See Part One for Disclaimer and details. Hi, and welcome to the latest chapter! As always, a big thanks must go to everyone who's reviewed this story so far. Now, I must admit, I received some negative feedback on the previous chapter of the fic, which definitely made me wonder if I'd alienated some of the readers. But even though this is sort of a dark fanfic in places, where people have died and will die in the future, I'd just like to point out that I'm not killing the characters off merely for the hell of it – there is a reason for everything that happens in this story, as I slowly build towards the conclusion. Oh, and I should also mention that there is a bit of sexual content in this chapter; not much, but if that's not your cup of tea, it'd be best to just skip that bit. Okay! Enough from me, it's time to get on with what you all came here for...
Part Eleven: Judgment Day
City Hall, Sunnydale
January 20th, 1998
A council of war was being held within Allan Finch's office, not long before dawn. There were three people present; Allan himself, naturally, and the two members of his inner circle. Namely, Anyanka and Sunnydale's chief of police, Bob.
"Jesus Christ, we've got an unkillable homicidal demon in this town? What do we do?" Bob asked fearfully.
"Well, in your case, suffer horribly and die," Anyanka said optimistically, before cocking her head slightly. "If you want, cheat on your wife – and I'll put you out of your misery before the Judge will, by granting her a Wish."
Allan did not appear to notice Sunnydale's top cop cringe away from the insane demoness. "Anya, I don't suppose you could grant me a wish to send that demon somewhere far away? Like, say, the surface of the moon?"
"No, certainly not! You're not a scorned woman!" Anyanka replied indignantly. Even though that wasn't actually true; 'justice' demons could grant Wishes to anyone they pleased, male or female. It was just too bad how Allan didn't know that, and he didn't want to alienate his loony pet demon, either.
"I see. So, if we were to find a scorned woman to do it..."
"It still wouldn't work. The Lower Beings wouldn't approve of it," Anya said stiffly, referring to those upper-level demons who had granted D'Hoffryn and his minions their powers. "Have you no sense of propriety?"
"What if the Judge attacks me personally – the Orbs won't protect me, I take it?" Allan asked mildly, not letting his annoyance show.
"The Orbs of Nezzla'khan...superior strength and physical invulnerability. But they won't stop the Judge burning the humanity out of you. Old Mother Hubbard, nothing left in the cupboard...farmer in the dell, nothing there but a shell..." Anyanka abruptly shivered at the thought. "I wouldn't like that."
"Well, thank you for the thought, Anya, it's most kind of you," Mayor Finch said with a reassuring smile. "Now then, what's the situation with Darla?"
"Who?" Anyanka asked in confusion, her insanity playing havoc with her memory.
"The female vampire you fed that drug to, earlier on," Bob said rather nervously.
"OH, her! She left," the mad woman gestured carelessly. "She said she had things to do, after confirming that the Judge was active in that underground cave. Probably decided to snack on some idiot or other. I remember the first time I ever laid eyes on her, back in 1880-"
Anyanka suddenly teleported away in the middle of the conversation, leaving the two men alone in the office. No warning; she just disappeared, and the other two had no idea when or even if she'd be back.
Bob looked at where the female demon had been standing and shook his head. "Sir, with all due respect-"
"Not one word," Allan cut him off. "Or I'll save Anya the trouble, and kill you myself. She's part of the team – deal with it!"
"Yes, Mayor Finch," the chief of police said stiffly. "What are your orders, sir?"
Allan steepled his hands in an effort to look the part of the evil genius fully in his element, only to completely ruin the effect by fidgeting slightly. "According to what Anya said Darla saw, the Judge isn't fully capable yet – he was stumbling around, mostly likely due to that fake arm the vampires substituted for the one we got rid of. I'd say we have a small window of opportunity for a surgical strike against that thing."
"With what sort of weapon, sir? What can kill something that's unkillable?" the policeman asked.
"I don't know," Finch frowned. "But if anyone can figure it out, it's the Watcher for the Slayer. So contact Snyder at the high school – tell him he's to keep his distance from Mr. Giles and his associates, until I say otherwise. Have our people keep an eye on Miss Summers and her friends as well – and if it looks as if they've come up with something, help them as discreetly as possible.
"I hate to admit it, but those people may very well be the only thing standing between us and Doomsday..."
Sunnydale High Library, Sunnydale
Many hours later
Buffy was tired, hungry and apprehensive. She was also still a virgin and yet to meet the Judge, as the tangled threads of fate had prevented that particular destiny from coming to pass.
