Disclaimer: See previous answer.
Episode Three: Witch
Dl
Dl
Dl
"This is madness!" Cruger was clearly upset, "What were you thinking? You are the Slayer! People's lives depend on you! I make allowances for your youth, but I expect a certain amount of responsibility and instead you enslave yourself to this . . . this . . . Cult?!"
Bridge glanced down at what he was wearing, a black t-shirt with the Sunnydale logo on it and blue jeans, the school colors. "You don't like the color?" he questioned.
"I d. . ." Cruger sighed in exasperation, ""Do you, um . . ." he put some books on the cart. "Do you ignore everything I say as a rule?"
"No I believe that's your trick," Bridge frowned, crossing his arms. Cruger wheeled the car to the counter and Bridge skipped in front of him.
"I told you, I'm trying out for the dance club," the Slayer said.
"You have a sacred birthright, Bridge," Cruger sighed. "You were chosen to slay vampires, not . . . flail on a wooden floor to music! As your Watcher, I forbid it."
"And you'll be stopping me how?" Bridge grinned slightly.
"Well, I will appeal to your common sense, if such a creature exists," Cruger crossed his arms, sitting at the edge of the table.
"Look, this wasn't even my idea," he sighed. "Flutie told me I need to do some extracurricular activities. I needed something physical and being the Slayer, I can't do a sport that could injure me and my Slayer strength would make the competition unfair anyway, so it was either joining the dance club or joining the cheerleading squad!"
"You took . . ." he trailed off.
"Dance club. I have some pride, you know."
Dl
A woman moved around in darkness in an attic, flowers and herbs were left hanging to dry in the rafters and personal items with identification tags. The witch moved to her cauldron and waved a pendent on a chain over the brew before pulling it back. She walked over to the hanging objects and took one of the dolls hanging there.
Dl
Girls and boys were stretching for the dance club tryouts when Bridge, Jack and Z walked in.
"Cruger didn't approve huh?" Z asked.
"He totally lost his water," Bridge rolled his eyes. "We haven't seen a vamp in a week. I'd say he should get a girlfriend if he weren't so old!"
Jack came up behind him, "People scoff about lack of school spirit and look at these guys, giving it their all!" He watched one of the girls, Amber, do the splits in between two chairs and grinned, "Ooh, stretchy. Where was I?"
"You were pretending that seeing girls was a spiritual experience," Z said blandly.
"Who said I was pretending?" he grinned at Z and then turned to Bridge, taking something from his pocket, "this is a good luck thing for the try-outs."
Bridge took the bracelet from him, "What's this?" he asked at the same time Z asked, "What's that?"
"Charm bracelet," he said, blushing slightly.
"How sweet!" Bridge looked at the engraving, " 'Yours always'."
"I-I-It came that way," Jack stammered, "they all said that!" Bridge simply gave him a smile and put on the bracelet while Jack let out a sigh of relief.
Joy, the head of the club, stepped up with a clip board.
"Okay, let's begin with," she looked at the board, "Amber Grove. If you're not trying out, move off the floor.
Z looked to her side and saw a red-headed girl smiling at her, "Amy, hi!"
"Hi!" Amy grinned.
"I didn't know you wanted to be in the dance club! You've lost a bunch of weight!"
"Had to."
"Do you know Bridge?" she gestured to the blue-eyed teen standing next to her.
"Hi!" Bridge grinned, giving her a small wave.
"Hey," Amy grinned back and then turned to look at Amber, "I heard she trained with coach Benson. He's the best coach money can buy!"
"They have dance coaches?" Bridge cocked his head.
"Oh yeah! My mom is my trainer. We practice three hours in the morning, three in the night."
"Him, that much quality time with my mom would lead to quality matricide," Bridge quipped.
Syd looked at Amber with contempt, then turned her back, while Bridge and Jack watched Amber in amazement. Z and Amy also were impressed, when suddenly, Amber's hands began to smoke.
"That girl's on fire!" Z gawked.
"Enough of the hyperbole!" Syd snapped, not seeing the smoke since she
was facing away.
Amber's hands caught fire and she screamed. Bridge reacted by running to the stands and he grabbed a banner. He knocked Amber down and suffocated the flames with the banner while everyone stared in shock.
"It's okay, you're gonna be okay," he whispered, holding the frightened girl tightly as she sobbed into his shoulder. "God," he whispered, too softly for her to hear.
Dl
Dl
Dl
"Okay, I've been slaying vamps for over a year now and I've seen some pretty cringe-worthy things, but . . . nobody's hands have been toasted before!" Bridge rambled as he paced along the library.
"I imagine not," Cruger came out of the stacks.
"So this isn't a vampire problem," Bridge continued.
"No."
"But it is funky right? Not of the norm?" Bridge crossed his arms.
