A/N: I did something different in this chapter that I haven't done in this story or LLS. If anyone can tell me what it is, I'll give you brownie points.

Chap. 9: Of No Use -February 05

"Well, no mention of Tarzar in this one either," Dawn grumbled, throwing the worn brown book on top of the pile of other worn books. "I'm beginning to think we're never going to find anything," she told everyone in the room, defeated.

Kennedy, seeing the look on Dawn's face, moved to sit beside her on the couch in the research library. Putting an arm around her back, she pulled the younger girl's head onto her shoulder. "Don't give up yet, I'm sure we'll find something soon," she spoke softly to her, placing a kiss in Dawn's hair.

Dawn tilted her head up to look into Kennedy's eyes, smiling, knowing she was right. The relationship between the young couple had been moving slowly, as in a snail's pace kind of slow. But the young Summers wasn't about to complain, she was quite content. She knew the Slayer wasn't pushing for her sake, knowing this was all new to Dawn.

"You're right," she agreed, sitting back up so she could go back to researching. "Have you found anything yet, Giles?" she asked the Watcher who was seated adjacent to them, flipping through pages of yet another book.

He sighed, closing the book and placing it back on the table. "Not as yet."

"I'm starting to think he's either extremely old and predates the written word, or is so new he hasn't made himself known yet," Willow piped in from her place behind the desk, where she was searching through the internet on her laptop.

"It's quite possible," Giles admitted. "Or another theory is, he is not from our dimension."

"I've never thought of that, it's a possibility I guess," Willow admitted. "Maybe Anya's contacts will turn something up," she sighed.

If they didn't turn up something soon, they all feared what would happen. As it was, Buffy was no longer allowed anywhere near the library. She proved to be more a distraction than any help. They knew the Chosen One was worried, they all were, but standing over their shoulder's questioning them every two seconds was not a help to anyone.

"Maybe there really is no Tarzar, and that vamp was just trying to scare Faith," Dawn said, hopeful.

"Pff, Faith was right, lame name," Kennedy mocked, "Tarzar, I mean really, come up with something cool."

"Yes, well, regardless of his name, I fear he does indeed pose a real threat." Giles paused, pulling his glasses off to clean them, only continuing once they were situated back on his nose. "With Faith's dreams being what they have been this last week, I do believe that dark forces are headed our way. We already know that since the spell to empower all the girls, demons have sought their power. It isn't far off to imagine that other dimensions haven't felt the shift as well, which leads me to my theory of he is not from this world."

Slamming down the book she had recently picked up, Dawn let out a deep sigh. "So none of these books will help, and we just have to hope Anya's contacts turn up something."

"It would be prudent to keep looking, on the off chance I'm wrong, but yes I believe we'll likely have more luck with Anya." Turning to look at the only Slayer in the room, "Kennedy, go see what classes are out and see if you can wrangle some more help."

The brunette nodded her head, before moving away from her girlfriend and out the door. Hoping soon they'd find something useful.

~BF~

Across campus, Buffy sighed as she placed the file in her black filing cabinet. Ever since her small stint as counselor back in Sunnydale, she realized it was a job she enjoyed. So when they came to Cleveland, she'd asked Giles if she could hold a similar position here.

When they first started the school, she was needed more to help teach classes, so was only given a few hours a day to counsel the girls. Now a couple years later, they were at a place where she was only needed to teach a class or two here or there and could dedicate most of her time to helping the new Slayers on an emotional level.

Several of the potentials that had been with them back in Sunnydale have already been assisting or teaching their own classes with supervision and instruction. But that would change next semester, as several of them would be given their own classes to run as they saw fit.

But today, as she watched the last girl exit her office, she couldn't help but feel as if her heart wasn't in it. She couldn't even be sure she'd offered any good advice to any of them. Locking the filing cabinet, she made sure the lock was also flipped on her office door, before working her way down the hallway.

She started to head towards the research library when she remembered she was no longer allowed in. Willow had threatened to put up a barrier if need be to keep her out. Okay, so maybe she had gone a little overboard asking if they'd found anything yet, but surely it wasn't every two minutes like they'd claimed. And maybe she did read over Dawn's shoulder to make sure her sister didn't miss anything, but who could blame her? I mean this was her wife they were talking about.

Willow would feel the same way if they were talking about Tara.

Faith would have picked Nevaeh up by now and taken her home, classes had been over for well over a half hour. So she headed to the one place she hadn't been in far too long.

The cool air felt good on her skin as she stepped outside the main doors in the administrative building and made her way towards the back of the compound. The large double doors beckoned her as she pulled the left one open and walked into the large open space. They weren't sure what this building had been used for when the army owned this land, but Xander had gutted the entire thing, turning it into a very nice, state-of-the-art, gym and training room.

To the right side of the building, a locker room of sorts had been built in. Everyone was given their own space to keep clothes and other necessities. Not having to carry workout clothes back and forth was nice. Buffy liked to keep several sets there so she could go awhile before having to take them home and wash them.

Changing clothes quickly, she moved back out into the main room, surprised the room was bare. Hopefully, that meant everyone was being pulled to help with research. More than likely most were doing their homework, however.

On a normal day she'd be making her way over to the workout equipment to use the treadmill or lift some weights. Today, she had a purpose, one reason only for being here. To get out all the aggression that was building up inside her.

The punching bags called to her, as she pulled on a pair of gloves and threw a hesitant punch to test that her gloves were just how she liked them. As soon as she was sure, she took swing after swing.

The bag rocked weakly on its chain as she continued to wail on the poor thing. It wasn't long before her feet were soon added into the mix. She wasn't aware of the cries and grunts that escaped her lips as she built up a sweat. It wasn't until the bag gave in and flew off its chain that she finally stopped and sunk to the floor, letting the sobs free.

