AN: I don't own anything but my OC characters and parts of the plot. Everything else belongs to its owners.
Time Skip...
It was morning in Sunnydale, and at the Summers-Gilbert-Forbes-Lockwood household, Joyce was writing out a few bills as Jenna worked on her college work. They both looked up as they heard a knock at the door. They got up and headed over to the front door. Jenna opened as Joyce was surprised to see who was standing there.
"Um, hello," Joyce said.
"Good morning, Giles," Jenna voiced.
"Hello, Um, may I..." Giles said as he gestured inside.
"Oh, uh, of course," Joyce conveyed as she waved him in. "Come on in."
"Thank you," Giles said as he slowly walked into the living room. "I've, uh, just come back from Oakland. A friend of mine called with a lead. Stories about a group fighting vampires." He took off his glasses. "It... uh, didn't pan out, I'm afraid." As he cleaned them.
"No girls and Jeremy," Joyce replied with a sigh.
"No vampires. Just a bunch of school kids in heavy mascara listening to extremely loud and silly music," Giles told them.
"Well, thank you for going," Joyce said as she and Jenna stepped into the living before Joyce crossed her arms. "I can hardly, uh..." She exhaled before smiling weakly. "I can hardly leave the house. I'm just afraid they'll call, and they'll need my help."
Jenna inwardly shook her head as she knew that Aurora and the others were okay and safe but weren't ready to come back.
"The girls and Jeremy are the most capable children I've ever known," Giles said as he put his glasses back on. "I mean, they may be confused, unhappy, but I, uh... I honestly believe they are in no danger."
"I just wish I could talk to them," Joyce replied as she lowered her arms before fidgeting with her hands. "The last thing we did was fight."
"Joyce, you mustn't blame yourself for them leaving," Giles responded.
"I don't," Joyce told him as she nodded before taking a breath. "I blame you." As she exhaled.
Giles and Jenna were taken back as they heard what Joyce had just said.
"You've been this huge influence on them, guiding them. You had this whole relationship with them behind my back," Joyce continued. "I feel like you've taken them away from me."
Jenna and Giles were still speechless for a moment before Jenna spoke.
"Giles didn't make them who they are," Jenna responded.
"And who exactly are they?" Joyce questioned as Jenna and Giles looked at her.
In Los Angeles, at the apartment, I was getting ready for another day at the diner as Elijah got Persephone ready for the day. I got dressed in my work uniform before doing my hair and adding a little bit of makeup.
"Aurora, breakfast is ready," Cole yelled from the kitchen.
"Coming," I yelled back as I grabbed my bag and coat before heading out of the bedroom.
I passed the nursery to see Elijah changing Persephone's diaper and getting her ready for the day. I walked into the kitchen, living room, and dining room combo and smelt the Banana Chocolate Chip French Toast cooking.
"Morning, everyone," I said as I grabbed my drink from the drink cart before sitting next to Buffy.
"How did you sleep?" Kate asked.
"Okay, but I got nauseous and sick this morning when I woke up," I answered.
Cole placed my plate of French Toast made from the Banana Chocolate Chip Bread in front of me. I put my topping on them before starting to chow down on them.
"Well, that's normal," Kyra responded.
We went back to eating before Elijah came out with dressed Persephone and got her situated in her high chair. Elijah started feeding Persephone her breakfast. Buffy and I finished our breakfast, got up, and handed our plates to Cole and Klaus as they cleaned up from breakfast.
"Breakfast was good," I said before wiping my face and kissing Persephone's head.
"Bye-bye, Persephone," I said as I waved goodbye to Persephone.
Buffy and I grabbed our coats before putting them on and headed out the door for work.
Time Skip
It was almost 2 pm at the diner. Buffy and I were filling up the sugar, salt and pepper dispensers. We heard the door open before we heard someone coming over to us.
"Buff... um, Anne?" We heard Lily say before she asked. "Can I talk to you both?"
"Look, this really isn't a good time," Buffy responded as we glanced at her but continued with our work.
"Can it wait?" I questioned.
"Rickie's gone. I haven't seen him for more than a day. I..." Lily voiced. "He's never left that long. I think something's..." She took a breath before continuing. "...happened. Maybe something's happened."
"Well, did you call the police?" Buffy asked.
