Chapter 5: Life Serial
October 22, 2001 – Monday
Summers Home
Buffy and Dawn appeared in the foyer in silver and white light beams of light. After their rendezvous with Angel in Oxnard, they had spent the weekend alone before returning home.
Buffy took a deep breath, feeling the comfort of being back in her own house. "Hello!" she called out.
"Buffy? Dawn?" Willow called back.
"Yep," Dawn said cheerfully holding a bucket of chicken. "We picked up dinner."
"Deep fried chicken parts," Buffy said as she and Dawn walked into the dining room, where Willow, Giles, and Tara were sitting. "Hope everyone's hungry." She paused as her eyes fell on the array of plates that had moments ago held food. "You ate," she admitted, disappointed.
"No!" Giles responded too quickly. He then groaned and glanced about. "Um, well... Yes, obviously."
"We didn't know when you'd return," Tara explained apologetically.
"That's okay," Dawn chimed in, placing the bucket of chicken on the table as she and Buffy took their seats with their friends. "More for us."
"Well, I don't know about everyone else, but I'd love some chicken," Tara suggested, noticing Buffy's crestfallen expression.
"Yes," Giles agreed with Tara and nodded at Buffy to reassure her. "As would I."
Dawn smiled as she opened the bucket, filling the room with the aroma of fried chicken.
"I'll take a drumstick," Tara requested.
"I'm a breast girl myself," Willow commented awkwardly as everyone looked at her with raised eyebrows. She blushed slightly before adding, "But you all know that." As she settled down again, she turned her attention to the sisters expectantly. "So...?" she prompted after they had all taken their respective pieces of chicken.
"What, so?" Buffy looked at Dawn confusedly.
"So, how was it? Seeing Angel?" Willow asked pointedly. "Him seeing you. Was it weird?"
Dawn watched her sister's face darken, and a hand flew to Buffy's back. She felt the sudden tension in her sister's back. She rubbed it softly and looked around, noticing the pensive glances exchanged by their friends.
Buffy glanced appreciatively at Dawn and then turned her gaze back to her friends. "Intense," she commented, her voice slow and measured.
"Well, if you want to discuss it..." Willow offered.
"Buffy and I already have," Dawn interrupted. "Besides sightseeing in Oxnard, we had a lot of sisterly time as well."
"And I don't feel like talking about it again," Buffy said with a slight shrug. "Besides, it's not that important."
Willow, Giles, and Tara nodded and shrugged their shoulders in deference to Buffy's wishes.
Giles cleared his throat and spoke up after exchanging a glance with Willow. "Buffy, during your absence there was some discussion about what you're going to do next," he said hesitantly. "Your intentions."
"Oh yeah, Dawn and I discussed that too," Buffy revealed. "I think we've got it figured out."
Willow smiled encouragingly. "Good. That's good."
"Yeah, got it all wired," Buffy announced in a matter-of-fact tone. "I'll postpone paying the plumber and use the money to pay the energy bills, allowing me to wait to re-shingle the roof until—"
"I mean...with your life," Giles interjected hesitantly.
"Oh," Buffy exclaimed in surprise. "Life plans. I, uh... don't know. I mean, I suppose..." She paused to evaluate her options for the future. "Well...I dropped out of school when Mom got sick. I always assumed I'd return later. But then she... So, I considered enrolling for the fall semester. But, being dead and all, I missed the registration deadline."
Willow beamed at the prospect of having her friend back in class. "Well, even if it's too late for late enrollment and too early for early, you could still come to classes with Tara and me," she suggested helpfully.
Tara nodded in agreement. "Right. You can audit for the rest of the semester, until registration."
Buffy glanced at Dawn unsure if that was something she wanted to do. "Audit. Okay. That seems like a reasonable plan... I guess. I mean, sure. I could do that. Right? What—what do you think, Dawn?"
Dawn smiled softly and touched Buffy's shoulder reassuringly. "Whatever you want, Buffy. I'll be at your side like always."
Buffy felt a wave of courage come over her with Dawn's support, and she nodded in agreement.
October 23, 2001 – Tuesday
UC Sunnydale
"This is going to be great…" Buffy tried to sound upbeat as she and Dawn followed Willow into the classroom. Willow smiled back, but Buffy could see worry in her eyes.
Dawn's school had been closed owing to a suspected gas leak. Instead of staying at home twiddling her thumbs, she opted to spend the day with Buffy.
"I mean, I thought it might be weird being back," Buffy said. "And it is, a little but it's a good kind of weird."
Willow pointed to the teacher, an affable man in his mid-thirties, as he strode into the classroom. "Oh, there's the teacher. Mike. You'll like Mike."
Dawn was taken aback when Willow introduced her instructor by his first name. "You call your teacher Mike?" she inquired. "That must be nice... I can only imagine what a blast college will be if things are so easygoing."
Willow grinned. "It's not always like that," she pointed out. "But it's nice to be able to have more casual relationships with some of my professors."
Mike took a piece of chalk and scribbled 'Social Construction of Reality' on the blackboard before turning to face his students. "Who can tell me what that is?"
Buffy sat just as still as a statue, in contrast to everyone else in the room, who enthusiastically waved their hands.
"Rachel?" Mike indicated a young lady seated near the front of the room.
"A concept involving a couple of opposing theories," Rachel said firmly and quickly. "One stressing the externality and independence of social reality from individuals..."
Mike turned to face the rest of the class and nodded. "And what about the flip side?"
Dawn noted how taken aback her sister was when everyone raised their hands around them.
"Steve?" Mike inquired.
