Night Falls
Notes: Thanks for the reviews.
Previously:
"Faith, Kennedy, Willow, Colleen, Maria, Annabelle, Molly, and Vi are going to the school. We don't want you to engage. We just want you to look around, find out what they have there. The only way I want a fight is if they discover you or if you find a girl," Buffy instructed. "The rest of you will stay here with me. Spike and I will find a Bringer and kidnap him. We'll bring him back here and the questioning will begin. Faith, I want you to lead your team. Kennedy, you're her second in command."
Chapter Twenty-Five:
"Do you ever have a feeling…like things just aren't right? Like things are very suddenly and unexpectedly going to turn very wrong?" Dawn whispered, looking over at Hailey with pleading eyes.
"Sometimes," Hailey replied, looking away, unnerved. "Why?"
"I'm having one right now," Dawn said.
"It's just a feeling," Hailey answered.
"It wasn't just a feeling the night that you and Faith arrived," Dawn shot back. "I felt a shift in the energy. Something power was coming and I could feel it. Something more than just a Slayer."
"What do you feel now?" Hailey asked, intrigued.
"Darkness. It's like there's something black and oily running through my veins instead of blood. I can almost taste it," Dawn answered, her eyes far away. She shuddered.
"Maybe you're right, maybe something bad is going to happen tonight," Hailey replied. "We're spread pretty bloody thin. But Buffy will be back soon."
"Not soon enough," Dawn said matter-of-factly. Giles, having noticed their conversation in the midst of the silence that hung over the rest of the girls, moved over to the wall they were both leaning against.
"What is it?" He asked, looking earnestly at Dawn.
"She's feeling something," Hailey replied almost flippantly, but with enough sincerity to make Giles believe that she actually believed.
"What are you feeling?" Giles asked softly and patiently. Dawn looked up into his kind eyes and sighed.
"Something's going to go wrong," she said. "That's all I know. I just feel that something terrible is going to happen."
"To us?" Giles asked, ignoring the chill that ran up and down his back.
"Maybe," Dawn said, his eyes turning dark. "I think so."
"How does she know these things?" Hailey asked Giles.
"She's got thousands of years of mystical energy flowing through her. It's trying to protect itself. We don't know what will happen to it if Dawn were to die. I imagine that it doesn't know either," Giles replied. Turning to the rest of the girls, he said, "I don't want anyone to panic, but I believe that we should be prepared in case something were to happen before Buffy and Spike return. If you would, please take a weapon that you're familiar with." Giles pointed to the weapons chest on the opposite wall. The girls warily agreed, shuffling over to it. Buffy had left the girls least capable of fighting at the house. But she had also left Hailey in case something was to happen, they would not be totally unprotected.
"What's going on?" Anya asked, skipping the weapons line and moving over to the little group huddled around Dawn with Wesley and Xander. Wesley remained silent, his eyes hard. He was ready for battle. There had been a time when he would have balked at the prospect of fighting. But now he knew that he could fight and he could do it well.
Dawn suddenly moved forward, her eyes pressed to the window. "He's coming…now."
"Who?" Hailey asked, pulling a knife out of the waistband of her jeans.
Dawn shuddered and looked over at her with terrified eyes. "A preacher."
…………………………………
"You gonna tell me why Buffy didn't see fit to inform me about this brilliant plan?" Faith asked as she and Willow walked ahead of the other girls. Kennedy was trailing behind them, obviously listening to their conversation, but trying not to appear as if she were doing so.
"Probably because you wouldn't have liked it," Willow replied.
"She might have been right," Faith said. "The closer I get to the school, the more I feel like this is a trap."
"Me too," Willow said, sighing heavily. "Maybe we should turn around."
"And tell Buffy what? We pussied out at the last second?" Faith shot back.
"We'd never hear the end of it," Willow readily agreed.
"Besides, I've been wrong before," Faith said.
"You know, there was a time you wouldn't have admitted that," she responded with a smile in her voice.
"So how are you and Hailey doing?" Faith asked, swiftly changing the topic.
