Time to move ahead. Sheila and I talked about the tracking spell – and she was beyond ready to do it - about magic, about why she needed to freaking warn me the next time she created a new star (no one associated the brief flash of light with us; Sunnydale blindness was already setting in), about sex (and you're getting no details, of Sheila's still occasionally active sex life, or my nonexistent one), and about Aaron Echolls and how he might screw up our plans.

"And I was thinking about it," I said, "And I finally decided, screw it."

She gave me an odd look. "Really?"

"Yeah. I'm just figuring with the way my luck tends to run that he's going to screw things up no matter what we do."

Suddenly, her voice got angry. "Knock that the fuck off, now."

I blinked. Sheila raised her voice about as often as I bench-pressed Volkswagens. "Okay . . . knock what off?"

"That attitude. 'snot the manhunter I know. There's someone getting in the way, you try to get them out of the way. You don't just assume that there's nothing you can do about it."

She wasn't using the general you, she meant me specifically.

How the hell could I explain this to her? The Adversary specifically (as specific as he gets, anyway) warned me about the riot, and, while this entire bet could be called a grand exercise in jerking me around, he's never done that just for the hell of it.

Something will happen. I'm as sure of that as I am that the sun will rise tomorrow. (Given my earlier comments, I'm not so sure about Monday.)

"It's just -" I stopped. What could I say that wouldn't make me sound either fatalistic or, at the least, pessimistic?

I didn't want to be pessimistic about the assault on Spike. I wanted to be upbeat and positive. I wanted things to go well. I needed things to go well.

I hadn't planned on conceding; I had just assumed we'd have to deal with the interference when it happened and that I'd have to rapidly think my way through it then. Deal with it on the fly, like Indiana Jones (but minus the bullwhip).

And I couldn't explain why I was sure Aaron Echolls' private security force would throw a spanner into the works.

After a few seconds, Sheila said, "Just what?" I didn't, couldn't, answer, "Just what, Veronica?"

"Just that I'm sure," I finally said, realizing how lame it was when I said it.

Sheila wasn't buying it. I wouldn't have, either. Hell, Harmony wouldn't have bought it, and let me assure you, from my few interactions with the girl, she is exactly as dumb as she looks.

The difference, of course, is that Sheila actually gave a crap about me and was determined to get me out of this fatalistic funk I was apparently in. "Like hell. Don't know what's got you feelin' this way, don't know if you know, but 'm not lettin' you. Veronica Mars thinks her way through things like this. Veronica Mars holds off vampires and talks her way out of showdowns with crazy demons. Veronica Mars doesn't let an asshole like Aaron Echolls ruin her mood." Of course, Aaron Echolls had been ruining my mood for years now. "No, Veronica Mars does something the fuck about it."

I think Sheila had just said my name more often in the last thirty seconds than she had in the previous two and a half months. If I needed proof about how deadly serious she was being, this was it.

"So," she continued, "Do, damn it."

Do.

Think my way out of it.

Think my way past fate. Past Aaron Echolls. Past his private security force. Past Spike and Drusilla.

Past the Adversary.

Past everyone.

Manipulate the universe.

Even when the universe itself was giving me signs that I couldn't.

"Well?" Sheila asked.

Well, indeed.

X X X X X

Sheila and I talked long into the night, only stopping when Dad got home. He'd gotten to the motel too late to see anything but the woman's car pulling out of the parking lot which, as he explained, "Wasn't exactly what the client was paying for."

"So say it's all Aaron Echolls' fault. I'm sure the client won't mind paying for another two hours of your time."

"Ha ha," Dad said. "No, the next time'll have to be on me."

Well, that sucked. Dad may live the life of a low-budget private eye, when he wasn't trying to prove that one of the most powerful men in town killed my best friend, but he was beyond professional. It wasn't having to cough up the free services that bugged him, it was that he hadn't done his job right, and never mind that it was largely Aaron Echolls' fault; Dad didn't make excuses for messing in a job for anything short of natural disasters or invasions. (If you think I'm being hyperbolic, think again. While we've never been invaded, Dad did have to call off tracking down a blackmailer once because an earthquake spooked her.)

"Guessing you ain't takin' that job?" Sheila asked.

Dad looked at me sharply, and I said, "Nothing was said about this being a secret."

"Nothing was said about telling anyone, either."

"'No worries, Mr. Mars," Sheila said. "'m hardly the school gossip. 'sides, from what – Veronica – was tellin' me, seems like Aaron Echolls himself'll be blabbin' it all over town whether you take the job or not."

"Well, I'd still rather it stay quiet as long as possible.' Sure; the last thing Dad needed was the Mayor or Lamb focusing on him rather than on Aaron Echolls. Two bears and a fox are in a room together, the fox has nothing to gain by making sure the bears are looking at him rather than each other. Not that Deputy Lamb was anything but, well, a sheep, but the Mayor was a damned sight more competent.

"Don't worry, Dad. Sheila and I have our own plans. We're not going to spill anything. I promise."

"Thank you." After a second, casually: "What plans?"

"The same thing we do every night, Dad. Try to take over the world."

Chuckling lightly, Dad said, "Well, when you do, there's this castle in Ireland I've had my eye on."

"syours," Sheila said.

"That's all I ask for," Dad said. "Veronica: We do need to talk more seriously sometime this weekend about the offers."

"Sometime Sunday?"

"Deal."

Then he left and Sheila and I got back to our conversation.

On the off chance you needed to be told this, we were not in fact discussing how to take over the world.

I don't know if Sheila had convinced me I could outthink everyone.

But she had spent the last few hours convincing me, at least, to try.

