Disclaimer: Don't own Smallville, Supernatural, or Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Based on Supernatural Season 3 "Hollywood Babylon"
"Have you noticed that something's been up with Sam lately?" Dean wanted to know as he turned to Cordelia, who'd insisted on spending the morning in bed despite the many things they had to do today. "I want to say that it's only because Angel just showed up, but I don't know, I feel like it's something else."
"Well, I don't know, it can't help that he and Chloe are seconds away from doing the horizontal mambo and them bam, the bad scent from her past comes breezing in like the little fart-face he is." Cordelia was in no way, shape or form on Team Angel, and she made no secret of it. "He's the reason I can't enjoy Twilight! Damn it! Have you realized how ridiculously similar he and Edward Cullen are?"
"No, because I have a penis and do not watch that shit." Dean raised an eyebrow at his girl.
Cordelia rolled her eyes as she rested her cheek over his heart, her finger tracing a design over his stomach. "Anyway, it can't help that Chloe's going to go and meet with Angel today."
"She is?" Dean frowned, half distracted by the feeling of his girlfriend's finger.
"Yuh." Cordelia nodded. "Sam knows it too. It's why Buffy's taking him on a little 'The girl who you've been in love with for ages and who is perfect for you is going to get back with her stupid ex so I'm going to distract you with a possible Scooby thing' mission."
Dean stared at her before blinking. "I see."
"I'm not talking to her because she should have invited me along." Cordelia informed him with a little huff. "Giles' friend, at some movie production, apparently might've had some ghost appear or something like that, on set. So they're going to go and check it out. It would be perfect for me to go and stun the casting agents, but would they bring me along? No. Buffy's like - this is about Sam, not you. How selfish is that?"
Dean, ever smarter with age, chose not to answer.
"I think Stage 9 is over here," Giles decided after a very long couple of minutes just looking from one direction to another to another.
Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Gee. What gave you that idea? The large sign saying Stage 9?"
Giles turned to her and blinked. "What sign?"
Sam silently yet obediently pointed towards the direction in the distance which he and Buffy had noticed immediately, yet had stayed quiet on since Giles had been in his element showing them around. He understood why Buffy had insisted he join them on this venture, and while he was appreciative of her efforts to keep his mind off of the Chloe/Angel meeting no doubt taking place right now, he didn't think he was the right person for this mission. He'd never really been interested in Hollywood and could've honestly just spent the time studying, but he'd decided to come here if only to make sure that it was impossible to try and sneak a peek on the Chloe/Angel meeting.
"Oh. Yes. That sign." Giles cleared his throat and wouldn't meet their gaze as he stormed off in the correct direction. "Come now. Let's keep going this way."
"So this crew guy." Buffy easily caught up with him. "He died on set?"
"Yes. Apparently rumors are spreading like wildfire that the set's haunted." Giles nodded, gaze on the Stage 9 sign. "The girl who found him said she saw something - a vanishing figure."
"Who found him?" Buffy wanted to know as she joined Giles' side. "She'd be the best person to interview first."
"I think Preston said her name was Rachel Davenport," Giles responded after a moment's thought. "I think she might have a spot in the movie. I'm not quite sure."
"Rachel Davenport?" Sam suddenly snickered from behind them, drawing their attention to him. "From Stab Me Once, Stab Me Twice, Stab Me Once More, FeardotCom, Warrior Angel and Ghost Ship?" His grin grew. "Wow. Dean is going to be so pissed you didn't invite him along for this one."
"He a fan?" Giles asked curiously.
"Let's just say he's been following her movies since they were both teenagers." Sam smirked, not feeling bad at all about selling out his brother's teenaged secret fantasy. "When she was finally eighteen, and had that topless scene in Stab Me Once More, he immortalized it on his wall for years until Cordy burnt it."
Buffy feigned vomiting. "I'm never going to get having posters of naked women on your walls. Or guys, for that matter." She glanced over at Giles. "You didn't do things like that when you were a teenager, right, Giles?"
Giles, suspiciously enough, took that moment to take off his glasses and wipe them with his coat as he hurried his stride and took the lead. He then put on his glasses and pulled out his phone from his jacket's inside pocket. Dialing a number, he brought it to his ear and waited a second before taking in a deep breath. "Preston, we're here old chap. Where are you?" He glanced around and then smiled as he hung up. Waving towards Buffy and Sam to follow him, Giles moved through the crowd and hugged a man who looked in the prime of his mid-life crisis. He was around the same age of Giles but was decked in gold and wore tight skinny jeans and a muscle shirt. It was not attractive in the least bit.
Once Sam and Buffy made it to where Preston was, the old man gave Sam a brief look-over before dismissing him and fixating his attention solely on the Slayer. It made both Buffy and Giles visibly uncomfortable yet amused Sam. He wasn't worried, if this Preston guy crossed the line then Buffy would no doubt put him down with extreme prejudice. That was why he was smirking at the Slayer and remained in the back of the group as they congregated in Preston's trailer, the man giving them the lowdown on what was going on.
"No, no, I managed to figure out that that first death was pure marketing," Preston Wallace surprised them as he threw himself down on his sofa. "The studio hired some third rate actor to pull it off and create more hype for the movie."
"Isn't that kind of cruel though?" Sam wanted to know as he leaned against the wall. "The cast and crew think it's an actual death."
Preston shrugged with little care. "The death that really concerns me is, of course, the second which I alluded to after." He leaned forwards and rested his elbows on his knees. "It was Brad Redding, one of the studio execs for the movie, a stupid, brainless man if there ever was one." He snorted. "He thought that the horror movie needed more color, that it was depressing. He also didn't understand the logic of chants bringing demons out of hell, wanted to know how the demons could hear the chants all the way from hell and made me write in that they had super hearing because it didn't make sense to him or the studio otherwise." He rolled his eyes in utter disgust. "He hung himself from the ceiling during one of our shoots and ever since we've been getting all sorts of problems of set with audio, visual, everything. I think that bastard is doing his best to ruin my movie." He made a face. "Dave, one of the sound guys, picked up something I want to show you."
"What exactly are you in this industry, anyway?" Buffy asked from where she stood next to Giles.
"I'm the screenwriter," Preston replied with a large grin. "I wrote the screenplays of huge successes, you've probably heard of my body of work: Hotel Hell, Death By Sea, Carry On My Cursed Firstborn, Hell Truck." When he saw that nothing was registering on the girl's face, he cleared his throat. "All highly acclaimed, I assure you."
Buffy raised an eyebrow and turned to Giles. "How exactly do you know him again?"
"We used to go to school together," Giles replied, voice tired.