"Good," Willow replied evasively.
"You bumped nasties yet?" Faith said, waggling her eyebrows suggestively. Willow rolled her eyes.
"Have you and Buffy?" She asked, laughing as Faith glared over at her.
"Valid point," Faith replied.
"We're here," Willow said, pointing to the school. It loomed before them, a giant monolith in the dark. "You ready?"
Faith shuddered and glanced back over her shoulder wistfully at the warm, lit road behind them. "Yeah," she said, looking forward. It was a Slayer's job to go into places where normal people wouldn't go – to leave the light and enter the darkness. "Okay, people, remember…we're here to watch, not to fight." The girls nodded as Willow and Faith pushed forward. "Stay behind me, okay?" Faith said to Willow.
"Why?" Willow questioned.
"We don't know what's in there and I'm not taking the heat from Hailey for getting you killed," Faith replied.
"Is that you're way of saying you care?" Willow joked.
"It's the best you're going to get," Faith shot back.
"I hope you're a little more romantic with Buffy," Willow muttered.
"Hey," Faith argued, "I can turn on the charm when I need to."
"I've never seen it," Willow returned.
"That Seal thing is this way, right?" Faith grumbled, knowing that she would not win an argument with the redhead.
"Yep," Willow replied smugly.
"What's the deal?" Faith asked as they cautiously walked down the hallway towards the basement door. "There's no one around. I thought we'd have to knock some heads just to get down there."
"Maybe they're all at the Seal?" Willow suggested.
"We've been watching those cameras all week and, at night, those mother fuckers are all over this place," Faith replied warily.
"Why are we going so slow?" Kennedy asked, walking up to them.
"We don't want to get caught," Faith said.
"There's no one around. You just said that yourself," Kennedy shot back.
"Look, kid, back off. You want to run the missions, you become the Slayer," Faith replied, moving away from her.
"I think you just invited her to kill you in your sleep," Willow said, trying to catch up with Faith, who was now moving much faster, with less caution, but more confidence.
Faith shot her a look and opened the basement door. The stairs were dark and the group felt its way down. "This is kinda creepy," Faith admitted.
"Yeah," Willow agreed, fear evident in her voice. "Why did I have to be in this group?"
"You could be home right now snuggling with your girl," Faith joked.
"Yes, I could be," Willow replied seriously. "I think Hailey and I need some snuggling time."
"So things aren't so good then?" Faith asked.
"No, things are great. But sometimes I'm not so sure what's going on in her head," Willow replied as they walked through the underground passages beneath Sunnydale High. They came to a large, open room.
"Well, shit," Faith muttered, looking around the room with an impressed look on her face. "This is a lot of weapons."
"I guess this is why they're down here so much," Kennedy commented. The group filed into the room, girls wandering about, and touching the weapons.
"Should we take them?" Willow wondered aloud.
"Well, we can't leave them here," Faith muttered. "Something doesn't feel right though."
"Yeah, like why would they store all of these weapons here and then leave them unguarded?" Willow concurred.
"Hey, what's this?" Kennedy asked, kneeling down in front of a large, wooden box.
"Don't open that," Faith instructed, moving over to her quickly.
"Why not?" Kennedy asked.
"It could be a trap," Willow said, walking over as well.
"It could be something important too," Faith said, uncertainty filling her voice.
"What's that sound?" Willow asked, her brow furrowing as she concentrated on a small, clicking noise.
"I don't hear anything," Kennedy said, standing up and moving out of the way.
"I do," Faith agreed.
"Open the box, Faith," Willow instructed suddenly. Faith looked over at her for a moment before breaking the lock off of the box and opening the lid.
Her eyes widened as she said, "Oh, shit."
………………………………
"Yesterday, there were Bringers swarming all over the place. Where the hell are they now?" Buffy said angrily, throwing her hands in the air.
"I don't know, love. But getting upset about it isn't going to make one magically appear," Spike muttered, lighting up a cigarette.