"That each individual participates fully in the construction of his or her own life," Steve replied with a smile.
"Good," Mike said, quickening the pace. "Who can expand on that?" He examined the raised hands throughout the room. "Chuck."
"You okay?" Dawn asked eyeing her sister as Buffy grew increasingly overwhelmed.
"Well, those on the latter side of the theoretical divide stress that social reality is actively constructed and restructured by individual actors," Chuck announced to the room.
Instead of answering Dawn, Buffy whispered something to Willow. "Will, I'm not following this too well," she admitted.
"The trick is to get into the rhythm, to go with the flow," Willow said, raising her hand.
"Flow-going might be easier if your classmates weren't all big brains," Buffy replied gloomily.
"That's crazy, Buffy. They're no smarter than you or me," Willow countered with a smile.
Dawn reached over and placed her hand on Buffy's arm softly, catching her attention. "I'm here, it's okay," said quietly and nodded at Buffy in encouragement.
"Willow?" Mike called from the front of the classroom.
"Because social phenomena don't have unproblematic objective existences, they have to be interpreted and given meanings by those who encounter them," Willow answered with ease as she watched Mike nod approvingly.
Mike grinned and motioned at Willow. "Nicely put," he said as Willow flashed a happy grin. "So, Ruby, does that mean there are countless realities?"
Willow returned her gaze to her friends. She saw that Dawn's hand resting on Buffy's forearm. "What?" she inquired in confusion as Buffy looked at her. Buffy shook her head and began scribbling in her notepad. "That's a good idea. Take notes."
"Objective measurement is actually a social construction on the subjective meanings ascribed by those doing the measuring..." Mike said as the lesson progressed.
Buffy observed that the girl on the other side of Dawn was drawing a very detailed design with perspective shadings.
Mike stated, "All knowledge of the world is a human construction rather than a mirror of some independent reality..."
Buffy gave up scribbling and pulled the drawing from her notebook, crumpling it up.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Dawn followed Buffy and Willow down the hallway after the class had let out. She could tell her sister was shell-shocked.
"You're not dumb. Just... rusty," Willow informed her friend.
"Maybe I should ease back in with some nice, breezy, non-taxing classes," Buffy admitted sadly. "Like 'Introduction to Pies.' Or 'Advanced Walking.'"
"Hey, how'd it go?" Tara asked as they walked up to her.
"They both did fine," Willow said. "Though sociology is not a big fave of Buffy's," she told her girlfriend.
"She didn't like Mike?" Tara asked in surprise.
"Look, it's okay," Buffy informed her. "Just have to do a little more reacclimating than I thought. You know, get back up to speed so I can catch up to—Oof!" She was suddenly bumped hard by a guy passing her in the hall knocking her books to the floor.
"Hey!" Dawn cried as he bumped into her as well. Unseen by either sister or their friends he had left a small gray dot on their clothing.
"Could at least say sorry, rude-o," Willow called after him.
Dawn bent down to help Buffy pick up her books. "Here let me help, Buffy," she said.
"Everybody's in a hurry," Tara said shaking her head.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
"My art appreciation class doesn't start for another twenty minutes, so we've got some time to kill," Tara said as she, Buffy and Dawn approached a bench. She paused and reached into her bag for her textbook. "Here." She pulled the book out and handed it to Buffy. "You'll enjoy it. It's very mellow," she said as the sisters looked at the textbook. "You just look at pretty pictures and say 'Ooh, what pretty—"
Suddenly the sisters both hear a strange high-pitched buzzing drone. As they looked up they found that Tara was now sitting on the bench on a totally different topic. "—didn't think she liked my cooking, until I figured out that look was her "yummy" face. Y'know how her nose—"
"What was that?" Buffy asked looking at Dawn who shrugged.
"What was... what?" Tara asked perplexed.
"That noise," Dawn answered looking at Tara.
"And what was that about cooking? Whose 'yummy face?'" Buffy added confused about the change of topic.
"Willow," Tara answered. "Wow…" she said in surprise. "You two really got engrossed in that Renaissance book."
Buffy frowned as she looked at her sister. "I guess. We both must've spaced out," she said as she walked over to a nearby water fountain and bends to drink.
"I do that sometimes," Tara said as Dawn handed her book back to her. "Once, Willow and I were watching SpongeBob Square—"
Suddenly the strange drone returned and Dawn's eyes went wide as she watched everyone start moving at what she considered turbo speeds. "Buffy," she said.
Buffy looked up just as the drone stopped. "What?" she said.
"—Buffy! Dawn!" Tara called from down the corridor beside a door instead of on the bench she had been sitting on seconds before. "Are you two coming? We're going to be late for class."
Buffy and Dawn hurried down the corridor their confusion mounting. "What the f—" Buffy stated just as Tara walked into the classroom, the door closing behind her.
"Tara!" Dawn called out as they reached the door. As Buffy went to open it the drone returned and a second later the door opened and students began spilling out of the room.
"Buffy," Tara said concerned as she walked out of the classroom. "Dawn. Where've you two been? You both missed art class—"
"Missed—?" Dawn said in confusion. The second time she and Buffy heard the drone she had watched as people moved past them at speeds that only she could reproduce morphed.
"Tara, something freaky's going on. It's like Dawn and I are losing—" Buffy said trying to explain as she looked up at a clock which read '11:51.' It was then that the drone returned and the minute hand spun around the clock rapidly till it read '12:12' at which point it disappeared. "There! Did you see—?"
"Buffy she's gone," Dawn said drawing her sister's attention from the clock. "I think I need to morph. Because something supernatural is definitely going on."