"Quite. Spontaneous human combustion is, rare and, scientifically unexplainable, but there have been cases for hundreds of years. Usually all that's left is a pile of ashes," Cruger informed.
"Which is what would have been left if Bridge hadn't stepped in," Z informed.
"So we have no idea what caused this. That's a comfort," Jack said sarcastically.
"But that's the thrill of living on the Hellmouth!" Cruger sat down on one end of the table. "There's a veritable cornucopia of fiends and demons and ghouls to engage . . ." he trailed off at the blank looks he was being given by Jack and Z and the amused grin from Bridge. "Pardon me for finding the glass half full."
"Oh-kay! Any common denominators in cases of spontaneous combustion?" Bridge asked.
"Uh, rage. In most cases, the person who combusted was terribly angry or upset."
"So maybe Amber's got this power to set herself on fire. Kinda like the Human Torch, except it hurts!" Jack offered.
"I need to get the skinny on Amber. See if she's had these hot episodes before," Bridge leant forward on the table.
"Ooh, that means illegal hacking into the school's student records on the computer. Finally, something I can do!" Z sat down in front of the computer.
"I'll ask around about her," Jack offered.
"You guys don't have to get involved," Bridge protested.
"What do you mean? We're a team! Aren't we a team?" Jack turned to Z.
"Yeah! You're the Slayer, we're the . . . Slayerettes!" she said enthusiastically.
"I just don't want to put you guys in danger," Bridge said softly. "Not like I've done to so many others," he added quietly so that they didn't hear the last part.
"Oh, huh, I laugh in the face of danger! Then I hide until it goes away," Jack quipped, prompting a laugh from Bridge and Z.
Dl
Bridge came home to and saw Maya attempt to pry open one of the several wooden crates strewn around the house.
"How was school?" Maya asked her son as she attempted to open the box.
"A reverent joy. What's all this?" Bridge peered over her shoulder.
"It's for the tribal art display," Maya wiped her brow.
"Cool! We had tryouts today," Bridge examined a piece.
"How'd it go?"
"I didn't actually get to try out," he admitted. "There was a bad accident. Pretty fierce competition."
"You'll do fine. Keep on plugging, get back on the horse," she rattled off distractedly.
"Mom?"
"Yeah?"
"What did I try out for?"
"Um, uh," she stopped prying at the crate and gave her son an apologetic look. "Sorry, honey, I don't know. Some activity?"
"That's okay. Your platitudes are good for all occasions," Bridge gave her a sympathetic smile.
"I'm distracted," she exhaled as she tried to open the crate. "Gotta a lotta inventory to go through here, grunt the gallery's first opening," she gave up and turned to Bridge. "You know it might not kill you to help me here," she went to get her clipboard and Bridge grabbed the crate-lid, using his Slayer strength to easily break it off.
"Dance club," he informed.
"Glad you're taking that up. It'll keep you out of trouble," she came back.
"I'm not in trouble."
"Not yet," Maya saw the hurt look on her son's face, "I mean, you stopped participating in school activities before the trouble, it's nice to know you went back." She lifted up one of the statues partially, "Oh dear . . ."
"What?"
"It's the fertility statue, you don't need to see it," she put it back and left the room. Bridge poked his head out of the door to see if she was gone before peeking at the statue.
"Jeepers!" he gawked, dropping it back inside.
Dl
"Despite what happened yesterday, you still have to try out for the team. Those who make the squad, names will be posted on the board after lunch," Joy informed.
"Why do my hands have to sweat when I'm nervous?" Amy asked Bridge and he gave her a reassuring smile.
"You'll do great."
They stood near Syd and were told to try a cartwheel. Bridge did it with ease, but Amy blew it and crashed into Syd who yelped as she hit the ground.
"You saw that right?" Syd asked Joy.
After the tryouts, Amy was standing in front of the trophy case and was gazing at the dancing trophy. Bridge came up next to her and she pointed at a picture.
"That's my mom," she said sadly.
"No!" he read the inscription, "Catherine Madison."
"Her nickname was Catherine the Great. Took that team and made them the tri-county champs. Only she could do that. She and my dad were Homecoming King and Queen. Got married after graduation."
"That's romantic," Bridge offered.
"Well he was a big loser. Never made any money. Ran off with Miss Trailer Trash when I was twelve."
"That's less romantic. My folks split up too," Bridge sighed.
"Drag, huh? He left my mom with nothing at all. She put herself through cosmetology school. Bought me everything I wanted," she shook her head, "And never gained a single pound. I want to be like her so much. I choked! I'm gonna get replaced!"
"No, you did fine," Bridge tried to reassure her but she walked away. Z came up from behind him.
"Hey! What's up with Amy?" she asked.
"She's wiggin about her mom. Big dance queen," he sighed.
