The driveway of the "Academy" was long, longer than it had any right to be, Buffy thought. But the grounds were large, large enough to hide the training that the slayers had to go through. Secluded enough to deter even the most determined spy. Though God help any who braved the woods, to approach.
"So this is where you lay your hat these days? Very nice I must say. But what happened to my invite to the housewarming?" Spike was only half joking.
"Well, you were dead. Or at least, more dead than usual anyway. And Angel was in charge of Satan's own law firm. When things like that happen, I kind of score people of my speed dial." Buffy's retort had a sugar icing that was her smile.
"Wow! You live here now? This is even bigger than my dad's old place in Sunnydale. Speaking of which, don't piss of the I.R.S." Cordelia looked in awe at the sprawling estate as it flew past the windows of the minivan.
"I've never really asked, but I think Kennedy's dad may own the I.R.S. Buffy said playfully, knowing deep down that Cordy still felt bitter about her fall from Grace, just weeks before graduation.
As the van pulled to a halt at the main door of the building, Buffy could see a welcoming committee had gathered. Spike could recognise many of them from his time spent with Buffy and the potential slayers. There was Rona, standing ahead of the other girls, stone faced and angry looking, as usual.
As they exited the car they all heard Willows telepathic broadcast, "Come to the library ASAP." Spike shook his head till the ringing stopped.
"Spike, you really are alive! Kind of." One of the girls ran to him and hugged him.
"Yeah, Rachel, I'm alive. Hello Maggie."
Spike stared at the slayer.
"Uhm, hi Spike. Well, err, I've
been elected spokesperson and we kind of want to apologise for what
we did in L.A. But you have to admit, working for Wolfram and Hart?
They were just the wrong side of the good/evil divide, we couldn't
be sure you weren't like, bad again." She spoke so fast, almost
tripping over her own words.
"It's OK. Though to be honest, I never really worked for them. Did I?" He looked at Angel.
"Well I never signed any contracts with you. I didn't want you to think you were wanted." Angel's reply was a little more bitter sounding than his usual halfhearted comebacks. But Spike chose to ignore it.
"Hey Blondie." Rona stepped up to Spike, "How's you?" Her face erupted into a beaming smile. Her shining white teeth glowed from her ebony face. Spike couldn't help but smile back.
"Been better, been worse. You know how it is. I think.whoof." Spike stopped suddenly, as did Angel. At the front door of the building. Buffy was already half way down the hall and didn't notice. "Hey, Buff! Kinda need an invite here."
Buffy turned. "You know, I almost forgot that. Come on it, both of you." Angel smiled as he crossed the threshold and began to follow Buffy down the hallway. Buffy pushed open the double doors of the library, and was immediately knocked off her feet, as someone flew over her and jumped onto Angel. "What the hell?" She was on her feet again in an instant and trying to get a grip on the situation. She saw Angel, fighting with, with, her!
"Angelus. The other Buffy hissed as she punched and kicked at Angel. Now Anya pushed past Buffy.
"Anya?" Buffy shouted.
"Calm down Buffy." This is Angel, not Angelus. Anya turned to Giles, "this is Angel right? 'Cos if it's Angelus, she can start hitting him again."
"No, no. It's quite safe to have her stop now. This is Angel." Giles responded as the more feral Buffy now stalked towards him, he backed away cautiously.
"Giles? Not dead?" The extra dimensional Buffy grabbed Giles in bear hug, and he almost couldn't breathe. "Oh, I missed Giles. All better now. Giles is here."
"Just what the hell is going on here? Who is she? Why does she look like me? Why is she crushing my watcher?" Buffy looked around in exasperation. "And are you alive again? Or are you another echo sent by the powers that be?" The final two questions were aimed at Anya. Anya tried to smile sweetly. She failed.
"Buffy. Or Buffy's to be more accurate." Willow stepped in between 'her' Buffy and the others. "This Anya, and Buffy come from another dimension. One that's already been destroyed by the Pain entity. They came here to help us stop it before it takes our world the same way." Willow stopped for a moment as though to double-check her facts in her head before continuing. "I see you've brought someone back from the dead too, hi Cordy." Cordelia waved from her position, firmly ensconced as she was, behind Angel.
The mutual explanations took almost an hour, during which Buffy2, as Willow had christened her, had not strayed more than two feet from Giles' side. "So," Willow concluded, "we currently have on our side. An army of slayers, two Buffy's a reformed vengeance demon, a higher being, a Wiccan, a watcher, two ensouled vampires, a demi-goddess, and a whole lot of books to study. I don't think this thing has a hope in Hades of beating us." Willow's words were more up beat than she actually felt, but morale was waning, she could sense it. This thing, this Pain, had the Powers that be, worried. It had destroyed other dimensions. They were the last line of defence, and she couldn't bring herself to believe that they stood a chance.
"Slight correction there Will, I'm not a higher being, I just have the knowledge of one." Cordelia corrected. "At least I think so. I can kind of heal people, so I don't really know."