After the disrupted surprise party at the Bronze, everyone had gone back to the library once Darla had headed off for the docks. Giles had done a bit of reading on the Judge, and was very glad that Buffy wouldn't have to fight him – until Willow had come up with the scary notion that just because demons were incomplete, that didn't mean they couldn't still cause havoc.
The redhead's memories of Moloch the robot demon had come in rather useful, preventing everyone from lapsing into a false sense of security.
Later, the evil version of Darla had shown up – after she'd scouted the Master's cave for her new drug-dealing demon acquaintance. Upon arriving at the library, the vampiress had just barely managed to hide her furious loathing for the Slayer who had killed her sire, and told Giles how she had been attacked at the docks and the Judge's arm had been stolen. Darla had also mentioned how a brief reconnaissance of Collin's old home had subsequently yielded the fact that the big blue apocalypse demon had been fully reassembled; but she had said nothing about her waking up at City Hall, or killing Jenny Calendar.
Darla's demon wanted to save that news for a more – special occasion.
"Giles? Have you found anything new yet?" Buffy asked her Watcher, just as Jesse and Willow came into Slayer Central.
"No, Buffy," Rupert replied as he turned to face the Slayerettes. "Jesse, Willow, I'm glad you're here – I-I'm afraid there's bad news. Darla showed up after you left last night-"
"No need to be looking around for boxes, not anymore. Big blue Judge guy is fully active," Buffy interrupted the British man.
"So are, are we talking the end of the world? As in, Judgment Day?" Willow asked, her sea-green eyes wide with terror and apprehension.
"Most likely he isn't at full strength yet, but he will be soon. The Judge, he'll, he'll be able to reduce anything with even a trace of humanity into charcoal, with just a look," Giles tried not to stammer. "I, I need to continue researching, try to find a weak spot..."
Xander chose that moment to come into the library, having spent the night at the bus depot – just as Cordelia had spent the night at the airport – on the lookout for boxes that might contain pieces of the Judge. After a short conversation, Giles left for his private office and Jesse dragged Willow to their next class, giving Xander a pointed look along the way.
Ever since the night Xander and Jesse had talked outside the Bronze, the former Halloween soldier had started seeing things a lot more clearly – for example, Xander had realized that Cordelia often felt completely alone, even when she was surrounded by all her popular friends.
He had also become conscious of the fact that Willow now preferred the company of girls, from the way her eyes checked out the female form both at the school and within the Bronze.
He'd furthermore figured out that Buffy had serious hang-ups where it came to men; even her own father, who had been unable to make it to town yesterday for his only daughter's birthday.
"Summers, can we talk?" Xander asked the Slayer once they were alone, putting away such thoughts.
"About what?" Buffy replied. "The Judge? From what Darla said, he's like eight miles of bad road coming-"
"Actually, it's about something else. It's, uh, been brought to my attention recently that my presence makes you, um, miserable. That I remind ya of things you'd rather forget. So, I figured we should try to clear up what happened between us in the past; it might help you get your head in the game a bit more," Xander shrugged slightly.
"Could we NOT do this right now? Impending apocalypse brewing, remember?" Buffy instinctively went into avoidance mode.
"If not now, then when?" Xander pointed out reasonably. "Seriously, Summers. I mean, it's not like I hate you anymore or anything – you know that, right?"
"You don't?" Buffy exclaimed in disbelief.
"What happened at Hemery was over two years ago, and we're both different people now," Xander told her. "Besides, I've heard how you died to save the world last year, before McNally brought you back – and that qualifies as seriously heroic in my book."
"It does?" Buffy asked, her eyes almost bulging.
"Heck, yeah. Knowing you were gonna die, and still trying to take out the bad guy before it happened – that's something I consider, like, worthy of a Congressional Medal of Honor," Harris said, looking Buffy in the eye. "Plus, let's not forget how you've saved my life twice since I showed up in this town. You know what, Summers? If it wasn't for our past history – I betcha by now, I would have fallen desperately in love with the person you've become since ninth grade," he said with a small smile, unaware of the cosmic truth of his assertion.
Something in Buffy's heart went 'pop', and without thinking she rushed forward to grab Xander into a huge hug. It felt very therapeutic to finally resolve matters with her childhood friend, after the past two months. "I'm sorry, Xander, I'm so sorry for every mean thing I ever did to you! Especially that thing with your underwear flapping away at the top of the school flagpole!"
"Yeah, OW! Summers, needing my ribs not to get broken here!" Xander yelped as Buffy squeezed him too tightly with her super-strength.