X X X X X

Then came the night, and all I had to was dream.

Not the Adversary this time. (And no porcupines either.)

No, this time it was Lilly, and we were sitting in the stands at the Neptune High baseball field. On the field, Sunnydale High and Neptune High were playing a game –

Yes, in the bottom of the ninth, with Neptune High up to bat. The Neptune High Coach, played for the moment by Aaron Echolls, was yelling at the umpire.

Nope, no symbolism here.

"What?" Lilly said.

"Did I say that out loud?" I said.

"You did," she said. "What's got you so down, doofus?"

"Life, the universe, and everything," I said.

"Oh. I solved those years ago."

I looked at her and grinned. "I'm sure you did."

"Of course! Don't I just know everything?"

"And you always have." On the field, the umpire was motioning for security, and Coach Echolls was yelling something to the players in the dugout.

"And I always will. But you're almost as good as I am, Veronica Mars."

"Almost?"

'Hey, most people aren't even in the same ballpark." I snorted, though the line was true enough almost any way you cared to look at it.

"Anyway," Lilly said seriously. "I wanted to tell you thanks and good luck."

"Because I'm going to need it?"

She laughed again. "You're Veronica Mars. You make your own luck. But I figured I can help even with that!"

Ah, Lilly.

"Wish you were here," I said.

"In a universe filled with vampires? Did you hate me that much?" The voice was harsh, but the eyes were teasing. The field was now consumed by a brawl that was beginning to spill up into the stands. I wasn't worried, though, for some reason.

"You know what I mean," I said.

"Don't I always?" she said airily. "Anyway, I just wanted to say that you can get through this. Don't let fate get you down."

"I won't," I said seriously. "I promise."

Lilly grinned, "See you soon."

X X X X X

I jolted awake and looked at the clock – 5:10 AM – and then on the floor next to the bed, where Sheila had insisted on sleeping despite my strenuous efforts to convince her otherwise. Cautiously, I swung out of bed and stepped over her, heading to the bathroom, and most of what happened in there, I'm not saying. But I did look out the bathroom window just before I left –

And there she was.

Not Drusilla. Buffy. She was fairly well hidden, perched in a tree across the street – not many people would have been looking up, but then, I knew she might be out there and knew what she was, so a tree that might have been difficult for the casual climber – no branches until about twenty feet off the ground – wouldn't have been much of an obstacle for someone who could jump up to the branch from a standing position.

It did make me feel better. In a very real sense, despite my concern for Buffy's health, knowing that she was out there keeping an eye on me was the only thing that was giving me the sense of security I needed to get a good night's sleep.

Typically with a Lilly dream, not to mention an Adversary dream, I'd end up awake for the rest of the night as I tried to recuperate from the revelation, the emotional shock, or both. This time? No problems.

And it wasn't just Buffy. This Lilly dream had had a different feel to it, and I don't just mean the beyond-obvious symbolism. This was her, speaking to me, without the interference of the Adversary, or my own subconscious.

This was Lilly giving me as much help as she dared to.

And confirming that Sheila was right.

My friends know me better than I know me. Which is a pretty damn good thing to have in a friend, don;t you think?

X X X X X

Woke up again right before 8. Sheila was already awake, and was lying on the floor quietly reading. (Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior. Presumably so she'd know which rules she hadn't broken yet.)

"About damn time," she said. "Thought I was going to finish the whole thing before you got your ass out of bed."

I looked down. Page 127 of what looked to be a 600-page book. Sheila was a voracious reader, but she was not a fast one, so she was just blowing smoke – which she confirmed with her standard evil grin a second later.

"You know, you didn't have to stay in here."

"snot like I have anything better to do," she said.

"Sweetie?" Dad called. "You up? I brought breakfast!"

The Mars family might be fairly competent at making basic level dinner foods, but weekend breakfasts? Donuts or McDonald's. Yes, there's a McDonald's in Sunnydale. I know, I was shocked too. It's a block down the road from the Doublemeat Palace.

Sunnydale actually has a number of chain places, even not counting the mall. There's a CompUSA, a Bennigan's, a Hollywood Video -

And a Krispy Kreme. Apparently Cordelia didn't have to go all the way to LA to pick Xander up some donuts.

Who knew?

X X X X X

Three Egg McMuffins, hash browns, and coffees later (yeah, McDonald's coffee in the '90s, not the best, but it had caffeine, and that? Really the important thing) Dad asked us about our plans for the day.

"And nothing about world domination," he said.

"Don't want that castle in Ireland, do you?" Sheila asked.

"Where would I park the car?" Then, "Veronica?"

Trying to manipulate a powerful man set around trying to track down a pair of powerful vampires, Dad; and you? "Doing a little more research into trying to find that homeless person. Don't worry; nowhere and nothing dangerous, and both Sheila and Buffy are going to be with me."

"Not at night," Dad said sharply. "You know how dangerous the streets of this town are at night."

Oh yes, the Adversary is definitely holding him back. "No, during the daytime. We'll be done well before nightfall."

Nodding his head, Dad said, "Alright then. I'm going to contact the client from yesterday and see whether there's any point in doing any work today, along with some apologizing."

"Good luck with that," I said. "Sheila?"

X X X X X

45 minutes later Sheila and I were on the road. Buffy was going to meet us at the Espresso Pump, where we would all chow down on more coffee and I would explain to Buffy how we were going to do our damnedest to keep Aaron Echolls off our back while we located Spike and Drusilla the third way, and then killed them with as extreme prejudice as Buffy could muster.

Which gave me exactly the driving time between home and the Espresso Pump to come up with a plan.

Anyone have any ideas?