooching off beer if this is really that trying for you."

"You know I didn't mean it that way," he amended which was the closest she supposed she would get to an apology, at least from him. "Pardon me if I'm on edge, but we haven't heard anything of Klossen lately and that's just not very settling. It's not right for him to allow you this time to train. What's he doing? Where is he?"

"Will I fight him when he does show?" She finished for him.

"I wasn't going to say that."

"No, but you were thinking it." She sighed and stared at him before taking a band-aid out of the box and beginning to open it. "It's a fair question, but the answer is I just don't know. Until you have a plan in case the worst happens…"

"I'm working on it," he promised, taking the band-aid from her and applying it with extreme gentleness to her arm. It took her by surprise as tenderness was not a quality that he generally displayed outside of his apartment and even then it was rare. Duncan was heading there way, having seen the two of them sitting together which caused Buffy to realize just how close a friendship the two really had despite their constant teasing of one another. God how I miss Willow and Xander, she thought wistfully.

"You ready to try again?" Duncan was asking her. She took a deep breath and nodded, banishing all thoughts of the Scooby gang and her old life as she stood up once more and took the sword given to her.

Methos took a stance in front of her, readying himself for the fight when the phone rang, startling all three of them. Methos watched as Duncan answered it, then turned to him.

"It's for you," he informed them as he took Methos' sword and replaced it with the phone. "Joe."

"Hey Joe," Methos said into the receiver. He turned from them, not wanting to allow them to see his face as they conversed. Even though he was an expert at shielding emotions and reactions, he didn't want to take the chance that Duncan might be able to read him.

"I did that checking that you wanted me to do," Joe told him without any delay. "Now, I'm only about ninety percent certain, but if that's enough for you than your theory should be correct."

"You mean if she were weak enough…"

"Then you could take her head and keep your soul, such as it is, in tact." Joe's voice was dead-pan, letting Methos know that he wasn't happy with the idea, but it was all they had. It would have to do. They couldn't allow Klossen to run around unchecked.

"Thanks Joe."

"Duncan isn't going to like this." Joe reminded him. "He'll want to be the one to do it, you know that. He's not going to trust you to…"

"To be able to handle it?" Methos finished for him, a rueful grin on his face. "Believe me, I know that. I'll convince him Joe, don't worry. Thanks for doing the research."

"You be careful OK?" Joe said somewhat gruffly. "Train her well. She's just a girl…"

"I know Joe," Methos told him softly. "They all are."