Chaos and Confusion
Buffy turned around to see William nowhere in sight. Her brow furrowed for a moment as she spun in a circle.
"William?" she called but got no response. She let out a groan. It hadn't registered in her mind that staking a vampire would freak him out. Taking a moment to think, she took off in the direction of the house. Buffy knew how scared he must be. She still remembered her first vampire. She was halfway back to the house when she heard ragged breathing from behind a clump of bushes.
"William?" she called again. Movement in the bush let her know she'd found him.
He slowly stood up. His eyes were wide with fear and confusion. "What…what happened? What did you do?"
She took a step forward, making him take one away. "I…I can explain. Maybe we should go home first."
William began to shake his head in disbelief. He didn't consider himself a spiritual man but whatever that woman was, she was most certainly not one of God's creations. And she'd just turned to dust.
"I…it was just a trick. She couldn't have…just turned to dust."
Buffy shook her head. "I know it's hard to believe…trust me I know exactly what you're thinking…but it's real. All of it." She offered her hand to him.
"Come on. I promise I'll explain everything."
He looked at her outstretched hand for a moment before nodding and accepting it. They walked along the street in silence. William's gaze darted back and forth feverishly, as if at any moment something would jump out and attack. Buffy just squeezed his hand and patted his arm in reassurance. They arrived back at the house to find Anne already in her dressing gown, curled up beneath a blanket near the fire.
"Mother, are you alright?" William asked the moment he saw her.
"Fine, dear. Just a little cold."
He moved to stand over her. "Come let's get you into bed."
"Nonsense-" A painful sounding cough. "I'll be alright here."
"Mother you're ill. You should rest."
Anne gave him a reproachful look but allowed him to help her stand. She wobbled, trying to catch her balance and Buffy reached over to steady her. Together, William and Buffy managed to get Anne up the stairs and into bed.
"Would you like some tea, Mother?"
"No. I'll be fine." She paused, reaching out to take her son's hand in her own. "You're so good to me."
He gave her a smile back. "Rest now."
Quietly, he led Buffy out of the room, back to the parlor. Buffy gathered her shirts around herself and sat down as comfortably as she could. She sorely missed her jeans. They avoided each other's glances, unsure what to say.
--
Faith continued to bar the doorway. She hadn't gotten to have her fun with him yet. She gave him a small smirk before punching Spike in the jaw.
"What is bloody wrong with you people?" he shouted, stumbling backwards.
Faith pointed to herself. "Slayer," and then to Spike. "Vampire. That's not a new concept to you, right?"
"I told you I don't where Buffy is."
"See…I just don't believe you." She took another swing and he managed to dodge just in time.
Angel just stood by watching. They would get the truth out of Spike one way or another. Spike let out a growl and started to fight back, landing a blow or two to Faith's body.
"Hey…stop looking pretty and get me something to stake this guy with!" Faith shouted.
Angel cleared his throat in embarrassment before looking around the classroom. For a science room there were very few useful objects. Behind him Faith and Spike were not locked in a death grip.
"Hurry!"
"I'm looking, I'm looking." He finally reached up and broke the flag pole in half, tossing part of it to her.
Faith managed to get free of Spike's grip, shoving him away from her. She leveled the jagged piece of wood at his chest and made the deliver to the fatal blow when suddenly Spike disappeared. Faith looked around in confusion.
"What the hell just happened?"
"I…I don't know," Angel replied. He wore a look of confusion as they started for the doorway.
Faith tossed the broken flag pole t the ground, appearing equally confused. They made their way back to the main building of the school.
"You feel all…weird right?" she asked as they made their way towards the library.
"Yeah…like…there's something I'm forgetting…but no matter how hard I think….I can't remember."
"Same here. Creepy. Maybe it has something to do with B's disappearing act."
"Maybe. We should let the others know."
Faith nodded in agreement. "Good thinking."
In the library, Willow sat on the edge of the table, flipping through the watcher diaries on Spike. Most of the information was things they already knew.
"Find anything?" Giles asked.
Willow shook her head. "Nothing. Just stuff we already know."
"I think we should go check the Warehouse anyway…you know. Be proactive. Do something other than sit here and read books," Xander grumbled.
Willow said nothing, turning her attention back to the book. Strangely, the page was blank. "That's weird."
"What is?" Giles moved to look over her shoulder. He took in the blank pages as well. "How odd."
Willow's face suddenly scrunched up as if she were thinking too hard. "What…what were we looking for?"
Giles looked pensive for a moment. "I don't recall. It was…well something to do with finding Buffy."
