My Season 8

by asdfghjklasdfghjklasdfghjkl

I decided to create my own version of an 8th Season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Following straight after Chosen this is how i believe the Buffy phenominon could have continued. Give it a shot, i hope you enjoy it.

9. Episode 9: The Chase

(I own nothing to do with Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the Buffyverse, I am just a fan!)

Summary of episode 9: Cordelia has returned into the lives of the scoobies and insists it is only a social call but Willow and Xander believe otherwise. Willow and Kennedy's relationship comes to a boiling point, while Dawn gives into teenage angst with a boy called Chase. After Robin's death Faith begins to block out everything and everyone meanwhile whilst out on patrol Buffy comes across a teenage Slayer named Chris who's gotten herself into some risky business. An old face is also uncovered right under the scoobies noses.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Season 8, Episode 9
The Chase.

Chapter 1
Cordelia surveyed her audience. She couldn't help but compare their faces to the last time she'd seen them all. She'd seen Buffy last four years ago when Faith went all rampagy on Angel and tortured Wesley in L.A.
Her and Willow exchanged a phone call three years ago when Harmony had shown up in L.A and was looking to be the newest addition to Angel Investigations and then when Willow came to L.A to tell Angel that Buffy was dead.
The phone call was the time when Cordelia learned that Willow was gay so she guessed that the petite girl standing next to Willow was her girlfriend. You learn to keep an open mind when you're held prisoner as a higher being and then possessed by some demon spawn she thought.
Xander dorky Harris. If asked this question Cordelia knew she would deny it completely, but he was the one she missed the most after leaving Sunnydale. She thought Giles would never change; he'd reach seventy and still be the same old Librarian Cordelia remembered. And then there was the black chick with the bad hair.
Buffy, Giles, Willow, Xander, Kennedy and Rona slowly made their way down the main staircase into the main hall. Cordelia made with the meetings and greetings while Buffy pulled Faith aside.

"What the hell are you playing at?" Buffy asked angrily but in a hushed tone.

"Huh?" Faith replied.

"You don't remember that Angel said she was in a coma, after giving birth to a demon, who grew out of sucking a pacifier real fast, and tried to y'know end the world?" Buffy growled.

"What did you want me to do B? Leave her outside so you and your scoobies could tie her down and pour Holy Water Down her throat? I don't think so. If you want to play detective, be my guest," Faith said in dismissal.

"Where did you even find her?" Buffy asked.

"Well after I disappeared I woke up on the front lawn at Cordelia's feet. Told her I had to get back in the house and explained what went down, her eyes went all white and when I get back into the main hall this little brat thinks it's funny to throw chandeliers at me. But when it stopped and the kid went poof I knew you'd saved the day. Nothing new there," Faith said as a jab at her fellow Slayer. Buffy assumed that it was Cordelia who had rescued them from the other plane. That troubled Buffy, she knew about Cordelia's visions and connection to The Powers That Be but she couldn't imagine the popular Queen B of Sunnydale High with that kind of power.

"How are you so sure it's her?" Buffy asked.

"I just got a feelin'. You learn a thing or two when you've been to where I've been," Faith sighed.

"But what if she woke up different, we all know what can happen when coma people leave the hospital room," Buffy said. The look on Faith's face made Buffy wish she could take it back as soon as she said it. She knew how hard Faith was working on her issues and her expression quickly went from normal Faith angry to hurt to extra Faith angry.

"That was low B, even for you," Faith spat.

"Faith wait-" Buffy started before stopping at a one-finger hand gesture from Faith as she stormed off towards the old closed door. Buffy sighed heavily and ran her fingers through her hair.

"You don't trust me do you?" said a voice that sounded remarkably like Cordelia's. Buffy, stunned, spun around so fast she felt her knees and ankles click. She found Cordelia within nose touching distance to her.

"Can ya blame me?" Buffy said sceptically.

"I guess not," Cordelia stepped closer so that Buffy could feel her breathe as she spoke, "but on the contrary to your 'me me me' attitude, I'm not here for you." Buffy struggled with herself not to indulge in Cordelia's attempt at getting a reaction out of her.

"So why are you here Cordelia? Not that it isn't good to see you it's just we have kind of a full house at the minute," Buffy said in a lame subtle attempt to retaliate to Cordelia's remark. Cordelia looked around at the huge empty Manor and gave Buffy a stern look.

"W-well it's not full at the m-moment," Buffy stammered. "But we-"

"Save you stuttering Buffy I won't be over staying my welcome-"

"Are ya sure? Because my hospitality has been worn thin during the time of our little catch-up," Buffy smirked.

"Guys!" Xander exclaimed. Buffy and Cordelia took their gaze from each other to Xander. "This isn't High School. Grow up," Xander said as he began to follow behind Faith through the old closed door.

"You guys Xander's right," Willow said hushed.

"They're right," Buffy admitted reluctantly with a glance back to Cordelia. "I'm sorry," she said. Cordelia sighed.

"Yeah me too." Buffy turned to Kennedy and Willow.

"Guy's if you could find Cordelia somewhere to stay, I get the feeling she isn't going anywhere anytime soon," Buffy said with a smile. "And Will if you could give Nick a call? Tell him our...other...guests are gone. I'm gonna follow after Faith and Xander, I might have some grovelling to do."

Willow nodded and went to use the phone that hung from a wall near the doors into the manor. Buffy turned towards the corridor to the smaller living room, Kitchen, garage and basement. She was about to push on the door to open it when Cordelia called back to her. "Buffy?"

"Yeah?" Buffy asked turning round. Cordelia stood silent for a moment before saying,

"Never mind." Buffy smiled and turned to the old door hallway. Cordelia turned back to Kennedy as Willow was still dialling. "So," she began, "you must be Tara."

The ceiling lights shone dimly on Xander who leaned against a wall holding a hysterical Kate. Buffy could tell that Xander was doing his best to fight back his tears and Kate's face was masked by a mass of black hair. Buffy was flabbergasted. "Xander what is it?" she asked worried. Xander shook his head from side to side and led Buffy with his eyes to the door to the garage. She pushed on it hesitantly. She hadn't in anyway prepared for what she was going to find. The room was full of grey smog and it seemed to ooze from all four corners of the room. Nicholas's car beeped every moment or so which Buffy knew meant it was low on gas. Buffy spotted Faith on the back wall under a shelf with one hand in her hair and the other over her mouth. Her waist down was blocked by the car. Buffy opened one of the tiny windows that hung near the ceiling before walking over to Faith and grabbing her by the shoulders. "Faith, what happened?" she asked. Faith remained silent with her face as white as a sheet. Faith shot a shaky glance towards the car. Buffy slowly turned around. The car door was almost off its hinges and in a tangled position on the floor laid Principal Robin Wood with his eyes wide and lifeless. Buffy dropped to his side and felt for a pulse.

"K-Kate said he w-was possessed when he...y'know," Faith announced. Buffy was speechless. She couldn't find the words in her head, like they protested in her mouth. Buffy took her hand which was holding her steady on the floor and closed Wood's eyes.

The next few days in the manor were hard for everyone. The atmosphere was dark, people upset, people angry and then Choa-Ann who didn't really understand. The gang buried Wood in the back yard about an hour after Faith found him, Faith didn't cry, didn't whimper didn't even so much as sniffle. If you think about it at this point they had only been going out just shy of three months. But everybody could tell he had fallen for Faith. Of course there was no way of knowing whether the feeling was mutual unless the words actually passed through Faith's lips, but it was clear they had a spark. After the burial Nicholas got word from the New Watchers Council that the foreign Slayers where to be taken to the airport to fly to London where they would be taken to whichever training facility spoke their language. Dawn took her stuff from Buffy's room and moved back up onto the fifth floor. Andrew sure was happy to stop baking over three hundred waffles in the mornings. All in all Willow took a head count and found the manor was home to thirty-eight Slayers including Buffy and Faith. In the two weeks of peace they had had in the manor before Willow went missing and Rona's incident in the cemetery Buffy realised one afternoon that these girls had been here a while and a lot of them hadn't had one proper training session. She had given about five training sessions in those two weeks but that was nowhere enough. She didn't ask whether Faith had done any while she was in L.A but she assumed she had when she heard about 'the daylight patrols'. Unless Faith just gave a girl a stake and threw her at a Vampire. Things have to change Buffy thought as she was sitting in the living room in the main hall watching T.V with Dawn, Willow, Vi and Xander one night. Buffy had gotten used to having Cordelia around but was shaky as to why she was there in the first place. Cordelia explained that she woke up from her coma because of a vision from The Powers That Be and thought she'd look up old friends. But Ohio is a long way from a Los Angeles Hospital. Buffy was careful not to mention Angel around her. Cordelia hadn't mentioned she'd gone to see him yet, truth be told she hadn't mentioned him at all. Buffy knew about her feelings for the love of her life but she wouldn't allow it to be awkward. After all as Xander said, it wasn't High School. Before Buffy could complete another thought the door to the manor swung open and revealed a bruised Faith with a nasty gash across the left side of her face. She shut the door behind her and headed towards the stairs.

"Faith?" Buffy said loudly. Buffy heard Faith exhale as she reluctantly turned around to look at Buffy. "You been out?"

"Uh yeah, never a shortage of nasty's out there," Faith replied.

"Alone?" Buffy asked.

"Don't need a wannaslay brigade B, I can handle myself," Faith hummed.

"I see that," Buffy said as she got up from the couch and walked over to her fellow Slayer. Buffy raised her hand to Faiths' head wound but Faith pulled away.