"Except I decided not to become a stuffy old man who spent his life amongst occult books," Preston informed her before eyeing Giles critically. "Really? Rupert? Tweed?"
Given what he was wearing, Sam really didn't think Preston should be criticizing anyone about their fashion choices.
"You forgot to mention that you were flunked out of the Academy due to your inability to master the dead languages," Giles reminded him, a bit uppity, and no wonder really.
"And who is better off for it? Me!" Preston stood. "I'm using the knowledge those old windbags crammed down our throats to make millions and gained international acclaim, while you're still their servant." He eyed Buffy. "Sure, you've got a hot little floozy, but I—."
"She is the Slayer." Giles glared at him, his eyes narrowed and voice dangerous. "If you will not show me any respect, have the courtesy to show it to her."
"The Slayer?" Preston paused and eyed Buffy in shock. "This little thing? Impossible! She couldn't hurt a fly!"
Buffy cracked her knuckles, visibly itching to show him how untrue that statement was.
Suddenly there was a knock at the door and, without waiting for a response, the door was flung open and a pretty brunette entered, her nose stuck in the screenplay in her hands. "Pres? I wanted to ask you—." She then froze when she looked up and saw them there.
Sam immediately recognized her from the many movies Dean had forced him to watch of her while growing up. This was Rachel Davenport.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize—."
"Come in, Rach, gorgeous." Preston ushered her in with a slick smile. "I'd like you to meet some friends of mine. They came to see how we Hollywood people live the high life." He placed a hand at the small of her back. "This is an older acquaintance of mine, Rupert Giles, he's a librarian. And this—."
"Hello." Rachel's eyes and smile widened as she stepped out of Preston's touch and held out her hand towards Giles. "I'm Rachel Davenport."
"Rupert Giles," Giles responded as he shook her hand. "It is a pleasure your acquaintance, Miss Davenport."
Rachel smiled brighter before biting down on her bottom lip. "I love your accent. It's dreamy."
Giles flushed visibly.
"We have the same accent," Preston was quick to point out.
"What part of England do you come from, Mister Giles?" Rachel kept her hand in Giles', her attention completely centered on his face.
"London, born and raised."
"Oh I love London," Rachel exclaimed, her gaze never leaving Giles' eyes. "You'll have to show me around some day."
Buffy's lips parted in outrage.
Preston cleared his throat as he got in between them with a large smile. "Rach, darlin'? You came to see me for a reason?"
"Oh. Yes." Rachel reluctantly slipped her hand from Giles' and turned to Preston. "It's about this script. I can't wrap my head around the dialogue, you know? Salt keeping away bad spirits? Does that sound silly? I mean, why would a ghost be afraid of salt?"
Buffy snorted and muttered something under her breath.
Sam also couldn't keep his smirk off his face.
"I'm not married to salt," Preston informed her as he slipped an arm around her shoulder and began leading her to the couch. "It doesn't seem very Hollywood, now, does it?"
"It doesn't seem to make sense," Rachel corrected him.
Buffy turned to Sam and once more feigned vomiting.
Preston laughed and nodded, opening his mouth.
Giles cleared his throat. "Well, Hollywood or not, if you want any sort of realism to this story I would stick with the salt."
In seconds Rachel had slipped out from under Preston's arm and turned to face Giles once more. "Why do say that? What is real about salt?"
"Salt draws moisture out of things. It was an old pagan belief that spirits could not cross over a salt boundary because it drew out their essence." Giles went immediately into Watcher/teacher mode. "This belief spans many different cultures, so it should not be scoffed at."
Rachel's eyes were wide. "Wow." She smiled and sidled up by Giles' side, looping an arm around his and drawing him closer while she played with her necklace. "You must tell me more."
Buffy gave a little squeak of outrage.
"T-that's a pretty necklace," Giles stammered. "Flourite, isn't it?"
Rachel glanced down at the pendant curiously. "I'm not sure. Pres gave it to me, said it's something my character would wear, so since I'm all into method acting I never take it off." She tilted her gaze up at him. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, Flourite is a fascinating stone," the Watcher assured her as he cleared his throat. "Amongst other things, it focuses the will."
"Does it now?" Rachel leaned so that her chest was pressed against Giles' arm.
"I—I really must —," Giles began as he tried to extricate himself.
"Would you like a tour around the set? I'll be your tour guide and you can explain more about this salt and paganism thing to me." Without even a glance towards anyone else, Rachel pulled Giles out of the trailer with her.
Buffy stood there, arms tense and hands clenched into fists as she glared at the closed trailer door.
"What the bloody hell is it about Rupert?" Preston wanted to know, clearly just as ticked off and jealous as Buffy was. "Despite that boring, completely uninteresting exterior he has always managed to get the birds around him to throw their knickers at him!"
In seconds Buffy turned and grabbed Preston by the front of his shirt, yanking the man clear off the ground. "There will be no removal of knickers, you got that?" She pulled him close. "If her hand goes anywhere close to her knickers you're going to lose something vital. Comprende?"
Preston's eyes widened. "You too?"
Buffy glared at him quite murderously.
Sensing that the screenwriter was about to say something that would end up in his own castration, Sam stepped forwards. "You said you had something to show us? Something from a sound guy?"
"R-right." Preston nodded and gulped when Buffy let go of him and let his feet finally hit the wall. "He picked up an EVP. Here. Let me play it for you."
It was moments like these in which Chloe missed her ring the most. It'd become a nervous habit of hers to twist it around her finger, but now that it was gone she was left with nothing to take her nervous energy out on. I hate this. She shouldn't be this nervous, or feel quite this queasy, but she was/did. She'd gotten to the warehouse early and used the time to pace outside in the backyard, had needed the time to think things over. To be honest though, she'd really just wanted the option to leave if her nerve left her, and she was very much tempted to do just that. She wasn't ready to see Angel again, he was just going to have to understand that.
Turning to leave, Chloe froze when she found herself staring into the face of a large, monstrous looking dog. It's body was muscular, his claws and eyes glowing with a fiery hue. The size of a Great Dane it had the body mass of a Rottweiler, reminding her somewhat of a Leonberger. This had to be one a Hellhound. But what was it doing here? She had to tell the others. Something must be happening in this sp—.
Turning around to leave in the opposite direction, Chloe stopped short once more to find another blocking her path, this one even larger than the other. Her heart raced as she glanced back and forth between the two Hellhounds, only to notice movement all around her as more and more of those things emerged from seemingly nowhere until they completely encircled her. Chloe's voice was caught in her throat, fear filling her, remembering her friends' accounts that these things had massacred the Watcher's Meet.