Xander looked before the two in disbelief. "Guys…we were looking for information…about…oh God. I don't remember either. Someone's messing with our brains!"
"Xander calm down. I'm sure there is a reasonable explanation for all of this."
Just then Faith and Angel walked in. "Anybody know what's going on here?" Faith asked.
"What do you mean?" Willow replied.
"We were in the science building…and I was about to slay something…I think. But then it's like nothing."
"We thought it was just us," Xander said, looking relieved.
"It's weird. No matter how…" Angel began but trailed off. Something was beginning to form in the back of is mind, a memory. A little voice in the back of his head was telling him not to trust the memory…that it hadn't been there before but he wanted to remember whatever it was.
"Are you alright?" Giles asked.
Angel slowly nodded. "Uh…yeah…I'm just remembering something."
"What? What we were fighting?"
"No…something from…the past. Drusilla…she…someone killed her."
"When?"
"In the past. 1880. It was…I don't know her name. There was a girl and…she staked Drusilla. She knew what she was doing."
"Sounds like a Slayer," Faith interjected.
"She said she as the new Slayer in town."
A look of enlightenment came over Giles and he pulled off his glasses, reaching for a cloth to clean them. "Angel…what do you remember about this girl?"
The vampire shrugged. "Beautiful...young. She…had blond hair." He paused a look of revelation dawned in his eyes. "I think it was Buffy."
"Buffy slayed Drusilla in the past…how is that possible?" Xander asked.
"A spell maybe?" Willow offered.
Giles nodded his head. "Yes. It's possible some sort of transportation spell has sent her back in time."
"Who'd want to do that? Send the Slayer back in time? Doesn't that kind of change history?" Faith asked.
Giles look of inspiration turned grim. "Yes."
--
Buffy finally stood up and began to pace in front of the fireplace. William carefully watched her movements. He was still shook up over what he'd seen.
"What…what was wrong with that woman? How…how did you…make her turn to dust?"
Buffy stopped pacing and looked him straight in the eye. "She was a vampire. And I'm pretty sure she was going to turn you into one too."
He laughed. "That's absurd. There's no such thing as a vampire."
"I know it sounds crazy. That's what I thought when I saw my first vampire but they're real and they're dangerous. William…I'm the Slayer. It's my job to protect the world from vampires and demons and all the other ugly things that go bump in the night."
More disbelieving laughter. "I'm sorry, Miss Summers but…you must realize this sounds like pure foolishness."
She let out a breath. There was still a hint of Spike's personality in him. "Believe me, I got real tired of hearing the prophecy but it's true. All of it."
He just sat there, taking Buffy's words in. He knew now that it hadn't been a trick of light or some bizarre illusion. It had been real. That woman had turned to dust.
"How then…what made her turn to dust?"
She smiled a little. "There's three ways to kill a vampire; stake through the heart, fire and decapitation. Sunlight works too but they're not stupid. They come out after the sun goes down."
"How long….have you done this? Hunted them?"
"Three years. I had to leave my old town after I fought my first vampire. I accidentally burned down the-an important building."
"I must say…a young woman such as yourself should not have to do these violent things."
"I couldn't agree with you more but there's something kind of…fun about fighting demons, being able to do things other people can't. A friend of mine reminded me of that."
"Do you…will you continue your…work?"
Buffy nodded. "Unless I die. It's the price of being the Slayer. But…I'm used to it."
Another silence fell between them as the fire crackled behind Buffy. She could tell he had more questions and so she kept quiet.
"Will they…come after us again?"
"Not for a while. News will spread that there's a new Slayer in town. They'll lay low. But…they won't go away forever."
"Can they find us here?"
"Maybe…but they can't enter a house unless invited by someone who lives here."
"Mother…what if she…"
"We can hang crosses near all the windows and doors. They repel vampires. They won't hurt your mother."
William looked relieved by how easily she allayed his fears. She sat down, feeling the ring pressing against one of the small pockets in her dress. She reached in and pulled it out.
"Oh…look what I found."
"Your ring?"
She nodded.
"What will you do with it now?"
"I don't know…guess we'll see what happens when I put it back on."
He raised an eyebrow in confusion as she put it on. She sat expectantly but nothing happened. She closed her eyes tightly but still she remained there. Finally, she let out a frustrated breath and looked at the ring. William just leaned back and gazed at this strange young girl. Only now did he realize how very young she was. To have done this task for three years, she'd been barely older than a child.
"What were you expecting to happen?" William asked.
"I was hoping…it would take me home."