"Let's find, Tara first," Buffy countered as they ran down the corridor and out of the building. The sisters scanned the area and spotted Tara in the distance.
"Tara," Dawn said bringing her wrist communicator to her lips.
"Yeah, Dawn?" came Tara's voice from the communicator.
"Something is going on. We're losing chunks…" Dawn said as she and Buffy noticed that everyone around them was moving at ever-increasing speeds till, they were caught in a whirlwind of blurs rushing past them, slamming into them hard and sending them to the ground.
Buffy grunted in pain as her arm was badly injured. "I need Lynn," she told Dawn who nodded.
"Let's get out of here," Dawn said as she hit the teleport button on her wrist communicator. Buffy grabbed her as she uttered one word, "Home!" They disappeared in beams of white and silver light.
Summers Home
Buffy and Dawn appeared in the foyer safe from the ever-increasing speed. Nursing her arm, Buffy took off her sweater to look at her injury.
"Ly…" Dawn started to call out as Buffy tapped her on the shoulder. "What?"
Buffy brought her finger to her lips and then motioned toward the little gray square clinging to the back of her sweater.
Dawn frowned. "She if…" she said as Buffy nodded.
Buffy looked at Dawn's shirt and found an identical square on her sister. She pulled it and the one on her sweater off and they scrutinized them closely. Suddenly the devices in her hand disintegrate with a puff of smoke. "If it weren't for these," she said as she held up her wrist communicator. "I never would have thought those could have been something monitoring us."
"And since Zordon was trapped in a time warp, that means there is technology out there that can do to us what those did," Dawn agreed. "The question is for what reason and why?"
"I got a better one for you," Buffy told her sister. "Why target you? If it were someone after me. They shouldn't know you're a Ranger since you are always morphed when we patrol."
"Unless they've been watching us very closely," Dawn countered. "Which means I've been exposed. Either that or this could be Divatox after me since I helped stop Maligore."
October 24, 2001 – Wednesday
Construction Site
"Where can I wait for Buffy to finish work?" Dawn asked Xander.
"I've arranged it so you can wait in the site office," Xander replied, pointing toward a trailer off to the side of the construction area.
"This is going to be great…" Buffy said as they walked away, leaving Dawn to head toward the office. "Diving right into the workforce. Being the breadwinner. Building things with my hands."
"Uh, actually, your hands won't be building so much as they'll be lifting and toting," Xander told her.
Buffy raised her eyebrows. "Toting?" she repeated.
Xander nodded. "It's just a temp gig, Buff. You know, unless it takes. Since you're not union, I had to call in a few favors to get you on a crew," he informed her.
Buffy smiled at him gratefully. "Well, I appreciate it. Muchly. You saved me from having to accept Giles' offer to work at the magic shop. I mean, retail…?" She shuddered. "Gaaah. I'd rather be dead. Again."
Xander gave her a funny look. "Uh-huh. So, Giles have any thoughts about that little fast-forward freak-out you and Dawn had yesterday?
Buffy shook her head sadly. "At first he thought it was stress related like maybe I imagined it – till he heard that Dawn experienced it too and then he said he'd look into it."
"What about Dimitria-that woman who replaced Zordon?" Xander queried.
"Dawn beamed herself over to the Power Chamber and asked," Buffy recounted. "Dimitria said she knew of technologies capable which could do what happened to us, but without those devices there was no way of knowing if it was Divatox or something local."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Xander gestured for Buffy to follow him toward a group of six men, all getting ready for their day. "Tony," he called out, addressing a swarthy, muscular guy who was strapping on a tool belt. "This is Buffy. You know, the friend I told you about."
Buffy held out her hand. "Nice to meet you, Tony," she said as Tony gave her a sidelong glance. When he didn't move to shake her hand, she waved at the other men. "Guys," she said as the other men looked at each other.
Tony stepped closer to Xander. "You got to be kidding me," he groaned his displeasure. "We're a week behind, I got two men out on the DL and now you want us to babysit some little girl."
"Uh, excuse me, but—" Buffy started to protest before being interrupted yet by Tony.
"Hang on, Gidget," he said gruffly before returning his attention to Xander. "This stinks Harris. What am I supposed to—"
Xander shrugged. "Give her a chance," he insisted. "She's stronger than she looks." Tony scoffed in response before turning around and addressing his crew with orders for the day. "That's the spirit," he said before turning back to Buffy. "Don't mind him. He may seem pig-ignorant, rude, and a little hostile… Have fun!"
"What?!" Buffy exclaimed in disbelief as Xander began walking away from her. "Wait! Where are you going?"
"Upstairs," Xander replied without looking back at her while continuing his ascent. "Got to supervise the sheetrock hangers. Don't sweat it. I'll check in later."
Buffy walked over to Tony and the other men who were gathered around blueprints.
"Okay, Danny finish up putting in those J-boxes," Tony directed before pointing at two of the other guys. "Vince and Marco, I need you to haul steel inside."
Vince stepped forward. "Gee, I don't know, Tone," he said with a sly smile. "I mean, I don't want to get in trouble with any of those Affirmative Action lawyers." He motioned toward Buffy. "I say you put Britney here on hauling duty."
"It's 'Buffy,'" Buffy corrected, offended.
Tony glared at her with his eyes almost closed. "Okay. You're on it, princess. Try not to break a nail."
Buffy stared incredulously at Tony for a moment before turning to Marco in disbelief. "Break a nail?"
