Disclaimer: I own nothing but ideas. Saban, JK Rowling, and Joss Whedon on the otherhand

Whispers in the Dark - Chapter 10

It had been over six months since Tommy and Kim had crossed the city limits of Sunnydale, and while the first time they visited was with the purpose of seeing old friends, this trip felt much more like their trip to London. One filled with the purpose of a mission. They drove separately from the rest of the pack, Rocky, Kat, and Xander all stuffed in Jason's car. They packed up for a long time, knowing that the last time they faced off with a wizard that it was much longer than any of them anticipated. They were able to get permanent subs lined up for the school, and Tommy and Jason came up with a plan to touch base with their teachers to find out about the students. Rocky was able to gain a leave of absence, and would be able to finish his classes up either with make-ups or in the summer. Either way, there were perks when you were publicly known as a former power ranger. Other wise, both the business and Rocky's schooling could be in jeopardy. Nevertheless, they all knew that the life of the future Mrs. Oliver was far more important.

It was at this point that Tommy had reflected back on his time with Kim as they were engaged. A lot of it was spent on details for the wedding, but he also thought a lot about their time with their families, sharing about their relationship and how it had matured. They were so thankful for the opportunity to be honest about all their former adventures as rangers, and how that had played a big role in their budding romance both times. However, as he thought about the most joyous times, he also reflected back on what he had shared with Kim on the night he proposed. 'This place, for us, represents the reality of life. It has its joys and its sorrows, its pains and its pleasures.' He had looked forward to the pleasures of marriage with Kim, both obvious and not. But he hadn't considered he would have to confront the pains so soon. 'What if...' Tommy shook his head, refusing to think that Lucius would actually succeed in kidnapping Kim.

"You seem pretty shaken... are you ok?" Kim asked.

"I just want to make sure that you're safe, that's all," Tommy replied. Kim knew the look on Tommy's face all too well. It was the face that showed his determination and heart, one where his mind was set on leading his team to achieve its goal.

"Everything is going to be ok, Tommy," Kim reassured him. "We've handled death eaters worse than Lucius."

"Not without our old powers," Tommy reminded her. "Do you think he's the reason why you've felt watched all this time?"

"I don't know... I mean, I keep asking why he didn't just come after me himself?"

"Maybe to keep himself concealed... maybe he didn't want to alert Harry and the aurors to where he would be?

"Still... I don't know if it really was him... or maybe it was, and he's got some crazy plan."

"Hopefully the plan is about to blow up in his face," Tommy stated firmly. As he drove, he noticed Sunnydale High School, and went by the side parking lot, and there Jason and Tommy parked, the five rangers and Xander departing from their vehicles.

*Sunnydale High School – Library*

"Any luck with getting through to Faith?" Giles asked sleepily, he seemed to be as sleepless as the rest of the scoobies.

"Only bad luck," Buffy answered, ending with a yawn. "Last time I saw her, we were on the run from the cops."

"The cops?" Cordelia asked. "Are they suddenly all vampires now?"

"No... Faith staked a non-vampire... killed him," Buffy replied.

"Oh my..." Willow said, shocked by this news.

"Do we know who it is?" Giles asked.

"Deputy Mayor Finch," Buffy replied simply. "I tried to keep Faith there, but she bolted, and I knew there was nothing I could do, so I split up from her."

"Oh my gosh... I saw the story in the Friday paper, and they had something about him on TV yesterday," Willow said. "Faith did that?"

"Yeah..." Buffy said, her voice trailing off.

"You could have told them the truth, Buffy!" Giles exploded, causing the others to get out of their seats. "You could have prevented all of this! If you had told us about Angel, none of this would have happened!" Buffy didn't want to retaliate... instead she had a look that signaled she was about to cry.

"No, she couldn't have," Xander interrupted, the rangers standing behind him.

"Xander?" Cordelia was shocked to see him, as was everyone else.

"What do you mean?" Buffy asked, observing Tommy and Kim, along with the three strangers with them.

"This has been a partial set up from the start," Tommy said. "Lucius isn't a watcher... he's a wizard, a former death eater under Lord Voldemort."

"Death eater?" Willow asked.

"Voldemort?" Oz asked.

"Long story," Kim replied.

"Dark wizards in Sunnydale?" Giles asked. "What's he after?"

"Revenge," Kim said. "He placed Xander under a curse to kidnap me. We think he was partially in charge of tearing Tommy's car apart when we were here last time."

"I also know he's in league with the mayor, apparently he's not as innocent and friendly as we think," Xander said.

"The Deputy Mayor... you don't think..." Giles started.

"He sent him with the vampires," Buffy realized. "It was a set up, it had to be."

"But why?" Jason piped up, joining the conversation. "Why would a mayor send his deputy mayor into the fray, only to get killed?"

"It's got to be something with Faith," Giles said. "Lucius was after her, and he was trying to convince her that we weren't to be trusted."

"Deputy Mayor... Faith... vampires... am I the only one that's confused here?" Rocky asked. This brought out a few smiles from the group.

"Well... I'm confused to, but I thought I'd just kind of run with it until I caught on," Jason teased. "By the way, he's Rocky, I'm Jason, and she's Kat, my girlfriend, and we're friends of Tommy and Kim. So if you guys are friends of theirs, we're in."

"Let me guess... former rangers?" Buffy asked.

"Former rangers," Kat replied.

"Ok, so back to Faith... what do they want from her?" Willow asked.

"Probably has something to do with this ascension the Mayor is planning," Xander said.

"Ascension?" Oz asked.

"I don't know... I just know that ascending is part of the Mayor's plans," Xander explained.

"How do you know all this, anyway?" Buffy asked.

