"Let's move." Buffy says as her and Stewart load up the ambulance with the 16-year-old girl, she had fallen through a two-story window and had glass lodged in her spine, if they didn't move quickly she could end up paralysed for life.
They swerve through traffic as quickly as they can before finally making it to the hospital.
Buffy quickly gets the girl out of the van and rolls her into the ER, the minute she spots Dean she hands her off before watching as she is rolled into the ICU.
Buffy sighs at the sight of another young girl in such a dangerous situation, it reminded her of some of the injuries the potential slayers had received during the battle with the First.
Turning away from the ER she smiles at the small girl sat in the wait room with her doll before moving into the staff room.
As she moves to change her phone starts ringing "Hey Xander." Buffy answers as she places the phone against her ear.
"Buff, hey. I got some news." Buffy pauses listening intently "I found the next name of the list. Took a while but I found it. Sending it over now."
Buffy thanks him before hanging up the phone, leaning her head against the metal locker she sighs, so much had happened in the few months that she had lived in this city. From a reappearance of her past enemies to Wolfram and Hart declaring war against her. It was all so much and she was close to breaking.
Taking a deep breath she runs a hand through her hair before looking at the information Xander had sent her. "Time to go to work."
"So this book contains a list of the names of the guys you've been hunting..." Diggle says as he holds the book Oliver had given him "...and this book..." He then raises the other book Oliver had handed him "...your mother's, that's the same list of names."
Oliver nods still shocked himself over the information, as he takes the book from Diggle he glances at it before looking up at his friend "It's identical."
"So where'd your mother get her copy, Oliver?" Diggle asks, they needed to know this, the fact that Moira had the exact same copy was confusing enough they couldn't risk being left in the dark again, "For that matter who gave it to you?"
Oliver gulps nervously, anytime something had to do with Buffy getting involved Diggle went into protective brother mode."Willow Rosenberg gave it to Buffy." Diggle's eyes widen "Buffy gave it to me."
Diggle sighs before running a hand over his face, Buffy just loved a mystery, she could never leave anything alone.
Oliver stays silent for a moment before continuing "She said that Walter found it in her bedroom. She's my mother Diggle, she's not the kind of person who would—"
"Have her husband disappear?" Diggle asks the dreaded question silencing Oliver "Because that's really the question isn't it Oliver. I understand why you would believe your mother over your stepfather, but I tend to believe the innocent party is whoever's missing and presumed dead."
Five Years Ago – Boston, United States
Buffy stands in the back of her class as they watch the CPR demonstration for the last time. She had been in Boston over four weeks now, and although lonely, she loved every minute of it. She loved her classes and connected with what she was doing for the first time in her life, not even when she was at UC Sunnydale did she connect with or love any of the subjects she was studying.
But this, doing this course it felt right.
She claps with the rest of her class once the demonstration was finished; slowly her class exits the hospital room.
As she walks through the hospital she sighs, although she loved it here she missed her sister and her friends. She shakes her head trying to push away the miserable thoughts.
"Hey, Buffy right?" Buffy pauses as she hears a male voice calling her name, turning her head she pauses as she spots a cute dark haired blonde guy standing in front of her.
"Yeah, that's me."
"I'm Leo." He tells her "We're in the same class." He holds out his towards her.
Buffy smiles at him and shakes his hand "Nice to meet you."
Leo smiles at her before gesturing to a bunch of the other students that were waiting by the doorway "Come on we're all going out for drinks."
Buffy freezes, she hadn't really hung out with anyone new since moving out her, it had all been so rushed her moving into her apartment and starting school.
"Um...I don't know..." She hesitantly.
Leo smiles at her before nudging her slightly "Come on. Live a little."
Buffy sighs before a smile covers her face "Alright, where to?"
Present Day – Starling City
Buffy adjusts her mask as she climbs up the side of the Starling City library, climbing in through the top floor window she lands gracefully on the ground. Glancing around the darkness she frowns, she couldn't see anything from here.
Climbing onto the arm frames she allows herself to drop landing in the middle of the abandoned library.
She glances around the room before making her way into the office; she pauses as she spots the photo on the wall...that was her target. Eric Peterson, Baticus Demon.
Buffy stares at the photo for a moment before making her way to his computer. She had been hoping that maybe this target would have some sort of list of any connection, which might help her find Marcus or the other demons.
Suddenly a large crashing noise comes from down the hall, Buffy's eyes widen and instinctively she reaches for the scythe.
Twirling the scythe in her hands she makes her way down the hall, kicking down the double doors in her way her eyes widen in horror at the sight before her.
Ten men and women lay on the floor doused in their own blood. Several of hem had their throats ripped out while the others were missing limbs.
She clenches her fist as she spots the bite marks in several of the victims it seemed like whoever had done this was literally ripping them apart with their teeth.
"Heading out?" Oliver asks curiously as he walks into his mother room, and instead of finding her in a dressing gown she was wearing a long professional dress and was standing with a briefcase in her hands.
She glances over at him and smiles "Yes, a meeting with the financial planners. Harris can only hold them off long enough. He's still young they don't..." Moira pauses as she spots the look on her son's face "Are you all right?"
Oliver was frozen, as he turned to her he buries all emotions, he didn't want to believe what Diggle had been saying but something in him had a doubt...he blinks before smiling at her "There was something that I wanted to talk to you about."
Moira frowns curiously, as she frowns Oliver takes a deep breath before pulling the book Buffy had given him out of his back pocket and showing it to his mother, examining her facial expressions carefully as he does "I wanted to talk to you about Walter. Right around Christmas when he disappeared, he gave me this."
As he hands her the book Moira's eyes were glued to it but her face gave away nothing, she couldn't risk Oliver becoming too curious and asking questions.
As she takes the book in her palms she takes a deep breath "This was your father's notebook. He kept a list of all the people in Starling City who owed him favours. I had no idea there were so many of them." She says as she flips through the pages.
Oliver frowns before trying to push her further "I've been researching some of those names online..." He tells her causing her to look up at him "...and, um, they're not good people."
"Oliver, I have no idea what your father what your father was involved in or with whom and you and your sister both now know that he wasn't exactly honest with me."
"It was horrible." Buffy tells Xander as she makes her into the kitchen and grabs her pizza off the stove before heading back into her room where tonnes of books were piled up on her bed next to her laptop as well as a map with several places circled in red markers.
Adjusting the phone closer to her ear as she sits she shakes slightly "I haven't seen anything like that since I was in Russia. Xander...these bodies whoever did this ripped them apart with their teeth." She shudders slightly before moving to sit on her bed leaning her head against her knees as she listens to her friend.
"God." Xander breaths, Buffy could practically hear the horror in his voice as he spoke: "This demon Buff...if he can do that..."
"Then he's probably in high in the Wolfram and Hart hide a demon group..." She tells him only for him to cut her off.
"Actually I was gonna say he sounds really dangerous. I don't like the idea of you going out there alone."
Buffy smiles sweetly, as much as she appreciated it, it didn't matter, she was always going to have to do this alone "Xand I'll be fine. I'm trying to track down this guy now." She tells him as she turns to her laptop, Willow had set up an alert for the security cameras around the city, so if he was stopped she would now.
"Just be careful."
"You too, how's the Moira hunt going?" She asks hoping to change the subject, she knew that Willow had asked Xander to dig into Moira's connection to this book of Oliver's. Buffy shakes her head, in her mind, it seemed like Willow had found a mystery which she was desperate to figure out.