Marco strode over to the pile of beams as the others walked toward their job sites. "Don't worry about it…" Marco said soothingly, making eye contact with her. "And don't let 'em goad you into doing something stupid and hurting yourself. These beams weigh a few hundred pounds," he cautioned sympathetically, nodding his head toward the large stacks of beams.
Buffy smiled and effortlessly picked up one of the girders without straining a muscle. "I got it. Which way's the stairwell?"
Stunned, he could only point her in the right direction and she thanked him before carrying off the beam as he watched after her in amazement.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Dawn's face was lit by the gentle, glowing light from the lamp on the table. This created a warm, golden glow on her huge, round eyes. The room's pristine white walls were barren and frigid. The constant hum of an air conditioning machine muffled all outside sounds to background noise, making the area feel like an isolated cocoon.
She had a nasty feeling something was amiss as she sat in the office waiting for Buffy to finish her shift. She had an increasing feeling of foreboding and that something bad was going to happen. She couldn't get rid of the feeling, which became stronger with each passing instant. Her heart began to pound as a cold sensation ran down her spine. She knew whatever was coming wouldn't be good.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Buffy reached for a cup from the water dispenser as something moved behind her, disappearing behind a wall. Sensing it she looked around and saw nothing so she returned her attention to the dispenser.
Tony approached her, picking up a cable cutter that had been lying on a set of saw horses. He came up behind Buffy as she straightened up with her cup of water in hand. When she became aware of his presence, she spun and nearly splashed him with her water.
Tony smiled at her with a crooked grin. "Jumpy," he remarked. "What's the matter? Did I scare you?"
Buffy's eyes widened as she dropped her cup and reached for Tony. She tossed him aside as a mangy, simian-like demon slashed the air with a three-fingered claw where Tony had been. Tony hit the floor and hit his head on the base of a pillar, knocking him into semi-consciousness.
Buffy was ready to attack the demon when she was distracted by another demon to her right growling. As she stepped back, she raised her wrist communicator to her lips as a third demon lunged at her from behind. "Dawn," she called out, her voice desperate.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Dawn observed the receptionist as her wrist communicator beeped at her. "What's that?" inquired the receptionist.
"Um, I have to go," Dawn replied as she stood up.
"Go?" she questioned, frowning at the young woman. "You must remain here until the end of your sister's shift."
"I need to go," Dawn stated flatly.
The receptionist responded with a shake of her head, "I'm sorry until the end of the shift."
"Fine," Dawn sighed. She hated morphing in public, but she had no option. "Shift into Turbo!" she said, swinging her left arm in front of her, her morpher visible on her wrist. "White Phoenix Turbo Power!"
The receptionist's eyes widened as she watched the morphing sequence transform Dawn into the White Phoenix Turbo Ranger just before the Ranger vanished in a beam of white light.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
The White Phoenix Turbo Ranger emerged in a beam of white light to discover her sister kicking the third demon with a roundhouse kick. "Hey," she yelled, drawing the attention of the other two demons. She swung over a crossbeam and kicked the demons, sending them crashing into a wall.
"Watch out!" said Marco, who was enjoying lunch with his coworkers behind the wall. He and a couple of his coworkers were trapped beneath support beams, drywall, and insulation as the wall fell on top of them.
As one of the men gasped, the second monster got back on its feet and looked displeased.
Buffy slammed her foot down on the scoop of a shovel. As it flipped high into the air, she grabbed it and hit her demon across the head knocking it to the ground. She jammed the shovel down into its neck decapitating it. She tossed the shovel and was moving to help her sister when she noticed the demon's corpse melted into a thick, bubbling foam and dissolved into the floor.
The Ranger approached the remaining two demons from behind as they converged on two of Buffy's co-workers. "Oh, God," one of them cried. "Help me! Help me, please."
"White Phoenix Power Sword!" exclaimed the White Phoenix Turbo Ranger as she spun in a 360-degree arc. Her sword was in her hands when she faced the demons again. She turned in an arc, decapitating the second demon as Buffy approached. This demon, like the one Buffy dispatched, melted and dissolved into nothing.
The Ranger and Buffy approached the final demon. Buffy pushed it back beneath the scissor lift just as the Ranger sliced her blade through the hydraulic cable. The lift collided with the monster, crushing it. It melted before disintegrating into nothing, just like the other two demons.
"At least they clean up after themselves," the Ranger admitted as she and Buffy heard a horn honking from the street. They turned and saw a van parked there.
"Oh, my god…" Xander said as he approached, staring in horror at the carnage. "Buffy…" he started as he looked up at his friends and saw Dawn morphed. "Ranger, what happened?" he asked as the men pulled themselves from the rubble.
"I'll tell you what happened," Tony said as he approached, holding a first-aid compress to his head. "Came over to tell your friend that I was impressed with the job she was doing, especially the way she handled herself… Then, she goes berserk and attacked me. Then the Power Ranger appears, and I believe she will assist in subduing your friend when she joins in..."
"What?" Buffy asked. "No! I was saving you… There—There were…" She glanced at Tony before grabbing Xander and pulling him away from Tony, "…demons," she said as the Ranger followed.
"I can tell you there were three of them, Xander," the White Phoenix Turbo Ranger said.
"Here?" Xander said, frowning. "No. Not here. Not at my job. That's your job."
"Dawn and I cannot help where the forces of darkness are attacking us, Xander," Buffy replied.
"Yeah, I've been lucky not to be attacked at school since I moved in with Mom and Buffy," the Ranger said.