"I think, it might be best if we retired for the evening. Perhaps, in the morning things will seem clearer, and we can begin to formulate a plan of action." Giles found his suggestion greeted with near unanimous approval. Especially from Buffy2, who smiled and nodded at his every word. So much so that Giles began to feel a little uncomfortable.
Willow had thought ahead and already had some spare rooms set up for the guests, as everyone retired for the night, she took Buffy aside. "Are you OK Buffy?"
"Yeah, sure. Kind of, I think so. I don't know Will. I had the weirdest dream. I managed to catch a few zzzz's on the plane, and I dreamt that I was back in Sunnydale, killing Angel again. But it felt different from any dream I've ever had."
"Was it one of your 'prophecy dreams'?" Willow asked.
"I hope not. I don't know if I can go there again. But Giles is right, it'll look better in the morning." Buffy smiled at her friend. It was an empty smile; she and Willow both knew it. But the attempt showed promise.
3 a.m. The Academy.
The scream woke everyone in the building. So loud and piercing was it, that no one could ignore it. The main hall quickly filled with people wanting to see what was happening. But once they saw, they wished they hadn't.
"Rona." Buffy whispered, she had been one of the first to arrive. She hadn't been sleeping, just restlessly turning on her bed. She had found the young slayer draped on the wall, hanging by her wrists from two light fittings. Her dark skin was wan and lifeless. Two puncture wounds on her neck stood out against her near flawless unmarked skin. The worst part though, was what was written on the wall next to her. Written in Rona's own blood. The words, 'Pain has arrived'. "I want everyone ready for action. We have an intruder, I want them found and I want them in a dustpan." Almost immediately girls were running off to their rooms to dress and arm themselves. "I want to know who did this and how they got in." Buffy shouted again, as she worked to free Rona's hands from the ropes binding her to the light fixtures.
"I'd say we already have a good idea who it was Buffy." Kennedy's voice rang out from the top of the stairs. Buffy turned to look at her, stood next to Willow. The witch's head cradled on her shoulder as she wept. "We have two vamps on the premises. I think they're our suspects."
Buffy looked to Angel and Spike. She knew Kennedy was right, she just hoped that she wasn't. "I want you two in the cellar, where we can keep an eye on you. If we don't find any sign of a break in. One of you will be dust. So help me God."
"Spike? How could you?" Angel turned and punched Spike hard. Spike turned his head back to face Angel, his vampiric features on show, he punched back.
"It wasn't me." Spike punched Angel again, square in the face, as Angel's features also twisted to display his teeth. "I've still got my soul. I would never hurt her." Spike punched again, and again. "Buffy2 was right, you are Angelus. You murdering sod."
Kennedy pushed her way in between the two vampires. "That's enough." One of you did it. I'd gladly let you dust each other, but I'd rather we just got the one who did it. So I can dust you myself."
No one noticed, but Buffy had closed her eyes. She knew that the other Buffy had taken on the demons power when the shadow men offered it. She now wondered if it had given her an insight that she herself lacked. She now tried to tap into that, to see if she too could get a sense of who had killed one of 'her girls'. She got her answer. Like a cry in the ether, she heard a plaintive voice. "Angel. Back away. Now." Buffy strode towards her erstwhile lover, fierce determination on her face. "Why did you do it? Why?" Angel turned to her.
"Why not?" He laughed as he grabbed Kennedy and bolted for the door. Kennedy struggled hard against his grip, but it was vice like in its strength. Stronger than any vampire she had fought before. Lightning filled the air around him.
"Let her go Angelus!" Willow had appeared between Angel and his means of escape. Glowing white with energy, her hair and skin radiating light.
"I don't think so Willow, you see, if you cast a spell in my direction, there's a risk of it hitting your baby. You don't want to lose another one in the crossfire do you?" Willow hesitated, and it was all the time Angel needed to bolt through the doorway, dragging Kennedy as he went.
They were enveloped in the surrounding darkness before anyone could catch them.
Willow fell to her knees, pain and fear filled her heart.
In the ether, a fearsome voice laughed.
Just before sunrise, they found her. Huddled in foetal ball, some half mile from the school. She was dazed, weak, and she'd been bitten.
The call had gone out to the main building and Buffy and Willow were heading off in the direction of Kennedy. Xander was helping Dawn get the infirmary ready for use. "So, why d'ya think he left her alive?" Dawn looked at Xander as he set out bandages and gauze for use when Kennedy was brought in.
"I have no idea Dawnie, maybe she put up too much of a fight? Maybe he thought he'd killed her. We'll know, when Kennedy is strong enough to tell us." They could hear the commotion from downstairs, "I think they're back." Xander rushed to the door and opened it to allow the patient and her entourage entrance to the small, but well stocked sickbay.
Buffy entered first, still on guard, still edgy. Willow followed sweat on her brow as she concentrated on something. Dawn wondered what she was doing, until she saw Kennedy floating in through the open door. Willow had levitated her all the way back, powerful though she was; it was still taxing her powers and taking all of her concentration. Kennedy floated to the bed that had been prepared for her and gently she floated on to it. Willow at last gave out a gasp and staggered backwards, Xander, her forever friend was at her back to catch her. He helped her to one of the large chairs in one of the corners of the room. Dawn decided to put her 6-month course in first aid into practice and began ministering to Kennedy's wounds. She prioritised the bites on her neck first of all, the blood was still flowing freely from the wound, using some gauze strips and antiseptic she began to clean the bite. Kennedy winced at the stinging touch of the antiseptic lotion, then, as though realising what was happening, she relaxed again.