"Oh yeah, a vamp got a little rough"

"Rough might be an understatement, you need to clean that," Buffy turned to Willow, "Will? Could you?"

"I'm Fine," Faith protested.

Willow began, "Faith, it could get infected-"

"Look!...just get outa my face okay, I'm fine," Faith said in finality. She bolted towards the stairs and was gone in seconds. Buffy released a breath she didn't know she was holding and turned around.

Vi began, "it's because of Principal Wood right? I mean I haven't known Faith as long as you all have but-"

"She's shutting people out Buff, playing the macho Slayer card. This could turn ugly," Xander interrupted.

"I just don't know what to say to her," Buffy admitted.

"She's supposed to patrol in the morning too, then Kennedy and I take over and then you're supposed to take the new girl out tonight right?" Vi said referring to Buffy.

"Alicia, right," Buffy sighed again. "Vi if you could take Rona with you in the afternoon and I'll have Kennedy do a sweep in the morning instead," Buffy suggested.

"Sounds like a plan," Xander agreed. Buffy sat back down on the couch.

"Well I'm gunna hit the hay, school tomorrow and I'm totally behind, night guys," Dawn said as she left the large living room.

"Don't stay up to late," Buffy advised. Dawn just raised an eyebrow in response before ascending the huge staircase.

Soon enough all the lights in the manor went out. Faith had been out a while so whatever bumpy's were out that night she figured were a pile of dust by now so she told Giles it was a waste of time taking a patrol out. Everybody seemed to have earned a good hard rest, it had been a crazy week.
Buffy woke up in her own time that Monday morning. She'd forgotten to set her alarm and so when she looked over at the clock it read 11:38 am. It was the only peaceful night's sleep she'd had since moving into the manor. It wasn't plagued with dreams of death and violence and she hadn't woken up with worry about foreign Slayers hogging the bathrooms. She made her way down to the main hall and sat at the table. Giles placed a cup of hot coffee in front of her and sat down also with the day's newspaper in hand. "Feel rested?" he asked.

"Muchly," she smiled.

"Dawn said it was best not to wake you," Giles said.

"Dawn!" Buffy cried.

"Buffy it's okay; she left for school this morning safely on time with the other girls enrolled at her High School," Giles said calmly without looking up from a story titled GANG RELATED RAID LEAVES POLICE BAFFLED.

"Oh, what about patrols? Did Kennedy go out this morning?"

"Uh, n-no. Faith insisted she do it. Rona and uh Vi are waiting for her to come back," Giles struggled. Buffy sighed heavily. The rest of the day was a blur. Willow made a trip to the magic shop downtown because the van that used to come every Monday morning never showed up, Xander spent the day in one of the first floor rooms punching a punching bag with Cordelia, Giles read the paper...over and over, Faith came back to the house about 1:30 pm less brusiey but then she hit one of the training rooms too. Nicholas disappeared for the day with a couple Wolfram & Hart Executive's down in the basement. Buffy guessed they were finally sprucing it up, Andrew staying in his room, his ankle was still in a bad way but he milked it every chance he got. Dawn and the girls got back about 4:30 and before Buffy knew it Alicia was ready and waiting by the door with more weapons than the human body could handle. Alicia spotted the look on Buffy's face.

"To much?" she asked with a wince.

"Just a tad," Buffy smiled. "Hmmmm...how about the good old fashioned wooden stake and another sharp accessory of your choice?" Alicia smiled wide and grabbed a sharpened stake and leaned in for the crossbow. "Except that," Buffy interrupted. Alicia frowned and grabbed for a small battle-axe.
Buffy and Alicia left the manor and headed for one of the eleven cemeteries in Cleveland. Alicia was a little on edge, Buffy tried to explain that most of the time if there was going to be an attack you'd know by instinct. But she messed up with the phrase 'most of the time'.

"How do you do this Buffy, walk around cemeteries at all hours of the night? I mean you're only twenty-two right?"

"Bin doin' it for a long while, besides the superpowers help," Buffy joked.

"How long is a while?"

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen?"

"I was fifteen when I met my first vampire," Buffy said lowly.

"Fifteen? God, but back then it was just you right? Like you where THE Slayer?"

"Yatzee," Buffy sighed. "But I got by."

"But you died twice,"

"Oh yeah," Buffy looked down at the floor. "I think I had something those Slayers before me didn't have. A life besides Slaying. I love my friends and I'm so grateful for them, they're responsible for getting me here," Buffy smiled.

"That was kinda' beautiful," Alicia babbled.

"I have my moments," Buffy laughed.

"Uh Buffy?"

"Yeah?" Buffy turned around and found Alicia had stopped frozen cuddling her stake.

"I think I just found my second vampire!" Before Buffy could turn around she already suffered a punch to the face which knocked her to the ground.

"Hate it when they surprise me," Buffy sounded.

Buffy swung her leg so it collided with the ankles of the vampire and took him to the floor too. She swiftly grabbed her stake from her jeans pocket and began to thrust it at the vamps heart when he caught her hand just before collision and used it to hoist Buffy over him and into a stone grave. Alicia shakily ran in with her axe but the vamp shot her out of the way with a back hand punch which sent her hurtling over a mound of soil and her dropping her axe. The vampire went for the axe and gripped it in his right hand. Buffy steadily got to her feet and grabbed her stake. The vampire growled deeply and launched the axe in Buffy's direction but missed as Buffy dived to the left just in time. She got up and felt that familiar charge, trusting her instincts, Buffy took off in the direction of the vampire but stopped when he cried out in pain and fell to the ground revealing Alicia with a bloodied stake.

Alicia began. "oh my god! I did it-" but before she could finish the vampire had stopped grovelling and knocked her to the ground. Alicia was crushed under his weight but suddenly felt him disappear. Buffy had pulled him off forcefully that he crashed into a headstone. Buffy plunged her stake deep into the vampire before he exploded into dust.

"Let me guess, I didn't get the heart?"

"'Fraid not, but it's a start," Buffy smiled unconvincingly.

All of a sudden the cemetery was masked with flashing red and blue light. Buffy dragged Alicia behind a crypt as about five cops with dogs ran through the grass and looked behind gravestones. Buffy looked over the headstone to where her and Alicia where hiding. Her eyes found a young girl with curly blonde hair, the same tone as her own, who stood with her back on a tomb. Her black leather jacket reflected the light of the police cars onto her face. She wore a little too much eyeliner than Buffy liked, kinda' like Faith's. The girl spotted Buffy behind the headstones and bolted for the nearby 8ft brick wall that surrounded the graveyard. She elegantly leapt to the top of a crypt and then over the wall. Alicia seemed to have spotted the girl as well.

"What's her deal? Vampire?" she asked puzzled from behind the headstone.

"I think she's just the opposite," Buffy replied.

Chapter 2
Buffy and Alicia hid for about fifteen more minutes before the police left the graveyard. They had scowered every possible nook and cranny in hopes of finding this mysterious girl. Unfortunately the average policeman cannot scale an 8ft wall in a single jump, the girl was long gone. After hearing the loud clang of the cemeteries front gate coming to a swift collide Alicia and Buffy came out from behind a crypt and breathed a sigh of relief. They started towards the exit in silence. The cops defiantly wanted this girl bad and when she had set eyes on Buffy she had sped off quicker than a deer hearing a twig snap in the distance.

"Is it possible?" Alicia asked after they had walked about half a block.

"What?" Buffy replied.

"Another Slayer, right here under your noses. I mean I've only been here just over a week but that seems kinda' slacky," Alicia announced.

"I don't understand how Willow didn't sense her, she has had a lot on her mind what with getting back on her feet and with our newest arrival," Buffy said slyly.

"Cordelia seems nice," Alicia added.

"She is…just only when she feels like it," Buffy joked. The girls reached the industrial estate cut off when they picked up on a loud ruckus going on down an alley. Alicia instantly reached for her axe while Buffy just sighed and ran her fingers through her hair.

"C-could just be a mugging?" Alicia said upbeat but in a way that let Buffy know Alicia wasn't convincing anybody, not even herself.

"I got this one, you should head home," Buffy said.

"But what about-", Alicia stopped talking when she spotted Buffy's expression.

"The Manor is a few blocks away, don't take any shortcuts and stay on the streets," Buffy advised.

"And I won't talk to strangers even if they offer me candy," Alicia said sarcastically.

Buffy headed down the alley to find two vampires pinning down a brunette woman, the vampire whom had hold of the left side of her body was lowering his head towards her neck. "When will girls ever learn that going down dark alleys at night 80% of the time leads to a gruesome bloody death?" Buffy said cockily to get the vampires' attention. They turned their heads and surveyed the blond rescuer. In actual fact the girl didn't need rescuing. She had hurled one vamp into a dumpster and sent the other shooting over Buffy's head as she got up. Faith picked up one of the legs of a broken chair and thrust it into the vampires hearts as they went back for her. Through the cloud of dust Faith met Buffy's gaze.

"You're out late," Faith began.

"You're out late? I just found you about to be a midnight snack and that's what you come up with?" Buffy said.

"I had those guys," Faith said defensively.

"No, they had you in the fetal position," Buffy retaliated. "Faith something's up."

"Why are you making such a big deal out of this Buffy, I go out, I slay I go home, day restarts. Me being in a routine make's you think something's up? I'm fine," Faith argued.

"The fact that you just called me Buffy is all the proof that you're not yourself," Buffy said sincerely. Faith rolled her eyes. "Faith everybody deals with loss differently-"

"Yeah well I dealt with it already. This is just me being me," Faith started towards the street. Buffy couldn't let Faith go back out patrolling, after what she'd just walked in on she thought this might be the night Faith wouldn't come back home.