What were they doing here in the middle of the city? In the isolated backyard of Wimbley's abandoned factory? What was Angel doing that could possibly—?
The Hellhounds sat down, almost in unison, their fiery gazes on her.
Turning slowly, Chloe's gaze fell form Hellhound to Hellhound. Why weren't they attacking? They almost seemed to be trying to keep her trapped. But why? What was going on?
A noise sounded in the warehouse, drawing Chloe's attention towards it, and in the seconds it took for her gaze to return to the Hellhounds they were gone.
Lips parted, Chloe's eyes widened even further. What was going on? Why had they appeared? Why had they left? Why hadn't they attacked her?
"Chloe?" A voice called from the darkness of the cellar door situation under a small grove of trees. "Is that you?"
Jumping at Angel's voice, Chloe glanced over in his direction before giving her surroundings one last look, making sure that they were really gone as she made her way towards the opening. "Yeah." She descended into the darkness, headed towards the flashlight beam deeper inside. For a moment she paused and realized just how easily she'd stepped into the darkness. Anyone else might pause, might be a little intimidated, but she'd entered without a second thought. "Hello, Angel."
"Hey." Looking like he hadn't had a good night's sleep since he'd left, Angel appeared anxious and uncomfortable, as if not quite sure what to do next or how to behave. "Thanks for calling me. I was worried you wouldn't."
"When have I ever let you down?" Chloe knew it was a low blow but couldn't stop herself. She sighed and hugged her arms to her body tightly.
"I deserved that," Angel whispered as he continued to stand in that awkward way.
"What are you doing here, Angel?" She asked softly, tiredly.
He flinched, and instead of answering, asked: "How are you? You said something about being tapped into against your will?" He motioned for her to follow him down the dimly lit passageway.
She followed a step behind his pace. "Buffy has been having visions of people who can tap into my Hellmouth energy, and Sam has sensed both times those people have tapped in."
"Tapped in how?" Angel pressed, looking more at ease now that the conversation had shifted to a different topic. "I don't get that part."
Given how confused she was about the particulars herself she didn't blame him for his confusion. "Imagine that I have a locked vault inside of me where I keep the Hellmouth energy I've accumulated by tapping into the Hellmouth itself, and these guys have some sort of skeleton key that allows them to open the vault against my wishes, but when they open it the energy bursts out in uncontrollable waves that are so powerful that we both begin to drown in it."
"You can't control the energy you have stored inside of you?" He asked in surprise.
She shook her head, also finding her nerves from before draining slowly now that they were talking about something that had nothing to do with their personal (and failed) connection. "It's as if my body goes into shock from the overload. It did something similar when I tapped into the Hellmouth to find you when Spike and Dru kidnapped you that one time. Just like then, if it hadn't been for Sam's intervention I would've been in a lot of trouble."
Angel flinched and wouldn't look in her direction. He was probably remembering that when Chloe had done that she'd unintentionally strengthened whatever Dru had done to her blood - he was probably reminiscing on how Chloe's desperate actions to find him had inadvertently brought about Angelus' return quicker than it would've been otherwise.
Hugging herself tighter, Chloe kept her gaze ahead of her on the dimly lit hallway. "Azazel is planning something, and since I'm having nightmares I can't even remember… well… it seems very much Apocalypse Soonish."
"You've seen the Animus Demon again?" Angel asked in surprise.
"No, but he's linked to at least one of the guys who tapped into me, and he told the Sunnydale Watcher something was almost ready. It doesn't take a genius to realize he's connected to all of this."
Agitation was clearly visible on his face as he ran his hand over his head. "I'll reach out to my contacts in the demon community to see if they've heard or seen anything."
"Kal is already on it," she informed him. "The Watcher Council also knows something is up and if they find out anything about an obscure or forgotten prophecy we mightn't know about they will let us know." She fought with the desire to fidget. "Jenny is reaching out to her contacts in the technopagan community, the Slayer and Watcher in charge of Sunnydale have promised to get in contact with us should they have any further dealings with Azazel, and we're studying lore Giles believes might give us an insight on the Hellmouth itself to see whether someone else might've been in my shoes or something similar. Giles is sure I'm the first of 'my kind' though, since he's sure that a natural conduit of the Hellmouth energy would've been a big enough deal to be taught in the Watcher's Academy and feature in at least one exam." She made a face at the idea of being featured in an exam. "As it is they think I should be given into the custody of the Watcher's Council for 'observation and safe-keeping'."
"What?"
She nodded, not happy with that either. She'd asked Giles not to tell the others because she didn't want to give them more things to worry about, but that was a worry she was dealing with. From the very beginning, once they'd learnt of her unique connection with the Hellmouth energy, the Watcher Council had wanted a more hands-on approach with her, but different situations had kept it from happening. Her dropping off of the face of the world and living MIA for three years had made it even harder for them to do what they'd wanted, and now that she was back, and something Apocalypsy could be happening, and so many of their own had been massacred… Giles had warned her that he was worried on what they might do once they met and had a Council Meeting in a couple of days.
"Maybe they're right," Chloe muttered, hating to admit to that, but hadn't the Hellhounds outside just proved that there was more going on than she knew or could probably ever understand? "No one understands what I am or what I'm capable of if someone taps into the Hellmouth energy I've somehow managed to accumulate inside of me. Dru already showed how I can be activated to perform nefarious acts without my even realizing it. Maybe I should go spend some time with the Watchers Council. They could study me, and I'm sure they have spelled rooms where I'd be safe, or neutralized, or something. At least until the threat is over."
Angel opened his mouth and then closed it as he hugged his hands to his chest. "Is that really what you want to do?"
No. It wasn't. She wanted to be here helping her friends not only find out a cure to the Winchester family curse, but anything else they needed. "I don't know. Maybe. I'm still unsure."
Angel took in a deep breath. "Whatever you decide… I'll support that."
Chloe's smile didn't reach her eyes.
They hadn't been able to clearly make out what the voice on the EVP Preston had ready for them to listen to, but that hadn't been the extent of his findings. After he'd seen the looks passed between Buffy and Sam, the screenwriter had then popped in one of the dailies in the dvd player and showed them the actual filming of the studio guy's death, which had been caught on film.
"All right, here's where Brad fell through the roof." Preston leaned back in the sofa, while (on his either side) Buffy and Sam leaned forwards to get a better view.
Onscreen, the young blonde actress stared out of the window of a creepy cabin, fear on her face. "They're in hell, Mitch! How could demons possibly hear us chanting from that dusty old book?"