"Yeah, her mom's kinda . . ." she tried to think of a world.
"Nazi?" the Slayer offered.
"Heil. If she gains an ounce, she padlocks the fridge and won't eat anything but broth."
"So, mommy dearest is really . . . Mommy Dearest?" Bridge winced at the thought of nothing but broth to eat.
"There's a bitter streak, but Amy's really nice. She used to come to my house when her mom went on a broth kick and we'd pig out on brownies!" she giggled and they walked down the hall. Bridge put a friendly arm around her shoulder.
"Any word on Amber?"
"Average student, sent to detention once for smoking. With a cigarette, not being smoky! All pretty normal."
"So we'll just have to wait. Hopefully nothing else will happen," Bridge sighed and then thought, Yeah right.
Dl
Amy turned around the corner, only to come face to face with Syd.
"I have a dream," the snobby girl said. "It's to be in the dancing club, adored by every male on the varsity. We have to achieve our dreams or else we wither . . . and die!"
"Listen I'm so-" Syd cut off Amy's apology.
"If you're supreme klutziness takes me out of the team, you're going to be so very beyond sorry," she smiled, "have a nice day."
Syd left her then and walked off. Amy saw Syd's scrunchie fall on the floor and she picked it up, fingering it before leaving in the opposite direction of Syd.
Dl
"I told Bridge about Amber," Z informed Jack as they walked to the board where the results of the dance club were posted.
"Good," Jack responded without interest and then turned to Z, "He was wearing it right? The bracelet, he was wearing it, right? Kinda like we were going out."
"Except without the hugging, kissing and him knowing about it part," she sighed and then looked at her childhood friend. "Jack, if you wanna date Bridge, ask him! You know that he's interested in guys and you're interested in both!"
"I should ask him out, right?" Jack asked. Z gave him an incredulous look.
"What do you think I just said?"
"That's why you're so cool! You're like a guy! You're my girl friend who knows about guy stuff!" Jack threw an arm around her shoulder.
"Oh great, I'm a guy," Z said with sarcasm.
"They're posting the list!" Jack pointed at the board. He ran off where Bridge and Amy were standing as another girl who's name wasn't on the list ran off. A guy whose name was on the list and she cheered.
"Cover me, I'm going in!" Jack made his way through the people. Syd came up to Bridge and Amy and addressed her, "You're in luck."
"I made it?" Amy asked.
"No, I made it!" Syd gloated and walked off. Jack made his way back, getting hit on the way.
"One of those girls hit me really hard! They should check for steroids! Okay, not only did you make the team, but you, Bridge Carson, are the first alternate and Amy's number three!"
Bridge and Amy looked at each other, sadness reflecting on the girl's face before she walked off while Jack continued, "And what better way to celebrate than a drive through-"
"Jack, alternates are the ones who didn't make the team, they only fill in for those who did!" Z smacked his arm as she watched Bridge go after Amy.
Jack looked rather downtrodden after that, "For I am Jack, the King of Cretins. May all other cretins bow before me."
Bridge caught up with Amy, "At least it's over! Now, you know what we should do about it? Brownie pig-out, my house, after school!"
Amy looked at him with tears in her eyes and Bridge simply sighed and gave her a hug as she cried into his shoulder, "How many more hours can I practice? How much more can I do?" she pulled away from him. "Such a thing would never happen to mom. Never," she walked off while Bridge looked at her back sadly.
Dl
A woman stood in the attic of her home with dolls strung up behind her along with a bunch of personal items of others and stirred the brew in her cauldron.
"Give me the power. Give me the dark," she reached for another doll on her rack.
"I call on you, the laughing gods," she yanked one off the rack.
"Let your blackness crawl beneath my skin," she wrapped Syd's scrunchie around the doll's head.
"Accept thy sacrifice . . . of Sydney. Feed on her."
She dropped the doll into the brew.
Dl
Dl
Dl
Bridge pulled out a piece of toast from the toaster and walked to the central table in the kitchen to spread the butter (wiggle the fingers) on it, when Maya walked in with a book.
"Look what I found! It's my old college year-book! Here I am!" she pointed out a picture as she showed the book to her son.
Bridge raise an eyebrow, "Mom, I've accepted the fact that you've had sex. I'm not ready to accept the fact that you had Farrah hair!"
"This is Gidget hair! Don't they teach you anything in history?" Maya frowned.
"Well, it's cool, but I gotta scoot," he went to the fridge.
"Well, I was thinking that since the dance thing didn't work out, maybe you could join the yearbook staff. I did and it was loads of fun!"
"Not really my thing, mom," Bridge said apologetically as he spread the butter on his toast.
"I was, uh, photo editor. Got to be on every page and it made me seem a lot popular than I was," Maya said convincingly.
"Mom, have you seen the guys who do the yearbook these days? Nerds pick on them!"
