Of course, nothing ever goes as planned.

At around eleven thirty, just as I was about to go home, the phone rang and instinct told me to linger. I could hear the other person's voice, and recognized it immediately as Buffy's voice. As soon as I heard her tone of voice, every sense in me snapped to attention.

She sounded shaken. Not scared, but definitely shaken.

"Are you all right?" Giles asked, recognizing the tone as well. I moved closer, frowning and catching his eye. I raised an eyebrow in question and he motioned for me to come closer. I crossed the room in a flash and he leaned away from the phone so I could hear her more clearly.

"Yeah, I'm okay, thanks to Angel." Buffy was saying. My frown deepened and I gave Giles a sharp look.

"You say you were attacked?" Giles asked, "By three vampires? Was it just a hunting party or-"

"No, these were different." Buffy interrupted, "If had just been a hunting party I wouldn't have had any trouble with them. These guys were big. Really big, and they had this weird kind of armor?"

I gave a grunt as a dusty memory shook itself awake in my mind, and I looked at Giles.

"Do you know who they are?" Giles asked me. I sighed and shrugged.

"I think so." I said, "But we'll have to do some checking to be sure." Giles cocked an eyebrow at me.

"To the library, then?" he asked. I nodded.

"We'll handle it, Buffy. Get some rest." I spoke into the phone. "And don't let anyone in your house. No one."

"Got it." Buffy answered. "Thanks Marge. Giles."

After she hung up, Giles collected his tweed coat and motioned towards the door.

"I'll drive us over." He said with a sigh, "And here I thought I would actually get to spend a relaxing evening in." he complained. I couldn't help but laugh at that and I shook my head as I followed him.

"So you recognize the description?" he asked as we exited his home and reentered the night.

"I think I do. It's been many years, but during some of my research on vampires, I came across a legend about three vampires who wore armor, and were known for their large bulk and ruthlessness. They never took prisoners, and were only ever under the command of a powerful vampire."

He cocked an eyebrow at me.

"The Master?"

I shrugged.

"The legend is old enough to correspond with the Master, yes. He's the most powerful vampire we know of, so it only stands to reason he would be behind it. As I said, however, we should do some more checking just to be sure."

"Of course." He said. He sighed and opened the passenger side door of his car for me. "You know," he said as I slid into the seat, "sometimes I wonder what it must be like to actually go to bed at a reasonable hour, go to work, and not have to worry about the fate of the world resting in the hands of an adolescent girl."

I smirked and patted his arm consolingly.

"But then you wouldn't get to have this much fun." I told him.

He snorted and pulled away, shaking his head.

"The definition of 'fun' has been egregiously distorted for me, I'm afraid."

I nodded solemnly.

"I think I can understand," I said, "if your idea of a relaxing evening is spending time with a half-vampire."

"Yes, but who can boast such a feat?" he replied with a grin.

"It's a feat?" I queried with an arched brow.

"Of course. Who else can boast to have the friendship of so rare a being?" he answered. If I had had the ability to, I would have blushed. It's not often I'm called a friend. And to be the friend of a Watcher, no less…well, that's quite a feat, isn't it?

Giles fell asleep at six-thirty in the morning. We'd been up all night researching the Three. My assumption had been correct, but we'd managed to unearth more details about their purpose and why they were here.

I let Giles sleep, and only woke him to make him go sleep in his office when school started. I managed to procure him some coffee to wake him up once I knew when Buffy and the rest of the gang would be coming.

When they did arrive, I wasn't prepared for the story Buffy had to tell. Especially not when she explained that she'd invited Angel into her home. She'd let a vampire have access to her home.

To say I felt guilty and worried would be an understatement.

I was petrified.

"Say that again." I snapped at her once she'd finished. She blinked at me in surprise and then frowned.

"What? Angel slept in my room, it was no big deal. He was gone by morning anyway. He was just watching out for me, and anyway it was the least I could do after he took a beating for me."

Xander was about as upset as I was that she had let Angel sleep in her room.

"You let him sleep in your room?!" he demanded, "In your bed?!"

"Not in my bed, by my bed." She corrected.

I held up my hand.

"I'm pretty sure the preposition can be ignored considering you had a man you barely know in your bedroom." I told her. "I'm assuming your mother didn't know of this arrangement?"

"Of course not!" Buffy exclaimed. "Do you think I'm crazy? You should have seen the look on her face when she saw Angel. Talk about scathing." She gave a shudder and I closed my eyes as I began to massage my temples.

I was battling viciously with my conscience.

'Tell her. Tell her now.' It was telling me. But the thought of how angry she would be with me made me hesitate. The more I hesitated, the more my courage and resolve failed me. I just couldn't do it. Not here, anyway.

I lied and told myself I'd find her alone later and explain it all to her then. I just couldn't do it in front of the other children. Not that it would be long before they knew after I told Buffy, anyway, but it was enough to make me hesitate.

Willow didn't seem to view this scenario in a negative light at all. The girl became downright doe-eyed and stared at Buffy in rapture. I have to admit, she looked so adorable with that look on her face I had a hard time not yielding in my stance on Buffy's actions a little.