"Well, she's heading into the meeting with the financial heads soon. So big with the breaking and entering...so I'm gonna go through her computer."
Buffy shakes her head worried "Be careful?"
"Will do. U too Buff." He says before hanging up.
Buffy tosses her phone on her bed before glancing over at her laptop. Nothing. She sighs before leaning her head against the headboard, she was worried, there had been no sign of this guy at the scene no clue as to how to track him down. She exhales in annoyance before turning to the map on her bed, grabbing her red market she circles Coast City before picking up her Ipad. She had been tracking movement from the League, trying to figure out if what they were doing related to Al Sā-ḥir.
As she moves to pick up one of the log books she had stolen from the league her computer buzzes.
She turns her heads and leans over grinning as she spots the image of her target "Gotcha."
"Come on." Xander hisses at the computer as he stands in Moira's office. He had set off a small EMP that Willow had given him so that he wouldn't be caught on the security tape.
Tapping his foot impatiently he looks at his watch, he only had two minutes till either the security cameras would come on or the guards would appear.
When there is a beep from the computer he exhales in relief "Finally." He breathes as he quickly plugs in the hard drive Willow had given him.
His finger taps the desk impatiently as the files download extremely slowly, he looks over his shoulder and freezes as he hears heeled footsteps coming towards him.
"No, no, no." He breaths as he realises that the meeting must have finished earlier, glancing at the computer which was at 95% he panics.
He turns his head and as the footsteps get closer he groans, turning back to the computer his eyes widen as it hits 99%.
"Come on, come on."
Just as it hits 100% the door opens Xander spins around yanking the hard drive out as he does and turns to Moira.
"Alexander, what are you doing here?" Moira asks watching his suspiciously.
Xander thinks for a moment before walking towards her and smiling "I was hoping to take you out to lunch." He tells her "As a thank you, I know I'm not exactly experienced with a lot of this business and I want to thank you for...taking me under your wing."
Moira smiles slightly before placing a hand on his shoulder "That would be lovely."
As Xander opens the door for her he exhales in relief before slipping the hard drive into his jacket and following her out the room.
"Oh. Okay, sixteen, I hacked into city council plans, the security system was laughable." Willow laughs as she and Felicity sit down at Big Belly Burger having lunch together.
Felicity laughs at that, enjoying the fact that she had found someone with the same interest in hacking as she herself did.
"Your turn." Willow challenges as she takes a bite into her burger.
Felicity adjusts her glasses as she thinks for a moment, "Okay got it. I was 15 and my mom got into trouble at work and her boss was such an ass about it...so I hacked into her boss' accounts and gave all his money to charity. To say he wasn't happy was an understatement."
Willow laughs at that, enjoying having a friend who understood the joys of computers.
"Hey, sweetie." Carly says to Willow as she walks over and places her coke on the table.
Willow smiles "Hey Carly."
Carly smiles at her before heading back to the counter where a customer was waiting.
"How do you know the waitress?" Felicity asks curious "Do you come here a lot? Not that you look like you do? Not that I was looking at you in that way? Not that I would judge...I-I..."
Willow chuckles slightly "I get it you babble."
Felicity nods before shaking her head and closing her eyes "Like a crazy person. It runs in my family."
Willow shakes her head in amusement, it was kind of funny, honestly the way Felicity spoke actually reminded her of the way Buffy and herself would babble "It's okay. I am a fellow babble gal." She then glances over at Carly "My roommate knows her. They're close."
Felicity smiles at her, glad to find a friend who could understand her babble, she shakes her head before biting into her burger "What are your roommates like?"
Willow smiles fondly as she speaks "They're my family." As Felicity smiles Willow finds herself curious "So what about yourself? Vegas girl."
Felicity groans at that "Shut up." She jokes making Willow laughs, Felicity shakes her head before pausing "Um...just my mom. She's...well insane...loud. The complete opposite of what her sister was like."
"You're Aunt?" Willow asks curious "You close."
Felicity freezes for a moment "She died. About 8 years ago"
Willow's eyes widen in panic "Oh, I'm so sorry."
Felicity shakes her off, honestly, although she loved her aunt they hadn't been close, they had only met a few times over the years "It's okay. We weren't close. Her and my mom were half siblings. My aunt was from my grandfather's first marriage, my mom and her didn't grow up together. They weren't close."
Willow looks at her sadly, she felt for Felicity, she was such a nice person, and it seemed like her family history was complicated and difficult "Any cousins?" She asks trying to change the subject.
Felicity pauses "Actually yeah." She says before glancing at her watch and groaning, they had to get back to work.
Willow notices and groans as well, back to the demons nest. Not the literal one though.
"You don't find that a little convenient?" Diggle asks Oliver as he walks over to him, he was still in shock by the fact that Moira had burned the book "...her just so happening to have burned the book?"
Oliver shakes his head, Diggle was taking this all the wrong way, trying to paint her in a bad light "She did it out of concern for my safety, Diggle." He points out trying to make him understand.
"Or her own." Diggle argues as he takes a seat on the stool opposite to where Oliver was stood, he shakes his head, Oliver was clearly being blinded by his mother, refusing to acknowledge what he knew already "Oliver, you said it yourself. Whoever compiled that list is involved with something very dangerous, and if your mother is lying to you—"
Oliver shakes his head, he refused to believe that his mother was involved in this, it wasn't who she was "And she didn't know any of the names on the list."
"She said she didn't. You don't have to take her word for it." Oliver sighs and looks away, Diggle groans and tries to make Oliver understand him "Oliver, if this were anybody else, you'd be hooded up right now, on your way to have an Arrowside chat with them."
"This isn't anybody else. This is my mother and I know her."
Buffy drops down into the middle of the construction site that she had tracked Eric Peterson too. Glancing around she pulls the scythe off her back and adjusts her mask making sure it was covering the majority of her face before making her way through the sight.
As she looks around she couldn't help the feeling going up and down her spine, something was seriously wrong here, she could feel it in her gut.
Turning her head she looks up the tall scaffolding, there was something up there she could feel it.
Leaping up she grabs onto the metal pole and drags her body up it till she was on the top level of the construction.
Glancing around she clutches the scythe tighter sensing that she was about to be in a big fight, one that was likely going to leave her with a lot of bruises.
She follows her instinct and climbs through the scaffolding walking closer and closer to whatever was making her spider sense go haywire.
As she gets the closer the smell hits, it was something that could only be compared to the smell that would come from recently slaughtered animals, making her groan in disgust and she threw up in her mouth slightly, it was so vile. Stepping forward hesitantly she freezes as she spots the trail of blood.
Looking up in horror she spots the pile of dismantled bodies, she gasps and a hand covers her mouth the material of her mask now feeling so constricting.
The sight of it was horrifying, in that moment all she could hear was the sound of her own heart beating. She stood there frozen staring at what was left of these poor people, nothing but meat and bloody bones. She looks around in horror as one corpse was literally missing his bottom half while his head was almost cleft from his body. Another was propped up hanging on one of the metal poles from the scaffolding like a rag doll. His head has dropped forward and his chest was covered in blood, it was still wet dripping from him and over the bodies underneath him.
Buffy closes her eyes and looks away turning her back on the horrific scene, she couldn't look anymore, she felt like she was going to be sick. In all her years as the Slayer, she had never seen anything like this. She felt like she was going to cry however a voice from below draws her attention.
"Heard you were looking for my boy?"
Buffy's eyes slam open and instantly a strong sense of fury fills her, she moves towards the voice and places her hands on the metal pole in front of her as she glares down at Marcus who was staring up at her smugly.