"Some of the best times I had in school were during my time as on the yearbook staff!" Maya sounded insulted.
Bridge let out an exasperated sigh and turned to her, "Okay, this just in: I am not you! I'm into my own thing!"
"Your own thing, whatever it was, got you kicked out of school and we had to move here to find a decent school that would accept you!" Maya yelled and immediately regretted it as she saw the look of pain on her son's face.
"I have to go," Bridge said bitterly and grabbed his bag.
"Honey, uhh," he was out the door in seconds and she sighed, "Great parenting form, little shaky on the dismount."
Dl
Syd walked past Jack and Z in a daze and the male teen raise an eyebrow, "Syd, you haven't been mean to me all day! Is it something I've done?" He turned to his friend, "See how she has no clue that I'm a mammal, much less a human being?"
"I see that," Z took the pen from her mouth.
"The invisible man syndrome. A blessing in Syd's case, a curse in Bridge's," Jack sighed.
"You're not invisible to Bridge!" Z patted him on the back while chewing her pen again.
"It's worse! It's like I'm a piece of scenery, like an old shoe. Or an old carpet which you walk on everyday but don't see!"
"Or like an old pen that's all chewed up and you know you should throw it away, but you don't, not because you like it so much, but because you're just used to-" Z fell silent at the look on Jack's face.
"I know, you don't have to beat over the head with a railroad spike! I'm going to take your advice and not beat around the bush!" Jack thumped his fist against his chest.
"I could be wrong. Maybe you should beat around the bush a bit more," Z suggested.
"Nah," Jack shook his head, "I gotta be a man and ask him out. Y'know, I gotta stop giving him ID bracelets, uh, subtle innuendoes, taking Polaroids outside his bedroom window late at night, that last part is a joke to relieve tension cause here he comes," he pointed at the Slayer who was coming out of the classroom.
"Okay, into battle I go!" Jack took a deep breath and then grabbed Z by the shoulders, "Ask him out for me!"
Bridge passed Syd who was trying to open her locker and gave her an odd glance while Jack attempted to pull himself together.
"No," he let go, "Me battle," he turned to Bridge who had reached them by the that time, "Bridge, would you like to-"
"Is that even Sydney's locker?" Bridge interrupted him with thumb-jerk at Syd. Jack and Z looked at Syd who gave up and continued down the hall.
"Huh? Oh I don't know. Anyway, would you like to accompany me Friday night-"
Bridge didn't hear him and frowned at how Syd seemed to be walking in a daze. He cut Jack off again and gave him his book, "Uh, Jack, can we make this up later? You don't mind?" He took off after Syd. Jack whistled the sound of a bomb falling and exploding while Z looked at him and continued chewing her pen.
Bridge began to follow Syd outside and saw her heading towards the Driver's Ed teacher, Mr. Pole. The man saw her coming and let out a sigh.
"Are you ready to start? I hope I haven't kept you waiting?" he said sarcastically.
"Mr. pole, I don't wanna drive today," Syd mumbled. Bridge frowned at the depressed tone of her voice, hiding behind a school bus.
"You've flunked this class twice. Pass this time or you're taking the bus to college," he frowned.
Syd and he got into the car and she tried to start it, which she did after a couple times. She pressed down on the accelerator and the car backed into some cones and signs before moving forward again, burning rubber.
"What the?" Bridge took off after them, but remained hidden.
Syd lost control of the car and it swerved off the course, through some bushes and the fence and got onto the road. Another car swerved to avoid getting hit.
"Brakes, brakes!' Mr. Pole yelled. Syd pressed down, causing the car to stop. They got out and Syd, in a daze, walked out into the streets into the path of an oncoming truck. She screamed and Bridge leaped over the Driver's Ed car, managing to tackle Syd and get her out of the way of the truck.
"Oh, oh my God, I can't see anything!" Syd cried out against him.
"It's, it's okay, it's-" he stopped as he saw her eyes which were completely white with no irises. "Oh God."
Dl
"Witchcraft! Of course, removing sight of the enemy, it's ingenious!" Cruger exclaimed
"First vamps, now witches! No wonder you can still afford a house in this place!" Jack grumbled.
"Why would someone want to harm Sydney?" Bridge pondered.
"Maybe cause they met her and did I say that?" Z looked shocked.
"And setting Amber ablaze?"
"Yeah . . . those guys don't hang-"
"They're both dancers!" Jack exclaimed and then looked shocked, "Did I just figure something out?"
"Someone doesn't like dancers," Cruger pondered.
"Or likes it too much . . ." trailed off.
"Amy!" Bridge and Z exclaimed together.
"So you guys are leaning towards Amy?" Jack said dryly.
"She's desperate to get on the team and I've got this feeling that she'll do anything to make her mom's dream come true," Bridge frowned.