"Look at this mess!" Xander screamed, waving his hand in the direction of the devastation. "Do you two know how much this will cost to repair? What am I supposed to say to the clients? Should I just show them the demon bodies and say it's all their fault?"
"Can't," Buffy said sheepishly. "They melted."
Xander wrapped his hands around his head.
"That said, I am a witness since I fought them as well. Your coworkers also saw them," the Ranger added.
Buffy turned to face one of the men. "Hey, Vince. Can you tell the clients what happened? How the Ranger and I rushed in and took care of those... things."
Vince gave Xander an uncomfortable look. "I'm not sure exactly what you're talking about. All I could see was the two of you losing it or whatever." He returned Xander's gaze. "Time of the month." He turned and began walking away.
Vince came to a halt as he felt the tip of the White Phoenix Turbo Ranger's blade in his back. "I was standing right behind the demons when you screamed," she said.
"Hey!" Vince muttered in arrogance. He then turned and walked away.
Buffy looked at him in disbelief before noticing her hard hat on the ground. She knelt and picked it up, cleaning the dirt away. "Xander," she said. "Dawn saw it too."
"I know. I believe you both," Xander said. "In fact, between this attack and the incident at school, I'm beginning to suspect that someone is messing with you both."
"Really?" inquired the Ranger. "You think they're connected?"
Xander nodded as he led them away from the construction area. "Well, something's going on. Think it's worth checking into. And I don't mean later. You both need to see Giles and get on this immediately. I'd start with IDing those demons…"
"You're firing me, aren't you?" Buffy asked sadly.
Xander nodded reluctantly. "Big time. The whole melty thing should help narrow it down. Try sketching them, that always helps…" he informed them as Buffy surrendered her hard hat to him. "And maybe when I get off work, I can help you run through mug shots…"
October 25, 2001 – Thursday
The Magic Box
"This is going to be great…" Buffy said through her teeth as she walked with Anya through the store. She wore a name that read: 'Hi, I'm Buffy. Ask Me About Curses.' "Because I've always been interested in—" she said almost choking, "—Interested in retail."
They walked toward Giles who was piling books on the table. Buffy sat down next to Dawn while Anya walked over to the counter.
"Is this all for research?" Buffy asked eying the books. "Or some kind of stress test for the table?"
"He's wanting to be thorough," Dawn said.
"Dawn's right," Giles agreed. "The time anomaly and the demon attack could be unrelated events, but if they're not, you two are in some danger."
"So, situation normal, then," Buffy said dryly.
Anya walked over carrying a thick binder. "Let's review," she told Buffy. "You record returns here. And these are the forms for special orders, they're shipped wherever the customer wants. And these are the hold slips."
"Fill out two hold slips for each item," Giles added.
Dawn glanced over at her sister who she could tell was trying to seem interested for Giles and Anya's sake.
"And make sure you pull the item off the shelf," Anya continued. "I can illustrate with an amusing story about a crystal…"
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Buffy stood near the window, bored out of her skull. She looked at her watch just the bell above the door rang and Barbara Brattin and her daughter Lynn walked through the front door.
"Buffy, a little advice," Giles said. "While I ran the store, I found it helpful to imagine I was back in the library." He removed his glasses as he started to polish them. "If you concentrate on service, not making a sale, then you're more likely to have a satisfied customer."
"I guess I'll find my own style," Buffy admitted looking at her Watcher.
"Yes, yes. Quite right," Giles said distractedly.
"That woman. Go sell her something," Anya said as she approached and motioned toward Barbara.
"Hey, Dawn!" Lynn called as she rushed over to her girlfriend and gave Dawn a kick peck on the lips. "What are you looking for?" she asked as she sat down.
"Some kind of demon that can control time and attacks in threes," Dawn answered.
"Miss?" a man said to Buffy as she passed. He was looking at two candles, a yellow and a brown one. "Which candle creates a more, you know, romantic atmosphere?"
Buffy took the yellow candle and sniffed it. "Mmm. Lemon Seduction. Nice," she said as she took the brown one and sniffed it. "Eerrhm," she said as she looked at its label. "Essence of Slug." She put the brown one down and handed him the yellow one. "Here ya go."
He smiled and took the yellow candle before heading over to the cash register.
"Hello, Buffy," Barbara said as Buffy walked up to her.
"Hello, Barbara," Buffy replied smiling at the mother of her sister's girlfriend. "What can I do for you?"
"I need a Mummy's Hand, for a prosperity spell," Barbara said. "Rupert told me you had one when I called earlier."
"I saw it downstairs, but it was kind of hairy. Probably a Daddy Hand," she said as Barbara chuckled.
"I always liked your sense of humor, Buffy," Barbara said as she smiled. "I see where Dawn gets it."
"Well she does get a lot of things from me," Buffy admitted. "I'll get it."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Buffy walked through the basement storage area holding a bag and looking for the Mummy Hand. "Petrified Hamsters," she said reading the labels, "the Dagger of Lex, eyeballs in honey, Mummy hand," she said as she came upon a desiccated human hand wrapped in ancient tattered linen. As she went to grab it, it leaped up and grabbed her by the throat.
She thrashed around and reached out blindly looking for something, anything, to deal with the hand. She grabbed the Dagger of Lex off as she wrenched the hand off her neck. Throwing the hand down she stabbed it and it sagged limply, obviously dead. She stared at it, gasping.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Buffy held the impaled, oozing hand out to Barbara.
"What happened?" Barbara said as Buffy held the impaled, oozing hand out to her.
"It attacked me," Buffy said sadly. "I hope that doesn't…"
"I'm afraid it does," Barbara said sadly. "It needs to be fresh, which means alive."