"There was a girl," Buffy called back. Faith stopped, "in the cemetery."

"That's nice B but-"

"She was being chased by the police when she jumped over an 8ft wall and disappeared," Buffy said.

"Let's go," Faith said.

Buffy and Faith headed back to the cemetery, Buffy left a message on Willow's cell saying not to wait up, that Faith was with her and that she'd explain in the morning. Buffy led Faith to the boundary wall where Faith leaped to the top and surveyed the busy street. Buffy began, "I think she might have headed for one of the alley's across the street but-"

"No, if the cops where on her she would have stayed in the streets, blend in a crowd, disappear," Faith whispered before dropping off the other side of the wall and hitting the floor without a wince. Buffy soon followed her. "She'd have headed towards the right in a huddle of people before slipping into an alley" Faith announced in a hushed tone before setting off down the right side of the street. After walking for three or four minutes Faith whispered, "here," and entered a dimply lit back alley.

"Where now?" Buffy asked. Faith looked around at the tall buildings when she set eyes on an old condemned warehouse sign. Buffy followed Faith's train of thought.

"But that makes no sense; why not hide out here for a while before going home?" Buffy said baffled.

"Because she doesn't have one, from what you've said she's not your average teenager. I think she either came this way to hide out in the warehouse, or she lives in it," before Buffy could answer Faith was already jogging further down the alley, dodging dumpsters and ignoring the hoards of rats.
The Slayers reached the warehouse fence were they saw a gathering of homeless people and squatters sitting on abandoned furniture around burning trash cans tossing round loaves of bread, the ground was littered with once white and now green mattresses and blankets and one single radio bellowed out loud hip-hop and rock music. At the rusted double doors of the warehouse sat an Asian man in baggy cargo pants and a letterman jacket. He couldn't have been much older than Buffy. He got to his feet to adjust his belt when Buffy spotted a metallic gun in his pants.

Buffy began, "Faith-"

"Hold up," Faith interrupted at the sight of a curly haired blond in a leather jacket walking up to, what Faith assumed was, the door man. The doorman welcomed the girl like family, they exchanged a quick hug before he held the door aside so the girl could go in. "That our girl?" Faith asked.

"That's the one," Buffy hummed. "We should come back in the morning, re-group, maybe get the guys on it-" before Buffy could finish Faith had already slipped through a gap in the fence and held it open for her. "Or not…"
Buffy climbed through the gap and stood looking at the landscape. "How are we going to get passed him?" Buffy asked referring to the man with the gun.

"Either the fire escape, or the front door," Faith said slyly. Faith began to set off through the crowd of homeless people when Buffy grabbed her by the forearm.

"What the hell are you doing? Is this a game to you? We may be strong, but we're not bulletproof!" Buffy whispered angrily. Buffy headed towards the fire escape with a defeated Faith shortly behind her. Buffy majestically scaled the wall onto the ledge of the fire escape and thrust the ladder down onto the concrete. Faith pulled herself up and they quickly made their way up the stairs and through one of the doors to the upper platforms of the warehouse. The structure was dimly lit except for several large light bulbs buzzing loudly and casting a yellow glow around the room. The wall's were missing bricks, the ceiling missing tiles and the floor missing a good mop. The girl from the cemetery was being warmly greeted by the seventeen people inside the warehouse. She pulled a white sheet of paper out of her pocket and headed for a man sitting on a, less than hygienic, sofa at the back wall next to a table of expensive jewellery. Buffy flashed back to the headline she'd seen on Giles' paper that morning. 'GANG RAID LEAVES POLICE BAFFLED.'
The man on the sofa, who seemed to be the one in charge, greeted the girl with a surveying look and a wink. The girl showed no reaction. She raised the hand that had the paper in it and the man snatched it from her.

"You're sure you weren't followed?" the man asked.

"I lost the cops back in New Haven Cemetery," the girl replied.

"And you're sure this is the right address?"

"Positive." The man looked the girl up and down once more.

"Good work Chris," he smiled.

Chris falsely smiled back before she returned to the rest of the gang members in the warehouse. Faith and Buffy, who had heard every word of the conversation, exchanged a worried look.

-Back at the manor Xander was working up a sweat in one of the first floor training rooms alone. He'd been in there for hours now. He didn't even notice it had gotten dark out. He was busy making forceful contact with a punching bag when a knock on the door startled him. "C'min," he called. Cordelia's head peered around the door frame.

"Can I come in?" she asked.

"Sure," he replied. Cordelia moved into the room and sat down on one of the training mats.

"How goes the Xander Harris search for employment?" she asked.

"Ahh…not well," he replied.

"Because…" she asked inquisitively. Xander sighed and turned to her.

"Well turns out there's not much…for me…in the area and what construction jobs I did find turned me down on sight because of this damn eye patch," he sighed. He took a seat next to Cordelia on the mat.

"You never did fill me in on how you came about the whole pirate thing," Cordelia said.

"Well tell me why you decided to stop by Cleveland, Ohio and I might just do that," he replied.

"I told you I just wanted to look up old friends-"

"Yeah but you and me both know that story is about as convincing as telling Roadrunner the laws of gravity," he smiled. She returned his smile.

"Gotta say I prefer this Cordelia than the one in High School," he breathed.

"Really?"

"Well not that making-out in the janitor's closet wasn't fun and all-". Cordelia playfully punched him on the arm with a laugh.
Their conversation was quickly forced to be put on hold when an angry Willow stormed into the room looking seriously pissed. Willow set her sights on Cordelia.

"Why did you do it?" Willow asked.

"Um, beg pardon?" Cordelia replied.

"You know what I'm talking about Cordelia," Willow said frustrated. Cordelia got to her feet.

"Willow I don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about," Cordelia pleaded.

"You called her Tara," Willow announced in a way that sounded like she was about to cry. The room fell silent for moment. "You knew Tara was dead, surely Angel told you about Willow's trip to the darkside so you must have known…so why?"

"Willow it was an honest mistake," Cordelia said in her defence.

"That's not true and you know it," Willow spat. "I have worked so hard to keep my relationship with Kennedy going and now she has it in her head that she's just the rebound girl!"

"Look Willow I could talk to Kennedy if you want but in all honesty I had no idea," Cordelia announced.

"Whatever," Willow hummed in angry dismissal. Willow bolted from the room and down the hallway.

"Will!" Xander called after her. Xander realised there was no point going after the angry red-head and so turned back to the training room. Cordelia stood with her face buried in her hands.

She began, "Xander I really didn't have any idea-"

"I know I believe you," he lied. "But I think we should call it a night for now. It's," he looked at his watch, "just passed 2 a.m, I'm gunna go to bed. Besides Buffy should be back any minute. Goodnight Cordy."

"Xander-" she called after him.

"Goodnight Cordelia," he called back as he slammed the door behind him.

Willow got back to her room on the fourth floor and closed the door behind her. Kennedy had just stepped out of the shower. Kennedy saw the expression on her lover's face. "You said something didn't you?" Kennedy asked as she briskly dried her hair. Kennedy had gotten in from patrol about a half hour ago. The fact that Willow didn't reply gave Kennedy her answer. "Willow I told you not to!"

"What was I supposed to do? She knew who you were when she met you! She's just trying to stir things up…it's who she is," Willow argued.

"Well then now all you've done is give her the satisfaction of knowing she can get to you," Kennedy retaliated. "I should go apologize," she added after a moment of awkward silence.

"Apologize? For what?" Willow asked.

"I-I dunno. Maybe Cordelia's just trying to break into the Slayer inner circle or something," Kennedy suggested.

"No way, Cordelia has never wanted anything to do with we scoobies, ever," Willow argued.

"People change Will. You scoobies are-"

"What d'you mean 'you scoobies'?"

"Well y'know, you, Buffy, Xander, Giles…even Faith."

"And…you," Willow added.

"Well…not really," she replied.

"Kennedy you're not an outsider,"

"Well, yeah, I kinda' am?"

"No, no you're not," Willow argued as she took Kennedy into a hug which she shrugged off fast.

"Can-can we not do this now? I'm really beat." Willow silently nodded and crawled into bed. Kennedy took a pair of pyjamas from the draw and climbed in also. With the two lovers on the opposite sides of the bed instead of cuddled in the middle, the short distance felt like miles.

-Back at the Warehouse Faith and Buffy still stood on the upper levels overlooking the group of people below them, the girl, Chris, was sitting with three older woman in ripped jeans and leather jackets in the corner next to a small radio. Chris took out a cigarette and set it alight. "You're call B," Faith whispered. Buffy pondered her next move as she gripped the metal rail of the upper level.

"Little miss rebellion isn't going anywhere, at least not for now. We'll come back in the morning? Or ill have one of the girls keep an eye out for her and we'll approach while she's alone?" Buffy suggested. Buffy spotted Faith's expression. "What?" she asked.

"If we're gonna go with you're plan of action we gotta go fast. These metal upper levels aren't stable and we're about to make a serious swan dive," Faith pointed out. Buffy looked at the trembling screws in the ceiling, Faith wasn't kidding. Quickly and quietly the Slayers made their way toward the fire escape. Faith was the first one onto the fire escape ledge with Buffy a short distance behind her. Faith stood holding the door open for Buffy but in all the hurry Buffy accidentally knocked an old dusty cardboard box off the rail and sent it plummeting down to the ground. It landed directly on top of the radio and the warehouse fell completely silent. The gang members all looked from the box and then to the ceiling.
Buffy stopped still.