"Uh, let me make sure I have this right. This witch is casting horrible, disfiguring spells to make it on the dance team?" Cruger almost laughed at the sheer absurdity of the situation.
"I think you're underestimating the pressure a parent can lay on you. If you're not a carbon copy of perfect, they tend to wig," Bridge muttered softly. Cruger gave him a sad glance which he missed.
"Still, we have to stop Amy. We should grab her and-" Jack was interrupted by Cruger.
"We should make sure that she's the witch first."
Bridge opened his mouth, but Z beat him to the punch, "How do we do that?"
"Um, here's something!" Cruger read out of a text, "The duck pond! You throw her in. If she floats, she's a witch, if she drowns, she's innocent." He saw the looks on their faces and shrugged sheepishly, "Some of my texts are a bit outdated."
"She's the witch, no doubt," Bridge said with certainty. He looked at Cruger, "I've been getting a bad vibe from her ever since I saw her after the results."
"We're forgetting something! Bridge is in danger now!" Jack exclaimed. They looked at him and he clarified, "You were the first alternate. Now that Syd is out, you're on the team!"
"Bridge is her friend! She wouldn't do that, would she?" Z looked uncertain.
Outside the library, Amy stopped listening to the conversation and opened her hand, revealing the bracelet Jack had given Bridge. She had found it on the floor in front of his locker and was about to give it back when she overheard them talking. After school, she went home and saw her mother in front of the TV. Catherine turned it off and got up to face her daughter.
"Another useless afternoon in front of the TV?" Amy asked coldly. She threw her bag at her mother's feet. "I have a history report due tomorrow. Write it!" She opened her hand to reveal the bracelet and smirked at the horrified look on Catherine's face.
"I'll be upstairs."
Dl
Dl
Dl
An alarm rang out and then it was smashed into a pancake by a fist.
"Oops," Bridge muttered, feeling oddly ecstatic for some reason. He quickly changed into a black T-shirt and blue jeans before bounding out of his room and into the kitchen where he spotted his mother squeezing out some orange juice. He grabbed a glass, drank it and then grinned.
"Quality juice, not concentrate!" he said giddily.
"You're in a good mood," Maya commented.
"Why shouldn't I be?" he asked with a wide grin.
"Listen, Bridge about yesterday . . ."
"Don't worry about it!" Bridge waved her off, "It's not like you were wrong, I did get kicked out of school. I'm just wacky in that way. There's something about being a Vampire Slayer that the older generation-"
"A what?" Maya turned to him and Bridge quickly back-tracked.
"Long story!"
"Are you feeling alright?" she narrowed her eyes at him.
"What? Oh I'm fine, y'know? What can I, like, not be in a good mood? Is it, like, a new house rule? Fine, y'know. It's just fine, fine, fine!" he practically skipped out of the house, leaving Maya to wonder about what had happened.
Dl
At school, Bridge came up to Jack and Z from behind and yelled, "BOO!" causing both of them to jump and give him a glare.
"Any reason for that?" Z manage to get out and raised an eyebrow at the happy expression on Bridge's face, "You okay?"
"Yep! Why does everyone keep asking that? I'm fine!" he said in a hyper voice.
"Is it me or is Bridge a little looped?" Jack asked Z.
"Yup, he is. We better get him out of here before he-" Bridge chose this moment to stick out his leg as Joy was passing by, causing her to fall.
"Hurts someone," Z finished lamely. Joy got up and gave Bridge a dangerous glare.
"You are so off the team!" she snarled and got into the gym where the others were waiting.
"It's not his fault!" Jack protested, grabbing onto one of Bridge's arms while Z grabbed the other.
"He's on medication!" Z quickly spat out.
"What?" Bridge asked Jack in a confused voice.
"Okay . . ." Joy sounded rather disturbed and then turned to the others, "Amy, you're our new dancer! Let's practice people, we have to perform for the school today!"
"No, no, no, you don't want her! She's a wi-" Jack cut Bridge off.
"A wise choice indeed!" Jack ushered Bridge and Z out of the gym and they headed towards the library.
"She's a witchy!" Bridge giggled as Jack supported nearly all his weight with an arm around his waist and Bridge's arm around his shoulders.
"Bridge . . ." Z sighed.
"I just got kicked off, didn't I?" Bridge asked in a slightly serious voice.
"I don't think it was your fault," Jack muttered, trying to get his mind off the fact that Bridge was extremely close to him.
"Of course you don't, cause you're my friend! You're my Jack-shaped friend!" Bridge moved his own arm away and leaned his head against Jack's shoulder, causing him to blush even more "Do you have any idea why I love you so, Jack?"
Z looked at him in concern, "We gotta get him to-"
"Let him speak!" Jack shushed her.
"I'll tell you! You're not like other boys at all!" Bridge said giddily with a laugh.
