"So, he's sending the jackleg squad in to pin them down." Trick's tenor was halfway between question and statement.
"Yes." Florestan looked around. "This is the first time I've actually been in your office. Very tasteful."
"Yeah, a brother knows not to hang black-light Tupac posters everywhere." Trick studied the Mayor's demon aide. "Think they can get the Seal?"
"Please." Florestan shook his head. "There were more of them at the library, and they couldn't stop her."
"But she had two Knights with her." Trick leaned against his desk, arms crossed.
"And now there are two Slayers. Is a Slayer worth more than two Knights?" The demon shrugged. "We are in 'dancing on the head of a pin' territory there, but I believe that if that mob can lock the Slayer in one place, well, that certainly helps us. If they can bloody her little group in any way, even better."
"Don't you think a gang fight at the high school will draw attention, even in these times?"
"Not if someone-" the demon bowed slightly "-casts a glamour over the school to keep civilians from seeing what is happening."
"You'll do that." It was a statement by Trick.
"It's already done. Everything is in motion."
Trick nodded. "I'll get my people ready. What'll you be doing?"
"Me?" Florestan placed a hand on his chest. "I will be making sure that I am ready to perform my part in this little play. The second the Seal is back in our possession, I will perform the ritual and you will send for your practitioner. If fortune smiles on us, we can complete everything by tomorrow evening."
"Fortune, my ass. If we don't get it done by tomorrow night, we'll have more trouble than Whitney Houston's got number one hits."
The demon nodded. "Then your little advantage might come in handy."
Trick pushed away from the desk and stood up straight. "It is always nice to have an ace in the hole." His voice turned cold. "We're going to need it after that fuck-up downtown."
Florestan gave no outward reaction. "I though you were all-in on Team Wilkins."
Trick looked at the demon, any expression carefully hidden. "I'm all-in on Team Me."
Joyce's concern for her hardwood floors was born out, but not by the hedge clippers. Cordelia dropped the sledge hammer, leaving a sizeable dent in the oak planks, as she fell to her knees beside Matti. The girl reached for the teacher's shoulders, but Oz grabbed her wrist. Cordelia snapped a hot glare in his direction.
"Sorry," he said. "You shouldn't try to move her."
"Oz is right." Joyce knelt on the other side of Matti's still form. "We don't know how badly she's hurt."
"I'd say pretty bad." Xander gestured toward the blood-soaked bandage still wrapped around her upper arm.
"We've got to help her," Cordelia stammered, her voice panicky. "We've got to… got to… to do something."
"Girl." Matti's voice was no louder than a whisper. "Pull yourself together." Her eyes opened, fluttered, then remained open. "Can you help me sit up?" She extended her unwounded left arm, and Cordelia boxed out both boys to grab her teacher's hand. Matti groaned, a long, low sound like a rusty hinge, and tears swelled in her eyes, but she managed to get herself to a seated position. Xander's eyes flicked to the floor; there was now a large bloodstain beside the dent.
"What happened to your arm?" Cordelia knelt beside her coach, hands fluttering around the bandage, voice very loud.
Matti rolled her eyes toward the girl. "Child, I'm hurt, not dead." She paused, panting, then took a deep breath and continued. "You have to get to the library… "
"I'm not going anywhere," Cordelia said flatly.
"Buffy wanted us to watch out for her mom," Xander said.
Matti looked at all of them. "The library is where it's happening. Go, get there… even you." She looked at Cordelia. "Joyce is safe, but… I'll stay here… " She reached into her waistband and pulled out a compact stainless steel revolver. "Nothing's coming here… but… if it… does… I'll take care of it. Go." She put as much force as possible into the last word.
The three teens looked at each other, then Oz spoke. "We should go. Buffy's at the library, the Seal's at the library, so…" He shrugged and held out his hands, palms up. Xander nodded. Cordelia looked at Matti, then at the other two Scoobies.
"Okay." She bent down, then turned to Joyce Summers. "I'm gonna take the hammer with me. I'll bring it back when we're done."
Joyce shook her head. "That's… that's all right." The Slayerettes moved toward the door. "Wait." Joyce went to the sofa and returned holding the hedge clippers. "Here, Xander, you better take these." He accepted them with a nod, and the trio of students went out the front door.
Joyce stood blinking and open-mouthed in the sudden quiet, then she looked at Matti and shook her head. "I've got to call you an ambulance."
"No," the Knight said. "Help me up."