"It's playing dead. Little scamp," Buffy quipped as she slapped the hand trying to make it seem like it was alive.
Suddenly there was a brief flash of white light and then the bell above the door rang as Barbara and Lynn walked through it again.
Buffy looked down at her hands and frowned, she was no longer holding the Mummy Hand. "What the," she whispered to herself.
"Buffy, a little advice…" Giles said as Buffy looked at him, bewildered. "While I ran the store, I found it helpful to imagine I was back in the library." He removed his glasses as he started to polish them. "If you concentrate on service, not making a sale, then you're more likely to have a satisfied customer."
"We did this just now. We already did this," Buffy said.
"Yes, yes. Quite right," Giles said distractedly.
Buffy glanced toward her sister. "Dawn, something's happening!"
"I know, it reset for me too," Dawn replied as Lynn came over next to her.
"Hey, Dawn!" Lynn said as she gave Dawn a kick peck on the lips. "What are you looking for?" she asked as she sat down.
"You don't remember?" Dawn asked perplexed.
"Don't remember, what?" Lynn asked in confusion.
"You were just here a second ago helping me look for a demon that can control time," Dawn said.
"No, I wasn't," Lynn countered worried that something was wrong with her girlfriend.
"That woman. Go sell her something," Anya said as she approached Buffy and motioned toward Barbara.
"Wait," Buffy said looking at the ex-vengeance demon.
"Don't be nervous. Do what I do. Picture yourself naked," Anya insisted as she pushed Buffy toward Barbara.
"Miss?" a man said to Buffy as she passed. He was looking at two candles, a yellow and a brown one.
Buffy grabbed the yellow candle and handed it to him as she hurried to Barbara. "Hi, Barbara," she said.
"Hello, Buffy," Barbara said. "I need…"
"A Mummy's Hand, for a prosperity spell," Buffy said as Barbara looked at her surprised. "Do you know anything about demons who can control time?"
"One, why?" Barbara said suddenly worried.
"Two days ago, when the school was closed for a gas leak. Dawn spend the day with me when I went with Willow and Tara to UC Sunnydale. While there we experienced time moving by extremely fast. Yesterday we fought three demons who melted and dissolved into nothing when they were slayed. And today you came in once already asking for a Mummy Hand."
"The demon I know of, Tempus, could loop time. But speeding it up. I know of no demon that could do that," Barbara said sadly. "And I know of no demons that simply melt away as you describe. What happened just before time reset?"
"I had the Mummy Hand, had to stab it with the Dagger of Lex because it attacked me," Buffy explained. "You said you couldn't accept it because it was dead and then suddenly you're coming through the door again."
"I'm going to make a suggestion," Barbara said. "Go try and get the Mummy Hand again. Let's see if time loops again when you present it to me. If it does you will have to remind me again of what's going on. And we'll proceed from there."
"Thanks, Barbara," Buffy said as she smiled at the mother of her sister's girlfriend.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Barbara looked in the bag and sighed. "It attacked you again I see," she said as Buffy nodded reluctantly.
Suddenly there was a brief flash of white light and then the bell above the door rang as Barbara and Lynn walked through it again.
"Dawn, get over here," Buffy called to her sister as she headed for Barbara and Lynn.
"Where are you going?" Anya asked as Buffy passed her.
"To Barbara," Buffy answered as she and Dawn came up beside the mother-daughter duo.
"Did you figure it out, Buffy?" Dawn asked.
"Figure what out?" Lynn asked perplexed.
"Barbara, I know you need a Mummy Hand," Buffy informed the older woman. "Dawn and I've been through this twice already. I get the Mummy Hand and both times everything reset back to when you two entered the store."
"Like you're in a time loop," Barbara said in understanding. "What happened the first two times you got the hand?"
"It attacked me," Buffy answered. "The first time I stabbed it, the second I chopped its fingers off."
"Why don't I go with you, I can freeze it so you can get it safely," Barbara said as she smiled.
"Good idea, Mom," Lynn said.
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Buffy smiled as she stood behind the cash register, Barbara's suggestion had worked like a charm. "Thanks for shopping at the Magic Box!" she said as she handed Barbara the bag with the hand in it.
"You're welcome, Buffy," Barbara said. "If this doesn't work for you, come over to my shop. Books are so much easier to deal with."
"I will," Buffy said as Barbara walked out of the store.
"Congratulations!" Giles said as he, Dawn, Anya, and Lynn approached Buffy. "Your first sale."
"I think I am going to go work for Barbara," Buffy said as she took off her name tag. "Selling books will be so much less deadly.
"I think that's a good idea, Buffy," Lynn said as Giles and Anya looked at them confused.
The Green Witch Books
"Someone is doing stuff to me and Buffy," Dawn said as she, Lynn, and Barbara sat around the table at the back of the shop. "Messing up our lives."
"What does Giles think?" Lynn wondered.
"He's working on it," Dawn said with a shrug.
Lynn nodded as she glanced at her mother. "Do you think I should go talk to the Elders and ask if they know anything?"
"It might not hurt," Barbara nodded as her daughter disappeared in blue and white orbing lights.
Spike's Crypt
"This is going to be great," Buffy said as she downed a shot. "Bleagggh," she grimaced as she stuck out her tongue and shuddered. "Life is stupid."
"I have a dim memory of that, yeah," Spike admitted as he drank his shot. "And I didn't figure you were here cadging my whiskey cuz life is all blood and peaches."