Mitch held his shotgun tightly to his chest, eyes wide as sudden realization dawned on him visibly. "They must have super-hearing!"
Suddenly Brad fell through the ceiling of the set, hanging by a noose, causing everyone to scream and hurry away.
"Hey, wait, go back. Go back!" Buffy yanked the remote from Preston and rewound the footage before playing to right after Brad's body had fallen, and then paused the frame. "Yeah… There." She pointed to the side of the set which had become visible when the startled cameraman moved the camera sideways. On the screen, for a split second, there was a completely different set and standing in the far corner of this set was a ghost white woman.
"How did you pick that up?" Preston asked in awe. "It couldn't have been more than a second's worth of footage!"
"Slayer." Buffy pointed to herself, eyes on the screen. "Any idea who the dead broad is?"
"No, but it's like Three Men and a Baby all over again," Preston muttered, and must've sensed Sam's confused look before he hurried to explain. "Selleck, Danson, and Guttenberg. And… I don't know who played the baby."
"Is there a point to this or are you just showing off your movie trivial knowledge?" Buffy had been quite grumpy since Rachel had kidnapped and disappeared with Giles.
"You're not a very socially adept person, are you?" Preston raised an eyebrow.
Buffy gasped. "I'll have you know I was the captain of my cheerleading squad." At Sam's look she pouted. "I was. Before Sunnydale."
Ah. Right. Now that Sam thought about it he could somewhat remember Chloe mentioning that to him once when he'd come across Buffy trying to convince Giles that she wasn't joining a cult by trying out for the Sunnydale cheerleading squad.
"Sure you were," Preston scoffed before he turned to Sam. "There's a scene in the movie where people say that the camera caught a ghost on film. Apparently, in the background of one of the scenes, there was this boy that nobody remembers from set."
"Spirit photography," Sam muttered in understanding.
"Exactly." Preston snapped his fingers at Sam, grin wide.
The door opened and Giles and Rachel could be heard chuckling as they entered the trailer.
Buffy stood immediately, eyes narrowed. "Giles."
He jumped slightly and turned to face her. "Buffy! Rachel has told me some fascinating—."
"Lovely," Buffy interrupted, hands on her hips. "While you've been frolicking I've been hard at work."
"What are we, chopped liver?" Preston asked Sam with a huff.
"Now, Buffy," Giles begun.
"Wow, the resemblance is uncanny." Rachel stepped forwards and eyed the screen with furrowed eyebrows. "Are we adding Elise to the movie, Pres? Have there been some rewrites that I haven't heard of?"
"You know who that is?" Sam asked as he stood.
"Well, duh. That's an actress who is a freakily good double of Elise Drummond." Rachel turned to him, and when she saw the blank looks on everyone's faces she pressed on. "C'mon, you must've heard of her. She was a huge starlet back in the thirties until she had an affair with a studio exec. He used her up, fired her, and left her destitute. Basically the scandal ruined her career." Rachel made a face as suddenly unease visibly filled her. "She hung herself from Stage 9's rafters, right into a scene they were shooting."
"You sure seem to know a lot about some random actress from the 30's," Buffy muttered.
Sam had been wonder the same, but the Slayer had beat him to the question.
"She's a huge cautionary tale," Rachel informed the Slayer. "The studio guys think that they can get away with anything when it comes to the actresses, especially when we're still trying to make a name for ourselves. 'Remember Elise' is a warning we tell our new actresses. There are other examples, of course, but considering her connection to Studio 9…" Rachel shrugged before she hugged herself. "Isn't it weird that that guy hung himself during our reshoots like Elise did?" She turned to Preston. "That is a double, right?" She shivered. "I did see that thing when Frank died."
Ah right, Rachel didn't know that that had all been a publicity stunt. Sam felt a little bad for her. "It has to be. I mean, after seventy-something years there's no reason for that ghost to go homicidal, you know? Why this movie?"
"Maybe she's mad they're making a scary ghost flick," Rachel countered as she rubbed her pendant nervously. "It could've triggered her."
"C'mon now, I've seen the dailies," Buffy declared with a sneer on her face. "Let's be honest, it's not really scary."
"Oh boy," Sam muttered under his breath.
Suddenly the door flew open and one of the crewmen stuck her head in, looking a mixture of horrified and electrified. "Jay's dead!"
"What?" Rachel's eyes widened as she turned to her in shock.
Sam stood. "How did he die? And when? We didn't hear anything."
The girl took in a deep breath. "It was a freak sort of accident. He got sucked into one of our giant fans. No one's sure how it happened, but the sound of them on must've muffled any sound he would've made." She looked out at someone calling for her. "Coming!" And with that she slammed the door shut and left.
"A run-in with a giant fan?" Rachel collapsed onto the seat that Sam had vacated. "Same thing happened to an electrician back in '66."
"How the hell do you know so much?" Buffy wanted to know.
"The crew talk, I listen. Like six people died on Stage 9, people have always said it might be haunted, but I like, thought they were tales the crew told to freak us out!" Rachel hugged herself, very pale. "But they're real! This place is haunted and out to get us!"
"Look, even if it was haunted this doesn't seem like something Elise would do," Sam tried to console the clearly terrified brunette. "It's not her MO."
"But what about the guy who did die that way?" Rachel wanted to know.
"These kind of things don't usually tag-team." Buffy then blinked. "Not that I believe in hauntings or anything!"
"I saw something when I found Franke's body, okay!?" Rachel shot up to her feet, eyes narrowed. "I don't care if nobody believes me! Ghosts are real and we're all in danger!" With that she pushed passed them and hurried out of the trailer.
Giles raised an eyebrow at Buffy. "Was that really the nicest way to handle that? The girl is clearly traumatized by her ordeal."
"Oh, sure, take her side!" Buffy snapped at him before storming out of the trailer as well.
Preston glared at Giles. "What the bloody hell sort of power do you have?" And with that he too left, his last words before he slammed the door shut behind him were: "It's not fair!"
Giles turned to Sam in visible confusion. "What just happened?"
Sam could do nothing more but shrug.
Cordelia Chase lounged on the sofa, her head rested on Dean's lap as they watched one of his favorite movies: Stab Me Once. When she'd told him that she wanted a day of just chilling, to forget about the crazy upheaval that was going on around them (even if only for 24 hours) he'd looked surprised but had quickly agreed, especially when she'd told him she had a desire to watch his favorite scary movie trilogy. There were few times in which she indulged in his vices, and she knew that Dean took each opportunity like a reward. He was never sure exactly what he'd done to get in her good graces, and he'd usually spend days trying to figure out what it was just so he could repeat and get more rewards. He was like a cute puppy she'd trained.