At the worst possible moment, Cordelia came into the library and saw her social enemy and the object of her unrequited affections engaged in an embrace. Jumping to conclusions, the Chase girl glowered before turning around and barging out again.
"Cordelia! Wait up!" Xander called out as Buffy let him go, and he quickly followed the cheerleader. "I need to talk to you," he said to the brunette, as soon as he caught up with her.
"Well, I don't need to talk to you. Let go of my arm!" Cordy hissed at him, drawing the attention of some passing students.
Xander noticed it and quickly yanked Cordelia into an empty classroom, before shutting the door. "Look, in case you jumped to conclusions just now-"
"What, that you'd rather be with a girl you hate than be with me?" Cordelia said bitterly. "Thanks, I already got that message!"
"Yeah, those conclusions exactly. I want you to know, what you saw just now was only Summers and me finally resolving some issues – and I'm hoping we can do the same," Xander said seriously.
"What?" Cordy demanded in astonishment.
"Yeah, see, a mutual acquaintance told me lately that I make you miserable, so I figure I should try to change that. As I recall, about two months ago you said I owed you a date to make up for – something, I can't remember what anymore. So, assuming we survive this thing with the Judge – will you do me the honor of going out to dinner with me on Friday night?"
Cordelia just stared at him in shock – then the words came out of her mouth of their own volition. "Just as long as it isn't somewhere incredibly tacky, like Bucky's Fondue Hut or whatever. I DO have an image to maintain, you know!"
Outside Sunnydale High School, Sunnydale
Later that night
Darla was a vampire with a plan, as she headed for the lair of her human enemies.
She'd spent most of the day thinking. Both about the past, and the future. The issue of the Judge made the future look more than a little dicey – but just like Allan Finch, Darla had faith that Giles would think of something to deal with that demon. There was nothing she could contribute there, anyway; despite being around for four centuries, there was nothing Darla knew about the Judge that Giles didn't.
During her meditations, Darla had asked herself – what did she want? The obvious answer was to be completely rid of the soul, of course. The undead woman despised being dependant on Anyanka and her drugs for her current state, and knew that continuing to do so would be the height of foolishness – the insane demoness or the mysterious employer she'd mentioned might decide to cut her off, when she was of no further use to them.
To that end, Darla had asked herself – how did the drug work? Again, the obvious answer was by making her feel blissfully happy. A happiness clause in the curse? She had confirmed it by tracking down Jenny's uncle Enyos, and torturing him in the dead woman's apartment until he'd talked – and then died.
( A moment of perfect happiness, ) Darla thought to herself, as she entered the library. ( Well, I'll just have to experiment a little, see what works. And of course, that means... )
"Hey, Darla," Jesse said, his hormones surging at the sight of her the way they always did.
"Hi," Willow said absently, causing Buffy to glance up and mumble a quick, "Hey." Cordelia and Xander weren't there; right now they were talking in the stacks as Harris shelved a book that mentioned how no weapon forged by man could kill the Judge.
Giles looked up and stared at the vampiress. "Darla? Any news?"
"Nothing," the demon shook her head; Darla's acting was definitely good enough to win her an Academy Award. "The Judge must have been weaker than we thought, but that surely can't last much longer. Giles, please tell me you've found something?"
"Err, I'm afraid all the books say the exact same thing. The Judge cannot be killed by any weapon forged by man, and short of assembling another army in order to dismember him again, I-I-I can't think of anything," Giles confessed, feeling more than a little stressed out.
"What are we gonna do?" Willow asked, trying not to panic.
"There's nothing else for it. I've got to go face this thing, try to fight it myself," Buffy suddenly decided, jumping up.
"You're a fool. The Judge would kill you in an instant," Darla said roughly, which caused both girls to look at her strangely for the unexpected hostility.
"Uh, Buffy? I think Darla's kinda got a point. Usually I'm all 'yay' with you going out to slay, and afterwards we party at the Bronze, y'know – but, but that plan is sorta verging on that whole 'unavoidable lethal prophecy' thing from last year," Jesse said hesitantly.
After Giles agreed with Jesse, Darla said, "I'm heading out to see if I can learn anything new." Before she left the inner sanctum, though, she gestured with her head for McNally to join her.
"You wanted to talk to me?" Jesse asked as he followed the object of his carnal desires.
"Yes. In there," Darla said, indicating the same classroom that Xander and Cordelia had talked in earlier that day. She shut the door and said, "Jesse, this is serious. More serious than that time you asked me to help you take care of Spike, or when you begged me to help you save the Slayer from the Master and prevent the end of the world. You know that, right?"