"You son of a bitch." She hisses before climbing up and flipping in a tuck through the air before landing on the opposite end of the construction sight from where he was.
"My boy really did a number to those people didn't he?" Marcus says smugly as him and Buffy circle each other.
Buffy glares at him, feeling fury for how those poor people had been used as nothing more than a fun game for Marcus and Eric.
"You're sick." She scoffs out "Do you seriously get a kick off this, cause if you do I feel for the girl who sleeps with you."
Marcus chuckles in amusement "This was just a message. For you." He tells her smirking slightly "Stop going after my demons and stay out of the Triad's business."
Buffy glares at him "Do you send The Hood dead innocent people as well?"
"Not yet. Maybe soon though. You're closer than he is. You may wanna get your girl to stop digging."
Buffy's eyes glaze over at the mention of Willow "You touch her and I will end you."
Marcus laughs loudly making her stare in disbelief he was seriously enjoying this "My boy was hungry." He tells her "And when he is he gets a bit messy...as you've seen." He says with a giant smirk "Luckily for him I needed a favor so I gave him a nice meal. Really helps build strong bones." He covers his mouth "Too soon?" He asks chuckling at his own pun.
Buffy growls, that was it he had caused her to snap, she was filled with rage, rage for the meaningless deaths of those people and worry for Willow.
Marcus steps towards her and she cartwheels to the side before spinning attempting to land a kick but he steps out of the way easily, he was toying with her, which pissed her off that much more.
She raises her leg towards him and he blocks it with his arm, as he slams her leg back down she steps forward attempting to punch him but he blocks her blow. Hissing in annoyance she twirls around her leg spinning through the air towards him however again he ducks it easily.
He spins around out of the way of her kick and as her leg lands back on the ground he steps forward and punches her in the face sending her flying into the piles of wood in the corner by the newly built concrete wall.
Buffy groans and stands only to have him jab her in the face, she gasps slightly before leaping up spinning the scythe towards him as she does.
As she lands on her feet she jumps up kicking him in the chest, as he stumbles she steps forward attempting to bring the axe down on him but to her horror, he catches the handle just underneath the axe in his palm. Despite the fact that smoke was coming off of his hand he smirks at her as her eyes widen; he shoves a hand into her chest sending her flying backwards causing her to loose her grip on the scythe.
Buffy groans as her back hits the wall painfully, she ignores the pain and glares at Marcus as he tosses her scythe away, running at him she throws her fist up only for him to duck underneath her arm and come up next to her. He swings his arm down at her and she quickly twirls out of the way before it could make contact with her.
She brings her leg up kicking him in the side but it doesn't affect him in the slightest as he sucker punches her across the face twice before grabbing her by the throat, yanking her off her feet he launches her into the wall.
As her head connects with the wall Buffy cries out, she slides to the floor and feels blood dripping down her face, yanking down her mask, she turns back to Marcus as he approaches her.
She quickly rolls and moves out of the way as he throws his fist towards her, luckily it narrowly misses her and ends up buried in the concrete.
Buffy, back flips up back to her feet kicking Marcus in the face with one of her feet as she does.
As she lands on her feet she doesn't expect Marcus to send a strong kick into her chest sending her crashing into a metal pole.
Buffy groans but quickly focusing as she spots Marcus coming back towards her, she forces the pole away from the scaffolding and twirls it in her palm for thrusting to forward knocking Marcus in the stomach. She swings the pole again knocking him in the jaw sending him stumbling.
As he stumbles she places the end of the pole on the ground and leaps up using the pole to swing her body through the air towards the scythe.
Before her hands could reach her weapon, however, Marcus leaps through the air and grabs the back of her head, yanking on her hair he tosses her to the ground away from the scythe.
Buffy groans but quickly flips herself back up onto her feet, as Marcus comes towards her she slides underneath his legs and across the floor landing right next to the scythe.
Grasping it quickly she stands back up and slices it through the air towards him, he steps back and as she swings it again he grasps it hissing slightly as he does.
The two struggle for dominance but Marcus manages to twist the scythe sending Buffy flipping through the air before landing painfully on the ground.
Before she could stand Marcus kicks her in the gut before kicking her in the head, Buffy groans as her head hits the concrete painfully.
Her eyes widen as she spots him again about to bring his foot down on her, rolling over she narrowly misses him from hitting her.
As she stands something heavy connects with her chest sending her crashing throw a wood wall.
Her eyes widen as she spots the block of concrete that Marcus had hit her with, she groans slightly before standing, raising her fists she spits out the blood from her mouth and turns to him.
Marcus smirks before stepping towards her, Buffy steps out of the way as he swings his fist and leaps up kicking him in the gut, as she lands on her feet she instantly spins around swinging her leg but to her horror he grabs her leg catching it in a vice hold.
She screams out in agony as he yanks on her leg dislocating it, as she feels the bone snap she gasps in pain, she bites her lip before wrapping her other leg around his arm, twisting she throws herself into a flip causing his body to topple to the ground as well as her own.
As she lands on the ground Buffy attempts to stand and quickly limps away only to have Marcus grab her again he elbows her in the face before punching her in the gut.
As his fists connect with her blood flies out of her mouth as she gasps for breath. This wasn't right he wasn't this strong before.
Marcus smirks before wrapping a hand around Buffy neck and lifting her off the ground "Every time you kill me I come back stronger girl. Remember that." He warns before punching her in the face one last time splitting her lip and sending her crashing into a pile of metal poles.
As she lays there unmoving he smirks before glancing at her scythe he was tempted to take it but it burnt his flesh every time he touched it, sighing he grabs the metal pole she had used earlier and slams it at the other pole that was currently keeping the floor above Buffy's body upright.
As he does the floor collapses the wood and metal landing over where Buffy had landed covering her from view.
Buffy turns her body slightly just to avoid getting stabbed through with a long metal pole but finds herself unable to move again as she was trapped under all the rubble.
Groaning and fighting to keep conscious she reaches for her phone and presses 1 on her speed dial hoping they would pick up before she lost consciousness.
Diggle sits in the lair watching as Oliver speaks to Laurel over the phone as the Hood. As he sits there he sighs, Oliver was refusing to listen to reason and was ignoring the obvious because he was allowing his emotions to take over. His mother knew something and Diggle knew that deep down Oliver agreed with him, but he was just too scared to admit that his mother could have done anything wrong.
He stands and moves over to Oliver listening to his end of the conversation as he does.
"Laurel, attaining evidence isn't what I do." Oliver says into the phone before pausing for a moment to listen to her "Hold onto the phone, I'll call." He says finally before hanging up.
As he puts his phone back in his pocket he turns to Diggle who was now stood beside him, but refusing to look at him "Laurel needs my help." Oliver tells him only getting a small nod from the bodyguard.
Diggle stands there for a moment as Oliver heads towards the exit before finally turning "Oliver..." He says making the billionaire pause and turn to him "...are you running to help her or away from the truth about your mother?" He asks as he takes a step towards his friend.
Oliver clenches his jaw "I have work to do." He merely says shutting him down before heading out the back door.
Diggle watches him leave before sighing, he rubs his hand over his jaw, he was worried, Oliver could be doing a lot of damage by refusing to acknowledge even the possibility that Moira was involved in something bad. He knew that he needed to find something, some form of evidence or truth that would help Oliver come to terms with the possibility, but the biggest problem was how to do that.