Her tender smile turned into a small frown as she stared ahead of her unseeingly. When would she be able to be like this with Dean again? She'd send him out to get them take-out later on, and when he came back it would be too late. By that time she'd be on the road with this douchebag of a father, heading towards only the gods and John Winchester knew where. He'd only allow her to know, would only help her save her life, if she kept Dean out of the loop, and while she hated doing that to him… he would die as well if something didn't change. Cordelia Chase had a shot at ending the Winchester family curse, and she would take it. She'd spent too many years training Dean to be the perfect man for her to lose it all because of a damn curse.
Dean would be pissed when he found out what she'd done, but she was more than sure that she could win him back over once the curse was lifted and he found out she'd been the hero and saved their future. Cordelia Chase: Hero. She liked the sound of that.
"Baby, how about later we get some hamburgers and pie?" Cordelia asked, gaze on the television.
"What about your cleanse?" Dean asked in shock.
"Are you calling me fat?" She slapped his knee.
"Of course not! You're perfect!" Dean announced genuinely. "You want hamburgers and pie? Who am I to look the gift-horse in the mouth?"
"Yeah, I'm perfect," Cordelia assured him. "You better not forget how lucky you are that I'm in your life."
"Never," he promised with a chuckle.
Cordelia closed her eyes tightly and told herself not to cry.
After the police had come and investigated the scene of the accident, the director of Hell Hazers 2: The Reckoning had announced that, in light of the accident, and in cooperation with the authorities, they were shitting down production for a few days. Buffy was relieved to be able to have the place to herself. She paced up and down the different scaffoldings, visited the different sets, and basically wished that her Spidey Senses would react so that she could have something beat up.
Seriously, just how inconsiderate was Giles?
Turning the corner, she stopped straight when she saw Rachel Davenport standing in a circle of salt, peering at her surroundings through the screen of her phone's camera lens. A large container of salt was by her feet.
Shaking her head, the Slayer moved towards the bane of her existence. "What are you doing?"
"Giles said that salt protects you from spirits," Rachel replied as she continued to scan her surroundings. "I'm going to stay here and get proof that this place is haunted. Then people will believe that what I saw was true!"
Rolling her eyes, Buffy finally moved to stand in front of her. "Look, the whole place is closed for a couple of days. Why don't you just go home and take this time to catch up on your tanning or something?"
Rachel sent her an ugly look before returning her gaze to the screen. "I'm not crazy. I saw something. And I'm going to prove it." She made a little face. "Are, uh, you and Giles like a thing?"
Buffy opened her mouth to say yes, before frowning and folding her arms over her chest. "No. Not—not in the way you're asking, at least."
"But you want to be?"
"So what if I do?" Buffy asked, defiant, knowing her hostility towards the other girl was oozing from her pores and yet doing nothing to try and hide it.
"You're so lucky, he's so hot." Rachel gave a little sigh. "Do you know that the whole tour I gave him he found ways to talk about you?"
Buffy's defiance and hostility quickly began to melt into curiosity. "Really?"
"Do you know how hard it is to find a guy who doesn't just take one look at me and fall in lust?" Rachel bemoaned. "I have guys everywhere, I can't get rid of them, but they're all horny boys. Even the old ones like Preston are horny boys in old bodies." She gave a little shudder. "But Giles is so… worldly… and he knows so much… and he didn't look at my chest once!" She turned to Buffy in shock, as if this was the most incredible part of what she was saying. "When I saw you three I figured you were with the mountain, but I quickly realized my mistake." She pouted. "Why haven't you made a move on Giles? You were about to claw my eyes out earlier so obviously you're possessive of him."
Fighting the blush on her face, Buffy cleared her throat as she shifted her weight on her feet nervously. "We've known each other for so long… and he still sees me as a kid." She groaned. "And I still act like a kid."
Rachel chuckled. "Then stop acting like a kid."
"Wow, thanks Captain Obvious." And yet, even though she rolled her eyes, Buffy's hostility was gone. "He really talked about me while he was with you?"
"Nonstop. I'm still not sure how he managed to work you into each topic so seamlessly," Rachel muttered as she continued to scan their surroundings. "Look, take it from me, if you really like him you should make a move. He's totally hot and that accent is to die for. If you don't do something some other girl with less morals than me is going to come and make him forget all about you."
"I doubt they could," Buffy muttered. "I'm special." I am the Slayer after all.
Rachel laughed. "There's the spirit! Muster that confidence and have a long conversation with him."
Buffy thought it over. While now was definitely not the time (not with the possible Apocalypse and all) but afterwards she really might do what Rachel was telling her to. She was an adult now, and they weren't getting any younger. Plus, like Chloe had said a while back, as Slayer and her Watcher, she and Giles were basically married already.
"Muffy?" Rachel looked up from her screen and then down at it once more.
"It's Buffy." The strawberry blonde glared at the brunette.
"Whatever." Rachel's eyes widened. "Get inside the circle of salt. Now."
"What? Why?" And yet Buffy jumped into the circle of salt and stood next to the young actress.
"Because." Rachel tilted the screen so that Buffy could see the multitude of translucent bodies around them, drawing nearer. "We're surrounded."
Giles and Sam had settled into the sofa, viewing the various dailies Preston had in his trailer, hoping to find some other ghostly apparition in the frames, but five DVDs in and there were no ghosts. Not only had Sam been unable to detect anything out of place, but he'd ended up muting the volume (with Giles' consent) due to the poor dialogue delivery, which was getting on his nerves.
Then again, maybe Sam wasn't finding anything out of the ordinary because he was distracted by his multitude of questions regarding what could be happening between Chloe and Angel right now. Countless scenarios crossed his mind, and he found himself hoping Giles was paying closer attention to the dailies because he was missing full scenes with how distracted he was.
"Your mind seems to be somewhere else." Giles leaned back hard. "I assume you have other worries, especially given your family curse."
Pausing the video on the scene, shot over her shoulder as Rachel reading from an old book, Sam sighed and ran his hand down his face.
"I know that this might be awkward for you, but please know if you ever feel the need to go to an impartial third party for advice, I am here," Giles told him.
Suddenly Sam doubted Giles was talking about the family curse. "Should I step aside and let whatever happens - happen? He obviously still loves her if he is back."
Giles took a moment to answer. "If the world ended tomorrow, would you regret not having taken a chance? Would you regret just letting Angel take her back without having at least let her know how you truly feel about her?"
Sam took in a deep breath. "What about you? Buffy couldn't be more obvious if she put a sign on you." At Giles' flushed stammering, Sam sighed. "Oh come on, Giles. No one is that oblivious. Buffy was clearly jealous - just like she was jealous of Jenny, and Kendra before her."