"Stealth much?" Faith digged. The upper level suddenly began to quake and the screws in the ceiling dropped off one by one. Buffy began to panic and before she knew it the floor had vanished from the soles of her feet and she was weightless, tumbling to the ground. "Buffy!" Faith exclaimed. The people below scurried from the seats to the walls so as to not be crushed by the falling debris. Buffy braced herself for impact. She hit the ground heavily and it seemed like all the oxygen in her body was sucked away.
The dust cleared and all eyes where on the well dressed blonde amongst a pile of rubble on the floor. Buffy had earned herself a few cuts on her side from the impact and possibly a broken rib.
Faith had hurried down the fire escape as soon as Buffy had begun to fall.
Buffy tried to sit up and as she did so she clutched at her side where she'd hit the ground. She knocked her hair out of her eyes and looked around at the angry and confused mass of people who probably all had a revolver in their back pocket.

"Ohh..." she moaned. The guy in charge appeared out of nowhere and towered over her.

"Looky looky," he sniggered. "What d'we got here?"

"Don't mind me," Buffy coughed. "Just thought I'd drop in. Drop…get it? Gee…tough room."

"You're in no position to be makin' jokes lady," the man replied.

"I get that, so I should just be on my way," Buffy watched as the gang members stepped closer towards her, "but I doubt it."

"You," Chris called from behind Buffy. Buffy awkwardly got to her feet and turned to face Chris. Buffy was hoping Chris wouldn't recognise her.

"What? You know this chick?" the man called.

"She was in the cemetery when I was getting chased. She's a cop," Chris sighed.

"I'm not a cop," Buffy said in her defence.

"You said you weren't followed!" the man exclaimed.

"Easy Calvin!" shouted a woman from Buffy's south in reference to the man in charge. The woman received a threatening look for speaking up.

"I'll deal wid'you later," Calvin said as he pointed his finger at Chris. He gave his gaze back to Buffy. "Now, what're we gonna do with you beautiful?"

The double doors of the warehouse where suddenly flung open because of the force of the doorman being catapulted through them. He hit the ground hard at Calvin's feat. Faith casually stepped into the structure pointing the doorman's metallic gun at Calvin. "I think you need to step away from her," Faith hissed. Faith's presence caught the attention of everybody in the room. "Weapons on the ground or I pop this guys head chock fulla' nine millimetre bullets," Faith ordered while keeping eye contact with the gang leader.

"Don't do it, this cop aint goona do sh*t," Calvin laughed.

"Well I aint a cop, in fact I'm an escaped convict wanted for murder so unless you think I'm kidding I suggest you get your cronies to put the merchandise on the ground," Faith retaliated. Chris, who was just out of Faith's line of vision, began to slowly back towards a wall and edge towards her. "Try it kid and lose an arm," Faith called. Chris stopped still. Turns out the only one with a gun handy was the leader, Calvin, everybody else, including the newest Slayer, tossed a knife on the ground instead. "B, we're leaving," Faith said.

"Not without what we came for," Buffy said.

"And what might that be," Calvin sniggered. Buffy wondered whether to take Chris by force, but then she realised that she'd already gotten her in enough trouble and if Chris decided not to stay at the manor she'd have to come back here.

"Nevermind," Buffy grunted as she strutted towards the exit shooting Chris a look.

"It was a pleasure," Faith sneered as Buffy passed her and she closed the doors. Back inside the warehouse, all eyes were trained on Chris. Outside however, Buffy was starting to feel the burn of her injuries. As the two walked through the gathering of homeless people, who stared with mouths wide open, Buffy nearly toppled over once or twice. They got back onto the street and began the journey back to the manor. It was almost three in the morning so the streets were quiet and empty. Faith picked up on Buffy's struggle to keep going. "B…I'm not one for the whole rescuing the damsel in distress but uh…you look a couple minutes from passing out. I'm not too excited about the idea of carrying you but I could take one for the team-"

"Let's just get home, quietly," Buffy replied interrupting her.

"Y-yeah," Faith said a little hurt.

Back at the warehouse Chris and the rest of Calvin's lackey's where clearing the rubble in the main room while Calvin slipped into one of the abandoned offices. He shut the door of the dark empty room tight and lit a cigarette. "You said you'd help me get the 'ice' if I brought you a Slayer, well two just showed up in the next room and pointed a gun in my face. What happened?" Calvin asked the room angrily.
A hooded, tall figure stepped out from the shadows.

"Even I could not take down those Slayers alone," the figure said demonically. "If I'm to have any chance of surviving what's coming I need the control of a Slayer at my beckoned call." Calvin puffed his cigarette aggressively and turned to the demon. "The blond one," the demon hummed.

"Yeah, Buffy Summers right?" Calvin asked.

"No, the other one," the demon shouted frustrated.

"But, the only other blond in there was…Chris? No way!" Calvin said, "There's no way that runt's a Slayer."

"Chris," the demon laughed menacingly, "watch her," the demon ordered.

Chapter 3
When Buffy and Faith arrived back at the manor the night sky was still in place. The exterior of the manor was dimly lit by the few lights still left on in some rooms. Faith entered the code into the iron gates and they opened quickly and quietly. They made their way up the private narrow road and trotted lightly on the porch. Buffy rummaged in her pockets for her key and pushed it into the slot. Before turning it however she took a glance at her watch and it read 5:17 am. Buffy sighed and twisted the key and pushed on the door. She noticed Faith hat sat down on one of the deck chairs. "You coming inside?" Buffy asked.

"Yeah, ill uh, be in in a minute," Faith replied. Buffy furrowed her brow at her.

"Faith you can't go back out again, you're exhausted-"

"I'm not…I just wanna sit okay?" Faith asked rhetorically. She caught a look from Buffy who still wasn't convinced. "B, I'm not gunna wait for the sun to come up so I can go off singing The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Music, I just wanna-"

"I'll see you in the morning," Buffy interrupted her. Buffy stepped into the manor but stepped back out again at the sound of Faith's voice.

"B? I uh, thanks for tonight…that thing in the alley, was getting kinda hairy there for second," Faith said awkwardly and reluctantly. Buffy just smiled before re-entering the manor and closing the huge door behind her. Buffy gazed at the oak floors of the manor, the red curtains that hung closed over the huge windows, the two staircases that leaded to he upper floors that where draped in a fine red carpet. As she did this she realised she no longer had the energy to climb three flights of stairs and so headed toward the open living room on the right side of the main hall. She achingly laid her head against the armrest and closed her eyes. 'Just for a second' she thought before quietly drifting off to sleep.

Buffy suddenly found herself dressed in armour standing on the front lawn of what she assumed was the manor amongst thirty or forty men in a tight formation. She gazed around at the men who stood in fear watching as the huge wall surrounding the manor and the Cliffside was being breached by hoards of vampires. "FOR VICTORY!" exclaimed a man at the front. The men all raised their swords and shouted loudly before advancing towards the wall leaving Buffy alone upon the steps. The men clearly didn't know the vampires were in fact vampires due to their amazed expression when their swords where plunged into the stomach's of the vampires and they did not die.

Buffy turned to the manor. The brick was different; it resembled the overgrown moss ridden slate that covered certain parts of the manor's exterior that she remembered. The door however remained the same except it was newer. The windows where but holes in the wall. Buffy's attention was caught by the sound of explosions within the manor. She pushed the door and found ghostly figures of men and vampires duelling each other. The usual wooden floor was the same stony colour of the walls but the only thing that remained the same was the closed door that led to the basement. However when Buffy opened the closed door she found only large stone steps leading to the basement. No kitchen, Lounge, Library…just ominous steps. Buffy, in a trancelike state, descended the steps and entered an enormous room dimly lit by torch light. A woman wearing white armour began to undress in the centre of the room. She took off her helmet and revealed long flowing black her which reached down to her lower back. Then off went the chest plate, arm and leg guards and steel boots leaving the woman only in a dazzling white cloth. She stepped into a circle of green powder which had candles at four main points. The candles illuminated as she entered. The woman placed an object in the centre of the circle but Buffy could not make out what it was.

"I knew you would come eventually," the woman said with her back turned. The woman turned around revealing strong brown eyes and perfectly sculptured features. Buffy opened her mouth to speak but was immediately cut off. "Don't speak," the woman said softly. Buffy ignored this.

"Why am I here? Why did you bring me here?" Buffy asked. The woman stared at her approvingly.

"To warn you," the woman replied.

"Warn me of what?" Buffy asked angrily.

"To warn you that he is on his way much faster than I am," the black haired lady responded.

"He who? Who's the he that's coming? Who're you?" Buffy asked angrily.

"You must do it again, for if I am not there when he arrives we will have no chance of success don't you see!" the woman cried in frustration.

"Okay lady I am completely lost. I must do what again? Success in what? Who's we?" Buffy asked in the same tone of frustration.

"You are not yet ready," the woman said in disappointment.

"Look, I never was much good with the cryptic," Buffy replied.

"Know that I will be there soon, but not soon enough if you do not find it! Be ready," the woman said before a mass of ghostly hoards entered the basement.

"Buffy! Buffy!" cried the voice of Giles. Buffy was jolted awake by the loud shouts and vigorous shaking of her watcher. Buffy shot up right and opened her eyes only to be attacked by the sunlight that shone through the window towards the cliff.

"What is it?" Buffy asked dazed.

"You where dreaming, "Giles said as he handed her a cup of coffee. She took it gladly and took another glance at the window.

"Giles it's just turned sunrise, why are you up so early?" Buffy asked.