Before he could even begin contemplating an idea, his phone rings, groaning he grabs his phone from his pocket only for his anger to decrease at the name on the screen. She always had a way of cheering him up and knowing when he needed it most.
"Hey, Buff..." He answers only to freezes as he hears her coughing violently and her breathing becoming really shallow.
"Dig...help me."
"Buffy!" Diggle exclaims as he runs into the construction sight he had tracked Buffy's phone too, his voice filled with terror. Shortly after she had asked for help she had passed out, never before had he been so scared for her in his life, she had always thrown herself head first into dangerous situations but normally he had been there to back her up but now...Diggle sighs frustrated, even the idea of her not being okay killed him, she was his family.
He glances around the construction spot and immediately freezes as he spots the scythe, he runs towards it and as he picks it up he pauses, a smell so strong hitting him.
Suddenly something wet drops onto the back of his neck, as he stands he touches his neck only to spot blood, frowning he looks up only to have to look away at the sight of corpses above him.
He clenches his jaw in disgust and horror before shaking his head, he needed to find Buffy, whoever had done that to those people had hurt her badly.
Glancing around his eyes widen as he spots her small hand peeking out of a rubble of wood, bricks and stone. Running forward he drops the scythe on the floor beside him as he begins digging "Buffy! Buffy!" He screams as he digs as fast as he can trying to get to her.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity he spots her face, moving some more bricks out of the way he grabs her and lifts her into his arms "Buffy?! Come on, girl!"
Buffy who was covered in blood and bruises glances at him for a brief moment "Dig." She breaths out before darkness consumes her once again.
"Willow! Xander!" Diggle yells as he kicks down the front door of Buffy's apartment and rushes inside, Buffy still unconscious in his arms.
"What the hell?" Xander mumbles as he comes out of his bedroom, his hair ruffled and an exhausted look on his face, that lunch with Moira had really taken a lot out of him, that woman could just ramble on and on.
Xander turns to look at the person who had woken him up only to freeze as he spots a distraught Diggle holding an unconscious Buffy in his arms while the scythe was peeking out of his bag.
"Willow!" Xander screams as he runs over and pushes everything off the kitchen table so that Dig could place Buffy on top of it.
"What's with all the—Oh my god." Willow starts only to gasp as she spots a bloody Buffy laying on the kitchen table.
She quickly grabs the emergency medical bag from the cupboard and runs over, Diggle takes it and as Willow helps adjust Buffy's head Xander runs to get the herbs from Buffy's room.
"What the hell happened?" Willow asks as she examines Buffy's injuries, four of her ribs were busted, her right leg was dislocated and bleeding heavily, there was large bruising along her jaw and neck. She also had a split lip and a large cut over the top of her eye that was leaking blood.
"She called me." Diggle tells her as he cleans the blood off Buffy's face carefully, trying not to hurt her as he did, I found her in a construction sight, half dead buried underneath the rubble." He pauses and looks at her seriously "Will, there were bodies, ripped apart I've never...I've never seen anything like that before."
Willow gulps, remembering the scene that Buffy had told them about when she had gone looking for Eric the first time.
Diggle frowns, Willow didn't look horrified like someone who was just hearing about this for the first time would be, she knew something, he had not known Willow very long but he knew enough from Buffy to know that the redhead was a terrible liar.
"Willow..." He hisses only for Buffy to suddenly gasp and sit up only to cry out in agony and collapse back down.
"Buffy!" Diggle exclaims his focus now completely on his best friend who was clenching her fist, the pain from her leg searing.
After taking out all the guards with a few arrows Oliver makes his way around the back of the mansion, where Laurel had told him Cyrus was staying.
Walking around the back of the building he shoots one last arrow at the wall near Cyrus and the blonde woman just out of sight so they wouldn't spot it.
Pressing the button on his bow he waits a moment before he spots the red light on the arrow come on. It was recording. It wouldn't be long till he had the intel.
Walking around into the back yard he hides behind several of the trees before bringing the tape recorder to his ear so that he could hear what they were discussing.
"I need to do something, something spectacular, to get their attention and earn their respect."
"Ready?" Diggle asks Willow, Xander and Buffy as he moves around to hold her leg, they needed to put it back in place and as Buffy refused to go into hospital they had to do it themselves. Diggle sighs slightly, she was just as damn stubborn as Oliver sometimes.
Buffy looks over at Xander and Willow who were holding her down to keep her from crying out, luckily she too weak so the two of them were able to hold her down, just barely.
Xander looks over at Diggle before nodding "1...2...3!"
On three Diggle pulls on her leg violently until there is a loud snapping noise.
Buffy grasps onto the table shattering the edges of the wood under her fists as she screams out in agony.
After a long moment, her head collapses back down on the table, as she continues to hyperventilate Willow moves over to face her and takes her hand.
Diggle watches his best friend lie there in agony before his phone buzzes, he quickly checks his phone and realises that Moira was leaving soon. He had planned to take over for her driver so he could keep an eye on her. He sighs, not wanting to leave Buffy, whatever she was doing for the Watcher's Council had almost got her killed and he needed to know the truth.
Thinking for a moment he turns to Xander, he worked with Moira and was less likely to raise suspicion if he offered her a ride "Harris?"
Xander who was placing a bag of ice against Buffy's jaw looks up "Yeah, Dig?"
"I need a favour."
Xander sighs as he drives the car through the city with Moira sat next to him, he couldn't believe Diggle had managed to get him to agree to this. He wanted to be helping Buffy, he had felt so guilty the moment Diggle had run into the apartment with her. Xander sighs internally, he hated himself slightly he was the one who had told Buffy about this target, had let her go in alone.
Shaking himself he blinks trying to focus, he was here for a reason, Diggle had said that he thought something was off with Moira and Xander couldn't help but agree.
"I can't help but thank you again Alexander." Moira says from her seat "Ricky has been driving me for six years now, and I can't remember the last time he missed a day."
Xander smiles at her trying to hide him uncomfortableness "Mrs. Queen. It's really no problem." He tells her biting his tongue slightly "I needed some time to clear my head anyway. Driving does that for me."
Moira arches a brow, there was something off about this whole situation to her "Are you sure Miss Summers won't miss you? And please I told you to call me Moira."
"Buff can handle herself Mrs. Queen..." Xander pauses when she glares at him and clears his throat "Sorry Moira."
Moira smiles before glancing out of the window "It's been so long since I sat up front in a car." She says with a small chuckle before pausing "You can stop just up ahead."
Xander pulls the car open and grabs his umbrella before circling the car to open her door for her.
As he covers her with the umbrella she smiles at him "Ever the Gentleman Alexander."
"My mother..." He pauses, his mother had not exactly been big on the chivalry, Buffy's mom, however, had become a second parent to both him and Willow "Joyce taught me well Ma'am."
Moira smiles at him "No need to escort me inside." She tells him "I'm fine on my own, Alexander."
"Gottcha. I have my tetras to keep my company." He says with a chuckle as he shows her his game boy.
Moira shakes her head in amusement before heading into the restaurant
As she disappears inside Xander's smile falls and he grabs his phone sending a quick message to Dig before heading inside.
Oliver turns to face away from Laurel as they stand on the roof, "Evidence he's trying to take over the positions vacated by Frank Bertinelli and—and the Triad." He says hesitantly after he had handed her the hard drive with the recordings he had taken on it.
As he speaks he pauses something was wrong, someone was watching them, he could feel it in his bones.
Laurel frowns as the Hood goes ridged and deadly silent "What's wrong?"