"But, you're hurt, badly, from the looks of it."
"I'm not dead, and if I've survived this long, I'll last a little longer. Here." Matti held up her hand. Joyce had to put her weight back to help the Knight to her feet. Matti stood for a moment, swaying, then, with Joyce's assistance, stumbled to the couch. She sat down gingerly, then placed her gun on the coffee table. "You, uh, you wouldn't have any bullets, would you?"
"Uh, no, I… don't." Joyce blinked in shocked surprise.
Matti nodded slowly. "Well, then, I'd take some water… and a towel… but one you can throw away."
"Shouldn't we lock all the doors?" Willow asked, her voice hesitant. The library cadre was seated around the table, except Faith, who prowled the room.
"No," Buffy said, her eyes far away. "They'll come the easiest way. We want to funnel them in."
Giles toyed with his ring, then stood up. "I'm going to open the weapons locker."
"Awright," Faith said. "Time for Momma to get some new toys." As she followed Giles into the office, Angel leaned forward.
"How much do we trust her?" he whispered. "She seems a little… off."
"Really?" Buffy looked at him. She had pulled her hair up in a tangled topknot, and stray tendrils straggled around her face. "Locked up naked in a cage and shocked by sadistic morons? How could that make a person… off?" Angel ducked his head. Buffy looked at Tyler. His freckles stood out against his pale skin, underlining his brown eyes. "You okay?"
Tyler considered the question, from every possible angle, then said, "We have a weapons locker in the library?"
"Yeah." Buffy's mouth quirked. "But it's mostly spears and stuff, so don't get too excited."
"Oh, okay." He folded his hands and looked around the room.
"Better gear up." Faith came out of the office; she held a saber in hand, point up. Buffy put her hands on the table and pushed herself upright. She noticed Tyler looking around, unsure of what to do.
"Hey," the Slayer said. "Don't worry. You're gonna be all right." She went into the office and began to go through the locker. She ignored the swords; she was done with blades for a while. A leather-wrapped handle with a simple round pommel protruded from a corner of the container. Buffy grabbed it and tugged it free. She found herself holding about the simplest weapon she could imagine: the handle, just long enough for a two-handed grip, was attached to a metallic rectangular prism about thirty inches long. It was pretty light for its size, and the Slayer held it before her and looked it up and down.
"Okay," she whispered. "It's clobberin' time."
As the van turned off of Oak Park onto Abracus, Cordelia leaned forward between the front seats and pointed. "There's the school."
Xander looked over his shoulder. "Yes, the building we've been at every day for four years. Thanks."
"Idiot." Cordelia glared at him. "Why is there a pickup truck in front of the door?"
"What? Uh…" Xander's eyes0 popped.
"Uh, guys… Am I wrong, or does that not look good?" Oz point-nodded as he gunned the engine. Cordelia and Xander looked through the windshield and saw a half-dozen bodies approaching the intersection of Abracus and Aegeon. 'Bodies' was the correct term; these were definitely not people.
"Ummmmm…" Xander pointed. Farther up Aegeon, where it met Whiteoak, a larger group appeared, maybe fifteen strong.
"Hang on." Oz yanked the wheel to the right and ran the van over the curb. He kept the accelerator floored as chunks of sod flew from beneath the wheels. The van fishtailed slightly across the lawn, then Oz stood on the brakes and cranked the wheel. The van shuddered and yawed, and then all three students pitched forward as the driver's side front corner hit the truck's rear passenger quarter panel with a shriek of crumpling metal and the tinkle of breaking glass. The engine coughed and died as Xander bailed out of the passenger door. Cordelia yanked open the panel door and jumped down as Oz followed Xander; the collision had jammed the driver's door into the frame.
"What if the door's locked?" Cordelia shouted as they ran toward the door.
"Why would there be a truck on the sidewalk if the door's locked?" Xander's voice was breathy as he yelled over his shoulder.
"Why is there a truck on the sidewalk, period?" Cordelia gasped.
Oz grabbed the handle and pulled. The door swung open. "It's unlocked," he said. The trio ran pell-mell down the hall, hedge clippers hanging from Xander's hand, Cordelia carrying the sledgehammer.
They were feet from the library doors when the panels opened inward. Xander had extended his arms to push; suddenly deprived of resistance, he sprawled forward, hedge clippers skittering across the floor. Cordelia's feet went out from under her as she tried to stop; she went down hard on her butt, the head of the sledgehammer splintering a floor tile with a crack.