"Rickie skipped out on his parole," Lily sighed. "Uh, they would just cause more trouble."
"I don't know, did you... did you ask around?" I responded as I exhaled.
"Can you help me?" Lily asked us.
"Uh, w-we can't," Buffy said as we finished what we were doing.
We grabbed our coats as it was time to head home.
"B-but that's who you are and stuff, right?" Lily said as she followed us before continuing. "I mean, you help people, and, you know..."
"We can't get into this," I replied.
"We're sorry, Lily," Buffy told her.
"You, you know how to do stuff," Lily expressed.
"We don't," Buffy said.
"Not anymore," I finished her sentence.
"But..." Lily whined before continuing. "I don't know what to do."
I sighed before saying.
"Fine, where would he go?" I asked her.
After Lily told us where Rickie could have gone, we headed to the Blood Clinic first. We walked into the clinic and saw people giving blood.
"We gave blood lots of times 'cause you get a few bucks," Lily told us. "And they have cookies."
"You're a fan of the sugar rush?" Buffy questioned.
"It's nice," Lily replied as she smiled.
"Hi," A nurse said as she came over and asked. "Are you here to donate blood?"
"Uh, we're looking for a friend," I voiced with an uneasy voice as something didn't feel right with the nurse.
"Rickie T.? We come in sometimes," Lily told the nurse.
"Rickie, sure," The nurse responded before telling us. "Uh... he's not here."
"Well, do you know if he's been in the last day or so?" Buffy asked.
"Well, let me check the sheet," the nurse replied.
"Ow!" We heard a man yell.
We looked over at where the 'ow' came from as Buffy got squeamish as we saw him being stuck with a needle.
"This will probably go faster if we split up," Buffy suggested.
"Can I come with you?" Lily asked as she nodded in agreement.
"Okay, where did we lose you on the whole 'splitting up' thing?" I questioned.
"Oh," Lily responded with a smile before she apologized. "Sorry."
"I was thinking we could check out some of your hangouts and, um, I guess, meet later at my place," Buffy said as she gave Lily her address.
"Okay," Lily replied.
"Sorry, guys," The nurse said as she came over. "He hasn't been here."
"Thanks," I voiced as I could tell that something wasn't right with the nurse.
"I'll tell him you were looking," The nurse responded.
"Great," Buffy muttered before leaving the blood bank.
I turned back as the nurse lost her friendly look and started to look nervous before I walked out of the blood bank.
After Buffy and I split from Lily, we headed back to the apartments. When we got to our apartments, Buffy and I split up and headed into our apartments. When I walked through the door, Persephone was in her seat playing with her toys.
"Looks who's home," Cole said as he came over and kissed me.
"Hey, um, Kyra, Kate, can we talk in the bedroom?" I voiced.
"Okay," Kyra responded as we headed into the bedroom.
I got out of my diner uniform before getting my patrol clothes.
"What's going on?" Kate asked.
"Do you remember my vision?" I questioned.
"Yeah," Kyra replied.
"I think it's happening tonight," I told them.
"I'll go change," Kate voiced.
"Me too," Kyra stated.
"Quickly," I replied as they headed out of the room.
I finished getting ready before pulling my hair back. I walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, dining, and living room combo.
"What's going on?" Jeremy asked.
"My vision, I believe it's going to come true tonight," I voiced before kissing Persephone's head.
"Who's going?" Rebekah asked.
"Jeremy, Kate, Kyra, Buffy and I," I told them.
"Not without me," Cole stated.
"Me too," Andy voiced.
"Me as well," Leo stated.
"Fine, but everyone else stays here to protect Persephone," I responded as Kate, Kyra, and Buffy came back into the room.
"Let's go," Buffy voiced before heading out of the apartment.
A Slight Time Skip...
We had been walking to the spots that Rickie and Lily were known before heading to our stop. We walked into an abandoned building and saw a homeless man sleeping as we walked through the building. We made sure to not step on anyone as we felt the stares on our backs. We continued our way and turned the corner before we were startled by a man with his arms full as he walked the other way behind us. We continued before we noticed an old man lying on the floor. It was the same man that Buffy had saved from the truck, and next to him was an empty bottle of drain cleaner. I walked over and knelt next to him and felt a pulse.
"Any pulse?" Kate asked.
"No," I replied as I put his arm down.