"Well . . ." he prepared to boast, only to shut his mouth at Bridge's next words.
"You are totally and completely, one of the girls!" He turned to Z, "I am that comfortable with him!" Z smiled widely and Bridge continued, "Any other guy who would give me a bracelet, they'd . . . wanna date me and be like a . . ." he began to feel woozy.
"Bridge?" Jack's concerned voice broke out.
"I don't feel good," he mumbled before collapsing in Jack's arms.
Dl
Z kept a cool cloth on Bridge's forehead as he sat on a chair in the library while Cruger paced about, looking through a book, worried to death about his Slayer.
"We have to get him to a hospital," Jack clenched his fists as he watched Bridge moan.
"They can't help him. This is a Bloodstone Vengeance spell," Cruger sighed as he took Bridge's pulse. "Hits the body like a quart of alcohol and eradicates the immune system."
"A vengeance spell, she's trying to get back at Bridge?" Jack asked.
"Cause she knows that I know she's a witch," Bridge muttered weakly.
"The others, she just wanted out of the running. You she intends to, um," Cruger stammered, unable to bring out the word. Bridge did it for him.
"Kill?"
"How much time do we have?" Z asked.
"We have, ah," he didn't want to tell her.
"Truth please," Bridge groaned. Cruger couldn't help but feel respect growing in his heart at the words of his Slayer.
"Two or three hours at the most."
"How do we stop this?" Jack interjected.
"I researched it and the only way is either we get out hands on Amy' spell book or cut of her head."
"It's not Amy's fault. She's only doing this because of her mother," Bridge protested.
"I don't care," Jack knelt in front of him, "All I care is that you keep breathing."
"Cruger, where would she be casting these spells?"
"A sacred space, a large pentagram," he nodded.
"Her home. Guys, help me up," he added, "we'll get her spell book."
"We'll come too!" Z nodded.
"No. you guys make sure she stays away from the science lab," Cruger told them as he took Bridge from them, "we need it to counter the spells." The two left and Jack and Z exchanged worried glances, both worried about their friend, the Vampire Slayer.
Dl
Cruger's car pulled up in front of Amy's house and he managed to get Bridge on his feet, who, by now, looked rather out of it. He knocked on the door and inside, Catherine glanced up from a plate of brownies in surprise before shoving the plate beneath the table and opening the door slightly.
"Who are you? Is something wrong?" she tried not to look frightened at the sight of the state Bridge was in.
"Mrs. Madison, we need to talk about your daughter," Cruger said
quickly, well aware of Bridge's failing strength.
"I'm not allow . . . you'll have to come back later," she made to close the door, but Cruger made his way in and set Bridge down on the couch nearby.
"Are you alright?" he asked him and got a weak nod and smile in response. He was surprised that the boy even had the energy to smile.
"You're daughter is meddling with something very dangerous, are you aware of that?" he asked Catherine.
"I don't know what you're talking about!" she said in a high-pitched voice. Bridge frowned and closed his eyes, concentrating.
"Oh, I think you know very well!" Cruger said angrily, panicking slightly.
"You've got to go! She'll be home soon-"
Cruger gestured in Bridge's direction, "This boy is very sick. Now you will shut up and listen to me! Your daughter has access to some very dangerous magic and somehow your obsession with dancing has-"
"I don't care about dancing!" Catherine interrupted, incredulous. "It's not my fault she's doing things!"
Bridge opened his eyes and saw the plate of brownies beneath the table and his eyes widened in realization.
"As her mother, you should accept some responsibility of her actions!" Cruger went on.
Catherine laughed bitterly, "Well, you know kids these days! I . . ." she sighed, calming down. "She's out of control. Ever since dad, her dad . . . left, I can't control her."
Bridge got up off the couch slowly and Cruger looked at her with surprise, "You're afraid of her?"
"Amy?" Bridge said in a slurry voice, making Cruger panic even more about how far gone he sounded.
Catherine looked at him in shock, realizing she had been found out. Cruger looked at him, puzzled.
"Are you Amy?" Bridge asked again softly.
"I don't understand . . ." Cruger muttered.
"She switched! She switched your bodies, didn't she?"
Catherine looked down, defeated and Bridge continued, "She wanted to relive her glory days . . ."
"She said I was wasting my youth," Catherine looked up at him again.
"So she took it away."
Dl
Dl
Dl
"I didn't know anything about her powers," Amy in Catherine's body continued while they sat on the couch. "I mean, she and dad would fight and he would call her witch and I just thought he meant . . ." she took a deep breath. "God, when he left, I wanted to go with him. But she wouldn't even let me call! She went crazy, she would lock herself up in the attic for days and she was always coming down on me, telling me I didn't deserve to have it this easy and that I didn't know how hard it was to be her." She looked down at herself, "She really showed me, huh?"
