Chapter 39: School Hard in Wonderland Pt 3

The day of the parent teacher night the library was hectic. Cordelia and Xander were sharpening stakes, Dawn. Jenny and Willow sighted arrows, tightened screws on the crossbow and other weapons. Paige and Buffy were chopping carrots on an impressive platter of crudités.

"Do you think Sheila will show?" Willow asked.

"I doubt it," Buffy answered. "She doesn't seem to care about getting kicked out – about anything. I sort of envy that."

"Buffy," Paige said with a glare at her girlfriend.

"I may envy it, Paige," Buffy said. "Doesn't mean I want to get kicked out. Especially when you look at me like that.

Giles approached them, book in hand. "For three nights the unholy ones scourge themselves into a fury, culminating in a savage attack on the Night of Saint Vigeous."

"Anyone still remember when Saturday night meant date night?" Xander asked.

Paige sighed. "When you've been doing this as long as I have, Xander. You learn to take you Saturday's when you can."

Buffy glanced at the clock. "The parents start arriving in an hour. Okay, banners are in place, the lounge is comfy, what are we forgetting…?" she asked as she looked at Paige.

"Punch?" Willow asked.

"Taken care of," Paige said as Leo orbed in with Piper, they held large pitchers of lemonade. She and Buffy took the pitchers from Piper and Leo. "Thanks, Piper."

"We'll see you in an hour," Leo said as he and Piper orbed out.

"Why are they attending?" Willow wondered. "Since as far as everyone else knows their dead."

"Their attending as Buffy's cousins with Victor and Joyce."

"I didn't know grandpa Victor was coming," Buffy said. "Is Phoebe watching Wyatt and Chris?"

"Yeah she is," Paige said. "She didn't like being left behind so she is expecting a report when we get home."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

An hour later Buffy, Paige and Willow stood at the punch bowl as Paige and Buffy filled it with the lemonade that Piper had brought. Joyce, Victor, Leo and Paige walked up to them.

"Hi Mrs. Summers," Willow said. "Mr. Bennett." She hesitated trying to remember Piper and Leo's names.

"Hey Jenny," Buffy said, "Louis. Glad you two could make it."

"Hi Willow," Joyce said.

"Buffy," Victor said as he hugged his granddaughter. "Did you do all this?"

"Jo and I both did," Buffy said.

"How 'bout some lemonade," Paige offered.

Buffy noticed Snyder walking towards them. "Snyder is walking toward us," Buffy whispered.

"Hello. I'm Joyce Summers, Buffy's mother," Joyce said as they turned to face Snyder. "This is Victor Bennett, Buffy's grandfather by her step-mother. And this is Jenny Bennett and her husband Louis Armstrong. Jenny was Piper Halliwell's cousin and in the absence of Piper has taken on the role Piper left when she passed.

"My condolences," Snyder said to Victor and Piper. "I'm Principal Snyder. I'm afraid we need to talk. My office is down here."

"Is this about the unexplained absences?" Joyce asked. "I had thought I submitted everything for those. With Piper and Leo passing …"

"I would have to check of course," Snyder said. "But I didn't see them myself. Of course, you do know Buffy's grades have been slipping, correct?"

"Yes," Piper said. "Joyce, Uncle Victor and I have been on top of it. We hope to have those grades turned around in the coming weeks."

"If you will excuse us," Joyce said. "We still have to see Buffy and Dawn's teachers."

"Of course," Snyder said as he walked off slightly fuming.

It would not be till later that evening that Buffy and Paige would see Joyce, Victor, Piper and Leo again.

Snyder in front of a big picture window flicked off the light as all but a few parents were still there and they were beginning to leave. It was then that the huge window shattered as Spike crashed through it flanked by six other vampires.

Pandemonium erupted as Snyder and the parents scream and run. Only Buffy, Paige, Joyce, Piper and Leo stood still as Spike looked at them from across the room.

"What can I say? I couldn't wait," Spike said as he made a beeline for them. Buffy grabbed a chair, she swung it in a 360 and let it fly. It hit Spike in the head knocking him back.

Buffy looked at Joyce, Piper and Leo. "Get everyone out."

As Joyce, Piper and Leo did as was asked Buffy and Paige turned toward Spike.

Before Buffy and Paige lost sight of Joyce, Piper, Leo and Victor they were heading down the north hall toward the library.

In the north hall the group split apart. Piper pushed her father toward the library. She looked at Joyce and Leo and motioned toward the group heading into a classroom. Joyce and Leo nodded and ran in after them.

Piper followed her father into the library. "I need stakes."