Oz fared better. He jumped up and to one side, clearing Cordelia with inches to spare, and slipped and slid on the tiles before recovering his balance.
"Fuckin' A, Wile E. Coyote." Faith laughed as she held one of the doors.
Oz pointed at the door. "You might wanna close those," he said, "because-" The crash of bodies hitting the truck outside filled the hall. "Because of that."
Xander and Cordelia scrambled to their feet. Xander managed to sputter, "Faith?" before Buffy stepped into his eyeline.
"Why aren't you with my mom?" she demanded.
"Uh," Xander traded looks with Cordelia, then Oz. "Uh, Ms. Hollis told us to come here."
Buffy jerked like she'd been slapped. "What? Ms. Hollis?"
"Yeah," Cordelia said. "She told us to come here and she'd stay with your mom. I don't know what she can do, it looks like somebody kinda tried to cut off her arm."
"Somebody kinda did," Buffy replied.
"Why is Faith here?" Xander said.
"Later, gator. Right now, I need you guys to get out in the hallway. Go!" Buffy pushed Xander toward the door.
"Wait," he said, "I–", but the Slayer was already out the door.
"Get in the office." Willow's command sent Tyler scurrying. She grabbed Xander's arm and pulled. "Come on." Giles stood by the door, a sword in hand.
"We don't have much time," the Watcher said, then pulled open the door and went into the hall. Stunned into action, the new arrivals followed him, Xander and Cordelia armed with their borrowed implements, Oz hoisting a chair from the library.
"What are we supposed to do?" Xander asked, directing the question to anyone.
"Just look mean," Buffy said, then raced after Faith. The dark Slayer jumped into a classroom on the right, Buffy took the one on the left. She'd barely disappeared from view when the dam broke and the uglies poured into Sunnydale High. Some twenty bodies made the turn and charged, screaming, down the hall.
"Uh…" Xander licked his lips. "There is a plan, right?" His death was ten feet away…
And the classroom doors opened and two Slayers knifed into the ghoulish ranks, Faith slashing with her saber and Buffy swinging that club/mace like Tiger Woods on a par-5. The charge of the demonic band was broken, but the front rank closed the gap. Xander froze, the clippers held in front of him. From the corner of his eye, he saw Cordelia step forward and swing from her heels. The sledgehammer was only four pounds, true, but apparently that was enough if delivered with sufficient velocity. The round disk of the hammer's stainless steel face caught a charging chthonia squarely in the head with a sound like a melon hitting the sidewalk. The creature dropped, as boneless as a puppet with cut strings. Xander's paralysis was shattered, and he thrust blindly forward, impaling a demon. The creature snarled, Xander screamed, and then the creature's head slid from its shoulders. Xander gulped as Giles turned back to the fray and swung his sword in a different direction. The boy put one foot on the demon's torso and pushed it free of the clippers.
Buffy and Faith met in the middle, splitting the demon force in two. The outside group turned and ran toward the doors, clearly preferring to fight another day. Faith chased after them, and then the final stage of the defense strategy was revealed: Angel stepped into the hallway, catching the attackers between the hammer and the anvil. Buffy turned toward the library, swinging and jabbing with the club, cracking skulls and breaking bones (or what passed for bones) until she stood in front of her friends, her face shiny with sweat. She dropped the club on the floor with a metallic clang and wrapped up Xander in an adrenaline-powered hug that cracked his ribs.
"Buff, Buff," he wheezed, "don't let me survive that just so you could kill me."
She released him and stepped back, pushing her hair away from her face. "Sorry… I'm just really glad to see you guys."
"Well, some of 'em got away," Faith announced as she and Angel rejoined the group.
"Okay," Xander said, "could someone fill in the plot holes here? Did you just happen to come back? Because that would be very cliched." Faith's face darkened.
"No," Buffy said. "Willow and Angel broke her out of jail."
"Will!" Xander turned to his old friend. "Look at you, all Shawshank Redemption."
Willow blushed. "Angel helped."
"Wait. You were in jail?" Xander said.
"No," Faith said. "Jail's for people who get arrested. I was in a cage." Xander swallowed.
"Uh, not to interrupt the reunion, but we've still got about eight demons just standing around out there," Angel said, pointing toward the school entrance.
"I… don't think they're standing around," Oz said. Flickering shades of red and orange played across the foyer.