"We're not alone." He says quietly.
Laurel's eyes widen "What?" She gasps only for her focus to swing to the door to her left which she had come through just a few moments before. She freezes as she spots her father walk through the door his gun raised towards the Hood.
"SCPD!" Lance exclaims.
Oliver panics and grabs Laurel pulling her towards him her back pressed up against him as he walked backwards him his arm around her throat, extremely softly, trying not to hurt her.
"Dad!" Laurel exclaims in shock as Lance and the other cops stand with their guns raised towards the Hood.
Lance glares at the vigilante as he continues to lead Laurel towards the edge of the roof "You so much as leave a bruise on her, and I swear I will drag you down to hell myself."
Oliver leans in closer to Laurel "Laurel, I'm sorry." He breaths before pushing her towards Lance and leaping off the roof.
"Nothing so far." Diggle breaths as he spots the text from Xander before glancing over at Buffy who was sat on the couch mixing a bowl of herbs.
She looks up at him curiously waiting for him to continue "He's gonna stay with her...we'll see." He breaths before moving to sit next to her.
Buffy tilts her head before sighing "Sorry Dig. If it helps Will's still going through Moira's hard drive but there's not been a lot of luck so far." She tells him knowing that he was frustrated and worried.
Diggle shrugs before taking the bowl out of her hands, slowly he takes several of the herbs in his palms and carefully applies it to her still healing wounds, when she hisses slightly, he frowns with worry.
After a moment he places the bowl down before looking at her seriously "What happened tonight, Buff?"
Buffy sighs before running a hand through her hair, she didn't know how to explain what happened to Diggle, he didn't know about the supernatural and she didn't want to lie to him.
"One of my targets..." She breaths "...he slaughtered those people...by the time I got there he was gone." She blinks back the memory of the bodies before glancing at her best friend "...One of the top men at the Organization that the Watcher's Council has me looking into was there."
Diggle frowns in confusion, that still didn't explain a lot, Buffy had super-strength how could she have been beaten down so harshly.
Buffy sensing his confusion smiles sadly "He's like me Dig..." She says trying to figure out how to explain this without freaking him out "...stronger. The people we're fighting keep making him stronger so that he can kill me."
Diggle takes a deep breath, he didn't like this, her risking her life constantly, throwing an arm over her shoulder he allows her to lean her head on his shoulder "Nothing is gonna happen to you." He tells her.
Buffy smiles at him "Ever the big brother Dig."
"Hey." He tells her looking down at her head "I know you won't let me help you yet, but I'm going to make sure you're okay. No matter what."
Buffy lets out a small laughing breath she could imagine him just following her around on missions making sure that not a hair on her head was hurt.
She smiles and hugs him tightly, as she pulls away, his phone starts buzzing.
Diggle sighs and turns his head to stare at the screen only to spot a message from Oliver, he looks up at Buffy but she smiles at him "Go. We'll talk later."
Five Years Ago - Boston
"Chug! Chug! Chug!" Everyone cheers as Buffy holds the challenge drink in her hands, it was a meter long glass filled with beer and she was currently trying to guzzle it down as quickly as possible.
As she takes her final gulp she slams the glass back down on the table and everyone around her cheers.
Buffy high fives Leo as he walks over to her "For a tiny girl you can hold your own." He tells her.
Buffy chuckles in amusement before wiping the foam from her mouth, it had been so long since she had done this, just gone out and actually had a good time with some friends.
"Beer is bad." She says with a chuckle before shaking her head and ordering another drink "But to hell with it."
"There we go." Leo says with a cheer before he holds out a shot of tequila towards her. Her eyes widen only for him to chuckle as she protests "Come on Buff, live a little."
Buffy laughs "One." She says sternly before knocking back the shot quickly groaning at the taste slightly.
As her face groans in disgust, Leo laughs before tapping her on the back "Did good there Summers." He tells her before heading over to the dance floor where several of her classmates were dancing around.
Buffy shakes her head in amusement before leaning her arms on the bar, she had had quite a lot to drink so far and it was starting to get to her head. Glancing at her phone she groans as she spots a missed call from Willow. They had barely spoken since she had moved to Boston, they always seemed to keep missing each other.
Ordering a glass of water she takes a deep breath, it was two in the morning and she had work at the restaurant tomorrow, she had only been there a few days and really couldn't afford to lose her new job.
Suddenly a warm sweaty hand finds it way to her lower back making her eyes glaze over in annoyance "Well Hello Gorgeous."
Buffy groans before turning her head to the drunk guy standing next to her, he was barely standing using the bar to keep himself upright.
"Can I buy you a drink?" He asks as he moves his hand lower towards her ass, Buffy lets out a groan and grabs his hand forcing it off her "No thanks."
"Oh come on." He slurs as he steps closer and moves to hair out of her face, Buffy steps off her stool, sobering up quite quickly now "I said no." She tells him as she grabs her jacket "I was just leaving."
"Come on now darling." He says grabbing her wrist before stepping closer attempting to pull her closer to him, he moves his hands over her ass and at that Buffy had had enough.
She grabs the back of his head pulling on the ends of his hair so that she could yank his head back "Bitch!" He mutters in pain as she yanks on his hair painfully.
Buffy rolls her eyes before slamming his head onto the bar knocking him unconscious.
"Sleep it off." She hisses before grabbing her bag and heading out the back exit.
"And the night is now ruined." She says to herself as she walks outside into the brisk cold, pulling on her leather jacket, she sighs. She knew that she probably shouldn't have done that but when it came to creeps who thought that just because they were drunk they could grope at a woman it pissed her off.
Sighing she looks around the alley and begins to make her way towards the main street however the sounds of grunts and hisses of pain making her pause.
Turning her head she runs forward, still slightly wobbly from the beer but she keeps going nonetheless.
Her eyes widen as she spots a large red horned demon just as he throws a blonde haired man into a nearby dumpster.
"Are you guys having a fight?" Buffy asks sweetly as she steps into view, the demon turns his head only to hiss at her "Slayer."
Buffy smirks "Hi." She says before ducking out of the way as the demon run at her. She ducks under his arm and stands up behind him kicking him in the back sending him crashing into the wall.
She approaches him and blocks him massive arm as he attempts to punch her, backhanding him she leaps into a cartwheel kicking him in the face as she spins.
Once she lands on her feet she punches him in the jaw sending him stumbling back, quickly she grabs the metal pole on the floor and throws it towards him, it buries itself in his skull and slowly his body melts into the wall.
"Bloody hell." A voice says from behind her, Buffy turns her hair swaying with her as she spins around to face the blonde man that she had saved. He runs a hand through his hair before adjusting his jacket, as he turns to her he growls at her in anger "What the bloody hell did you do that for?!" He hisses gesturing to the demon.
Buffy's eyes widen "You're kidding right, I just saved your life."
"I didn't need your help, luv." He hisses "Look if you were hoping for a bit of gratitude off me that can be arranged..." He says leering at her slightly "...but I kind of needed that demon. Mystical energy and all."
Buffy states at him in astonishment "Are you hitting on me?"
He looks her up and down before smirking "Why not, luv?"
Buffy rolls her eyes, first the guy yells at her for saving his life, now he was hitting on her "I'm out of here. Good luck guy."
The blonde watches her for a moment before following her "Actually it's Constantine."
Present Day – Starling City
"Laurel could have been hurt or worse." Oliver says angrily as he slams his fist down on the desk.
Diggle stares at his friend, he was in denial "And I suppose that was Lance's fault."