"I do realize that, you know," Buffy shot back.
"I think this part of the plan's a wash for tonight. Maybe we should head back. We've been out here two hours already," Spike replied.
"I don't want to go home empty handed," Buffy said curtly.
"I don't think we have a choice," Spike responded softly.
"It's like they all knew that we were coming after them tonight," Buffy muttered to herself. Spike suddenly stopped walking, the cigarette dropping from his fingers. "What?" Buffy asked in concern, looking back at him.
"What if they did?" Spike asked. "What if they knew?"
"How could they?" Buffy retorted.
"We planted cameras. That's only one way to find out what someone's doing," Spike replied. "What if the First has been with us all along?"
"How do you mean?" Buffy replied, but she already knew, and feared that Spike was correct.
"You see that thing and it's like the person is standing right in front of you in the flesh. We get girls coming here everyday from God only knows where. How do we know one of them didn't die on the way and the First is just playing a part?" Spike asked.
"We don't," Buffy agreed. "The question is, if they know we're coming after them, what are they going to do to retaliate?"
"I'll go to the school," Spike said. "You go back home. Maybe we can stop whatever it is before it starts."
………………………………
The door burst open amid a spray of splinters. Everyone turned and watched as a single man walked into the living room. "You're late," one of the girls suddenly said and, just as quickly, everyone turned to look at her.
"I'm sorry, but I wanted to make sure they were good and ready for me," Caleb said, grinning from ear to ear.
"Eve?" Hailey asked. "You know him?"
"Of course I know him, silly," Eve said, striding forward. "He's my champion."
"That's not Eve," Giles suddenly realized. "How could I have been so stupid?"
"I've been wondering that myself for a while now, actually," Eve said, smirking. "But I figured you would catch on sooner or later."
"She's the First," Anya said with dread.
"And she led the preacher right to us," Xander replied.
"You told him our plans," Dawn said, linking the final pieces of the puzzle together.
"Yes, she did," Caleb agreed. "Smart girl. I wouldn't worry too much about your friends now though. They're in a better place."
"What did you do?" Hailey asked, fearing that something might have happened to Willow.
"Nothing that I'll regret," Caleb replied. "Now, I came here tonight to show you the awesome power of true evil. You have the mighty gift of being the first people to see the great things that are to come."
"Wonderful," Dawn muttered under her breath. Hailey watched as the girls tightened their grips on their weapons. She smiled softly, knowing that none of them would run away in fear, as she supposed Caleb expected.
"If you came here to kill us, then get it over with because I'm sick of hearing you talk," Hailey said, stepping forward, holding her knife tightly in her hand.
"Patience is a virtue, young lady," Caleb admonished her. "But if you're so eager to get this over with, well, I suppose I can oblige you that request. Boys," he said, motioning towards the door. A stream of Bringers filed into the room, holding long, sharp knives. "Give the lady what she wants." The Bringers charged, but the girls held their ground. Hailey stepped out of the way as one of the blind monks attempted to lunge at her. Grabbing him from behind, she sliced her knife through his stomach. He fell to the ground and did not rise.
Wesley and Giles double teamed another Bringer, beating him back into a corner while Anya attempted to pull another off Xander, who was spinning around, smashing the monk's head into the wall. Two potentials fell in the first attack. Caleb watched from a distance, smiling at the carnage. Hailey knew that it was only a matter of time before he joined the fight. Fending off another Bringer, she threw her knife through the head of one who was about to stab Dawn.
"Thanks," Dawn muttered weakly, pulling the knife out of the man's head and using it to defend herself. Caleb watched with fascination.
"I think you should kill her," Eve said. "She could make this more difficult than it has to be."
"I agree," Caleb, replied, striding forward. Knocking a Bringer out of the way, he grabbed Hailey from behind, holding her tight against his chest. Hailey struggled in his grasp, her eyes widening when he pulled a knife and displayed it before her. "Now, I hate to say it, but this is going to hurt quite a bit." With all of his strength, Caleb slammed the knife into Hailey's chest.