"Well forgive me if I want to eat my morning crumpet and toast in peace before the hoard of teenagers descend upon the land," Giles said as he sipped his tea. Buffy smiled and followed him to the dining table. She assumed the mass of dark brown hair outside the front window was Faith asleep on the deck chair. "So, was that the regular 'the cat stole my bubble-bath' dream? Or the 'oh dear run for your lives a giant snake is going to eat the entire students' dream?" Giles said as he read the front page of the newspaper. Buffy began to think.

"T-that darn kitty," she stuttered. Giles gave her a nod and smile. She glanced down at his newspaper. 'Cleveland Gang Strikes Again, Murder in the First Degree.' Buffy snatched the paper from him.

"Hey!" he said angrily. She rolled her eyes and began to read.

'Early hours last night a witness says a man and woman broke into the home of one Kyle Humphrey and shot him dead in cold blood. Police have made a statement saying the motive for this homicide is unknown and the firearm was uncovered at the scene. Police have in fact taken the young woman, age 17, into custody. Whether the woman is co-operating is unknown, full story tonight a 6.'

"Buffy, gang related crime isn't our area of expertise, I think you should let the police handle it," Giles suggested. Giles caught Buffy's expression, "oh God, what don't I know?"
Buffy spent the rest of that half-hour explaining to Giles the events of last night beginning with the cemetery and ending when he had woken her up that morning. She left out her whole weird dream sequence because even though it was a long time ago, the whole fiasco with Giles, Robin and Spike still left her with some trust issues. She still hadn't worked up the courage to tell him, or even tell anybody, that Spike was alive and living in Los Angeles with Angel. But as for everything in the life of Buffy Summers, it just had to be another day's problem.

"And you suspect this Chris to be the girl the police captured?" Giles asked after Buffy was finished talking.

"Yeah, but you didn't see this Calvin guy Giles, I mean Chris is no push over, from first glance its obvious but this guy scares her. I really don't think she killed that guy," Buffy added.

"But you did see her give this Calvin Mr. Humphrey's address?" Giles responded.

"Yeah," Buffy exhaled heavily. "We need to talk to her," Buffy suggested.

"Maybe you could go down to the county prison?" Giles replied.

"I should change, and then see Dawn, she's probably worried sick," Buffy said.

Faith had woken up at the sound of the iron gates down the private road coming to a close. She remained sitting in the corner deck chair out of plain sight as she watched a light brunette girl take the walk of shame up the porch steps. Dawn peered her head around the window behind the dining room table and spotted Giles and Buffy talking. "Crap," she whispered.

"Well well well," Faith called. Dawn jumped at the sound of a voice that wasn't her own and spotted the second original Slayer surveying her from the opposite side of the porch.

"Faith!" Dawn said wide eyed with her cheeks turning a darker shade of red. "You're up early," Dawn stated. Faith got up and walked to Dawn.

"And I'm guessing you never went to sleep," Faith replied as she took Dawn's bra strap from her upper arm and tucked it under her shirt.

"Look, I know what this look's like," Dawn said.

"No beef squirt, you wanna play big sis that's your deal, but if B asks if I've seen you I'm not gunna lie," Faith tilted her head toward the window and spotted Buffy and Giles. "C'mon, I'll give you a boost up to the fire escape."

Dawn followed Faith around to the fire escape of the manor. Faith put her palms together and braced herself. "Just for the record," Dawn said as she clambered into Faith's palms, "I wasn't having sex."

"Didn't ask," Faith laughed. When Dawn got safely onto the ledge Faith saluted her from the ground and made her way back to the porch. Dawn headed up to the fifth floor recreation balcony where Amalia was talking on her cell phone to her grandmother. She stared at Dawn disapprovingly.

"You didn't see anything," Dawn ordered. But before Dawn was fully off of the ledge Buffy stepped onto the balcony looking for her. Buffy spotted her and folded her arms.

"Get to your room," Buffy ordered in a false tone of calm. Dawn hung her head and passed Buffy when she headed toward her room. Once inside she set her bag down on the bed and sat beside it waiting for the inevitable big sister lecture. Buffy entered the room and closed the door tightly behind her.

The silence was deafening for both sisters.

Buffy began pacing up and down the end of Dawn's bed. She stopped abruptly and turned to Dawn. "If you know what's good for you, you won't lie to me," Buffy said.

"Scouts honour," Dawn said seriously. Buffy exhaled and sat, back straight, on the end of Dawn's bed.

"Were you with a boy?" Buffy asked.

"Yes, but Buffy his name is Chase, he goes to my High School, he's smart and kind and funny and-" Dawn was cut off mid explanation.

"Were you having sex?" Buffy asked painfully. Both sisters cringed.

"Ew, no," Dawn replied.

"Don't lie to me Dawn; I'm really not up for playing detective right now. I have too much going on," Buffy said.

"Oh, and I'm just an inconvenience in your busy life right?" Dawn hissed.

"You know that's not what I meant," Buffy argued. "Where you safe?" Buffy cringed.

"Buffy! I wasn't having sex!" Dawn said angrily. "And even if I was I'm 17!" Dawn said.

"Technically, you're three and a half," Buffy responded. Dawn rolled her eyes but before they could continue Giles entered the room.

"Buffy if you're going to go to the police station I think it best to go now," Giles suggested. He quickly adapted to the atmosphere in the room. "Now what have I missed?"

"I can't go now, I have to deal with this," Buffy whispered an attempt to keep Dawn out of earshot. Dawn scoffed. Fail Buffy thought.

"I could do it," Cordelia called from the corridor.

"How long have you been standing there?" Giles asked with a stern expression.

"Long enough," Cordelia said.

"I don't know Cordelia," Buffy said.

"C'mon, it can be the way I earn my keep," Cordelia offered.

"She makes a good point," Dawn added but quickly shut the hell up when she received a look from her sister.

"Okay but just try to be…less Cordelia," Buffy said in the nicest way she could.

"The fact that I'm going to let that one slide should show how I've grown as a person," Cordelia beamed. Giles and Buffy exchanged a look.

"Take Nicholas," they said in unison.

"I don't see why I had to baby sit you," Nicholas said after an awkward half-hour of silence in his car.

"Hey hey, you arnt the best company either Mr!" Cordelia argued from the front passenger seat. "And what's with the glasses, you can't even see the sun?" she scrutinised.

"It's my thing, just as I'm sure yours is late night television and Baywatch," he said back.

"And just what's that supposed to mean?" Cordelia asked angrily. Nick sighed.

"Nothing, lets just have quiet from now on," he suggested.

"Fine by me," Cordelia replied stubbornly.

"Thank you," he said. Silent moments passed.

"And Baywatch is a great show!" Cordelia piped up.

"What did I just say?" Nicholas said losing his temper.

"God, if you're were gunna get snappy about it I would've taken a cab," Cordelia said.

"I'm not snappy-" he argued but then cut himself off. 'Why Buffy stuck me with her dirty work I don't know,' he thought to himself.

"So how long have you been in love with her?" Cordelia asked.

"What?" Nicholas asked taken off guard. "In love with whom?" he asked.

"Buffy," Cordelia added.

"What?" he laughed falsely. "Buffy and I are just friends. No, we're business associates," he said proudly.

"Whatever gets you to sleep at night buddy," Cordelia said antagonizing.

"What makes you so sure I'm in love with Buffy?" he asked.

"You just thought it," Cordelia smiled.

"Now that's cheating! You never said you can read minds," he replied.

"Because I can't, I was fishing, and I think I just caught a big one," she said with a soft look. He wouldn't meet her gaze. "Is that the prison?" she said after she realised he wasn't going to continue their conversation.

"Oh thank God," Nicholas whispered.

Nick and Cordelia parked their car at the back of the lot before changing into business suits. They had planned to disguise themselves as Chris's lawyers; otherwise they had no way of getting to her. Nicholas showed his Wolfram & Hart I.D card and the officers led them straight to the visiting desks. "The girl will be along any moment Mr. Reynolds," the officer assured him.

"Thank you," Nick smiled. He turned to Cordelia who seemed to be enjoying the dress up session a little too much. "Just allow me to do all the talking," he said. Cordelia agreed with this, she really didn't want the petty argument with him about how he thought she was going to screw everything up.
Chris stepped out from behind iron bars with an officer forcefully escorting her to the other side of the glass. She wore a bright orange jumpsuit. Nicholas picked up the phone and held it to his ear. Chris sat down but before picking up the phone she studied the well dressed people on the other side of the glass.

"They told me my Lawyer was here to see me," Chris said.

"Why haven't you told the police your name?" Nicholas asked.

"Because I didn't kill that guy," Chris snapped.

"I believe you Chris," Nicholas said. Chris's eyes grew wide.

"How do you know my name?" she demanded.

"I don't get paid for just looking good," he replied. Cordelia rolled her eyes. "My associate and I are going to get you out of here by providing you with an alibi," Nicholas said. "Assuming you don't have one," he added. "I'm going to need you to be honest with me Chris."

"What do you mean provide her with an alibi? We can't lie to the police! We could get in serious trouble," Cordelia warned in a frantic whisper. Cordelia made Nicholas switch seats with her so that she could talk to Chris. "Listen kid, unlike my friend here I don't give a damn whether you rot in here or not-"

"What is this? Good cop bad cop?" Chris interrupted.

"However," Cordelia continued, "you may…have…something that we…need," Cordelia said. She couldn't blurt out the whole You're A Slayer, Big Responsibility, Blah Blah Blah speech through a police telephone so sounding cryptic was her best option. After a few moment's Chris decided to cooperate.

"I didn't kill the guy in the apartment okay, I swear. All I did was get Calvin the address, his dirty work was his own," she said truthfully.