"Well, you know villains," He replied. "They gloat stupidly, revealing their plot because in their arrogant minds the heroes couldn't possibly stop them."

"Ok, so it sounds like we know what we're after," Buffy answered. "I want all hands on deck, we need to figure out what this ascension is, and how to stop it. Also, we need to find a way to battle Lucius, if he's a wizard, he's probably a bit more skilled than the dabbling of spells that you two do," she said, pointing to Giles and Willow. "Tommy, Kim?" She said, looking at them. "I need you to figure out if there's any other motive in capturing Kim other than revenge."

"We'll stay with the research team," Kim said.

"Jason, Rocky, and Kat," Buffy said, and they all looked at her. "Welcome to Sunnydale, home of the hellmouth." Buffy began to walk out of the library when Xander called her name.

"What about research on the Trickster?" He asked.

"See if there are any ties to Wilkins or wizards," she replied. "I'm going to talk to the only one who's experienced him.

"Who's that?" Kim asked.

"Angel."

*Mayor's Office*

The mayor stood staring in his closet, which revealed many different idols, incense, and other demonic items. The buzzer on his desk rang, and he gently closed the sliding doors, and then went over to his desk. "Yes?"

"You have a visitor," a female voice said over the system.

"Send her in." He waited for a moment, until the door opened from the hallway into his office, revealing Faith. "I thought you might come."

"Yeah... so what," Faith said.

"You know... I could easily have you arrested, having killed my Deputy Mayor and all," he said seriously.

"It wasn't me!" Faith rapidly denied, but Mayor Wilkins hushed her with his finger.

"It's ok, Faith. I'm not going to tell anyone."

"Why? Why aren't you going to tell?"

"Because I care Faith. I know how much you've hurt, and how you've been hurt. I want to give you the life that you always deserved. And I can give that to you."

"Look... I don't want your pity," Faith recoiled, but softer.

"It's not pity," the Mayor replied. Faith tried to understand, but was still struggling to figure out the eccentric Mayor. For the first time in a long time, Faith had felt a sense of warmth and love. She didn't understand how or why. It was as if the Mayor was another father figure. She lost one once when Kakistos murdered her watcher. But she felt the same tenderness, the same affection... even the same joy. She couldn't explain it, other than she saw the Mayor actually striving to care for her, even if it was partially for his own gain. It didn't matter... the feeling of being loved and protected meant more than doing the right thing.

"What can I do for you?"

"Well... for starters, you can help by keeping Ms. Summers out of my hair."

*Sunnydale Cemetery*

Lucius stood near some of the freshest graves. Normally he didn't choose to go places based off intuition, but he felt an overwhelming need to be there. It was there that a familiar face chose to reveal himself again to him.

"I had a feeling you might show up again," Lucius spoke. "What are you here to report?"

"I'm only here to tell you that you're more foolish than I expected," the man in green robes said harshly. "I tell you to utilize Faith, and instead, you use some stupid boy to kidnap someone. It was a plan that reeked of impotence."

"And why should I be so concerned that someone named the 'Trickster' disapproves of my plans?" Lucius asked sarcastically. "Maybe you have your own little agenda in all of this?" The Trickster smirked at this, looking at him with almost snake-like eyes.

"I'd just hate to see all your planning and conniving go to waste because of an oversight," he replied to Lucius. "Tell me... why have you wasted all this time. Why not just go after the rangers on your own?"

"Better to destroy them from the inside out," he reasoned. "My plan is to put Kim under the imperius curse, so that she can do nothing except murder her true love. And then she'll take out the rest of them."

"Seems rather harsh," he said. "Why concern yourself with such creatures?"

"They stripped me of my family!" He shouted. "If it weren't for those filthy muggles, I'd be ruling at the right hand of the Dark Lord, my family brimming with pride over their husband and father. Instead, they do nothing but look down on me. It was their fault! I want them to feel the slow, subtle, hopeless pain that I felt. As I strip them of their lives, they'll know what it was like for me to be stripped of everything I held dear."

"You realize, that in spite of your plan, the rangers are now in Sunnydale?"

"The boy failed?" Lucius asked. "And they kept him alive?"

"Yes. And they sent word... by owl. Harry Potter is on his way, along with aurors."

"Those children mean nothing to me."

"Those CHILDREN are the ones who truly led to your undoing the last time!" The Trickster yelled.

"No worries, my partner. Our friend, the Mayor, will ascend, and they'll all die."

"You think I'm here because I think some insignificant demon is going to succeed in his plot? You of all people should know that his plan won't succeed. These aren't your run of the mill humans, and though he may be powerful, he is nothing compared to the might of your magic... not to mention compared to mine."

"How long have you been watching us? Watching me?" Lucius asked, realizing that the man that stood before him knew much more than he ever thought.

"I gaze upon the events of the Earth from time to time. There's an object hidden in this world from my own, an object that surpasses all power. As I have searched for it, I noticed the latest wizarding war. Particularly, I noticed two people whose will, heart, and determination swung the balance of the war to Harry's side. Since then, I've been observing one of them in particular. When they came to Sunnydale, I wanted to test their mettle, so I destroyed their car, made it look like a bunch of primitive vampires. They passed my tests with flying colors... she is something, isn't she?"

"The girl?"

"She's got heart... so to speak."

"What are you saying?" Lucius asked.

"All I'm saying is that, in spite of your recent failures, you've managed to choose the right person to utilize. Now, it's just a matter of how."

"Leave that to me, Trickster," Lucius said. With that, he disapparated.

The Trickster chuckled to himself, his grin becoming a full, evil smile. "Keep your plans going, Lucius," he muttered to himself. "As your plans fail, they set up mine to succeed."

To be continued...

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- Googz333