Giles touched his glasses. "What…"
"They set the cars on fire," Oz said. As if to underline his words, the entry doors shattered as a loud whump echoed in the hall. Safety glass and plumes of smoke sprayed the atrium, followed shortly by another explosion. Oz's shoulders sagged and he shook his head. "I really liked that van," he murmured.
"No, really soak it." Matti swallowed. She was stretched out on the sofa at the Summers' house. The blood-saturated field dressing that had been on her arm was in a plastic bucket on the floor. Dark blood oozed from the ugly through-and-through gash in her upper arm. Joyce paused. "I really don't think that eight Advil and a towel soaked in hydrogen peroxide is the suggested course of treatment for something like this."
"It missed the brachial artery, or I'd be dead." Matti closed her eyes, her chest rising and falling with rapid, shallow breaths. "It just hurts."
Joyce ran her tongue over her teeth, then poured peroxide on the towel. "Well, it's going to hurt worse in a minute." She placed the bottle on the table. "I'm sorry, but…" She picked up the towel, shook her head, and placed it over the gaping wound in the Knight's upper arm. Matti's breath hissed through her teeth, and her back arched. Joyce grabbed the roll of duct tape and hastily looped it around the makeshift bandage. "There," she said, sitting back on her heels, "that's…" Her voice died away. Matti had passed out.
"Where's the fire department?" Cordelia demanded. The acrid stink of burning rubber and oil permeated the library. "I mean, there's literally a tire fire out there."
"They don't know it," Willow said softly.
"What? How can they not know?" Cordelia was indignant.
"Not if you throw a big ol' magic bubble over it," Willow said. "That's what I'd do, if I could."
"Can people do that?" Cordelia turned to Giles. "Can they do that?"
"Yes," the Watcher replied. "It's not complex or difficult, it just requires adequate strength and endurance."
The Slayerettes had retreated to the library. Giles had the first-aid kit at hand, but no one had been injured, aside from some soreness from falling on the floor during their entrance. Willow, Oz, Xander, and Cordelia were slumped around the table. Buffy, Faith, and Angel were still out in the hall. Tyler came out of the office.
"What happened?" he asked, then wandered to the door and looked through its window. He froze, then turned back, eyes wide. "Wh-What…?" He pointed toward the door, unable to form any more words.
Willow sighed. "Remember all those things you didn't believe in? Well, that's what's left of a bunch of them."
"Why's he here?" Cordelia demanded of Willow.
"He wouldn't go home," Willow replied, her voice tired. "Someone told him we were doing something important today."
"Well, what idiot did that?" Cordelia said.
Willow gave the cheerleader a long, exasperated look. "He says you did."
"What? I did n– Ohhhhhh." Cordelia winced. "My bad."
"So, Buffy got here with the Seal?" Oz said to Giles.
"Yes," the Watcher replied. "It's in the office. I put it in a strong box."
"Are we sure it's the Seal?" Xander propped his elbows on the table and his chin in his hands.
"Yeah," Willow said. "We are. I can feel it."
"You mean, when you do your little…?" Cordelia held up her hands and wiggled her fingers.
"No," Willow said. "It's so powerful I can just kinda feel it now, like the bass in a Dolby theater."
"There are just… dead things in the hall?" Tyler hadn't moved from in front of the door.
"Yes," Giles said, "and there will probably be more before the night is over."
"Wait a minute!" Cordelia snapped her fingers. "You told us you couldn't go to Buffy's house because you were going to-"
Willow held her head in her hands as though trying to keep it from exploding. "If you do that hand thing again, I'll scream."
Cordelia looked offended. "Touchy much? You told us you were going to be doing… that thing, which was why you couldn't go to Buffy's house, and that's why I thought he knew about it, and that's when I might have let something slip, so, really, Willow, it's kinda your fault for lying to us."
"You're right," Willow said, slouching even further in her chair. "I see it all so clearly now."
The door swung in and hit Tyler in the back, finally moving him off his spot. Buffy stuck her head through the opening. "Sorry," she said to the boy, then slipped into the library. "Faith and Angel are watching the door. The survivors are just out there on the lawn, watching. Any idea why the police and fire department aren't here?"
"We suppose that a particularly strong glamour has been cast over the school. Passers-by are probably unable to perceive anything out of the ordinary," Giles said.
"Well, why don't we just call nine-one-one?" Buffy asked.
"It appears that our friends on the lawn have not just been standing there. The phone is dead." The Watcher picked up the first-aid kit. "Let me look at that."