Shoulders sagging, Giles leaned forwards. "I am aware, yes. But I owe a responsibility to Buffy to be more than just… I am her Watcher. It is my sacred duty to protect her, not prey upon her."
"Prey?" Sam snickered. "You're both adults!"
"Yes, well, I am much more adult than she is," Giles replied in that no-nonsense way of his. "No other Slayer has ever been able to pass the mantel on to another Slayer while still being alive. Buffy has the unique opportunity to live a long, normal life. She should settle down with a nice young man who has no ties to this world, and live like any other girl her age."
Sam motioned around him at the haunted studio they were in. "Whether she's the Slayer of an active Hellmouth of not, Buffy doesn't gravitate towards 'normal'."
"She once did."
"Who of us are who we used to be before the Hellmouth got in our veins? Hell, we're not even close to being the same people we were even a year ago!" Sam paused for a second as he realized just how true his words were. "I think you owe it to the both of you to not dismiss what's happening here just because it makes you feel guilty."
Giles frowned and opened his mouth before he froze and gazed passed Sam at the screen. "What the bloody hell?" He stood. "Unmute this!"
Doing as told, Sam put the unmuted clip to play. "What is it?"
On screen, Rachel read from the book.
And then, actually paying attention to the words, Sam realized what he should've hours ago. "That's a real spell. It's a butchered version, but definitely some sort of summoning spell."
"The imbecile!" Giles turned to Sam. "I'm going to kill him."
"But why would Preston call us in to investigate a haunting he created?" Sam couldn't wrap his head around that one.
"Let's ask him," Giles grumbled as he stormed towards the door.
They'd spoken about possible Apocalypses, and Angel had promised to get them some rare manuscripts on the Hellmouth. That was good and all, but they hadn't talked about 'them' and Chloe didn't know how she felt about that. On one hand - why was he back? On the other - was she truly prepared to find out?
"This place can't be that comfortable to live in," she observed, finding the underground quarters to be cold and unwelcoming.
"It does the soul good to go without sometimes," he replied. "Plus, I don't care about creature comforts."
Somewhat annoyed, Chloe raised an eyebrow. "You are a creature of comfort."
"No, I'm not," Angel responded instantly, tersely. "Angelus is."
"You are Angelus. Just with inhibitions and morals!" Chloe couldn't get how he still could be in such deep denial.
"No. I'm not. Angelus and I are completely different people. How can you - of all people - not realize that?" He snapped defensively.
"You know what? You're right. Angelus was never one to beat around the bush." She hugged herself. "Why are you here, Angel? Why are you back? And don't hedge the question this time."
The vampire's gaze lowered as he took in a deep breath. "I'm not here to beg for your forgiveness or try to win you back."
It took all of Chloe's self-control to not let it show just how much that answer had devastated her. "Obviously not." She raised her chin. "So why are you here?"
Angel took in a deep breath once more. "As Angelus I put you in one horrible situation after the other. If I have to spend the rest of my unlife finding a way to somehow make up for what he did—if I can help—."
She didn't hear the rest of that. Everything around her faded into white noise as nausea bubbled up her throat. He felt guilty, that was all. She was yet another thing he had to repent about, had to redeem himself for. Like with Dru and Spike, Angel looked at her and saw something good which Angelus had molded and twisted into an abomination. She remembered how he'd talked about what Angelus had done to Dru and Spike, how horrified and ashamed of Angelus' creations he was. She was yet another black mark against the soul. Another regret.
I'm going to be sick.
"—I know that I can never atone for what Angelus did to you, but—."
"Stop." She couldn't be here. Not now. Maybe not ever. "I'm sorry that you're so disgusted with the person I am now—."
"I'm not saying—!"
"—but I am not apologizing for adapting, for surviving, for evolving." She raised a hand and silenced him when he would've interrupted her. "Bring the books to Sam's and leave them there. Don't knock. Don't come in."
"Chloe—," Angel's voice broke.
"Thank you for your help, Angel. I'll have the books returned to you when we're done going over them." Turning around, she walked back the way she'd come, slowly enough as to not appear as if she was running away… slowly enough that he could've caught up to her easily had he wished to.
He didn't.
It was hard not to run, to keep her pace steady as she walked down the dimly lit path back to where the exit was. She stepped into the fading light as the sun slowly began its trek towards the horizon.
A tear escaped her eye but she wiped it away rebelliously and continued to walk away from the abandoned warehouse with her head held high. Thoughts of Hellhounds were far from her mind, her dignity lay it tatters inside of her and she was barely holding on. The blonde concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Right.
Don't cry. Don't breakdown. Be strong. Please don't cry.
"I don't know what's gotten into you today," Dean hummed happily as they pulled away from yet another kiss at the doorway. "But if it's something I've done please let me know so I can repeat it, often."
"No cheating." Cordelia pulled him in close and kissed him deeply. She let their lips part and stared up into his eyes. "I love you."
Dean's grin grew. "I love you."
Telling herself not to cry, to prove to the world that she would've been a first-class actress, she smiled brightly and pushed him away. "No go get me my pie!"
"Yes ma'am!" Saluting, Dean winked and hurried towards his vehicle.
Leaning in the doorway, Cordelia hugged herself and watched him as he got in and started the engine, returning his wave when he sent one before taking off. Only when his car rounded the bend and was out of sight did Cordelia close her eyes and let the tears begin to fall. "Goodbye Dean." She hugged herself as her voice broke. "I love you."
"Where the blue blazes are you?" Giles snarled into the phone. "You have a lot to explain, Preston! You're killing innocent people!"
Sam frowned as he followed after the older man but stopped when he felt a gust of cold wind inside of the closed set.
"Yes you are! We know, Preston! There's no need to hide anymore!" Giles growled. "We know about the spell you wrote into the movie! The one which summons spirits of people unlucky in love to—!" Giles sputtered. "Don't be ridiculous! I'm not foolish enough to believe that sto—." He skidded to a stop. "Are you serious?" He shook his head. "I refuse to believe that your knowledge of dead languages is that deplorable! You survived a full year at the Watcher's Academy for god's sake!" He turned to Sam, looking utterly disgusted. "It's supposed to be a love spell."
That caught Sam's attention. "What?"
Giles put the phone call on speaker.
Preston's voice was confused and hysteric. "—never paid any attention to me so I thought - why not use my knowledge to get a little bit of an advantage over these idiots here? She has to read it all the time, the spell has got to stick! Tons of people have died unloved in this industry, so I figured that energy would make the spell more potent! She'd fall head over heels in love with me and—."