"Spike didn't wait till Saturday?" Giles asked.

"No," Piper said. "Buffy and Paige are facing him. I am going to take care of the others that came with him."

"What about your power?" Dawn asked.

"Never tried," Piper said. "So, I am going to take some stakes as backup."

"I'll take care of grandpa Victor for both you and Buffy," Dawn said as Piper smiled at her.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0

In the classroom Joyce had closed and locked the classroom doors. She looked to Leo. "We need a barricade." She and Leo slid desks and cabinets in front of the doors. It was then that the lights went out.

"Oh my god!" Snyder said.

Joyce and Leo stood next to each other quietly discussing what to do to protect the people in the room with them.

"Who are these people, what do they want?" a parent asked as they heard vampires trying to break down the door.

"I didn't get much of a look but, is there something wrong with their faces?" asked a teacher.

"Yes!" Snyder said as Joyce and Leo looked at him. "P.C.P. It's a gang on P.C.P.! We've got to get out of here."

"At least that helps with the exposure," Leo whispered to Joyce. "They came up with their own excuse for the vampires."

Snyder climbed up on a chair, he clawed at the metal slats on the windows. Joyce walked over to him. "They could have more outside," she said. "It may not be safe."

"Joyce is right," Leo said. "We don't know what kind of mental state they could be in. They could kill us for trying to escape."

Snyder paced, growing more feverish by the moment.

"Why don't you sit down…" Joyce suggested trying to calm Snyder.

Snyder looked at her with wild eyes. "This is my school. What I say goes. And I say this isn't happening."

"Well then I guess the danger is over," Joyce said sarcastically.

"I'm not waiting for them to break down the doors. I'm getting out," said a parent.

"Don't be an idiot!" Joyce said.

"I'm beginning to see a certain mother-daughter resemblance," Snyder said.

"Oh yeah," Joyce said as she looked toward Leo. She looked back at Snyder who had climbed back up on the chair and started pulling like crazy at the metal bands that cover the high windows. "What are you doing. You heard what Louis and I said."

Leo grabbed Snyder and pulled him off the chair. "Do you really want to die?" he asked. He looked at the parents and teachers. "I personally don't want to die, do any of you."

In the hall a vampire hurled against the door to the classroom. "Doors are solid," he said to himself. He then noticed a fire ax. He broke the glass and grabbed the ax. He was about to start chopping the door when suddenly he exploded to dust. Behind where he stood was Piper her hands raised. She smiled. "So I can cause them to dust by exploding their necks."

Piper quietly made her way down the hall. She peered around a corner and saw that another vampire was at the other door to the classroom. She stepped back and saw Sheila. "Student?" she asked as Sheila nodded. She sighed; she couldn't use her power in front of a mortal. What was she going to do?

Piper looked back around the corner as Sheila picked up the ax and stared at Piper with deadly contempt. She looked back and saw Sheila with the ax and frowned. Her hands came instantly as Sheila rose the ax high over her own shoulder, aiming it at Piper's head. Before Sheila could swing Piper using her power exploded Sheila's neck causing her to dust.

The vampire came around the corner just then to check and see if his fellow vampire had made it through the door when he saw Piper. Piper swung around and as she did so she plunged a stake into the vampire's heart. He exploded to dust.

"Leo! Joyce!" Piper called out. "The hall is clear, get them into the library."

In the lounge Spike, Buffy and Paige squared off.

"The last Slayer I killed, she begged for her life. I don't see you as the begging kind," Spike said.

"You shouldn't have come here," Paige said.

"Yeah, I messed up your doilies and stuff," Spike said. "But I just got so bored!" He looked at Buffy. "Tell you what. As a personal favor from me to you. I'll make it quick. It won't hurt a bit."

"Wrong. It's going to hurt a lot," Buffy said as she and Paige hurl themselves at Spike.

Despite Spike facing two opponents he managed to keep them at arm's length.

Paige and Buffy fainted as Spike punched at them and instead of hitting either of them his hand went right through the wall. Buffy locked her hands and hammered him on the back of the neck.

"Now that hurt," Spike said as he ripped his hand out of the wall, bringing a broken two by four stud with it. "Not as much as this will." He hit Buffy knocking her to the ground.

Paige smiled. "Something you didn't know," she said and called out. "Stake." A stake orbed into her hand. As she thrust it toward Spike he dove away from Buffy and Paige. Spike seeing, he was outmatched while Buffy had backup dove out the window into the night.

Buffy turned to her girlfriend and smiled. "Paige," she said as she leaned in and kissed Paige.