"Angel, need your help. Do you know any brainiacs that would help us with a spell?" Buffy asked, getting straight to the point, fighting the babble. Lately, she had been starting to babble around Angel, and she didn't know why. She thought that she was over him. It had been four years, and two boyfriends ago. She'd better be over him. She wasn't sure if she was over Riley, or even Spike, but she was so over Angel.
"Fred," he said, "she knows a lot about sciences and demonic dimensions," he told her, not elaborating further.
"Ok, well, then let her know whats going on, and have her come on up. One more person shouldn't disrupt anything."
"Ok, I'll do that."
Buffy headed upstairs. "Will, we got someone. Angel will take care of it," she told her best friend once she reached her door.
"Okay," Willow murmured, lost in thought. She was trying her hardest to come up with a way that the spell would work. "If I take this out, no, no, that won't work," she mused to herself, "But I can't call the First for Angel and Spike, what if I called the First Vampire? Would that hinder them in any way? What if I took that out, no no. Can't be doing that, they won't be strong enough. What if it took their souls, then returned them after? No, that's just too dangerous. Spike maybe not… Angelus definitly…" Buffy left her friend to figure it out in solitude.
About two hours later, Willow came running down the stairs with a sheet of paper in her hand.
"I've got it!I'VE GOT IT!" she yelled triumphantly. She handed the sheet to Buffy. "It's gonna be dangerous, but we can manage. I think that The Charmed ones should be one group, with Faith, the scoobies should be your group, Buff. Angel, well, just look here, I have it all mapped out!" Buffy looked at the completed chart, Fred's name filling in the blank. The names were color coded to a circle, that was placed strategicly in a square, placed inside a larger circle. A pentagram was lightly scetched through it all, and a symbol that Buffy recognised as a protection symbol as well was around the circles.
"Wow, Will, you're not taking any chances. Are you sure this will work?" she asked, motioning to the symbols.
"I'm certain. Piper gave me the idea of the square inside a circle. The circle will be there figuratiely, it will be a protective circle, with lavender and other protective plants making it up. We don't want anything going wrong. I won't let it, I've spent so much time and energy in this, I just know it has to work!"
"Well, it's getting late, why don't you go take a nap? It's awhile before dark, when we'll gather bofore we train. Go and relax. I promise I won't tell anyone about your hard work until you are there. Go get some rest," Buffy shooed Willow to her room.
"Ok, Will's got a major idea. She modified, with the help of the Charmed Ones, a spell that we've used in the past, a spell to combine our essenses. Will has modified the spell, so that now, instead of only four of us, there will be sixteen of us, and we will do the spell together, and Angel, Spike, Faith and I shall fight this beast, though you will be in us, helping. Girls, Dawn, you won't be helping, because this beast is too dangerous, even for girls trained in fighting. If Angel couldn't touch him, you couldn't either. We will need you in the fight that comes after, though. L.A. has turned into Vampire Town, no sun, and few humans.We will go out in full force, and try to save the town.
"Also, there is one thing I've neglected to tell you. Awhile ago, I had a prophetic dream, of sorts. The turok han that I killed wasn't the last of them, not by a long shot."
"That's impossible odds though. How can the few of us be able to take out that many vampires? Especially if they're ubervamps!" one of the potentials asked over the din at Buffy's announcement. More ubervamps?
"Not with our super fighting force. We'll have souped up slayers, vampires, Riley has a hundred men flying in, all trained for this type of thing, as well as you guys. I don't know exactly how it will work, but the spells have to stay intact for as long as possible. Which means that the spell castors can't be bothered, or we'll lose power given to us through the spell, and we'll be out of the fight for good, because the spell is very draining."
"But that means we'll be out of the action!" Paige cried.
"Yes, unless you'd like to give up your spots, and we can proble find three others to sit in your place. Giles, what about that coven in England? Would they help us, the ones who found the slayers-to-be? Or what about that coven that helped you, well, defeat Willow, would they be willing to help? We need as much magicly inclined people as we can find for this."
"Lorne could help. He's done some stuff, though not of this magnitude."
"Buffy, I've detected a flaw in your plans. How are you to fight both the beast, as well as the Turok Han, when they're in different places? The spell castors have to be near by, even if Willow has souped up the spell, you couldn't be more than three miles away form the castors," Giles pointed out.
