Chapter Five: Game Changer
"What is that?" Buffy asked.
She looked at the pile of dust that was in front of Jasmine. There was a tiny crystal that was attached to a string. Wesley's eyes widened and he walked towards Buffy. He picked up the crystal and held it in his hands. Wesley dangled it from the string.
"I never thought that I would see one of these." Wesley said, fascinated.
"What is it Wes?" Buffy asked.
"This crystal allows the wearer to bypass the invitation spell." Wesley explained. "But it cannot be dusted. It's indestructible."
"That's how they got in?!" Buffy yelled.
"Yes." Wesley said.
"So those things were vampires?" Evan asked.
Buffy nodded. "Yes and usually we would be safe in this house." She paused. "A vampire can't enter a house unless invited in by the owner." Buffy explained. "But they are wearing crystals that allow them to enter the house."
"So what do we do?" Evan asked.
"We stay here for the night." Wesley said. "Yes they know where we are, but they won't attack us so soon since their first mission failed. They won't risk more members of their community." He paused. "First thing's first, we need more weapons and to board up this window."
"I have some spare wood in the shed." Evan said. "I was using it for a future project, but I guess now it'll be used for something more important."
"Sounds good," Wesley said. "Let me look for more crystals and we'll go to the shed together."
Wesley walked back to the living room and found two more piles of dust with crystals. Wesley picked them and put them in his pockets. He turned to Buffy and said,
"You stay here with Jasmine. Keep an eye on the hole in the living room." He paused. "We'll be back shortly."
Buffy nodded. "Okay." She said, "Be careful. They might still be outside."
"I've got one more stake in my jacket." Wesley said. "Keep the one I gave you."
With those words, Evan escorted Wesley to the shed in the backyard. Jasmine looked at Buffy. She was still in shock, but there were certain things on her mind. Like how could Buffy pretend to be her daughter and call her mom? How could this happen? Why did this happen? All these thoughts circled in her mind.
"How could you pretend to be my daughter?" Jasmine asked quietly.
Buffy sighed. "We don't have time for that."
"I don't care." Jasmine told her flatly. "You lied to us."
Buffy walked to the living room and sat down on the couch. Jasmine followed her into the living room, but remained standing. She was angry, confused, and most of all hurt. Her daughter was gone. Jasmine felt like her daughter was dead. Grief washed over her and she clutched her heart. Buffy sighed heavily and said,
"I'm sorry." She paused. "I truly am. I didn't know how to tell you because I don't even know how I'm here…I died."
"You died?" Jasmine asked. Tears streamed down her cheeks and she sniffled.
"Yes," Buffy told her. "I died. I was supposed to stay dead. Somehow, I came back and I was placed inside your daughter." She paused again. "I don't know what happened to Maddie, but I think she's gone."
Jasmine sobbed. "My baby girl…"
"I'm so sorry." Buffy said, sincerely.
Evan and Wesley walked back into the house with the spare wood. They closed the back door and locked it. Evan carried a toolbox and Wesley carried the wood. They walked into the living room. Evan's eyes widened when he saw Jasmine. She was so distraught. Evan dropped the toolbox and ran over to her.
"Jasmine, it's going to be okay. Calm down my love." Evan told her. "Why don't you go upstairs and lie down. We'll take it from here."
Jasmine wiped away her tears and nodded. She hugged Evan and gritted her teeth. Jasmine was so mad at Buffy. She walked away and stormed upstairs. Buffy heard her slam the door. Evan turned to her and said,
"You can't blame her for being angry."
"Why aren't you angry?" Buffy asked.
"I am, but we need to focus on the bigger picture right now." Evan said. "And that's to save our lives."
"Well, let's start by making more stakes." Wesley said. "We also need to board up this window."
"Got it." Evan said and sat down.
Wesley and Evan started to board up the window while Buffy created more stakes. She was able to make two more. Buffy trained Evan on the basics of the stake so he could at least defend himself a little. Evan yawned and stretched. It was definitely getting late. Buffy turned to him and said,
"Go ahead and go upstairs. Check on Jasmine." She paused. "We got it from here."
Evan nodded and took his stake with him. Wesley sat down on the couch and Buffy sat down on the chair. She sighed and stretched.