Buffy shook her head. "There's this thing- someone's doing stuff to me and Dawn. Messing up our lives. 'Cept that mine was kinda pre-messed already. School, and, and, jobs... pretty bad even without the evil."
"So, you're just, what? Going to let this - whoever - play you 'til it figures out what kills you?" Spike questioned.
Buffy shrugged. "Giles is working on it."
"Oh, good," Spike scoffed. "Cuz Giles, he wields the Mighty Force of Library Books."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "You'd do better?" she asked as she poured them both another drink from Spike's flask.
"Damn right," he told her. "I'd hit the demon world. Ask questions, throw punches, and find out what's in the air. Fun, too." He tossed back another shot.
"'S not my kind of fun," Buffy said smiling.
Spike nodded. "Yeah. It is," he agreed. "And your life's going to get a lot less confusing when you figure that out."
"Bleeeegh," Buffy said as she tossed back another shot and shuddered.
"You're not a schoolgirl," he continued. "You're not a shop girl."
"I'm actually thinking of taking Lynn's mom up on her offer," Buffy admitted. "At least the books shouldn't be as bad," she said as she went to pour herself another drink but found the flash was empty.
Angel Grove Bay Bridge
Lynn stood on top of the tallest tower of the bridge her eyes closed. "I need to speak with one of you," she said as she heard the sound of someone orbing in. She opened her eyes and smiled at the Elder in front of her. "Hi, Jonas."
"Hello, Lynn," Jonas said as he embraced her. "I take it, this isn't a social visit?"
"No," Lynn said as she glanced away from him out across the bay. "Buffy and Dawn have had something attacking them three days in a row."
Jonas nodded. "We know," he said as Lynn looked back at him in surprise. "Their problems aren't magical, per se."
The Alibi Room
Buffy followed Spike into the bar. "Your motorcycle is loud," she said.
Spike nodded as he leaned on the bar toward Willy. "Spike," Willow greeted.
Spike handed over some cash. "My usual, Willy. And one for the lady," he said.
"The Slayer?" Willy said in surprise.
"Yes," Spike replied before looking back at Buffy. "We're headin' for the back room, pet. 'S where the real action is."
0 – 0 – 0 – 0 – 0
Buffy and Spike walked into the back room, carrying their drinks. Buffy looked around and spotted cases of liquor lining the walls and a poker table sitting in the middle of the room with several demons around it. "These lowlifes know everything happens in this town," Spike said quietly to Buffy.
"Oh good, these are the lowlifes," Buffy said a little too loudly.
"Fine. Little louder," Spike said as he walked over to the table. "Boys. What's the game?"
"You know the game, Spike," said a slime-covered demon. "You in?"
"He kills our kind. Don't let him in," said a small demon just before Spike pulled him out of his chair and held him up.
"Ask him if he's heard—" Buffy instructed the bleach-blond vampire.
Spike shoved the small demon aside and took his seat. "Later," he told Buffy.
"You're going to play cards?" Buffy asked shaking her head.
Spike smiled at the other players politely. "I need a moment with my lady," he said as he stood back up and pulled Buffy to the side.
"You want to play, that's fine. I'm sticking to the plan. Who do I kill first to get information?" Buffy asked eying each of the demons.
Spike put an arm around her, trying to keep her under control. "Listen," he said softly, his lips right at her ear. "These guys talk while they play. We'll get more information out of their mouths than out of gaping holes in their corpses."
Buffy thought about what Spike said for a moment and then nodded.
"I'm in," Spike said as he sat back down. "Everyone all right with that?"
The demons all exchange a look.
"Ante up," said a loose-skinned demon as he and the other demons each produced a live kitten and put them in the basket at the middle of the table.
"Kittens?! You're playing for kittens?" Buffy asked in surprise.
"So, who wants to advance me a tiny tabby, get me started?" Spike asked looking at each of the demons. "C'mon, someone's got to stake me."
"I'll do it," Buffy said with a chuckle sloppily while Spike glared at her. "You thought I was just going to let that lie there?"
The Green Witch Books
Lynn appeared in blue and white orbing lights to find Dawn and Barbara waiting. "It's not demonic," she told them. "It's human. They wouldn't tell me much more than that since we're dealing with mortals."
"Mortals are bad enough," Barbara said shaking her head. "Mortals with magic are even worse."
"And I can't use my Ranger or Slayer powers against mortals," Dawn said with a sigh.
The Alibi Room
Spike laid down a straight flush and swept up a large pile of kittens into his basket. "You're lucky today, Spike," said the slime-covered demon.
"Got my good luck charm with me," Spike said motioning toward Buffy who was finishing up a shot.
"Bleeeegh," Buffy shuddered.
"You cleaned us out. No one's that lucky," a rat-faced demon said.
"I'm starting to think you cheat," added the loose-skinned demon.
"Me?" Spike said with wide eyes. "I cheat? He's got X-ray vision!" he said motioning toward the rat-faced demon.
"I'm not using it," the rat-faced demon countered.
The loose-skinned demon stood up glaring at Spike. "We're not the ones cheating!" he said as he thumped the table and a card fell out of the wobbly sheets of skin on his arm. "I had no idea that was there. I could have leaned on that days ago."
"Better go, Spike. This could get ugly," said the slime-covered demon.
"Got ugly the second he walked in," countered the rat-skinned demon. "Him and his human."
"Her skin's so tight I don't know how you even look at her," the loose-skinned demon said looking at Buffy.
Spike jumped up, insulted as the demons rose to their feet.
"Leave your winnings and get out!" the slime-covered demon said. "We'll forget the whole thing."