At his words, Oliver feels his anger and rage grow he spins around to face Diggle his jaw clenching as he does "What's your point, Dig?"
If the situation was any different Diggle would have laughed, Oliver was still blind to how Laurel and his mother affected his emotions "Just that you don't really see straight when it comes to Laurel or your mother."
Oliver scoffs angrily hissing slightly he steps forward furiously "This is not the time to bring this up again." He says in a threatening tone.
Diggle raises his hands in defence as he recognises Oliver's murderous look "Ok. But there is something I should tell you and it's better I tell you now than later. I had Harris drive her around today because I couldn't do it. But for the next few days, I will be. Harris is going to be helping me."
Oliver's eyes glaze over in fury, he couldn't believe that not only had Diggle gone behind his back but he had also involved someone that they barely knew in their business.
"You're spying on her. And you involved Harris, what the hell!"
"Just doing my due diligence..." Diggle tells him "Oliver see if she meets with anyone we might be interested in. Xander is around her at work, he can keep an eye out there."
"She's not a suspect." Oliver hisses "She's my mother."
Diggle stares down at him refusing to back down "Which is exactly why someone needs to take a close objective look at her."
"Hey, blondie." A voice says making Buffy turn her head away from her laptop and close the book in her hand. She had been trying to track down Marcus and Eric, she needed to find them as soon as possible, she couldn't risk more people being tortured and massacred.
She glances up only to smile sweetly as she spots Dean standing in the doorway with a box of pizza in his hands and a Big Belly Burger bag.
"Willow, let me in." He tells her as he moves to sit next to her on the couch. As he sits down he looks at her with a worried frown, her face was bruised as was her jaw and neck, she had a massive cut above her eye and a split lip.
"What happened to you?" He asks her as he places a hand on her chin.
Buffy turns her face to look at him and shrugs "I'm fine Dean."
Dean chuckles before rolling his eyes "And I'm a demon hunter..." He jokes before looking at her seriously "Come on seriously what happened?"
Buffy sighs trying to figure out what to tell him, to Dean she was the crazy paramedic and ex-solider, he didn't know about the Watcher's Council like Dig did, and he didn't know about her strength. "I fell down the stairs." She tells him refusing to meet his gaze as she speaks "Told you I was a clutz."
Dean looks at her sceptically for a moment before handing her the bag of burgers "Well the clutz should be fed."
Buffy chuckles and groans in pleasure at the smell of the burger, Dean smirks and leans in closer, his lips hovering just a graze away from her neck "I love it when you make that noise." He whispers.
Buffy takes a deep breath as she feels his breath on her neck, she blinks a few times before biting her lip.
When Dean pulls back he moves in to kiss her only to steal her burger from her.
Buffy laughs "Hey!" She exclaims as she snatches the burger back before kissing Dean to keep him from trying to steal it again.
"You look like you're working." Tommy says mocking shock as he walks into the Queen living room where Oliver was currently reading through a file from the pile in front of him.
Oliver scoffs before chuckling "I'm going over resumes for the chef's position at the nightclub." He tells him as Tommy takes a seat on the couch next to him.
As Tommy picks up a file Oliver hands him the one he was reading "This one's pretty good. He won 'Top Chef' season six."
Tommy doesn't even look at it "At this point, it is basically a culinary prerequisite to be on that show."
Oliver frowns "Oh."
Tommy clenches his jaw for a moment trying to think of a way to bring this up, it wasn't exactly the easiest topic for him to discuss especially with Oliver "Can I talk to you about something?"
Oliver smirks slightly "Tommy, every time you want to talk to me about something and that something is Laurel, you look like you're about to tell me you have a terminal disease."
Tommy smiles slightly before looking away "She's been working with the Hood guy."
Five Years Ago – Boston
"I saved your life now go away." Buffy says completely annoyed as she heads towards her apartment, she had saved the guy only for him to complain and then start following her home and not once in the whole meeting had he shut up, she was getting really close to just punching him and sending him to sleeping town.
"No, you screwed up a deal I had that situation under complete control." Constantine tells her as he runs up next to her, she had continued to speed up her pacing to get away from him, for a tiny girl she walked fast.
Buffy scoffs and turns to face him poking a hand on his chest "You...were getting choked and about to join the world of the living dead."
Constantine smirks down at the small blonde Slayer "Oh please sweetheart I spend more time with the dead than I care to bloody think about. You and your little blonde head just went all Sarah Connor before I could explain the situation."
Buffy throws her arms up in frustration, this idiot was getting on her last nerve, it was like Spike on drugs.
She glances around the street only to realise that she was outside her apartment block, she smiles relieved before turning back to the blonde idiot that she had saved "You know what..." She says sweetly doing her best babble blonde impression "You are so right...silly me. I'm so sorry for saving your life..." She pauses before glaring at him "...next time...I'll watch the demon throw you around the room like a Barbie!" She yells before opening the gate and slamming it behind her locking him out of the building.
She smirks at him before waving goodbye "Goodbye Constantine...I hope we never meet again."
Without letting him get another word in she walks into her building and starts heading up the stairs.
The alcohol had completely left her system now and she was just exhausted and annoyed.
Finally, she spots her front door, she sighs in relief as she imagines crashing on her nice bed and sleeping for several hours.
Closing the front door behind her she leans against it for a moment before slipping her heels off one at a time.
Walking into the living room she reaches for the light switch only for the lights to suddenly switch on, she quickly grabs the knife off the table and spins around only to spot Constantine in all his trench wearing jackass behaviour perched on her couch holding her favourite mug.
"How the hell..." She begins to ask only for him to grin.
Constantine sits up and places her mug on the table "Lovely little place here." He tells her before grinning "Now back to our conversation, you didn't let me finish...you see I needed that Demon but I wasn't supposed to meet him till tomorrow. I was actually looking for you...Buffy Summers."
Buffy's eyes widen at that "Huh?"
Present Day – Starling City
Xander watches from across the street as Moira climbs out of the car Diggle was driving and heads into the bank. He waits a few minutes before crossing the street towards Diggle's car.
"So?" Xander asks him.
John climbs out of the car before leading Xander towards the building that Moira had just entered "She says, accountant."
Xander groans at that before frowning, he had been the one to meet with the Queen Consolidated Accountant last week, "Something is definitely fishy in this shindig, huh scobs?" Xander jokes.
When Diggle merely watches him un-amused before moving ahead of him, Xander groans "Great Xander, had to make a stupid joke, you are never gonna be James Bond." He mutters to himself before continuing to follow Diggle up the stairs.
As they turn down into the hallway they both pause as they hear Moira's voice, Diggle glances over Xander and the two at each other. Quickly making their way into the staff room they silently move over to the wall on the far side of the room and place their ears against the wall.
Xander frowns as he is unable to hear anything, it's then however that he remembers that he had a piece of Buffy's tech in his pocket. Reaching for it, he hands one ear piece to Diggle before slipping the other into his own ear.
Once both of them were ready Xander grabs the device the Willow had designed and presses it against the wall allowing them to hear the conversation on the other side of the wall.
"I've taken care of it..." They hear Moira say "Carl Ballard will not be a problem anymore."
"Given your propensity for squeamishness..." A male voice says making Xander pause, he recognised that voice "...I'm assuming that Mr Ballard remains in good health."
As they continue to listen to the conversation Xander turns to John "That's Malcolm Merlyn." He reveals making Diggle's eyes widen "The owner of Merlyn Global?" He asks stunned.