"Well, that was a disaster." Buffy said.
"Yeah that could have gone better." Wesley agreed.
"You think she'll be mad at me forever?" Buffy asked.
Wesley shrugged. "I don't know," he said. "I think it will take some time for her to understand this world."
"Hopefully not too much time." Buffy said. "I don't want her to end up dead."
"No, me neither." Wesley said.
Buffy curled up on the couch and got comfortable. "Do you mind taking the first shift?"
Wesley shook his head. "No, I don't mind." He said. "Get some rest."
Buffy nodded. "Thanks."
She closed her eyes and fell asleep on the couch. This time she didn't have any dreams. It was just blackness. It was peaceful. Buffy slept until Wesley woke her up in the middle of the morning. Buffy woke up and Wesley fell asleep in the chair. The next couple of hours were very quiet. Buffy stood up and walked around the house. She checked things out. Buffy walked back to the living room and sat back down on the couch.
Thankfully the sun came out. They didn't have to worry about vampires for the rest of the day. Jasmine walked downstairs. She ignored Buffy and walked into the kitchen. She started on breakfast. Wesley woke up to the noise and yawned. He stretched and stood up.
"Something smells good." Wesley said.
"Jasmine is making breakfast." Buffy said. "She didn't say a word to me."
"She needs time, Buffy," he said. "Her daughter just died."
Evan walked downstairs. "Good morning you guys." he said. "How is it going in here?"
"It's fine," Buffy said. "Jasmine is making breakfast."
"I'll go join her." Evan said and walked into the kitchen.
Buffy sighed heavily. "Well, I guess that gives us time to talk." She said, "I don't want to go back to Sunnydale. Not yet."
"That makes sense." Wesley said. "What do you want to do?"
"I want to stay here." Buffy said. "I don't want anyone to know that I'm back. I don't want Giles to know."
"I understand," Wesley said. "Anything else?"
"I want you to be my Watcher again." Buffy said. "Can you do that?"
"I would be honored." Wesley told her. "We can start today."
"Thank you," Buffy said. "I don't know why I'm back, but I want to stay here. I need to figure out what is going on with these new vampires that have some magical crystal."
"Me too," Wesley said. "I don't know what they are up to, but it's not good."
"We can keep Jasmine and Evan safe, but we have to move to a different location." Buffy said. "Especially since they know where we are."
"I agree with that." Wesley said. "Where do you suppose we go?"
"We will go to a safe house." Buffy said. "I was originally thinking about your place, but they know where you are. They followed you. So we need a new house and a new spell to keep vampires out. Can you find that?"
Wesley nodded. "I can find that."
"Good, we need all the help we can get." Buffy said.
Evan walked into the living room. "Breakfast is ready. We need to talk."
"Yes we do." Buffy said and stood up.
Buffy and Wesley followed Evan into the dining room. They all sat down at the table and started to eat. Jasmine remained silent. Evan set his utensils down and looked at Wesley.
"What do we do now?" He asked.
"We need to move." Wesley simply said.
"What?!" Jasmine screeched and stood up. "We can't just move!"
"Yes we can." Buffy said. "They know where we are. We are too vulnerable here."
"Can't we find something else?" Evan asked. "Can't we find another way?"
"This is the only way." Buffy said. "You asked what needed to happen and this is what needs to happen."
"I can find a spell that can reinforce the barrier spell here." Wesley chimed in. "We don't have to move."
"Wesley, they know where we are." Buffy said.
"Yes, but if we can find a spell that can reinforce the barrier spell then we don't have to move." Wesley said.
"We need a safe house." Buffy argued.
"We can make this our safe house." Evan said. "I'll have that window repaired and we can make more weapons."
"I am not moving." Jasmine said. "Maddie's room is here."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Fine," she said. "We'll stay here. New plan. Wesley finds a spell that reinforces a barrier spell. But if we get attacked again, which we will, I will blame you guys."
Evan rolled his eyes and Jasmine sat back down. She calmed down. She was scared and Buffy understood that. However, Buffy didn't like the idea that they were too findable. Wesley sighed heavily and said,
"I can get started on that today." He paused. "I have a witch friend that can help."
"Good, we are going to need it." Buffy said.