"So if you didn't kill Kyle Humphrey, how did you end up here?" Cordelia asked.

"I was the watchman. I didn't have any idea why Calvin wanted the guys address until I heard the gunshot. I was waiting for Calvin on the sidewalk when I saw the flash in the window. So I runs up to the apartment and find the guy dead on the floor. Blood pouring everywhere, spatters on the walls, pools in the carpet…and then…"

"And then what?" Cordelia asked.

"You're gunna think I'm crazy," Chris laughed falsely as she brushed the blond hair from her eyes.

"Try us, I'll bet you my life I've heard crazier," Cordelia reassured.

"R-right as I got up to the apartment, I tilted my head around the door, didn't want to barge in when there's a guy in there packing, and I…I could've sworn I saw Calvin disappearing with this tall guy in a hood. I couldn't see the guys face, but his hands, they weren't human hands, they where cloven and old and…then I opened the door and saw the gun next to the guy's head. So I bolted. I got outside and just started running. Turns out the cops had been following me and now, here I am."

Nicholas and Cordelia exchanged a look. He pulled out his cell phone and opened a contact titled Rupert. He typed, 'Research cloaked demon. Tall, cloven hands, can disappear. Be back at manor with Chris in no time.'

Chapter 4
Soon after that the guards took Chris back to her cell and Nicholas and Cordelia headed for the parking lot. Nicholas had said that seeing as the police had seen her outside the victims apartment they had no chance of getting her out with a convincing alibi. The last resort was to pay Chris's bail and find Calvin and turn him over to the police. But to do that they would have to sever the demon's bond over Calvin. They had argued over which target to shoot at first but they both decided that letting Chris sit in jail because of a crime she didn't commit wasn't right. Nicholas called the D.A and he stated Chris's bail was $15,000. "Where are we gonna get that kind of cash?" Cordelia asked.

"You're not going to like it I'm afraid," Nicholas said cautiously.

"What do you me-… No! No way! No chance in hell!" Cordelia replied as she followed his train of thought. Nicholas ignored her reaction and climbed into his car. Cordelia did the same. "You can't seriously be considering this can you?"

"Miss Chase, I am the Slayer's liaison to the Senior Partners, of course I'm considering it," he said with a hidden joke in his head.

"Wait, you work for Wolfram & Hart?" she asked.

"Technically, yes," he smirked.

"Great, they failed to mention I was getting into the car of someone at the head of Evil Incorporated!" Cordelia exclaimed.

"Well, not the head, more like the shoulders," he said as he pulled out of the prison car park and headed for the manor.

They pulled in onto the private roads leading up to the huge estate that the manor was located on and headed for the Cliffside. "I just want to grab a few things," Cordelia said.

"Well don't dawdle," Nicholas warned. Cordelia rolled her eyes and set off at a brisk pace up the path. She suddenly came to a stop at the sound of loud arguing coming in her direction.

"Baby, where are you going?" Willow asked loudly.

"I'm going out, I need to clear my head," Kennedy bellowed.

"Let's just go back inside and we'll talk," Willow begged.

"Oh I think we've talked enough Willow," Kennedy exclaimed.

"Kennedy!" Willow cried. Willow's suddenly enraged and loud voice made Kennedy stop and turn to her lover. "What do you want from me? I am trying so hard to make you happy, to make us work!"

"Exactly Willow! You shouldn't have to try, we should just be happy without all this effort," Kennedy said.

"What's this about? Last week we were good; things were good, what changed?" Willow asked solemnly.

"We did Will, we changed, and things haven't been right for a while. You've just been trying so hard to make this charade work you haven't been paying attention to the problems in our relationship," informed Kennedy.

"This charade? What problems?" Willow said completely hurt by the term Kennedy had used to describe their relationship.

"I didn't mean that," Kennedy added.

"No, I think you did," Willow replied. Willow suddenly stormed passed Kennedy and spotted a well-dressed Cordelia standing down the path. Willow stopped. "Is it because of what she said? About Tara?" Willow asked pointing her finger at Cordy.

"I'm sorry that I can't be her for you," Kennedy said fighting back her tears.

"When have I ever asked you to be her for me?" Willow asked as it became apparent she'd lost the battle with her own tears. "I loved Tara so much and I never thought I could feel that way about a person again…but then I met you," Willow cried.

"But ill never be enough for you," Kennedy added with a rush of tears as she too lost her own battle. Willow was completely flabbergasted as to what to say. Kennedy had just poured salt all over her broken heart and she didn't want to risk saying anything else in case she felt gasoline poured onto it too. Willow set off at a brisk jog down the drive.

"Willow!" Kennedy called after her as she began to follow the fleeing red head.

"Ticallem Rendomonium," Willow whispered causing Kennedy's balance to upset until she lightly hit the ground. Cordelia rushed to Kennedy's side and looked back but could no longer see Willow's mass of red hair.
Nicholas adjusted his mirrors and sunglasses when the passenger door opened and a body sat in the seat.

"Well you took your time- Tabitha?" Nicholas asked as he realised it wasn't Cordelia who had climbed into the car. "Willow, are you alright?" he asked.

"Where are we going?" Willow asked with a stern look at the windscreen.

"Wolfram & Hart," Nick added.

"Perfect, let's go," Willow said without meeting his gaze.

Kennedy and Cordelia opened the door to the manor. Kennedy hadn't spoken during the few minutes she'd been with Cordelia; instead she kept constant eye contact with the fortress she now called home. Kennedy bolted for the main staircase as soon as the entered the manor. Cordelia thought it best not to call after her. Instead she headed for the library behind the old closed door. She suspected Giles to be hard at work researching Chris's description of the demon with the gang leader. She pushed the door to the library open and found Giles, Xander, Buffy and Dawn with their heads in dusty books and demonology. "Cordelia?" Giles asked puzzled.

"Reporting for duty," Cordelia said in a false peppy tone.

"Where's Nick? And Chris?" Buffy asked.

"Chris is still behind bars. Turns out her boss did the shooting but he was with some hooded demony thing. The only way of getting her out for now is to pay the bail," Cordelia informed.

"Which is?" Xander asked.

"$15,000" Cordelia replied. Buffy sighed silently to herself.

"Okay, so we pay it, Giles how much do we still have in the council's bank account?" Buffy asked.

"$9000 at the most," Giles stated.

"Good, that's a start," Buffy added.

"Wait!" Cordelia exclaimed. Everybody's faces turned to her. "Nick said he'd take care of it," she added.

"By doing what?" Xander asked.

"He's on his way to Wolfram & Hart," Cordelia sighed. Xander and Buffy where both sent into a flux of memories of their recent encounter at Wolfram & Hart.

"Okay catching up," Xander began, "what's with us doing the demon research then if all we need to do is get Chris out on bail?" he asked.

"Because if the gang leader is shooting people on demand for this demon then he's into some serious dark mojo," Cordelia explained.

"And who's to say the demon won't use up Calvin and Chris and move onto some other city?" Giles added.

"Oh!" Dawn cried excitedly. This guy fit the description?" she asked holding the book up for Giles to see. Giles cleaned his glasses and took the book from Dawn while Cordelia took a seat in an empty chair around the table littered with books.

"Troxen, powerful old and rare demon who feeds on the souls of the deceased who refuse to move on. Says here they specialise in interdimensional travel. Feared for inflicting great chaos into the worlds they invade. Last case of a Troxen demon was 1976, after that there was nothing," Giles read.

"So what makes Demon the Explorer interested in killing your average Joe while in league with a Cleveland gang leader?" Buffy added.

"I haven't the faintest idea," Giles said.

"Better question, how do you kill it?" Xander asked.

"Well you don't. You banish it back to the neatherrealm temporarily," Giles added.

"Wait, temporarily?" Buffy added.

"Well, Troxen's are immortal creatures Buffy, by temporarily I mean for hundreds of years, but not forever. Their body is destroyed while their essence is sent to the neatherrealm," he informed.

"I can deal with that. But we're gunna need serious magic to banish this thing, where's Willow?" Buffy asked.

Willow and Nicholas pulled up into the parking lot of the Cleveland branch of Wolfram & Hart. The all too familiar sign in front of the offices made Willow's heart skip a beat. Nicholas took the key out of the ignition and turned to Willow. "You can wait in the car, if you would prefer," he offered.

"No, it's just a law firm right, an evil law firm, but a law firm. I'm good," Willow painted a false smile on her face and stepped out of the car. The car beeped before locking and they made their way into the lobby of the building. It was like somebody had taken a 3D photograph of the L.A building and built a replica right here in Ohio. The plant's where the same shade of green, the wall's where the same pattern of wood, the glass was tinted in all the exact places, the reception desk was manned by a similar perky and annoying blond but the only difference was the man in charge. Instead of a brooding vampire with a soul, a middle aged man with bright blonde hair dressed in a black velvet suit stepped out of the head office with an entourage of people all with large writing books and briefcases. They where all chattering to the man about business deals and demon culture but he seemed to pay them no attention. He stepped fully into the lobby and set his sights on Nicholas and Willow. He raised his hand quickly and aggressively sending his lacky's into silence. They each dispersed into different directions while the man approached them.

"Well, Nicholas Reynolds, it's been a long time," he greeted warmly outstretching his hand in a friendly gesture.

"Too long Hector," Nick replied while taking his hand and shaking it.

"And who might this beauty be?" Hector asked as he broke his and Nicholas's handshake.

"Hector Pierce this is Willow Rosenberg," Nicholas introduced. Willow smiled awkwardly as Hector kissed her hand forcefully.