"That?" Buffy glanced over her right shoulder. "It's a scratch."
"I'll be the judge of that. Sit down."
The Slayer obeyed. She was relieved to be off her feet; she suddenly felt as though a boulder had fallen on her. "Let's pool information here, all right? You guys said Ms. Hollis came to my house and told you to come here?"
"Uh-huh." Xander rested his head on his folded arms. "I'm guessing Mr. Warner…?"
Buffy shook her head. "He didn't make it." She turned to Cordelia. "That's when Ms. Hollis took the knife in her arm." She winced as Giles applied antiseptic to the wound on the back of her shoulder. "We got to the tunnels and she… she stayed to hold them back. You have to believe me, Cordelia… I would never just leave her down there."
"I believe you," the cheerleader replied, "because she's just that stubborn."
The somber moment was shattered by the rending of metal and the cracking of plastic. Buffy grabbed her club and wheeled toward the door, but instead of hostile demons, Faith pushed through the door, her arms full of the contents of the lounge snack machine.
"I don't know about anybody else," she said, "but I'm starving." She dropped her cargo on the tabletop.
"Are you limping?" Giles asked.
Faith shrugged. "Ankle's a little tender."
The Watcher looked down; the bandage around the dark Slayer's ankle was stained with blood that seeped through the gauze. "Up on the counter," he said. "We need to change that dressing."
"Is Angel still out there?" Buffy's words slurred slightly.
Giles finished re-wrapping Faith's ankle and looked around the table, hands on hips. "All right," he finally said, "here is what we are going to do. You are all exhausted, so you are going to begin napping in shifts."
"Napping," Willow mumbled. "Y'mean like in kindergarten?"
"Yes, if that helps." Giles gestured over the pile of snacks. "Xander, Cordelia, Willow, Buffy, eat some… food." His last word sounded doubtful.
"I will not stand for your denigration of Ho-Hos," Xander said. "Every item here is chock full of salt, fat, sugar, and carbs… exactly what every growing boy needs."
"Die Hard," Oz murmured.
"Seriously, you couldn't construct a better pre-fight diet," Xander continued.
Giles sighed and rolled his eyes. "Eat, then the four of you get some sleep… lie on the tables or something. Angel, Faith, and I-"
"I can help," Tyler said, although he sounded less than enthusiastic. The look on his face clearly indicated that he was on the verge of checking out.
"Uh, do you think you can find any more chains?" Oz asked.
"Yes," the librarian said. "We will stand guard for four hours, then we'll wake you up and change places."
"I don' think Angel neeze to sleep," Buffy said, stifling a yawn.
"Fine. Angel is exempt from the rotation." Giles waved a hand. "Eat."
"Don't need to tell me twice," Xander said, grabbing a Hostess Cupcake and a bag of Fritos. He opened them both and dug in.
"That is disgusting," Cordelia said.
Trick leaned back in his chair and held the phone to his ear with two fingers and a thumb. "We are prepped and ready. Question is, do we go right at sundown or do we give them a chance to stew in their own juices?" He listened for a moment. "Well, my thought is to let them stew. Let it get good and dark, let them get good and jittery, then cut the power and come in right behind it. You're right, it won't do much to faze the Slayers, but they're not all Slayers, are they?" Trick grinned in the empty office. "Best case, the kids try to cut and run, worst case, they try to fight and we have to kill them all there instead of individually on the street. Now, how's your boy? Good. He needs to be ready to go at one second past midnight."
Angel looked at the bodies on the library floor. "They went right out?"
Giles nodded. "They were exhausted. Where is Faith?"
Angel pointed back toward the hall without turning. "She seems to want to keep moving."
"Yes, well, that's understandable." The Watcher crossed his arms and leaned against the counter. The Scooby Gang was conked out around the room: Cordelia stretched out on the table, Xander up on the steps in front of the stacks, Oz by the rear exit, chained to a shelf just in case, Willow in a chair, her head pillowed on her hands and Buffy curled up on her side, her knees drawn up. The floor was littered with empty chip bags, snack wrappers, and aluminum cans; Faith had decided that there was no sense in having a mismatched pair of vending machines, so she'd wrenched the door off the soda machine.
"At the risk of seeming obvious, this doesn't look good." Angel rubbed his jaw, then thrust his hands into his pockets.
"It does not," the librarian agreed. "I think at this point, we are playing for time."