"That is so romantic!" she sighed, then lifted her eyebrows excitedly, "Did you-I mean, did he-?" It took me a moment to understand what she was suggesting, but when I did I froze and looked hastily at Buffy. She smiled softly and gave a small shake of her head.

"Perfect gentleman." She said.

I breathed a sigh of relief and turned away, running my hand across my face.

Dear God, these children were giving me panic attacks.

"Buffy," Xander whined, "Come on, wake up and smell the seduction. It's the oldest trick in the book."

"What?" Buffy snapped back, "Saving my life, getting slashed in the ribs?"

"Duh." Xander answered, "Guys will do anything to impress a girl. I once drank an entire gallon of Gatorade without taking a breath."

I blinked and looked at him.

"We used to call that torture." I informed him. "Only…without the Gatorade." I frowned and took a step towards Giles as he approached. "What on earth is Gatorade?" I asked.

"Sporty people drink it." He mumbled sleepily, slurping down another mug of coffee.

Behind me, Willow was backing up Xander's claim.

"Well, it was pretty impressive." She said, "But…later there was an 'ick' factor."

Giles grimaced and looked at me in despair. It was such a pathetic look I wanted to both laugh and give him a consoling hug. I could understand his grumpiness. After all, he had had a long, weary night, and instead of getting to talk about vampires like he wanted to, he had to sit and listen to adolescent girls coo over a handsome stranger.

"Can we please steer this 'riveting' conversation back to the events that happened earlier in the evening?" he pleased, setting his mug down on one of the study tables and taking another consoling gulp of his coffee.

I immediately picked up one of the books we'd been studying, flicked it open to the desired page, and handed it to him. He gave a nod of thanks and took a breath.

"You left the Bronze, and were set upon by three unusually virile vampires, yes?" he continued. She nodded. He set the book down, open to the illustration we'd found and pointed at it.

"Did they look like this?" he asked.

"Yeah." She nodded. "What's with the uniforms?"

"They're the Three." I answered. "They're vampires of legend, very big, very strong, and very vicious. One of the stories I read told tale of an entire village in Prussia that they massacred and burned down before help could be sent for."

Willow shook her head.

"How is it you guys always know this stuff?" she asked, "You always know what's going on, I never know what's going on."

I smiled.

"You haven't spent over two centuries studying the darker things that lurk in the night and in 'myths'." I answered.

"And you weren't here from midnight until six researching it." Giles added tiredly.

"No, I was sleeping." She acknowledged.

"Well, the appearance of the Three is actually sort of a good thing." I put in. "Not that it's good you were nearly hurt, of course, but-" I hemmed and hawed and looked away when Buffy scowled at me so Giles finished my sentence.

"-you're obviously hurting the Master very much. He wouldn't send the Three after just anyone. However, this does show that we must step up our training with weapons."

I stifled a groan.

Giles had insisted I sit in on his and Buffy's training sessions in order to give them precise instructions on where to hit. The only problem was I'm not really the most progressed of fighters, and what's more, Buffy already knew what to do most of the time, so I didn't really see the need in more training.

If anything, I was simply serving as a mobile target when Giles decided he'd had enough.

That being said, I was getting a bit faster in my attack combinations.

"Uh, Buffy," Xander broke in, "you should stay at my house until these samurai guys are history."

We all looked at him in confusion.

"Xander," I said, "dear boy, even if they know where she lives, they can't get in unless she invited them. Being in a different location would have no added effect whatsoever."

Xander looked ready to throttle me, but Giles seconded my claim.

"Angel and Buffy are in no immediate jeopardy." He said, cleaning his glasses, "eventually the Master will send someone else, of course, but in the meantime the Three, having failed, will offer their own lives in penance."

I beamed at Buffy.

"This is the first time they've ever failed." I informed her. "It's a proud day for you."

"But that means the next ones will be bigger and worse, though, right?" she asked. My smile slipped a little.

"Perhaps." I admitted.

"But we'll be practicing fighting techniques in the meanwhile," Giles broke in, "so we'll be very well prepared."

Buffy and I looked at each other. She rolled her eyes, I hid a smile and coughed to hide my chuckle, while Giles stared into his coffee, obviously thinking of going back to bed.

"Try not to rip my shirt this time," I told her, "I've only got the two."

Buffy laughed and nodded.

"I'll try," she promised, "but you wouldn't have this problem if you'd let me take you shopping some time. You seriously need a wardrobe expansion."

"Spare me," I begged, "I don't have room for all the clothes you'd try and procure me. And don't even think about trying to get me into that yellow dress again. Then you really will have a fight on your hands."

"Maybe that's the way to actually have a decent workout with you."

"I do believe that was a challenge." I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, it was." Buffy confirmed.

"Until this afternoon, then." I said, offering my hand.

"Until then." She nodded, shaking it.

I didn't feel nearly as confident as I acted, but apparently I was becoming quite good at lying.