"So, this is the famous black-haired beauty that sent rifts through the mystical tide not so long ago," Hector sniggered as he advanced into Willow's personal space. Willow stepped back.

"That's not me anymore," Willow said firmly.

"Ahh," Hector said backing away, "pity. Join me in my office won't you?" Hector invited without waiting for a reply.

"This guy doesn't seem the sort to run the head of an evil empire," Willow whispered with Hector out of earshot as they slowly walked to his office.

"Juts don't piss him off," Nicholas warned seriously. When they arrived in Hector's office he took a seat behind his desk and left Willow and Nicholas standing awkwardly in front of it. "Terribly sorry to intrude Hector but I come with a request," Nicholas began.

"Alas, I knew this wasn't a social visit. It's always work, work, work with you Nicky. Come, have a drink," Hector invited.

"We, really don't have time for drinks," Willow said but quickly stopped after a terrifying stare from Hector and a knock in the arm from Nicholas.

"With all due respect sir, my colleague and I are on a very strict schedule," Nicholas informed timidly. Hector forcefully placed a bottle of scotch back on the shelf and turned back to his visitors.

"No matter, what can I do for you?" Hector asked. Nicholas and Willow, in a little too much detail, explained their current situation to the curious C.E.O.

"$15,000 for a criminal Slayer who is not even aware of her legacy and power?" Hector said with a raised eyebrow after they had concluded their tale.

"Yes sir," Nicholas added. Hector seemed to debate with himself within his mind for a moment or so.

"I will allow it, I am a bored man who is kept in this building far too much and I am curious as to how this fiasco will conclude, but as I am a business man…I have my terms," Hector winked.

"Name them," Willow said instinctively. Hector surveyed her approvingly.

"I will agree to the loan of $15,000 if the residents of the Slayer manor agree to help out the Cleveland branch of Wolfram & Hart whenever necessary," he beamed.

"Help out how?" Willow asked.

"Oh y'know, odd jobs here and there," Hector smirked.

Nicholas dropped Willow off at the Manor on his way to the prison with the bail money. It was getting dark out and as she climbed out of the car she spotted Vi with a platoon of girls ready for patrol. Willow bent down to the passenger mirror. "Are you sure agreeing with that guy was the best idea? I mean we don't know what we've got ourselves into here," Willow asked.

"Tabitha, there was no other way to get the money this short notice, we did what we could. Now get Buffy and find Calvin," he said.

"Wait, what're you gunna tell Chris? She still thinks you and Cordelia are her lawyers," she added.

"The truth, we have no time for sugar-coating," he replied.

Willow began, "well maybe I should go with you, y'know soften the blow and all that-"

"You have to face Kennedy sometime Tabitha, but we have no time for drama," Nicholas concluded interrupting her and speeding off toward the prison.

"Great, nice, Thanks for the vote of confidence!" Willow called. She released a breath she didn't know she was holding and entered the manor. She entered the main hall and found Buffy, Faith, Xander and Giles loading up on weapons. They paused when they saw her. Buffy flung her arms around her best friend.

"Will, you're okay," Buffy stated into Willow's hair.

"Aren't I usually?" Willow said a little confused.

"I got a little worried when Cordy said you'd gone to Wolfram & Hart," Buffy admitted.

"Sorry I just…just had to get away," Willow said. "Has anybody seen Kennedy?"

"She got outa here about an hour ago, she's probably patrolling," Xander informed. Willow nodded a little disappointed. They had left things in an awful state and she felt she had to fix it soon.

"Dawn, go with Willow and get the supplies for the banishing spell," Buffy ordered.

"Banishing spell?" Willow asked puzzled.

"Dawn?" Buffy sighed.

"I'll fill her in," Dawn offered. Willow set off up the stairs with the youngest Summer's sister while Giles, Faith and Xander headed out the front door. A group of girls had gathered over the 1st floor landing to see what all the fuss was about. Rona was amongst them. Shortly after Willow and Dawn descended the stairs and headed out the door.

"Rona, hold down the fort while we're gone?" Buffy asked.

"Sure," Rona nodded. Buffy shut the huge door tight behind her and together they all headed down the narrow private road toward the warehouse. They turned into the all too familiar alleyway that lead to the warehouse. Faith and Buffy approached the fence first. The parking lot was still absent cars and full of squatters; however the doorman from the other night was nowhere to be seen. But there was defiantly somebody in the warehouse as the windows where masked in a dim yellow glow.

"What's the plan B? We go in gun's blazin' or we go for the rooftop stealth approach?" Faith asked.

"Defiantly the rooftop. Since our last encounter I'm betting Calvin's buffed up his security," Buffy guessed.

"No more knives for the lackies," Faith agreed.

"Or," Willow began. The sound of a voice that wasn't their own made the Slayer's jump out of their skin. "We go in the front door and I use a little spell of mine to disable the guns?"

"Geeze Red! Don't sneak up on people in dark warehouses!" Faith said startled.

"Sorry," Willow said.

"Can you work it? It would seriously save us some time," Buffy asked.

"Yeah, just get me closer, I do the spell, you guys burst in all Kung-foo'y, grab Calvin, banish the demon and presto, day's work done," Willow said. Buffy and Faith agreed with Willow's plan and so the five of them made their way to the entrance to the warehouse.

"Okay Will, you're up," Xander said. Willow began to chant as she held a crystal in her hand that began to glow.

"Done. But I'm not liking these dark mojo vibes from inside" Willow informed.

Buffy, Faith, Giles, Xander and Willow entered the warehouse making a dramatic entrance as the double doors swung apart. Groups of gang members fell silent as our heroes set foot in the structure. Calvin, who was sitting at the back of the warehouse on his usual un-hygienic yellow sofa, flicked his cigarette on the ground and stood up to stomp it out. The rest of the gang-members got to their feet too and reached for their weapons. It was obvious they had prepared for this. "Well, if it isn't the little trespasser, her knight in shining armour, and a red-head, old man and pirate boy," Calvin spat with an evil smirk. "You've really got me cornered here," he said sarcastically.

"Oh goodie, the witty banter portion of the fight. Can we just get to the kicking your ass to prison already?" Buffy retaliated.

"The cops already got the bitch that killed that guy," Calvin said proudly.

"We both know you're lying," Buffy replied.

"You said Chris shot the bullet that killed that guy Calvin!" the woman that had spoken out against Calvin the other night chimed again.

"She did!" Calvin lied.

"Na, your boy here shot Kyle Humphrey dead in his apartment and let Chris take the blame," Faith said. The gang members erupted in chatter.

"What? You're gunna believe this white trash hooker over your own family?" Calvin persuaded. However he only managed to persuade a portion of the gang members as a minority left the warehouse with no intention of coming back.

"We don't have to fight," Giles called from the back of the warehouse, "just come quietly, turn yourself in and we'll get you a good lawyer," Giles persuaded.

"It's better than the deal I got," Faith added.

"I ain't goin' to juvy. Besides I got friends in high places," Calvin smiled. Buffy's eyes where sent to the ceiling where she found a piece of the upper level of the warehouse that survived the fall. On top of the lucky piece of structure stood a hooded figure surrounded by dark mist. Buffy caught Willow's eye and she too set eyes on the demon. Willow began the banishing ritual by setting out an assortment of candles and incense on the ground. The demon mumbled something in a foreign language and the eyes of the gang members turned black. They suddenly charged for our heroes with all intent of killing them.
Calvin bolted for the back door, his mind still his own.
Faith knocked a knife out of a woman's hands and scissor kicked her to the south wall, she then ducked an attack by a bald black man wielding a metal pole and knocked him to the ground. One gang member pointed his gun toward Giles but as soon as he found his target the metal of the gun became scorching hot causing him to drop it, allowing Giles to tackle him to the ground.
The Troxen felt the power of Willow's spell and knew exactly what was happening to him. In a blind state of worry the Troxen conjured two balls of dark energy. Buffy, who had just taken down an angry woman with a nasty looking knife, felt a sudden feeling of suction. She couldn't move.
Faith who was on the other side of the room felt it too; they both made eye contact with each other. The suctioning feeling stopped and the Slayer's lost their balance and tumbled to the ground. The dark balls of energy where filled with a brilliant bright light. The Troxen began to laugh but the incense in Willow's ritual began to burn, paralysing him for the time being before he could grasp the balls in his cloven hands.
Buffy shakily got to her feet and shook off the weird feeling she had. A man in a letterman jacket lunged for her, she ducked his attack and twirled so that she could successfully back-hand punch him to the face. The man tumbled to the floor but the pain Buffy felt in her fist was one she hadn't felt before. She grabbed her sore first in her other hand and looked around for Faith who was being wailed on by three woman with chains and poles.

"Banish thee from my mind, take thee from my sight, devour thee from my thoughts, capture the darkness and bring light," Willow said in conclusion to her ritual. The Troxen was encased in fine white light, the balls of energy where sent surging back into Buffy and Faith making them feel like their usual selves again, the gang members stopped attacking and instead fled the warehouse all while the Troxen began to ooze and melt to the ground below crying out in high pitch screeches. The gang approached the murky liquid of the Troxen and stood around it.

"Yuck…demon gunk," Buffy uttered.

"I'm gunna, go get Calvin, he can't be far," Faith sounded as she set off in the direction Calvin bolted in.
Buffy was about to turn her back on the Troxen juice when suddenly a swirling silver portal opened on the north wall near the upper level wreckage. The scoobies all dived out of the way as what was left of the Troxen was sucked into the Neatherrealm. An eerie voice echoed from the Troxen sludge as it was dragged from the floor. It laughed devilishly before echoing,

"You're going to wish you had died tonight, his darkness travel's faster than the light. When I return to this world, your name will be but a burnt page in history!"

