Buffy:

I had fallen asleep again. Since being attacked by Jackie, I've been sleeping a lot. I barely registered Angel picking me up and walking out into the street, or the commotion that was going on. It passed me by like a dream, and now I'm being forced to wake up. Oddly, the pain seems to have vanished completely. I blink several times, and look at the figure leaning over me. It takes a while to focus.

"She'll be fine now. You should go. That sapped much of my strength, and I need to rest." It isn't Angel or Matt, or anyone I might have expected. Whoever it is has white hair and a raspy voice. I blink again.

"W-willow?"

"Hello, Buffy." She smiles at me.

"Willow, what…? How…? Why…?"

"I wish I could explain everything to you, my girl, but healing you has drained me."

"But…"

"She's right, Buffy. This isn't the time." It's Angel. Willow moves out of sight. "We'll see Willow again once we've dealt with Jackie."

"Jackie? Did you find her? Is she…?"

"She came to the shop."

"Oh my god. Is anyone hurt?"

"No, I managed to beat her to a standstill and she ran off. But if what Willow told me is true, then she'll get stronger quickly."

"How did Matt take it?"

"Not well. He saw her face. There was someone else there too."

"It was her mother." I look at the newcomer. He seems familiar.

"Her mother? Kass came to the shop? I thought she said she was never going to do that again after her falling out with Edward."

"Apparently she changed her mind." I squint at this new man.

"Do I know you?"

"We met once. A long time ago."

"Oh." For some reason, I don't want to know any more. I sit up.

"Careful, Buffy." I look at Angel. He's such an over-protective dear.

"Angel, I'm fine. Let's go." I glance over to the bed in the corner, where the aged form of my old best friend is already fast asleep.

"I'll wait here," says the stranger, "look after Willow. You can explain everything on the way back to the shop. I have a feeling that you'll both need to prepare yourselves for what's coming."

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Demon:

When the girl ran out of the shop, I decided to make my move. So I'm following her, watching from the shadows, the rooftops - wherever I think I can remain hidden. I wonder how long it will take her to realise that I'm following her. Apparently it didn't take as long as I thought, because as I round the next corner she is waiting for me. Her face is still twisted and cruel, and she hisses at me with undisguised malice.

"I don't appreciate being followed. Who are you?"

"I am an admirer," I tell her, and turn on the charm. "A one such as you should not be wasting her talents on these poor fools. They are peons, not fit to lick your boots." She smiles, forces her face to its human form and looks at me from beneath thick eyelashes.

"And what should I be using my talents for?"

"Anything you desire. With powers as great as yours you could rule this world and crush all opposition beneath your heel."

"You're really fond of the foot metaphors, aren't you?"

"What can I say? I have specific tastes."

"So what do you get out of this?"

"I merely want to serve you. I wish to be there when you ascend to power." She looks down, pouts and strokes my arm.

"I suppose you know how I would go about doing this? You could help me achieve these goals?"

"It would be a supreme pleasure. I am your slave." I may be laying it on a little thick, but this girl has enormous, untapped potential. Angel refused to lead the forces of darkness in the second battle, but she may yet do it. And if what I have seen is any estimate, she will be a general a hundred times greater than Angelus could be.

She clutches my hand in her claw-like fingers, her face shifting back to her fangs and golden eyes.

"No thank you," she says. "Not interested." And lunges at my neck. I am dead in mere moments. Such… power…

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Edward:

Wearily I sit down behind the desk in the storefront. Angel and Buffy return not long after. Buffy is looking almost completely recovered, which amazes me. She was healed by a witch apparently, but neither of them wants to give me any details. I'm supposed to be the guy in charge, and they refuse to give me details. I really hope they know what they're doing.

"We got the curse for Jericho," Angel tells me. I take it. It's in another language that I do not understand, but there's both a translation and a phonetic spelling for pronunciation. That's handy.

"What's been happening around here?" Buffy asks.

"Not a lot," I reply absently as I read through the curse. "I explained to Kass that Jackie's dead."

"How did she take it?"

"How would you have taken it? She's not responding to anything, and sitting quietly by herself in the back room." I finished reading through the parchment. "Okay, this shouldn't be too difficult. Give me a second and we can get set up."

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Kass:

Jackie's dead. My poor baby girl. She's dead and some evil creature is using her body like a puppet. Why did I ever let Edward take her away from me? Why did I leave her with that boy Matt? She would have been safe with me… she would have…

I know it's not true. She was a Slayer. I found out a lot about Slayers in the time I spent hanging around this store. She was strong, and she was smart. And she saved people. That's better than any life I could have hoped to give her. But why did she die?

People walk past me, and some of them talk, but I can't respond. Not yet. Jackie's gone, and I need time. I wonder how much time has gone by already. How long did I go without knowing that she was dead? Shouldn't I have known?

I blink. Someone's sitting next to me.

"Leave me alone," I tell him. I'm being childish, I know. But I never was very good at acting my age.

"You think it's easy for me?" Matt asks. "I loved her too. It's senseless and I hate it, but it's happened now and we can't change it."

"Is this supposed to be cheering me up?"

"I'm not trying to achieve anything. I just… I want you to realise that you're not alone in how you feel. Every moment I curse myself that I wasn't there to save her. If I was, maybe I'd be dead instead and she'd still be here."

"Edward said she was killed by a vampire… you know… bitten."

"Yeah, Jericho. He said he was trying to save her, but… I don't know. I just couldn't trust anyone that would try to do that."

"He's dead, though, right? You staked him or cut his head off or whatever it takes to kill these things?" His head hangs low.

"I wish. Angel and the others won't let me." Wait…

"He's here?"