"Wait," Sam interrupted. "You tried to spell Rachel into falling in love with you? That's creepy, man!"
"That's not creepy, it's desperate!" Preston defended himself passionately.
"It sure is," Giles muttered darkly. "Instead of trying to force that young girl to fall in love with you, you've endangered her and everyone else here!"
"You don't understand my situation, Rupert! You've never had problems with the ladies! Not when you we were in the Academy, and not now either! That gorgeous Slayer is totally hot for your stick! And you wear tweed! TWEED, RUPERT! You don't have my fashion sense! My fame! My money! But you always get the girls and that's not fair!"
"Oh grow up!" Giles snapped into the receiver. "You're going to tell me what the anchor for the spell is and we're going to try and figure out a way of ending this spell without someone else dying!"
"You can't do that, Rupe. She's almost there, I can feel it. Rachel seeks me out more. I just have to hold out for a little bit longer!"
"People are dying, Preston!"
"I don't care!" And with that, he hung up.
Giles turned to Sam. "We have to find Buffy and get out of here before something happens. We can regroup elsewhere while we figure out what to do."
Sam opened his mouth to agree when the sound of a girl screaming echoed back towards them.
The men shared a look, and, as one, raced in that direction.
"What are we going to do?" Rachel wanted to know, voice tinted with hysteria as each shift of the camera found more and more ghosts surrounding the circle of salt that they found themselves trapped in. "The set's closed, I don't know if anyone was even around to hear me yelling for help."
"How do I fight these things if I can't even seen them?" Buffy asked herself as she tried to formulate some sort of plan. "I don't even know if I can touch them!"
"Fight them?" Rachel squeaked. "What are you talking about? We have to find a way to get away from here!"
"BUFFY!" Giles' voice echoed as footsteps drew near loudly.
Buffy stared up in horror as she saw Giles and Sam appearing. "BE CAREFUL! THERE ARE GHOSTS EVERYWHERE! WE CAN ONLY SEE THEM THROUGH THE LENS OF A CAMERA!"
Giles stumbled to a stop and reached into his pocket, no doubt to pull out his phone.
Sam on the other hand, held his arm up, palms towards Buffy and Rachel, feet planted firmly on the ground. He seemed to be gathering resolve, or something, as he finally spoke, his voice deeper than usual when he yelled out: "Obscurate nos non diutius!" Even from this distance, Chloe could see Sam's eyes darkening, the pupils widening as magic exploded outwards from him as if a bomb had been detonated, and as each ripple spread out, ghostly figures began to appear all around them, proving that there were close to fifty ghosts separating Buffy and Rachel from the guys.
Giles turned to look at Sam in surprise as the ghosts did the same.
"Stay here," Buffy ordered Rachel as she dove out of the ring of salt, sailing through the bodies of the ghosts and tumbling on the ground before pushing up to her feet, standing between the men and the ghosts. "So… I can't touch them." She glanced over her shoulder at Sam. "Any ideas of what is going on?"
"Preston messed up a love spell aimed at…" Giles peered over at Rachel before his gaze returned to Buffy. "This is the result."
"A love spell?" Buffy squeaked in confusion "How is this even remotely—?" She shook her head. "Never mind that. How do I fight these things? I can't touch them but they can touch me."
As the ghosts began the advance, Sam looked around them before clearing his throat. "I have an idea… but I'm going to need some help… and protection."
"Guys!" Rachel yelled as she threw the container of salt through the ghosts' midst.
As soon as the container fell into Giles' hands he poured some into his hand and tossed it out towards the ghosts, causing them to flicker and disperse. "We've bought ourselves a couple of seconds." He began to create a larger circle around the three of them. "What's the plan?"
Sam turned to Giles. "The Blessing of Shamash."
"Blessing of Shamash?" Giles frowned in thought before his eyes widened. "It could work! At least buy us some time."
"What the Blessing of Shamish?" Buffy wanted to know as she glanced between them.
"It's a spell that will shield you from magical damage," Giles replied immediately. "The problem is that the spell needs to be continuously chanted to maintain the effects, and with so many ghosts attacking you it will take both of us to keep it up."
"Why haven't we used this Blessing of Shamish before?" Buffy wanted to know. "It sounds awesome!"
"It's draining on the caster," Giles replied. "If kept up for long it could seriously injure the caster. Even with the two of us… I don't know how long we can hold it up before it starts to affect us aversely."
Buffy immediately frowned and nodded. "I get it. Kick ass in record timing."
All around them, ghosts began to flicker back to life.
Buffy took in a deep breath and cracked her knuckles.
"You're in danger!"
Coming to a halted stop right before she would've crossed the road, Chloe glanced over her shoulder, surprised to find that those words had been aimed at her. She turned her back on the crosswalk and frowned as the petite brunette gripped her bag and hurried towards her, looking out of breath and flushed. "Excuse me?"
"I know this is going to sound insane, but please listen to me, I'm a hundred per cent serious. I'm not insane and I'm not on drugs. I'm normal. And this is way way way off the map for me." She cleared her throat, clearly nervous. "I—I get these migraines… and when I do… I see things."
Chloe glanced around her in wariness, wondering if this was some sort of joke, or trap, but there didn't seem to be anyone around who was watching. In fact, given the abandoned part of town they were in, there was no one at all. "Christo."
"Huh?" The brunette asked in confusion, eyes remaining human.
Okay, so she wasn't one of Azazel's people, and the fact that there was still sunlight in the sky meant she couldn't be a vampire either. That didn't mean she wasn't psycho or out to get Chloe either though, so the blonde kept a cautious eye on her. "What's your gameplan?"
"Gameplan?" The girl asked in confusion. "I don't… understand." She then shook her head and took in a deep breath. "I keep seeing you. I thought I was going insane. I thought… I thought you were some unconscious manifestation of my uncertainties, or that what I was seeing was early onset schizophrenia or something. But then I won that ticket at my office to come here, and then I got lost, and then I look up while having a minor freak-out about going missing in an unknown city… and here you are! You're real! You're alive! You're not something my mind's made up!" She laughed nervously before suddenly frowning. "Oh boy. What if—what if you actually are a figment of my imagination and my psychosis has just progressed and gotten worse?" She gripped her hair tightly, fear in her every feature. "The stress of getting lost could've triggered a full-blown freak out! I could be talking to myself in the middle of this place, ready to get mugged!"
The brunette was clearly close to losing her marbles. If she was some big bad she was doing a really good job of hiding it.
Chloe reached out and placed her hands on the girl's shoulders. "Breathe in. Breathe out. Good. What's your name?"