"Uh, yeah?" Jesse didn't get where Darla was going with this.
"Giles won't admit it, but the odds are the Judge will soon go on a rampage and slaughter everything in this world that has any trace of humanity in it. Which definitely includes me, due to the presence of my soul," Darla said truthfully, much to her inner disgust. "And if this is the end, you...well, you deserve something for all your efforts, ever since you learned the truth about the real nature of this world."
"I don't get it. Are you talkin' about some kind of, uh, reward?" McNally asked in confusion.
"Yes. I've decided to make a man out of you, before the apocalypse is upon us."
"You wha..." Jesse said stupidly, unable to believe his ears and then his eyes, as his undead crush began removing her top and bra. Just the sight of those incredible, gravity-defying breasts with the nipples jutting out like organ stops was enough to reduce him to a drooling idiot. "Guh..."
Rolling her eyes, Darla nonetheless smiled like a sexual predator and attacked the male teen, her cold lips and tongue quickly bringing Jesse to a state of extreme sexual arousal. She then forced the guy to lie down on the teacher's desk, before pulling down his pants and then Darla straddled Jesse's hips to impale herself on his thick, engorged member.
( Just pretend it's Angelus you're screwing right now, ) Darla thought to herself as she rode Jesse like a wild stallion. ( Remember the good times – Marseilles, Vienna, even Prague. Oh, that's it – yes, yes, oh dear, sweet boy, well done, I'm almost there, I'm almost – NOOOO! ) Darla silently screamed in fury, as the inexperienced Jesse exploded before she could reach orgasm and flooded her inside places with his hot, salty seed.
"Oh God, now I can die happy," Jesse said blissfully at precisely the wrong moment, the former male virgin failing to notice Darla go into her vampire face.
"Close your eyes, dear boy," the naked blonde woman said in a sugary voice, and the exhausted Jesse obliged.
McNally never saw Darla lean down to bite him in the neck, covering his mouth to muffle the screams and draining him of blood incredibly quickly – before she used a claw to open a bloody wound on her bosom, and then Darla brought the dying Jesse's mouth to suckle on her breast like a newborn baby.
/ Soon I will welcome you into my world, / Darla said in French, closing her eyes in pleasure as the becoming ritual was completed. / And you will only be the first of my new children... /
Outside the National Guard Base, Sunnydale
January 21st, 1998
It was time for Xander to finally play a significant part in the battle against the forces of darkness and evil, as Cordelia's car came to a stop outside the military base and both he and the cheerleader scrambled towards the chain-link fence, leaving Willow and Buffy behind.
"Where the heck has Jesse disappeared off to?" the very worried Willow asked for possibly the hundredth time. After turning him, Darla had gotten dressed and carried the corpse back to her apartment for McNally to rise somewhere safe.
"I don't know, Will. First it was Ms. Calendar, now it's Jesse," Buffy said semi-despairingly. ( I don't know, maybe Merrick had a point all along about not getting the civilians involved... )
Not far away, Cordelia and Xander were following the plan he'd come up with after Willow had asked glumly, where was an army when you needed one. The plan was desperate, and probably foolhardy, but no one had a better idea and even a reckless plan was better than none at this late stage.
Xander murmured to Cordelia, "The security here really is a joke. I should, uh, report it." He looked around for a second before starting to cut through the fence, "On second thought, I should wait until AFTER tonight to do that."
Cordelia stood behind him, keeping watch as Xander finished the job and then they went through onto the base. "Who am I supposed to be again?"
"A streetwalker for hire, who's incredibly impressed with her amazingly macho soldier boy." They snuck along behind the building as he whispered, "Just in case we get caught, of course."
Off Cordelia's annoyed glare, Harris shrugged and looked around the corner of the building. Xander then quickly stepped over to the door of the armory, Cordelia following close behind, and he reached for the doorknob – when a loud voice shouted out, "Halt! Arms where I can see them!"
Xander shot up his arms, and elbowed Cordelia so that she did the same. The guard approached the teenagers and said to Xander, "Okay. Identify yourself right the hell now!"
The young man spoke quickly, "Private Harris with the 33rd."
The soldier shook his head and took aim with his M-16. "The 33rd are on maneuvers. Try again."
Xander replied as if talking to a simpleton, "No shit they're on maneuvers, wise guy. I'm on leave from them, in case it isn't obvious!"