As they continue to listen one word stands out The Undertaking, Diggle frowns in confusion, whatever it was, it did not sound good.
"The warehouse where you're storing the remains of the Queen's Gambit." Merlyn says making both men freeze in horror, Moira had the Gambit, but that would only mean she had something to do with it sinking in the first place. Quickly their horrors are confirmed as they hear the dreaded words from Moira herself.
"I already told you I knew Robert's yacht was sabotaged."
Diggle couldn't believe it, this would crush Oliver, finding out that his own mother was somehow involved in his father's death and the fact that he spent 5 years being tortured on an island.
Sighing he glances over at Xander only for the staff door to open suddenly.
"What the hell are you doing?" An older man asks as he walks in.
"Nothing." Diggle answers as he pulls away from the wall and tosses Xander his ear piece "Just hanging. I work for Mrs Queen."
"Same, ditto...yeah me to." Xander stutters slightly before smiling.
The older man looks at them both unconvinced "And I work security for the man she's meeting with." He says as he approaches.
"Guess that means we're on the same team." Diggle says kindly.
"I don't think so, and I'm going to need to see what you just tossed to eye patch over there." He says gesturing to Xander.
Diggle scoffs "What are you, man, the police?"
"Show it to me. Do it now."
Diggle sighs before nodding at Xander, Xander groans before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a flash drive, smirking he presses the button causing a small flash to go off. As it does the guard freezes going completely rigid "What the hell was that?" Diggle hisses as Xander grabs his arm and pulls him out of the room.
"Device from the Watcher's Council. Causes temporary immobility and short-term memory loss."
Diggle stares in shock as Xander leads him back out of the building, he couldn't believe something like that even existed, let alone that one of Buffy's friends just had it lying around "That's a dangerous thing to have." Diggle points out as they move down the stairway.
Xander sighs, he hadn't meant to use it but it was the only thing on him that would have worked in that situation "Yeah well it's a good thing my company has it."
"The company involved with Mrs Queen you mean?" Diggle points out as he stops in his tracks and turns to face Xander.
Xander sighs, trying to figure out a way to explain this "Queen Consolidated doesn't have access to anything my company designs."
"And what exactly does your company do?" Diggle asks flatly as he turns to face Xander, he didn't like this company, there were too many secrets and they continued to send Buffy out on missions by herself that almost got her killed, it was almost like she was their only field agent.
"What does this company have Buffy doing, huh? She almost died on her last mission for your company."
Xander sighs, he knew that Diggle was protective of Buffy and knew that he most probably hated the dangers that she was constantly put in "I can't tell you that, you know that. But...John, she doesn't want help, even if we had it she wouldn't take it..." Xander pauses and looks up at John seriously "She's never been the same, not after what happened."
Buffy groans as she lies on the couch with her leg laid out on several pillows, she was bored and it was driving her insane. Not being able to move around and exercise or even work was going to make her go stir crazy.
She hated being injured, it sucked, and what sucked more was that Marcus had barely even been bruised by her hits, they were making him stronger, hoping that one day she wouldn't survive, wouldn't get away.
Slowly she leans back into the couch, she knew the herbs were slowly starting to kick in but it was the waiting that was driving her nuts, she wasn't exactly the most patient person. What was driving her nuts the most though was the fact that the demon that had massacred those people was still out there, and here she was unable to track it down and if anyone was hurt while she was stuck here on the couch, it would kill her.
"Heya Buffster." Xander's voice says from the front door as he enters the apartment and focuses on his still healing friend "Where's Willow?" he asks as he hangs up his coat and moves to sit beside her.
"Work." Buffy says simply before turning to look at him seriously "How did it go with Dig?"
Xander sighs, he was still in shock himself, Moira and Malcolm were working together on a dangerous project and it all had something to do with the Queen's Gambit sinking.
"He's..." Xander pauses trying to figure out how to explain what happened "...we confirmed that Moira is a nasty little liar. But more than anything he's...he's worried about you." He tells her making her face soften "You're his kid sister, the only family he's got...and you almost dying...Buffy, it crushed him. You should have seen him when he brought you home half dead. He's worried about the work you're doing for the council and I'm worried too..."
Buffy frowns at that, Diggle she could understand worrying because he didn't have any idea about this world, all he knew was she was a young woman going up against these strong villains without any back-up and support, but Xander...he had seen stuff like this and worse.
Xander turns to face her, knowing that she was slightly confused "Buffy...I'm worried that...you don't care if you die."
Buffy gulps slightly, she didn't know what to say in that moment, she had lost so much in the past five years, hell the past 13 years, ever since she had become the Slayer, and it was all beginning to pile up.
For the past few years Spike's words had begun to make more sense 'Every Slayer has a death wish, even you.' Maybe it was true and she had just been in denial.
Diggle rubs his forehead as he leans on the desk in the foundry, he didn't know what he was going to do. How in the hell was he supposed to tell Oliver the truth about his mother? Knowing that his mother had been a part of the worse day of his life could cripple Oliver, or could send him over the edge.
His time of contemplation, however, was cut short as he hears Oliver enter the room, sitting up straight he turns to face his friend "Thanks for coming. Didn't seem like a good idea to talk about this at your house."
Oliver glares at him, he was still pissed about all of Diggle's accusations regarding his mother "Yeah it would have been a little awkward for you to explain to my mother that you're spying on her and that you got Harris involved as well."
"No, I'm not..." Diggle pauses "We weren't." Slowly he pulls out the recorder device Xander had used while they had been outside the room that Moira and Malcolm had been in earlier "Awkward part's coming up."
Oliver stares down at the device furiously "You bugged my mother?" He hisses out.
"Actually Harris did but that's not the point." Diggle points out before looking at him seriously "Just listen."
Five Years Ago - Boston
"Would you just listen for a bloody second?!" Constantine exclaims as he goes flying across the kitchen counter before crashing to the ground below.
Buffy who had just thrown him across the room grabs the knife off the table before circling around the counter to face him. She places her foot on his back holding him down pinning him painfully against the hard cold floor "What the hell are you doing here?!" She hisses.
John merely groans in annoyance "Come on lass, let a fella up."
Buffy merely presses harder on his back causing him to cry out in pain, as he does she grins "Ready to talk yet, Trainspotting?"
"I'm not Scottish!" Constantine tells her causing her to frown in confusion for a brief moment before forcing more pressure on his back.
His hand slams on the ground before he groans "Don't make me do it." He mutters to himself "I really don't want to do it."
Buffy frowns in confusion only to suddenly find herself getting kicked in the face as Constantine flips himself off the ground sending her crashing against the counter.
She gasps before swinging her knife towards him only for her eyes to widen as the room was now empty.
She glances around madly, where the hell could he have gone. She swings the knife around panicky, something was very wrong here.
Suddenly a hand wraps around her throat and she gasps "Now calm down luv." Constantine says from behind her "I just want to chat."
Buffy growls slightly and grabs his hand forcing it away from her neck before she elbows him in the stomach, she then slams her heel on his toes before finally elbowing him in the face and kicking him in the groyne.
Constantine drops to his knee in agony as he clutches his groyne, he hadn't expected that she was honestly better than he thought. He had thought she was going to be like the last Slayer he met, but instead, this blonde was full of sass.
He chuckles slightly groaning as he does for a moment before slowly crawling over to the couch, as he pulls himself up he smirks at her "So, luv, now that that's out of your system..." He pauses pulling out a cigarette, holding it over his fingers, he clicks his fingers together causing a small flame to appear making Buffy's eyes widen in shock.