"Willow, when you feel up to it, do you think you and Giles can cast the de-invitation spell? I don't want him back in here. We'll get him, but it'll be on our terms." Willow, whose eyes had never left the prone form of her lover now looked at Buffy and nodded.
"Give me a couple of minutes, and I'll get right on it." Willow smiled; it was a shallow smile, a smile tinged with relief.
"Oh no you won't." Xander tried his masterful voice on Willow. "You're taking some serious time out after that levitation trick. You had 6 slayers with you; you think one of them couldn't have carried her back here? They are all kinda strong you know?" Xander was only half serious, but he was looking at Willow's pale complexion and was genuinely concerned.
Willow's wan smile opened up to reveal a genuine teethy smirk, "And then who would have protected us if it had been a trap?"
"Me." A voice from the doorway made everyone jump. Buffy2 stood there, well, skulked there at least. "I followed all the way. No sense of evil, long gone I think."
"Once I've completed the de-invitation spell, we need to get you using full sentences." Willow, looked at both Buffy's. Her smirk widened to a full smile.
"Willow?" The weak voice came from the bed. Willow was on her feet and at the bedside before Xander could even react.
"I'm here sweetie, don't worry. I'm right here." Willow took Kennedy's hand as though to prove her words to the slayer.
"I fought him, every step of the way." Kennedy gasped, "I punched, kicked, even scratched him. How girly is that eh? Then he stopped, and he bit me. It was a weird feeling, like my life flowing out of me, you know?" Across the small room, both Buffy's nodded. "He must have thought I was dead. He just dropped me right there. Said something about teaching her a lesson. Did he mean me? Or you." Kennedy's voice grew weaker as she began to lose consciousness. "Buffy?" She whispered, Buffy drew nearer to hear what Kennedy was saying. "Find him for me. Kick his ass." Was all she said as she finally lost the fight against sleep.
"We will." Was all Buffy said, as she laid a hand on Kennedy's arm as if to seal the agreement.
"We might need to call a Doctor in the morning." Dawn said to Willow, "She's lost a lot of blood, she might need a transfusion or something." Willow nodded in agreement.
"Right, onto the spell to keep him out." Willow strode to the door. "If she wakes up, let me know, OK? I'll be in the library with Giles." It was Dawns turn to nod silently.
Two hours later, the spell had been cast, Buffy and Willow had walked around the house, burning the required herbs and Willow making the appropriate chants as they walked.
The two friends now sat in the library with Giles and Spike. "So any ideas how long he's been Angelus? I'm fairly sure he was Angel in London, did anything happen on the flight?" Buffy looked at Giles and Spike.
"Well apart from the most appalling nightmare, no." Giles replied
"I had a nightmare too." Buffy replied. She looked at Spike, "you too?"
"Spike nodded. "Yeah, a flashback to an event I'd rather have forgotten."
"That's how it works. It's not got much power right now, it's drained after jumping dimensions, and so it influences people to become its servants. It makes them relive their greatest painful memories, with ever so subtle changes, just to make it more painful." The group turned and saw Anya standing in the doorway. "I'd guess that one of Angel's most painful memories involved Angelus, and that was his doorway back."
"Mine involved him too." Giles said in a hushed whisper. "I had just discovered Jenny." He faltered slightly as he recalled the events of the nightmare. "But this time, Angelus was still there, playing with her, her corpse as though it were a toy. Mocking and laughing all the time. I was powerless, I couldn't move, I could only watch." Giles stopped recounting the dream and closed his eyes, as though talking about it had brought the images back again, the pain was etched on his face.
"Mine too." Buffy replied, in part to break the painful silence of the room, and partly to divert her watcher from his obvious pain. "It was just as I was killing Angel. I stuck the sword in him, and he laughed. He pulled on the sword and it slid into him even further. The portal had closed, but he was still there, laughing, and he spoke to me, he said 'gotta do better than that.' Then I woke up.
Knowing how painful that event had been the first time around, Willow changed the subject. "OK, so it struck first. It took out Angel, and hit us with Angelus. Now we need to deal with the situation."
"Right Will. I'll double the patrols tonight. If he does decide to come back, we'll have to be ready for him." Buffy seemed to shift slightly, gone was the morose girl who had sat there moments ago, now she was THE slayer again. She knew what needed to be done, and she knew how to do it.
"I'll try and get a hold of an orb of Thesala. We could re-ensoul him?" Willow hadn't really intended it to end up as a question, but it hung in the air as Buffy considered it.
"OK, Willow, you do that, but if he attacks before you're ready, we'll take him down the old fashioned way."
"Buffy?" Giles asked, "Are you sure you would be able to do it? Kill him I mean?"
"If he's stupid enough to leave me no choice, then I will."