Cordelia almost audibly groaned. ( Nice going, 'cause it's always way smart to piss off the guy with the gun! )
The soldier seemed unfazed by Xander's tone, though. "You always spend your leave snooping around the armory, pal?" He then stared at Cordelia, who was wearing a very trashy outfit. "And who's she?"
Cordelia waved hesitantly. "Hi, I'm not a soldier. I'm, uh, his date for tonight!"
Wincing, Xander approached the guard with his hands still up. "Look, I just want to show her around a little, give her the tour. You know what I mean, right?"
The soldier raised an eyebrow. "The tour?"
Xander lied for all he was worth, relying on his Halloween memories to guide him on what to say. "Well, you know the ladies. They like to see us holding the big guns; it gets them all hot and flustered, ready to put out. So, can you cut me some slack here, gimme a blind eye?"
The soldier eased up, lowering the M-16 but not giving in to Xander's request yet. "Why should I?"
Harris lowered his arms. "Well, if you do, I won't tell anyone that your boots ain't regulation, your post wasn't covered..." Xander quickly grabbed the soldier's M-16 and gave it back to him properly, "...and you were holding your gun like a complete pussy."
The last crack was a bit too much, and so the National Guardsman snarled, "You got five minutes, nimrod!"
Xander smiled. "Thanks. And if you hear any strange noises, well – I'm sure you can guess what all that's gonna be about." He then escorted the somewhat confused Cordelia into the armory, as the guard checked his watch.
"Oh! Now I get it. You still remember everything from Halloween, don't you? That Soldier Guy, or whatever you called him," Cordy quickly realized, as Xander searched the room for the weapon he wanted.
"Yeah. Well, the useful bits, anyway – I've tried my best to forget all the bad stuff," Xander said, distracted and busy.
"Uh-huh. And what you were saying just now, that thing about men holding guns making girls wanna have sex? That's – kinda weird," Cordelia frowned. She was still a virgin like Buffy and Willow, even though Cordy could remember what it was like making love to a man thanks to her Halloween memories. "Is it true?"
"I haven't forgotten how it worked for Soldier Guy, before he got shipped off to 'Nam," Xander said in that annoyingly absent tone of voice.
Miss Chase was about to deliver a scathing reply how something like that wasn't going to work on HER – when a vision of the National Guardsman entering the armory and catching them trying to steal stuff appeared in the seer's mind.
There was no time to explain. Cordelia raced away from the door and plunged her lips onto Xander's, grabbing him in a tight hug just as the soldier poked his head through the door. Miss Chase tried not to lose herself in the kiss for a few moments, fighting to stay focused as she knew they had an audience – but it was no good. The walls she had created around her heart to prevent Xander from breaking it began to crumble away, and moaning slightly, she jumped up and wrapped her legs around the young man's waist.
Xander almost staggered from the extra weight, but managed to keep his balance as Cordelia's tongue forced its way into his mouth. But just as he was letting himself relax and begin to return the kiss, Cordelia let go of his lips and whispered in his ear, "Is he gone?"
"Is who gone?" Xander asked, way too distracted by the way Cordelia was pressing her pelvis against his.
Cordy bit his right ear with her teeth, making Harris yelp. "The guard at the door!"
"Uh, yeah," Xander muttered as Cordelia climbed down off of him. "Wait, he was at the door? How'd you know-?"
"Vision Girl here, remember?" Cordy slapped Harris upside the head, trying not to think about their semi-mating activity just now. "Now let's find that thing, and get out of here!"
Less than two minutes later, they'd opened the window and thrown the crate containing a rocket launcher – also known as an M72 Light Anti-Armor Weapon – outside. Buffy had been waiting, alerted by Xander's signal, and the Slayer had caught the box before it could hit the ground and alert any of the military guards.
Xander and Cordelia had then quickly joined Willow and Buffy, with Miss Chase nastily asking the National Guardsman if he'd enjoyed his little peep show along the way, before the BMW raced off back to the school.
Sunnydale Mall, Sunnydale
A while later
By process of elimination, the Scooby Gang had arrived here at the local shopping center after figuring there was no point trying to fight their way down to the Master's cave – and since the Bronze was closed, there was no other place with lots of human bodies gathered together for the Judge to feed upon.
The white hats had set up their ambush, just as the Judge and Collin's forces had arrived. Xander had used the M72 LAW to blow up the unkillable demon into many charred pieces, despite Buffy wanting to do it herself, and now the mall's sprinkler system had activated from all the flames and the smoke arising from the explosion.