That's where Faith found her not more than fifteen minutes later. She could feel Buffy's anguish from a distance. Grabbing Nevaeh, she had run out the door and to the gym as fast as she could. The blonde wasn't even aware of her wife picking her up and carrying her back to their house, or of the little girl behind them, watching her mother uncertainly.

Taking the stairs two at a time, Faith headed up to their bedroom and made sure Buffy was content on the bed before heading back down the stairs to talk to Nevaeh.

"What's wrong with Mommy?" the little girl asked as soon as Faith's feet hit the landing.

Walking to her daughter, she picked the little girl up and settled them both on the couch.

She wanted to tell Vaeh that everything was fine, but she wasn't going to lie to her. But figuring out what to tell her and what to leave out was harder than she thought. "Remember when we had to leave our old house 'cause the bad guys came and destroyed it?" That's what they'd told Nevaeh when she got old enough to wonder why they moved. Which wasn't entirely a lie.

Nevaeh nodded. " Yeah, I gots new toys and new house," she remembered.

"Well, we think more bad guys are going to be coming and Mommy is just really scared that something bad might happen."

Nevaeh looked around the room, eyes landing on all her favorite toys. "We move again?" she asked.

Faith placed a lingering kiss in Vaeh's hair, taking in her still lingering baby scent, and remembering how it feels to hold this precious bundle in her arms. "No, baby, I don't think we'll have to move again. Grandpa Giles, and all your aunts and Uncle Xander trying to really hard to make sure this bad guy doesn't hurt us."

She hoped she was explaining it well, and not just scaring their little girl. The last thing she wanted was for Nevaeh to be afraid, or for Buffy to get mad at her for making their daughter scared.

Wiggling her way off her Mama's lap, Nevaeh headed up the stairs surprising Faith. The mini-Slayer knocked on the door, causing it to swing open just a few inches. Taking that as an invitation, she walked with purpose over to the king size bed where her mommy was curled in the middle.

Climbing up on the bed, she wrapped her arms around her mom, hugging her. "Mommy, don't be scared. Everything okay," she told the blonde in her arms, placing a kiss on her cheek in comfort.

Buffy looked up at Faith, who had followed their girl into the room, as if to say, 'what did you tell her?' Her wife just shrugged back, telling her to go with it.

"Thank you, baby, your kisses always make me feel much better."

"You okay now? No more crying."

Buffy smiled, wiping a hand across her face in an attempt to get rid of any tears that were still there. "Well I can't promise no more crying, but I'm okay now. Mommy just doesn't want anything to happen to you or Mama and she just got scared. She loves you both so much."

"Vaeh loves you too," she told her Mommy, easily picking up on talking in third person.

"And Mama loves both her girls too," Faith tells them both, sliding onto the bed so that Vaeh was sandwiched between them. Placing her hand across the little girl, so that her hand rested on Buffy's back, she pulled them both to her, hugging them tightly.

"See, now this is the perfect way to spend the day," Buffy smiled, loving the feeling of having her family so close to her. Nothing was going to happen to Faith, she wouldn't let it. They hadn't had enough time as a family. "I'm thinking tonight after dinner we go out for ice cream. How does that sound?"

"Yay!" Nevaeh and Faith both screamed at the same time. Sometimes her wife acted like a bigger kid than the child between them.

"Good." Giving Vaeh another hug and kiss, she told her to go play, leaving her alone with her partner.

"You okay, B?"

"Yeah, I'm better now. I just needed to let everything out I think."

"You really scared me. I could feel you, clear over here. That usually only happens when either we're fighting or well… when we're doing that other f-word," she smirked. She'd never diminish what they did together with such a term, but it didn't mean she couldn't hint at it when the opportunity presented itself.

Buffy smiled in understanding. She knew how her lover felt about their love making, it was the same way she felt. Like it was only the two of them in the whole world and everything was as it should be. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Believe me, I know how you feel." Placing a kiss on her forehead, Faith pulled Buffy closer to her, wanting nothing to separate them if she could help it. "It's gonna be okay. We'll figure out how to beat this Tarzar beast."

"You're right, we just gotta think positive. Everything will be fine."

Done with all the heavy talk, Faith gently ran her hands up and down Buffy's side. "Think Nevaeh would miss us if we locked the door for an hour?"

A small laugh burst through the blonde's lips as she lightly smacked her wife in the shoulder. "We are not having sex while Nevaeh is awake in the other room. That would just be wrong."

"Why not? I'm sure other couples do it. I mean we're married."

"We are not other couples. Just cause we're married doesn't mean we can lock our daughter out of the room so you can get me naked."

"Speaking of which, when do I get that strip dance?"

Buffy rolled her eyes. "You're never going to forget that, are you?"

"Are you kidding me? You promised, of course I'm not going to forget, not until you do it."

Buffy sat up, knowing it was just about time for her to start fixing dinner anyway. "Maybe if you're good tonight I'll reward you."

"Ah man," Faith mumbled, knowing the chances that it would happen tonight.

~BF~

The door to the research library opened up, causing everyone to look up at the ex-vengeance demon as she entered the room, looking thoroughly exhausted. At the same time, it looked like she had news, and something was tucked in her hand.

"Did your contacts turn anything up?" Giles spoke, breaking the silence.

"I think so, they gave me this," she told him, handing him a piece of very old paper.

Giles opened it up and studied the writing, but didn't recognize it. "I can't read this, can you?" he asked her.

"No, I can't, it's in a very old demon language, predates even me. But the demon that gave it to me told me what it said. I think it's the prophesy we've been looking for." All eyes turned to Anya, giving her their complete attention. "Basically it translates as 'During the climax of the final battle, the Slayer's body shall be pierced leaving her cold, her power will become his, and he will rule all.'"

"Oh, dear lord."