"Amy, it's gonna be okay," Bridge said soothingly, gripping her hand weakly.
"The day after I told her about the results, I woke up in h-her bed! I didn't know where I was but then I looked in the mirror . . ."
"She locked herself in the attic?" Cruger questioned.
"Yes," Amy nodded and then lead them up. Cruger knocked down the
door and looked around, Amy panicking.
"Don't! If she finds out I've been here, she'll kill me!" she pleaded. Cruger ignored her and looked around. He saw two dolls bound together for the body-switching spell and picked them up.
"I think we can reverse your mother's spell. All of them, actually," he said softly.
"Really?" Amy's eyes held hope in them.
"We need to find her books. There'd be specific volumes she'd need for this sort of magic." He knocked the books of a trunk, "Take the dolls and the personal items." A black cat jumped at him as he tried to open the trunk, startling him.
"Ah, nice kitty?" he exhaled. "Let's see what you're hiding."
"Did we find?" Bridge asked weakly as he saw them come down.
"We found, let's go," he held up a book and helped Bridge off the couch.
"Where are you going?" Amy asked.
"To the school," Cruger's worry increased as he saw Bridge was too weak to walk and picked him up in his arms. He looked at Catherine's body.
"And you're coming with me."
Dl
Meanwhile, in Sunnydale High, the dance club was performing some of their moves for their audience. Catherine, in Amy's body, looked very happy to be there and Jack and Z watched her from the stands.
Cruger made his way into the science classroom and placed Bridge on one of the lab tables, knocking everything off it in the process.
"I'm going to stop this, I promise," he whispered to Bridge, who gave him a small, weak smile. Cruger took of his coat and made it into a pillow, placing it beneath Bridge's head as his vision began to blur.
"You just hang on," he muttered, going to the books and items he had brought.
"How is he?" Amy asked, concerned about her friend.
"He only has a few minutes left," Cruger muttered. Amy cut an eye out of a frog and looked as though she was ready to throw up while the Watcher mixed a potion.
"Right, here we go," Cruger began to recite from the book while Bridge moaned on the table.
"The centre is dark. Centrum est obscurus. The darkness breathes. Tenebrae respiratus. The listener hears. Hear me!"
Meanwhile, during the dance, Catherine began to feel odd. Her vision flashed to what Amy was seeing in the lab, the frog and the book. She shook it off and picked up the count again, but still looked worried.
"It's working!" Amy cried out, covering her face.
"Unlock the gate," Cruger continued, "Let the darkness shine. Cover us with holy fear. Show me . . ." he muttered as the lights went off in the classroom.
Catherine had a big smile on her face and then, suddenly, she had another flash back to the lab and caught a glimpse of Bridge. She frowned and then scowled, running out of the gym. She violently pushed open the door and was confronted by Z.
"Amy!"
"Get out of my way!" the witch snarled.
"Wait, I wanna talk to you. I-I can h-help you!"
"Help me with what?!"
"With y-your witchcraft! I know a really good cauldron!"
Jack sneaked up on her from behind, ready to grab the witch, but she snarled and turned around, holding her hand out as though she was grabbing someone's neck. Jack fell to the floor choking. She then punched Z and ran to the lab.
Dl
Cruger held up his arms, "Corseth and Galail! The gate is closed! Receive the dark! Release the unworthy! Take my energy and be sated!" he plunged his hands into the mixture he had made.
Catherine walked through the halls with a determined look on her face and tried to open the door on the science lab and found it to be locked. Amy saw the door being yanked but her attention remained on Bridge, who looked dead except for the slight rising and falling of his chest.
"Release!"
Catherine found an axe outside and broke the glass with her fist, yanking the axe out. She began to chop down the door.
"Release!"
Catherine made a hole and walked in. she made her way straight to the Slayer and lifted up her axe.
"Releaaaseee!" Cruger finished, taking his hand out of the mixture. There was a flash of light as all the spells were broken. Amy blinked as she was aware of the axe in her hands. She was bak in her own body. Bridge still didn't move, busy recovering his lost strength.
"Bridge?" Cruger came to his side. Catherine snarled and then held out her hand, causing a table to hit him and knock him back, down and out. Amy stood there, holding the axe as her mother turned to her.
"You little brat!" she yelled in anger.
"Mom! Please!" she held up the axe threateningly. Catherine held out her hand and axe flew into it.
"How dare you raise a hand to your mother?! I gave you birth! I gave up my life so that you could drag that worthless carcass around and call it living? You've never been anything but trouble! I'm going to put where you can never cause anymore trouble again!" she moved towards Amy.
"Guess what?" a voice from behind her made her turn around to see Bridge looking healthy again and he smirked at her, "I feel better!" He punched Catherine and the woman landed on a lab table, knocking shelves and bottles over.