Constantine smirks at her shocked expression before continuing to light his cigarette, once he was done he looks over at her "So, I sort of need a favour."
After finding out from Lance that Laurel had been taken, Oliver waits on the rooftop that he normal meets Laurel on. Hiding in the shadows he watches as Lance enters the roof, he really didn't have the time or patience right now, after listening to that tape Diggle and Harris had gotten he was very close to battering someone.
"If this is another trick, you will not like the consequences." Oliver warns him as he presses on the voice modulator.
Lance turns to The Hood having to push down his pride "I'm not particularly happy right now. I hate you, I hate everything you stand for, but this lunatic has my little girl and left this behind as some kind of kind of ransom note." He says as he raises on of the Hood's arrows with the recording on it.
Oliver stares at the arrow for a moment before groaning "His name is Cyrus Vanch."
"Geez." Lance breaths "He'll kill her if he doesn't get you."
"He'll kill her anyway so why come to me?"
Lance takes a deep breath, the truth of it horrifying "It's a pretty tight circle that knows about you and my daughter working together. If Vanch knows, it's because someone at the precinct talked. There isn't anybody else I can trust."
"Yes!" Buffy exclaims as she pulls herself up so she is standing, it was about damn time, she had been on this couch for over 24 hours and she had been close to ripping out her own hair. Slowly she walks around using the wall for support, she makes her way to the kitchen and grabs the rest of the herbs off the table and rubs them on the wounds on her stomach and her forehead. Luckily these things really were miracle cures.
Slowly as she starts to feel the healing effects take place her phone begins ringing, grabbing it off the counter she frowns at the unfamiliar name "Hello?" She says as she answers the phone.
"Miss Summers..." Marcus says making Buffy's blood run cold, something was not right here, she could feel it in her bones "Marcus." She hisses out making him chuckle.
"How are you feeling?" He asks chuckling slightly as he does "Better I hope...last time I saw you, you weren't in the best position."
Buffy's nail dig into the wood of the counter before she actually ends up shattering the corner of the counter "No thanks to you, you sick son of a bi—"
"Now, now, Miss Summers, that language is not appropriate for a girl of your young age."
Buffy clenches her jaw she was getting really sick of this conversation "What do you want? Other than a black eye?"
Marcus chuckles "I told you he owed me a favour." He says slyly making Buffy's eyes widen "What did you do?"
"Buffy!" A familiar voice screams from the background.
"Willow." Buffy breaths in a panic, her breathing picks up, this couldn't be happening, that psycho had her best friend.
"Buffy don't come for me it's a trap— " Suddenly there is a loud bang and Willow goes silent, she could only assume someone had hit her over the top of the head.
"You touch her again and I swear to God I will end you!" Buffy hisses as she grabs the scythe off the table.
"That wasn't me darling..." Marcus tells her "...Mr. Peterson doesn't like it when his food talks. Now Miss Summers..." As he speaks Buffy quickly moves over to her laptop to start up the trace search that Willow had set up, hopefully, she could keep him talking long enough for her to find out where they were keeping Willow.
"...this is one person you love that we have taken away from you. Let her death be a warning, stay away from our people or else more people you love will die."
Suddenly the line goes dead and the search freezes, Buffy panics for a brief moment before she notices the area where the search had stopped it was right next to the construction site Marcus and her had battled in the other night.
Standing she ignores all the pain in her system allowing the adrenaline and worry for her friend to take over as she takes off running towards the door completely ignoring her suit.
Oliver sends a knife towards Lance knocking the gun from his hand "I'm the vigilante." He reminds him "You're the cop."
He says before glancing over at Lance who had been so close to killing Vanch.
Lance breaths heavily glancing at the Hood before looking at his little girl that had been threatened and held against her will "Doesn't mean I have to read the bastard his rights, though." He says before punching Vanch in the face.
As he does Oliver quickly makes his way out of the window before glancing back watching as Laurel sat there still petrified.
"Where is she!" Buffy yells as she kicks down the entrance into the construction site, ignoring the sight of the bodies that were still on the upper level.
Buffy runs into the middle of the construction site, she didn't care that this was a trap, they had taken her best friend and she was going to kill them.
"Come on Ted Bundy, show yourself so I can kick your square ass behind back to hell!"
Slowly out of the corner of her eyes she notices Eric Peterson walk into the construction site with a struggling Willow over his shoulder. He throws the red-head on the ground before tilting his head to look at the blonde "You are prettier than the last Slayer."
Buffy rolls her eyes "Everyone always says that what was wrong with the Slayer before me geez."
"Buffy." Willow says weakly from her place on the floor, Buffy's eyes widen in worry as she spots the bloody wound on Willow's forehead, growling slightly Buffy turns back to Peterson "Hurt me, beat me whatever...but you break my nails or kidnap my best friend and then you die. Painfully slowly...like in the movies only worse."
Peterson chuckles in amusement before clicking his fingers "You're interrupting my dessert." He says as he glances down at Willow his mouth watering slightly.
Buffy and Willow both groan "Ewww."
However before Buffy could do anything else three more men walk into the construction site, great was all she could think, the asshole had brought back up, that was so unfair.
She clenches the scythe tightly before running forwards, time to fight. Flipping over a metal landing she rolls across the floor as she lands and as she comes to her knees right in front of one of the men she swings the scythe swiftly removing one of his legs sending him crashing down to the ground.
She quickly stands and ducks under the blow of the next guard and slices the scythe right through his stomach leaving him in two pieces, she then tosses the scythe watching it spin through the air before the axe half lands right in the next guard's face.
Peterson growls before ripping a metal pole from the scaffolding running towards Buffy he swings it at her but she blocks it with the scythe. Spinning around she swings the scythe attempting to hit him with the axe but he blocks it with the pole and then swings the pole knocking her in the jaw before slamming the pole onto her still injured leg.
"Buffy!" Willow screams as her best friend drops, she stares fearfully as Buffy quickly leaps back up now favouring her other side as the two continued to battle.
Willow continues to pull at her ropes only for her eyes to widen as she spots one of the guards' dead bodies next to her.
Buffy stumbles as Peterson head butts her in the face, however, she quickly leaps into a side aerial as he approaches her, kicking him in the face as she flips through the air. Once she lands on her feet, she spins around jumping up as she does and swings her leg at him kicking him in the face once again.
Twirling the scythe once again she swings it at his face only for him to block it with the pipe again, she growls before lifting her leg and bringing it down on his knee kicking it harshly she forces him onto his knees.
Once he was down she steps onto his knee and wraps her leg around his neck, spinning herself around him sending him crashing to the ground.
He quickly stands back up making Buffy groan "Don't you things just ever stay down?" She hisses before sliding across the floor on her knees, she swings the scythe cutting through his stomach as she does.
As she stands back up on the other side he merely grins at her making her rolls her eyes however before he could do anything else a loud gunshot goes off as a bullet goes through his brain, blood spattering on Buffy's white sweater as it does.
Buffy stands there for a moment watching as his body collapses on the ground in confusion before finally she spots Willow standing behind him with a gun in her hand.
"Willow." Buffy breaths as she runs over and hugs her best friend who winces slightly.
After speaking to Diggle regarding his mother and the mysterious Undertaking, Oliver knew that he needed to find out the truth. He needed to know what the Undertaking was.
Crashing through the window of her office he quickly knocks out all her guards before shooting an arrow in her direction, destroying the lamp on her table making her gasp in shock "Moira Queen, you have failed this city."