"Damn! I knew there was something wrong here! Damn, damn DAMN! Now what! Anybody got any suggestions?"
"Simple, if you have four sets, and two places, simple math. Four divided by two is two. Two groups in Sunnydale, two in L.A," Xander spoke up.
"Xander! Those late night study sessions actully worked out!" Willow cried mock delight, teasing her friend.
"Hey, so I passed math senior year with a 79.6. No big."
"No, that's a great idea, Xander! But, now who stays here, who goes to L.A.?"
"One slayer, one vampire." Spike said.
"Right. But who? The groups are rather well spread out. We couldn't choose by who's in L.A. now, because they're all mixed up."
"I'll go to L.A," Angel said. "It's my town, I feel as if I should protect it."
"So, then, Faith, any prefrececes?"
"Nope. Rock paper scissors?"
"Buffy, I think that you'll be more usful here, unless your sending some of us to L.A., and some stay here," Kennedy spoke up. "We all respect you, even if we don't show it, and we don't know Faith well enough, but we'll do what she says, most of us, anyway. We look up to you."
"Ok, good point. Do we want to split the slayersquad, or what? Angel, it's up to you, we've taken many of your people for the spell, do you think you'll need help?"
"I'm not sure. We really don't have anything on this guy."
"Buffy, what about me?" Leo spoke up for the first time.
"Would any of your whitelighter buddies be willing to help? There are going to be casualties, no matter how careful we are. We'll need people to help heal."
"Ok, let me ask them." He said, and then was silent a moment. "Yeah, they want me anyway. I'll be back, hopefully soon." He kissed Piper and Wyatt then orbed out.
"Ok, well unless we have anything else to discuss, then, girls, Faith, Spike, Angel, training. Giles find anyone you can who would want to help. Cordy, call L.A. See if there is anyone ther who knows anyone who can help us. This is the big time, guys, we're now counting down the days till Armagendon. Paige, Piper, Pheobe, whatever your think you might need, stock up, buy in bulk. I can't help you with cost, sorry, but do whatever you can. I'm no wiccan expert, so just go with what your gut tells you."
"Okay," the sisters said as one, looking from one to the other.
"Girls, come on. Dawn, you can come too. You, as much as I hate it, and mom would kill me, might be needed to help out."
"Ok." Everybody dispersed.
Cemetary"Tonight, we're gonna do something different. We have only bee doing one versus many. But that won't be the case soon. It's going to be many of them, versus few of you. You're all comfortable in small groups. But, for the most part, as slayer, there's only one of you, and a lot of them. This game plan will take longer, but it will be productive," Buffy addressed the girls, pacing in front of them, mostly thinking out loud.
"There are now two vampires, and you're going out alone. You will also be critiqued by your peers, us. Now, only constructive comments, that will help the testee, no rude, or hurtful coments, ok?"
"Yeah, or you'll have me to deal with." Faith spoke up. Many of the girls jumped, they had forgotten she was there. She was leaning up against a masoleum, her tight black leather pants, and her black tanktop blended in with the shadows.
"Faith," Buffy warned. "Tomorrow, I might just stay home, and we could try some other exersises, it all depends on how you do tonight. Angel, Spike, see ya." She watched them run off together. "Now, even though there hasn't been very much activity lately, I hope that you're all prepared. Who knows what's going to happen. You all have your plastic stakes? The ones you didn't use last night? Good. Lets put them to use shall we? Amanda, your first!" Buffy called. Amanda nervously walked form the back of the group, and started off. Being one of the newest, she was rather nervous. She walked through the cemetary, peering into shadows, and into masoleums, but the two vampires were nowhere to be found.
"What now?" She asked.
"Keep searching. They're out there, they're always out there, waiting for the kill." Amanda gulped nervously at this.
"So, who gets to jump the first one, do you want to do the honors?" Spike asked. They were sitting in the shadows right near by where the testee was standing. They could hear her every footstep. "Hey, let's get in that crypt over there, and jump her when she checks it!" Spike said.
"Spike, these Turok han, I've heard of them. They're not gonna wait in a crypt for a slayer to find them, they're gonna hunt them down, the fight would end up on open ground."
"Then what do you suggest, Mr. Hotshot!"
"Jump her from a tree. They won't be expecting it."
"So who gets to?"
"You can jump her from the front, I'll flank you from behind."
"Ok."