Cordelia was getting frantic from all the water ruining her sleeveless top and Calvin Klein pants, as she had gotten rid of the trashy hooker ensemble as soon as possible. "Is somebody gonna do something about the sprinklers? I mean, hello? My clothes are getting ruined here!"
The rest of the gang ignored her, as everyone ran down into the mall's food court. "Do you think he's dead?" Willow gestured at the remains of the Judge.
"It's most unlikely. Now, we have to pick up the pieces, a-and keep them separate," Giles ordered as Buffy saw a pair of undead targets and ran off.
"Uh...arm," Miss Rosenberg then said, pointing. "Mostly human arm?" she asked in confusion.
"Yes – that, too," Giles said, not fully understanding that either, but feeling relieved that the apocalypse demon had somehow been overcome. Later that night whilst writing everything up in his Watcher diary, he would cross-reference events to earlier entries and learn how two of Buffy's Slayer dreams had predicted all the events of this night – even if the part where Xander was burning with green fire was still a mystery.
Not far away, Buffy yelled at a familiar face, "Ford!"
The undead version of Billy Fordham stopped and actually smiled at his ex. "Hey, Summers! Hell of a night, huh? Hey, did you see the way Xan just blew up the Big Bad? My old buddy really came through there!"
( Damn it, how can he still act like the real Ford so much? ) Buffy gritted her teeth and began the fight, even if – just as Xander had prophesized to Jesse a few nights ago – Ford was able to push her buttons way too easily. And speaking of the co-founding member of the Scooby Gang...
"It looks like the guys did it," the undead Jesse said to his sire, who was standing alongside him on the upper level of the mall. McNally had risen as a creature of the night remarkably quickly, thanks to all the blood Darla had fed him. "The world's been saved!"
"Yes," Darla said distractedly, seeing Anyanka not far away – the vengeance demon had witnessed the recent battle, since the Deputy Mayor had been following Willow, Buffy, Xander and Cordelia all night on Allan Finch's orders. Darla then said to her newest childe, "Stay here, I'll be back soon."
Unfortunately, the fledgling vampire saw Xander on clean-up duty downstairs and unconstrained by any form of morality, Jesse raced downstairs to deal with Harris almost as soon as Darla started conversing with Anyanka.
( That bastard is finally gonna pay for everything he's done, oh yes he is! Coming to MY town, and making MY girls miserable? Forget drinking him dry, I'm gonna rip off his head and piss down his neck! ) Jesse thought with brutal ferocity. ( I'm gonna... )
"NOOO!" Cordelia suddenly interposed herself in his path with a cross and stake, after receiving her second vision for the night – one where Jesse had broken Xander's neck, after taking the victim by surprise.
"Oh, baby, aren't you a sight for sore eyes! Y'know what, Cordelia, screw that prick Harris – right now, I wanna pick up where we left off in that classroom last year, and screw you instead!" Jesse smiled with lustful and sadistic glee, the old desire for the busty brunette quickly surfacing in his undead psyche.
"What? Oh, please! Dead or alive, you never once had a chance with me, you-" Cordelia started to say angrily, before the Jesse vampire slapped her weapons aside and wrestled her down to the floor.
Just as all seemed lost and the fangs were at Cordelia's neck, Xander jumped onto Jesse's back, plunging his stake home. The undead guy exploded into ashes between them, and Harris fell down on top of the Chase girl. The two of them were in a very compromising position for a moment, limbs all tangled together, and had he been there – Cordelia's father would doubtless have wanted to hang Xander from the highest yardarm, after jumping to conclusions about what the male teenager was doing with his daughter.
Luckily, though, Mr. Chase wasn't there and nobody noticed those two crazy kids in the current mall madness, what with all the screaming patrons running around and the security people trying in vain to restore some semblance of order.
Nobody except Whistler, that is, who then turned his attention to Buffy – whose fight with Ford ended in a draw, after Collin's minion had decided to run for it – and then the balance demon focused his gaze upon Darla.
( Well, crap, ) Whistler thought despondently about the drugged vampiress, even as all the screaming got louder and the Sunnydale P.D. finally showed up. ( Crazy Girl recruiting you into the ranks of Team Evil – I betcha that's gonna put a crimp in the Powers' plans. 'Cause I never saw THIS coming! )
Whistler turned his attention back to Xander, who was just getting up off the floor with Cordelia. ( I'm sorry, kid; it wasn't supposed to be like this. Damn, looks as if the game plan is gonna have to be changed AGAIN. So I figure, the worst is still yet to come for you... )
TBC...