"Ahh! It's a set-up, in't it?" Spike asked with a shake of his head. "Squeeze a few quid out of the vamp? Tell you what you didn't count on, though. Me and the bird. You want a fight, you face the two of us." He looked at Buffy, expecting her to back him up.
Although she was pretty drunk, she still knew what she wanted. "I'm not getting into a bar fight! I'll beat 'em up for information, great! But not to defend your right to gamble for kittens! Which, by the way, is a stupid currency!"
"They're delicious," the slime-covered demon defended.
"C'mon, Slayer! A big fight's just what you need!" Spike pleaded.
"Forget it. 'M not playing by anyone else's rules anymore. I'm done," Buffy said as she grabbed Spike's basket and tipped it over, letting the mewling kittens scatter.
"No!"
"Hey!"
"The money's getting away!"
Buffy smirked. "Scamper! Be free!" she told the kittens.
"I won those!" Spike groaned as she shoved him aside before storming out into the main room of the bar. She made a beeline for the door. "What's wrong, love?" he asked as he cut her off.
"What's wrong? You were going to help me!" she said looking him in the eye. "You were going to beat heads and fix my life! But you're c'mpletely lame! Tonight sucks! And look at me! Look at Stupid Buffy! Too dumb for college! And, and, and Freak Buffy! Too strong for construction work! Then there was the Magic Box. I was bored to tears even before the hour that wouldn't die! And there are only two people I can even stand to be around anymore and one of them is a neutered vampire who cheats at Kitten-Poker!"
"Oh," Spike said sheepishly in the realization that he had been caught. "Saw the cheating, did you?"
"Also, I think you're drunk," Buffy said as she walked out the door.
Streets of Sunnydale
Dawn and Lynn were walking down the street looking for the mortals who were trying to mess with her and Buffy. She spotted a van parked just down the street. "Lynn, that van," she said. "I've seen it before. Yesterday at the construction site."
"I would orb us inside but depending on how much they know about magic," Lynn said as Dawn nodded in understanding.
Dawn led Lynn toward the van just as a horned demon jumped out at them from behind it. "Rrrrrrgg! You have discovered me!" it said. "Do not even try to defeat me, for I have been testing you and the Slayer. And I know all yours and her weaknesses!"
As the van drove away Dawn swung and the demon ducked below the punch clumsily. She kicked the Horned Demon back just as Lynn came up beside her.
The demon staggered dramatically! "I am well struck! I call upon the misty portal to my demon dimension. There to lay my head and gently die," he said as he dropped something that produced smoke obscuring his escape.
"What do you think?" Dawn wondered looking at her girlfriend. "Glamour or summoned demon?"
"Glamour," Lynn replied. "And of course, he's gone. I would say he and whoever was in the van was who was messing with you and Buffy."
Summers Home
Giles sat on Buffy's bed as Buffy walked in out of the hallway. "Feel better?" he asked.
"For a second there I actually turned completely inside out. But yeah, better," Buffy admitted.
"I'm sorry I didn't find this demon with my research," he admitted.
"That's okay," Buffy admitted as Dawn stepped into the doorway.
"On that front," Dawn said as Buffy and Giles looked at her. "Our adversary is mortal. Every day humans. Lynn went and talked with the Elders. The only thing they could reveal was that they were humans. I came across them tonight. One of them was glamoured to look like a demon another was in a black van. The same black van that…"
"We saw at the construction site," Buffy finished for her sister. She sighed as she sat down next to Giles. "I'm really screwing up," she admitted.
"No, you're not," Dawn countered. "We were being tested by mortals."
"Dawn's right," Giles agreed. "I don't see how that's screwing up."
"No, it completely is. Because I let them set the rules," Buffy said before looking at Giles. "And even worse, I let all of you guys do the same thing! Do this thing, be this way, blah blah."
"Well, that is an extremely awkward transition to me giving you advice. But I will," Giles said as Dawn strode across the room and sat in the chair next to them. "Go easy on yourself, won't you? You don't need to figure it out all at once, a job and all. You're pushing yourself too hard."
"He's right, Buffy," Dawn agreed.
"The nice people at the phone company seem to think it's not hard enough," Buffy admitted sadly.
"Well, I may be able to do something about that. I, this, this is for you," Giles informed the elder Summers' sister as he handed her a check.
Is that what I think it is?" Dawn asked.
Buffy nodded. "A check," she told her sister before returning her gaze to Giles. "Giles, I can't take this. It's too much."
"Fine. I'll just tear it up then, shall I?" Giles said as he made to take the check back.
Buffy held the check close to her out of his grasp. "I was just being polite. I'm taking the money. This is great. More than great. Like, I don't really know how to say this... I guess, it's a little like having Mom back."
"This is a scenario in which I am your mother?" Giles wondered.
Buffy smiled. "Want to be our shiftless absentee father?" she asked as Giles considered his options.
"Is there some sort of rakish uncle in this mapping?" he asked.
"I'm just saying... Giles, thank you," Buffy admitted as she hugged him. "So much."
"Thanks, Giles," Dawn agreed as Giles stood up.
"Just to let you know," Buffy informed him as he walked toward the door. "This... it really makes me feel… safe. Knowing you're always going to be there."
Giles glanced back at Buffy before he left the room. Neither sister saw his smile disappearing from his face.
Buffy turned toward Dawn and handed her the check. "Wow," Dawn said. "You do know you can always take Mrs. Brattin up on her offer."
"I'm considering it," Buffy admitted. "But…"
"I understand," Dawn said as she left the room her smile, like Giles', disappeared from her face.