"But the next one's mine." So they climbed a tree about forty feet ahead, and waited for their quarry to walk by. Spike jumped first, hitting her, and dragging her to the ground. Angel was close behind. She scrambled up, but she had lost her stake, and she soon lost. Spike grabbed her from behind, and tilted her head back, as if to bite.
"Dead." He proclaimed, and let her go. She immediately scrambled for her stake.
"Problems?" Buffy asked.
"She lost her stake, her weapon," one girl said instantly.
"Too slow in getting up. She would have been dead before she got off the ground," another girl said.
"When would a vamp attack you from a tree?" Kennedy asked.
"Maybe not a tree, too creative, but I've been jumped from walls, roofs, stairs, dumpsters. You always have to be on the lookout. Anything else? Anything she did good, perhaps?"
"She checked every corner, even if she didn't find them."
"She was too uptight, too nervous," Faith announced, leaning against the tree. "Ya gotta loosen up, no tight muscles. All of ya."
"Good point. Ok, Kennedy, you're up next. Learn from Amanda's mistakes, just as she should learn from yours." Once again Angel and Spike ran into the night. This time they tripped the slayer as she was walking by a manhole. She was up quicker than Amanda, and she lasted longer, blocking blow after blow, and got in a few hits as well, but she got swept, and Angel dived on her.
"Another one down."
"Remarks?"
"She was looser."
"She fought with a natural air."
"Ok, but what about things she did wrong?" They all gave an opinnion, and then Buffy asked for the predator's remarks.
"She definitely is spry. She took to heart what happened with Amanda, too much, she was looking at the sky, and not her feet. We expected that, which is why the manhole."
"Good, you have to search everywhere, not just where you were jumped the last time. Ok, we'll finish up here, then we'll head to the streets. See what you do when your being followed." The other girls all took their turns, including Dawn, who fared the best. She was praised, and some were jealous, but she just said it was living with the slayer for eight years, even if she didn't know it.
"Ok, scenario time. It's late at night. You're out walking, where doesn't matter, from it doesn't matter. What are you going to do, if you feel like your being followed? You need to be able to sense when you are. We can't do all of you tonight, but the rest will go tomorrow. Now, some of you might not get followed. Some might, some might get attacked. Remember, it could be you're best friend, your neighbor, or a vampire. Dawn, you went last before, your first. Everybody go with her, except Faith, Angel, and Spike. Don't inhibit her view, watch from across the street. Watch what she does, where she hides, whatever. Hey, Dawn, no pressure. Walk to the Bronze. We'll meet you there." So Dawn started walking. The rest of the girls went across the street, and followed.
"Ok, Spike, go to about half way there, through the sewers, and follow her from there. Angel, shadows. Just tag along, but try not to let her see you. Faith. Try to trap her in an ally. Nobody attack her, unless you get a good opertunity, no going out of your way, only if she screws up major. Just make her feel as if she's being followed, I'm gonna follow the others, make them get the heebie jeebies. The others are also fair targets, they won't be expecting anything, because they're a larger group, and Dawn's the example. Have fun." With that, they all scattered, Spike into the sewers, Angel into the shadows, Faith into the allyways, and Buffy crossed the street, and followed in the shadows of buildings.
Dawn got about half way to the Bronze without any problems, but the others were lagging behind, she couldn't see them in her perephreal vision, and the back of her neck, the hairs kept standing on end. She knew that Buffy had chosen her because she knew a lot about the town's layout. She'd probably choose Amanda next, to give the others fair advantage.
Suddenly, she thought she heard something. But she wasn't sure, she strained, but it didn't come again. A few blocks up, she thought she saw something, but she once again wasn't sure. She saw something out of the corner of her eye, someone dart form one ally to another on the other side fo the street. She didn't bother herself with it, untill it darted across the street, into an ally she had passed a few minutes ago. She could hear footsteps on the hard cement.
Suddenly, from an allyway a few streets ahead, she wasn't sure which one, she heard a scuffle, then a scream. They're just trying to scare you, Dawnie, pull yourself together.
Well, it's definitly working!
She eventually made it to the Bronze, and waited for the others to come. The girls came first, she could hear their chatter and laughter before she could see them. Spike hopped out of a manhole, and Angel materialized out of the shadows soon after. Buffy and Faith strolled up together.
"Comments?" The girls didn't say anything. "Well?" Still nothing. "Did you even pay attention?"
"What was there to pay attention to? She didn't get followed."