Later that afternoon, Giles closed the library while Buffy and I waited by the weapons supply locker. Buffy was like a child in a sweet-shop. She poked and fiddled with every weapon she saw, and seemed particularly excited by the crossbow.

"Goodbye stakes, hello flying fatality." She quipped, cradling the crossbow as Giles, sporting his training pads, walked up and grabbed two quarterstaffs.

"What can I shoot?" she asked.

"Nothing," he answered, much to Buffy's disappointment, "the crossbow comes later. You must first become proficient with the basic tools of combat. You must begin with a quarterstaff." He handed her one of the staffs, which she looked at with disdain.

"Giles, it's the 20th century, I'm not going to be fighting Friar Tuck."

"If he's a vampire, you might." I warned with a smirk. She giggled at me while Giles huffed in annoyance. We all walked down to the center of the floor of the library, and I took a seat on the bannister to observe and wait for my turn.

"You never know with whom or what you will be fighting." Giles insisted, donning his helmet. "These traditions have been handed down through the ages-" he continued.

"Well that is how traditions are made." I murmured under my breath.

"you show me good, steady progress with the quarterstaff, and in due course we'll discuss the crossbow. Put on your pads."

Buffy just laughed at him.

"I'm…not gonna need pads to fight you." She said. I thought was a trifle rude. True, Giles didn't look particularly formidable, especially not in that outfit, but it wouldn't have hurt to spare his pride a little bit.

"We'll see about that." Giles said primly, he saluted her with the staff, "En garde."

To my surprise, Giles actually did rather well starting out. His swings were fast and calculated, and he had obviously taken Buffy by surprise with his skill because it took her a moment to get into the rhythm of his swings. But when she did, it didn't take her long to move naturally with her weapon, and before too long, she had gotten a hard blow in to Giles' back, which made him twist and give a cry of pain, and then she swept his leg out from underneath him.

He fell, dropping his staff with a loud clatter.

I winced for him and sprang off my perch to go help him back up.

"Does this mean I get to shoot the crossbow, now?" Buffy asked with a grin.

"Yes," Giles said weakly as I supported him back to his feet, "but first, I think it's Margery's turn."

"Traitor." I hissed at him.

I limped away while Buffy turned back to me.

End her

The Essence was stirring again.

'It's just a practice fight. And she's a friend, so hush.'

The Slayer is no friend to our kind. And she certainly won't be once she finds out you lied to her

I winced as I bent down to pick up Giles' fallen quarterstaff. The Essence was going to take great pleasure in goading me with that.

What do you think she'll do should something happen to her thanks to your negligence? Your lies? Because that's what you always do. Lie. Lie about what you are, what WE are

'Be quiet.'

My head was starting to pound as I turned slowly to face Buffy, I could feel rage building up, and I think she felt it because a frown flickered across her face as we both saluted each other and she swung her staff at me.

I blocked it easily and returned the tap. We rhythmically began striking each other's staff, gradually picking up speed, but my swings were just a tad faster since I was having a battle in my head as well as physically.

They'll hate you

'I won't let anything happen.'

They'll blame you, once Angel is revealed, this can only end in tragedy

'I won't let anything happen.' I insisted, picking up speed. Buffy was grunting, trying to match my speed. She swung at my side, I caught the blow and shoved her back with a growl that took her off guard.

Ah, yes. You won't let anything happen. Just like you didn't let the Three attack Buffy

'I couldn't have known about that. I won't let Angel do anything. I won't.'

Do you even know where he is?

'I'll start watching him more.'

You should kill him

'That's even messier. No.'

Then he'll kill your so-called friends

'He WON'T!' I screamed in my head, and at the same time swung wildly at Buffy. It took her completely by surprise, and while she tried to block it, I still got her in the side and sent her stumbling to the right. I followed up and struck at her legs, which she blocked, so I spun, caught her in the shoulder with an elbow, knocked her off balance, and then finished sweeping her legs out from underneath her.

'I won't let him.' I thought, trembling in anger and frustration. 'I'll kill him first. But not until he makes a move. We do this my way and my way only.'

The Essence hissed, but remained silent for once.

"What the heck was that?" Buffy demanded, getting to her feet. She looked angry.

"That was Margery besting you." Giles answered. He didn't look angry, he looked rather smug and amused.

"No, I mean, did I piss you off earlier or something? You went into rage-mode. Why?" Buffy demanded.

I blinked, calming down and realizing how I must have looked. I handed my staff to Giles and bowed to Buffy, a hand to my chest.

"My mistake." I said, "I very unwisely decided to release my pent up frustration during combat. It was foolish of me and an error I won't make again. Pray forgive me, miss."

"I-I do. It's okay, just…I don't know, warn me next time?" Buffy asked, giving me a playful tap on the shoulder.

"In combat, your opponent won't warn you if they're in a good or bad mood," Giles pointed out, "this was a good exercise." He patted me on the back, "Well done, Miss Margery. Your practice is paying off."

"I hope so, sir." I said with a smile.

An image of Angel flitted into my mind and my smile faded as that anger and protective feeling swelled in my chest again.

"I hope so."