"That body was mine! Mine!" she screamed.
"Oh, grow up!" Bridge snarled. Catherine held out her hand and used her powers to send Bridge smashing against the wall. He fell to the floor and got up quickly while Catherine started a chant.
"I shall look upon my enemy!" she screamed and her eyes turned pitch-black.
"I shall look upon him and the dark place will have her soul!" bridge looked around and then saw a mirror being held up by a pole.
"Corsheth, take him!" Catherine yelled and the energy shot out of her fingers. Bridge kicked away the pole and the mirror swung down in front of him, causing the spell to be reflected back on Catherine. She screamed as the energy enveloped her and then disappeared with a roar, taking her with it.
Bridge surveyed the scene and saw Cruger unconscious on the floor. He knelt down next to him as the Watcher began to wake up.
"Well, that was interesting," he muttered.
"You guys okay?" Bridge asked, helping Cruger up.
"I'm fine!" Amy came up to them.
"I assume all spells were reversed. This was my first casting so I may have gotten it wrong," he exhaled.
"You saved my life! You were a God!" Bridge said with a bright smile and hugged him, shocking the Watcher. The Slayer pulled away quickly as Jack came rushing in and grabbed Amy.
"I got her! Cut her head off!" he yelled.
"Jack, what are you doing?" Bridge asked with a confused look on his face.
"Saving you?" he said in disbelief.
"Get your hands off her!"
"But she's evil!"
"It wasn't her exactly."
"I was my mom," Amy supplied.
"Oh!" Jack let go of her. At this point, Z came running in with a bat. "Uh, Z, it's cool."
"It is?" she asked.
"Yup. I took care of it."
Dl
Bridge dumped his smashed alarm clock into the wastebasket and then did a handstand against the wall, contemplating what had happened in the past few hours. Maya walked in and came directly to him.
"I don't get it," she said. Bridge looked up at her and spoke without moving.
"I told you, mom. Doing this brings ideas, like blood, to your head. It helps me-"
"Not that," she interrupted.
"Then?"
"I've been thinking a lot about . . . where you're coming from, how to relate to you . . . and I've come to a simple conclusion: I don't get it."
"I'm inscrutable, huh?" Bridge smiled.
"You're sixteen! I think there's a biological imperative where I can't understand you because you're sixteen."
"Do you ever wish you were sixteen again?" he asked.
"Oh, that's a frightful notion," Maya looked horrified. "Go through all that again? Not even if it helps me understand you."
She smiled at her son and he reciprocated. Bridge jumped down from his position and swiftly kissed his mom on the cheek, "Love you, mom!"
He ran from the room, leaving Maya stunned, "I don't get it!"
At Sunnydale High, Bridge and Amy were walking together.
"My dad is so impossible," Amy ranted. "He doesn't ever want me going anywhere! He wants to spend total quality time together! And I'm like, 'Dad, I can go out! It's perfectly safe'! But he's got all this guilt and leaving me with mom. And he's being a total pain!"
Bridge grinned at her, "You're loving it."
She grinned back at him, "Every single moment of it. This Saturday night he wants to stay home and make brownies. Well, the brownies were my idea."
Syd came up from behind them, "Hey! I'm really sorry you guys got bumped back to alternates." She had a thoughtful look and then smirked, "Wait, no I'm not!"
"I'm sorry I saved you from that truck," Bridge muttered, loudly enough for only Amy to hear him. She grinned at him and then turned to Syd.
"Well, I know I'll miss the intellectual thrill of flailing in front of people," she said blandly.
"Ooh, these grapes are sour," Syd huffed and walked away. Bridge and Amy stopped in front of the trophy case and she turned to him.
"Oh, I'm sorry! You wanted to be on the team!"
"Nah, dancing is way too hairy for me. Slaying is more my thing," he winked at her. She shook her head at him and then looked at Catherine's picture in the case.
"Catherine the Great," she sighed.
"And there's no sign of her?" Bridge asked seriously.
Amy raised an eyebrow at him, "How do you change moods that easily?"
"Meaning?" Bridge cocked his head with a confused look.
"Never mind," she shook her head and then answered his question, "that last spell . . . she said I'd never make trouble again. Wherever she is, I don't think we'll have to worry about her again."
They looked at Catherine's dancing trophy and Bridge sighed.
"Twisted." They turned to leave and Amy slipped a friendly arm around his waist, "You know, I'm thinking about going fat."
"I heard that's the look for this season," Bridge said in a mock-serious voice as he put his arm around her and they laughed.
They didn't notice the muffled noises coming from the dancing trophy or the eyes looking out.
Dl
Aaaaaannd we're done! whew This is so not easy to do! Not to mention, it's hard to remember the Buffy episodes for this. Read and review people!
P.S: Sky will be back next chap!