Buffy watched as the silver portal swallowed the Troxen whole and disappeared without a trace. Everybody stood and watched the place where the Troxen had disappeared in minutes of awkward silence.

"I love it when they clean up after themselves," Buffy uttered to break the silence.

Chapter 5

"You're going to wish you had died tonight, his darkness travel's faster than the light. When I return to this world, your name will be but a burnt page in history!"

The dying cry of the Troxen echoed in Buffy's mind. It hadn't even been six month since the biggest battle of her life and already she was getting apocalyptic threats from demons. She felt anger and exhaustion. She thought she was passed this, the constant threat of the Hellmouth had haunted her for seven years and she then realised that this new Hellmouth might just have promising years of loss and chaos ahead for her. Giles approach the debris where the portal had opened and felt around to be certain it was properly sealed. Willow collected her recyclable supplies while Xander and Buffy stood still. He approached her cautiously and placed a warm hand on her shoulder. He knew what she was feeling because he was feeling it too. There was no need for words because they hadn't been created for the emotion the scoobies were feeling.

Faith caught up with Calvin as he was trying to bail over a barbed wire fence. She caught him by the ankle and hauled him to the ground. He wriggled but was no match for her. She held his hands behind his back and led him back into the building. Giles decided that they would tie him up for the time being and when they got back to the manor they would have Nick take him to the police. They each in turn left the warehouse a little worse for ware. "Any idea what the Troxen meant? As death threats go that was pretty vague," Willow asked Giles.

"I s-shall behin researching when we get back but i-I'm afraid not," Giles replied.

"Whatever it is, we can handle it, right Buff?" Xander hummed.

"Sure," Buffy said unconvincingly as the rest of the troop, including Faith, exchanged a worried look. "A-any idea why my hand is throbbing Will?" Buffy asked.

"Don't know, my best guess would be that it took your powers somehow," Willow suggested.

"It could do that?" Faith asked.

"The Slayer lineage is fragile after what we did, it's not exactly impossible, any other demon or witch would have failed but Troxen's are powerful breeds," Giles informed. "My question is why would a Troxen want the powers of A Slayer, it's not in their nature to covet good magic," Giles sounded.

"Maybe because it was afraid of this thing that's coming," Willow suggested.

"Let's just get home and get me some ice," Buffy sounded.

Willow edged toward the back of the crowd and out of earshot of the gang. She took her cell phone out of her back pocket and dialled Kennedy's number and held it to her ear. A low beeping noise sounded from her phone, she looked down at the screen.
Call Ignored.
"Hi, you've reached Kennedy, I can't come to the phone right now but leave me a message and I'll get back to you," said Kennedy's answering machine.

"Hey, it's me, uh Willow, we need to talk. I don't wanna fight anymore, I'm coming home, I'll see you soon," Willow said before catching up with her friends.

Buffy opened the door to the manor and found Nicholas pacing vigorously across the room with a relaxed Chris sitting in one of the dining room chairs next to Cordelia. Giles exchanged words with Nicholas briefly before he left to go to his car and Giles headed toward the library. Buffy and Faith exchanged a tired look when they realised they were going to have to have the Slayer speech with Chris. However Faith just shrugged and headed up stairs leaving Buffy rolling her eyes. She sat down in the chair opposite Chris. Xander headed toward the kitchen and Cordelia followed him whereas Willow bolted up the stairs to talk with Kennedy.
Buffy and Chris sat in the main hall alone in the echo of silence.
Buffy began, "Chris-"

"Cordelia gave me the speech already, about my destiny and all that," Chris said interrupting her.

"She did," Buffy said with a furrowed brow.

"Yeaaaahh," Chris chimed, "look I appreciate what you guys did for me, I really do…but this isn't me," she said.

"It wasn't me either, I was homecoming queen, the most popular girl in school, I hung out with all the cool people and did what they did until I was chosen," Buffy argued.

"The way Cordelia tells it, back then it was just you, you in the whole world," Chris said.

"True-"

"But that's not how it is anymore is it? Look, I'm new to the whole Slayer thing but I've been looking out for myself on the streets since I was eleven, Buffy. I've known about vampires for a long time and I'm still alive and kicking. There's nothing you can teach me here that I don't already know," Chris replied.

"We can teach you to be a better fighter, learn skills and weapons and-"

"Buffy, I can't stay here. I can't play the role of school girl by day, but monster hunter by night. For me it's the second part of that equation 24/7. I have a family out there, we look out for eachother-"

"And just how many of your 'family members' came to visit you while you were in prison?" Buffy jibed. Chris became lost for words. "I'm sorry Chris but I think staying here, at least for a while, is your best option to learn to live with the powers that come with being a Slayer," Buffy added.

"Okay so I'm a little stronger, little faster, I'll get by," Chris argued. Buffy looked at her sternly.

"You had a dream the other night didn't you, one where you were here but not really here, there was a woman, and men, and vampires-"

"How do you know that?" Chris asked wide-eyed.

"Because we're all connected and by staying here you'll learn about this stuff and more!" Buffy encouraged.

Chris still wasn't convinced. She was defiantly curious about what was happening to her but she was devoted to the life she'd led over the past years.

"Tell y'what, show up for training ever Wednesday and on weekends and you've got a deal," Buffy offered.

"Yeah," Chris agreed. Chris got up to leave the manor and as she got to the door Buffy called to her.

"So how'd you come up with Chris anyway?" Buffy asked.

"What d'you mean?" Chris asked.

"It's not your real name is it?" Buffy asked knowingly.

"It was my brother name," Chris said in a way that let Buffy know she'd never told anybody that before.

"So what's yours?" Buffy pushed.

"Patience," Chris told.

"I'll see you Wednesday morning, Patience," Buffy smiled. Chris nodded before shutting the door tight behind her.

During Chris and Buffy's conversation Willow had eagerly bolted up to her room to find Kennedy. She curled her hand around the door knob and pushed. "Kennedy?" she called. She got no answer. "You in here?" she called again but got no reply for a second time. Willow's smile faded as she checked the bathroom in their room and the one down the hall but still no sign of her. Willow's gut began to wretch as she shakily placed her hand on the wardrobe door. She slid it open and found all of Kennedy's belongings gone except for a glove and a scarf discarded where her shoes used to be. On a yellow piece of paper next to the scarf stood a note. Willow picked it up and as her tears flowed down her cheek she sat on the bed and read it.

'Sorry.'

Willow held the note to her chest with one hand while the other grasped her mouth
as she lay back on the bed, curled up on Kennedy's side…and wept.

Meanwhile Xander was pouring Cordelia and himself some coffee in the kitchen. He glanced at his watch and saw that it was nearly midnight. "Here," he said as he handed it to her.

"Thanks," she said as she took it gladly and sipped. Xander moved to sit on the counter when he spotted Cordelia's packed suitcase ready by the back door. He chocked a bit on his coffee in shock.

"You're leaving?" he asked her in-between coughs.

"I was hoping for a quiet exit but, yeah," she replied.

"When?" he asked.

"Pretty much now," she replied.

"Well at least wait till morning I mean it's night out and besides, Hellmouth's are dangerous places," he smiled.

"I remember," she smiled back. "I was gunna catch a cab to the airport from that place on Hamilton Street?"

"C'mon, I'll walk you," he invited.

Xander carried Cordelia's bags for her as they walked to the cab lot on Hamilton. He loaded her bags in the trunk and gave her a hug. "So where are you gunna go?" he asked sadly.

"California, I hear there's a certain vampire with a soul who's lost his way," she winked.

"Angel's a lucky guy," Xander smiled. Cordelia opened the cab door and was about to get in but stopped at the sound of Xander voice.

"So now can you tell me why you came to find us?" Xander begged. At that moment a petite woman bumbed into Xander and he spilled his coffee all down her blouse. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry," he stuttered.

"Don't worry about it I should have been watching were I was going," she said as she dodged him again and continued down the road.

"A Xander Harris without a woman in his heart and arms is only acceptable in High School," Cordelia beamed before climbing into the car and speeding off into the distance.

Xander smiled enthusiastically and thought to himself I'm gunna miss that girl' before catching up with the coffee stained woman. "Excuse me," he said to get her attention, "Hi, I'm Xander," he said outstretching his hand.

"Julie," the woman replied taking his hand gladly.

From inside the cab Cordelia beamed to herself but jumped at the sound of voice from the seat next to her. "So," Kennedy began, "Where are we going?"

"California," Cordelia said as she caught her breath.

"Got room for one more?" Kennedy asked.

Hector was sitting alone in his office. Wolfram & Hart had closed hours ago but he had only just gotten out of a meeting with an Angry Chaos demon he demanded a retraction on a contract. He pressed a button on the phone on his desk. "Can I get a cup of coffee?" he asked his assistant through the phone. Moment's later Amy Madison entered Hector's office holding a white mug full of luxurious black coffee.

"Here you go boss," she said as she placed the mug on his desk.

"Thank you Amy," Hector smiled.

Authors Note: I wish I could give you a small summary of the next episode but truth be told I haven't thought of it yet. It will defiantly contain some Amy mischief, I'll develop Xander and Julie's relationship, maybe she's a demon, or maybe she's human, who knows! There'll be some Willow heart ache too. Sorry about discarding Kennedy for the time being, I was just getting kind of bored of her character but her arc isn't finished just yet. Please keep reading.

Thank you to everybody who reviewed and added this story to their alerts.

:-) x.