"Ava Wilson," the girl squeaked.
"Okay, Ava, I'm Chloe. I need you to try and calm down, and when you do I need you to start all over again. Tell me about these things you've been seeing."
"Oh. Ah. Uhm. Okay." Ava breathed in, breathed out, breathed in, breathed out, and nodded as she tried once more. "About a year ago I started having these headaches and nightmares, I guess, and I didn't really think much about it until I had this one dream where this guy gets stabbed in a parking lot. A couple of days later, I found this. I keep it on me to remind myself that I can't be crazy… I-I can't be." She reached into her bag and rumbled through it before pulling out a newspaper cut out, handing it out to Chloe. "I saw this guy's murder days before it happened! I don't know why! I don't…. For some reason my dreams are coming true, and uh, I dream about others… but the one constant is you."
"You see me die?" Chloe asked softly.
"No." Ava gulped and shook her head rapidly. "You don't die."
And yet, the look on Ava's face made it seem as if whatever she'd seen was far worse than death ever could be.
Chloe narrowed her eyes and steeled herself as she asked: "Ava… What do you see?"
Ava looked around her and took in a couple of deep, rapid breaths, tears filling her eyes. "I see all hell break loose."
"Gurumeh ninginmeh, nugulgulah, gurumeh ninginmeh, chehmeh dulduleh." Sam and Giles chanted, hands held.
"Why am I calling Preston?" Rachel yelled as she held her phone to her ear. "I don't understand my part in this plan!"
The men ignored her and continued to chant. "Gurumeh ninginmeh, nugulgulah, gurumeh ninginmeh, chehmeh dulduleh."
Buffy weaved in and out amongst the ghost bodies, dodging blows where she could, hoping to minimize the trauma to Sam and Giles as they continued to imbue her with protection. Her hits were suddenly landing, she wasn't sure how or why given the fact that the two spells used had been to make the ghosts visible - and to protect her - but she didn't question it. Maybe it was a Slayer thing when enhanced with magic. Whatever. Best not to look the gift horse in the mouth and take what was given to her.
But no matter how many times she kicked, or punched, or threw these ghosts around, they'd just shake it off and come back at her with renewed fury, attacking her more and more viciously, which in turn added more and more strain on Giles and Sam.
What could she do? She needed to figure out what Preston was using to anchor the spell and break it. Was it the book that the spell had been read off of? No. That wouldn't make any sense. The book was a prop, it wasn't real, it didn't hold any actual power. But if Rachel was the intended target, then whatever was the anchor would be close to her. Buffy mightn't have paid too much attention to the lectures Giles had given her on magic, but she remembered watching Sam and Chloe practicing together and could remember that little rule if not much else.
So what could—?
"He's not answering!" Rachel yelled, clutching her necklace tightly. "What do I do? Is there a Plan B?"
Buffy's eyes widened as a memory flashed before her eyes.
"T-that's a pretty necklace," Giles stammered. "Flourite, isn't it?"
Rachel glanced down at the pendant curiously. "I'm not sure. Pres gave it to me, said it's something my character would wear, so since I'm all into method acting I never take it off." She tilted her gaze up at him. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, Flourite is a fascinating stone," the Watcher assured her as he cleared his throat. "Amongst other things, it focuses the will."
"Does it now?" Rachel leaned so that her chest was pressed against Giles' arm.
"It's the necklace." Buffy turned towards Rachel. "Throw me the necklace!"
"My necklace?" Rachel glanced down at the pendant. "Why?"
"It's the anchor!" Buffy hurried towards the actress in the salt ring. "We have to destroy it! Unless we do these—!" She screamed as suddenly the ghosts, as if understanding what was about to happen, all converged on her at once like linebackers. Buffy fought, she kicked, punched, and tried to claw herself out of the pile of ghosts forcing her down on the ground, suffocating her, but she couldn't.
The last thing she saw before the bodies completely covered her view was blood trickling down Sam and Giles' nostrils.
Suddenly an explosion of power exploded outwards, piercing through the ghosts, who flickered and they disappeared, leaving Buffy lying on her back on the ground. The Slayer looked around her in confusion before she turned to see Rachel's neck bare. "What—?"
She then turned her head to see Sam's hand outstretched out of the circle. Black circled through the veins of his hand, the chain of Rachel's necklace falling downwards. When he opened his hand the Flourite sprinkled down in sparkling dust.
"Is it over?" Rachel asked as she looked around her worriedly. "Are they gone?"
"They're free, no longer trapped and forced to—." Giles' eyes widened. "Preston."
Just then, Preston's screams begging for help could be heard.
Joyce Summers paid the taxi man a little extra for bringing her numerous and heavy luggage right to Rupert Giles' door. She waved to him as he drove away, and then turned and knocked on the door only for no one to stir inside. Well, she was a little earlier than she'd told Buffy she would be.
Sighing, Joyce sat down on the Watcher's front step and leaned against the large container containing her husband. "Don't worry, Ted, Chloe and Sam will fix you." With a kiss to the container, Joyce took in a deep breath and sighed.
"Babe, you're not going to believe it." Dean kicked the door closed behind him as he entered the apartment, bags of food in his hand. "They didn't have cherry pie, so I had to—." He frowned when he realized that the television was off, and the apartment completely silent. That wasn't like Cordelia. "Babe? Where are you?"
Dropping the bags on the door, Dean took a step further into the apartment before he saw an envelope on the table by the entry. It was crisp and white and had his name written on it in Cordelia's fancy cursive.
Heart dropping into his stomach, finding it hard to breathe, Dean reached for the envelope and ripped it open, pulling out the letter addressed to him within.
Sam watched the ambulance take Preston's body away, the EMTs they'd called said they believed the man had had a heart attack. That seemed like a karmic retribution if any. He'd unknowingly used the ghosts' broken hearts against them - and they, in turn, broken his heart once free. A part of Sam disbelieved that Preston had managed to do all of this accidentally, and yet, if it had been on purpose, why would he bring them in to investigate it? This one was forever going to remain a mystery.
He glanced over where Buffy was talking to Rachel, clearly comforting the girl, and then glanced to where Giles was reporting the event to the Watcher's Council, his side of the phone conversation clearly tense.
Taking in a deep breath, Sam felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and reached in, pulling it out to find that Dean was calling. He answered it immediately. "You're not going to believe what happened."
"She left me, Sammy." Dean's voice was soft, lost.
"What?" Sam frowned in confusion. "What are you talking?"
Dean's voice was scratchy and filled with suppressed emotion as he whispered: "Cordelia's gone."
TBC