"Yeah, then why do I know that you were hoping to get home tonight to see Leanardo DiCaprio in Romeo and Juliet, and you were hoping that we would just hurry up?" Spike asked suddenly. They all looked ashamed.
"I also noted that you guys lagged way behind Dawn, and you were talking and laughing the whole way," Angel said.
"Please tell me he's lying," Buffy said, her voice hard, "But you can't because I heard you as well. You were talking about who was cuter, our Xander or Leonardo." They all hung their heads.
"This is really important, guys! My first night here in Sunnydale, when I was refusing my destiny, I was followed, and it was only because I was aware of it, that I wasn't hurt. And that my stalker was Angel."
"Yeah, her ability to think quickly on her feet," Angel interjected.
"What did she do?" they asked, interested in the slayer's past.
"Should we show them?" Buffy asked, turning to Angel, unsure if she wanted to go down memory lane for these girls. A walk down memory lane tended to hurt too much.
"Why not? Just don't hit me so hard, this time." So they all walked back to Buffy's house, Angel disappeared along the way. Buffy started recreating her walk from that night, seven and a half years ago. She noted that Angel came into the picture in the same place he had so long ago, and she ducked down the same ally. She knew that the girls were right behind her, but they hadn't turned the corner yet. She quickly jumped, and swung her weight up.
When the girls got to the ally, it was empty, they couldn't see her anywhere. Only Spike, Dawn and Faith, either knowing her so well, or knowing what she would do, spotted her on the bar, eighteen feet above the ally. Angel turned into the ally, and spotted her instantly, but for his role, he acted confused and cautious. He walked under her, and readied himself for the impact, and when it came, he was ready. He braced his body perfectly, and wasn't hurt at all. She placed her foot on his chest like she had that night, and began to talk.
"That, on my part, was some quick thinking. I had no clue who he was, or what he wanted. I took the risk that he wasn't just some petty thief, and jumped to the conclusion that he meant me harm. If he had been any other vampire, it would have saved my life. Now, I'm not saying go attacking everybody that follows you, but you have to be aware of your surroundings. Pretty good night. Let's go home and sleep. I have something planned for tomorrow, something different."
Thursday
Buffy called in sick that day for herself, as well as for Dawn and Amanda. She took them out into the backyard, and explained. She thought that what she had planned might be more of something that their watcher's might have done with them, for the watcher's council had made her do it.
She chose two girls, and blindfolded them. She explained that it was time for them to learn to use their other senses. She and Faith attacked one of the girls, not hurting them, too much. After a few rounds, they stopped.
They spent the afternoon by Buffy giving them free time, of sorts. They could spar, weight lift, or shadow box. She even let them use some padded weapons.
"Buffy, I need to speak with you," Riley said, coming up to her while she was inventorying her stock of weapons.
"Still? What is it? I don't have much time! There's a war going on, if you hadn't noticed."
"This is hard for me to say, swallowing my pride and all, Buffy, I'd live to stay in Sunnydale after the battle is over. I miss you terribly, and I want to be apart of your life again."
"What about your wife?" she asked, her emotions carefully guarded, her face blank.
"She's… no longer of the living. She was attacked by a Polgara demon, two months after we came here. She was checking a trap, and it snuck up on her."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Why don't we talk about this, if we win the battle, because if we don't, the First will be dancing on our graves."
Leo came back that afternoon, with a bunch of friends on call. Giles asked him of he would go to England, and pick up some people, so Giles, Leo and Paige spent the day orbing to England and back, bringing some of the coven members willing to help. There were quite a few, and from a few different covens, the ones who helped Willow, and the one's that gave Giles the power, his old, old, old coven, at his university, and the ones who had found the slayers-to-be. These covens had in turn, shared their knowledge about what was going down, as Xander put it, with other covens, so they had about eight covens coming to help out.
"Normally, we keep our own secrets to ourselves," one coven member told Giles after seeing the shock of so many covens working together, "But this is the end of the world, so we let our rules slide for now."
Soon they had enough wiccans to do the spell without anybody else. So everybody gave up their spots, except Xander, Willow, and Giles. They were amandant that they would not give the fate of their slayer, their best friend, to some witches they didn't hardly know. The coven members weren't insulted, they accepted it as fate, and they all started to get ready for the spell they would have to do, to save their lives, and those of the 6 billion people around the world.