"Wait, what was that?" Kyra questioned as we noticed half of a tattoo on his forearm.
"It's a tattoo," Buffy muttered as we saw the name Lily tattooed on the banner of that tattoo.
"Rickie?" I questioned in confusion.
"We need to head back to my apartment. Lily will be there waiting," Buffy voiced as I got back up with Cole's help before heading out of the abandoned building.
When we arrived at the apartments, we headed into Buffy's and saw Lily holding Buffy's stuffed duck.
"Did you find Rickie? I thought..." Lily said as she placed the duck down before stepping closer to us. "Well, he likes to go to this movie house. You can get in around the back..."
"Lily..." Buffy interrupted before saying. "I think he's dead."
"But..." Lily said with a lost and sad voice. "He takes care of me."
"I'm sorry," Kyra voiced.
"We're gonna get a place," Lily replied. "His cousin can get him a job at the car wash."
I could tell she wasn't understanding what we had just told her.
"Lily, there's..." Kate said as she exhaled before she continued. "There's something else." She sat on Buffy's bed.
"The... the person that I found... was old," I told her before saying. "He-he looked about eighty."
"Well, that's not Rickie!" Lily reacted.
"We're sure it was. W-we don't know how, but..." Buffy started to say.
"But, it was like something drained the life out of him," Kate finished.
"Do you mean like a vampire?" Lily asked.
"No, a vampire couldn't accelerate the aging process," Jeremy answered.
"Maybe something in his blood..." Buffy voiced before I had a thought.
"When was the last time you guys gave blood together?" I asked her.
"I don't understand," Lily voiced before suggesting. "Maybe it's not Rickie, okay?"
"Lily, this is something," Kyra said as Kate got off Buffy's bed. "You're going have to understand and deal with it."
"But he didn't do anything wrong!" Lily exclaimed as she became flustered before asking. "Why would this happen to him?"
"That's not the point," Kate voiced as Lily calmed down for a moment. "These things happen all the time. You can't just close your eyes and hope that they're gonna go away."
"Is it 'cause of you?" Lily questioned.
"What?" I responded with confusion.
"You know about... monsters and stuff," Lily voiced. "You could've brought this with you."
"We didn't bring anything with us. And we didn't ask for you to come to us with your problems," Buffy expressed with annoyance before continuing. "We just wanted to be left alone. If you can't deal with it, then don't lay it off on us!"
We watched as Lily held her hand up to deny what we said but walked out of Buffy's apartment. The girls and I sighed as Jeremy looked out the window.
Outside on the street, Lily had come out of the apartment building and started walking before stopping. She leaned against a storefront iron gate as a man came up behind her.
"Are you okay?" the man asked.
Lily shook her head as she tried to keep herself from crying.
"Hey, it's okay. Maybe I can help," the man voiced.
"You can't," Lily sniffed before taking a deep breath.
"Look, I know you all think I'm a big square handing out leaflets about hope," Ken voiced before continuing. "But hope is a real thing. Just like despair and hope can fill up a part of you, that's missing."
"But Rickie..." Lily started to say.
"Rickie? Say, are you Lily?" the man asked as he smiled before saying. "Right! Right, he was talking about you."
"You've seen Rickie?" Lily questioned as she faced him.
"Oh, sure! Rickie's with us now," the man lied.
"They said he was dead," Lily muttered.
"Well, someone's sure-handed you a tall tale. Rickie is no more dead than I am," the man lied before suggesting. "Why don't you come to Family Home? We'll get you taken care of."
Lily considered for a moment before the man smiled at her as she nodded in agreement. He took her by the arm and led her away.
After Lily left, we headed to the apartment for a quick dinner before heading to the blood bank. When we got to the blood clinic, we broke in and started to look through the records cabinets. Each of us took a filing cabinet as we searched for Rickie's records. We each grabbed a couple of files before closing our cabinets and brought them to a desk. Jeremy turned on the light as we started to go through them. I found Rickie's file and opened it before scanning his latest donation form and seeing the word 'candidate' in the comments box.
"Candidate for what?" I muttered.
"What?" the others said as they looked over at me.
The others looked at theirs and saw the same word as we heard footsteps.
"What are you doing?" We heard the nurse from this afternoon ask.
"Breaking into your office and going through your private files," Buffy voiced.
"Candidate for what?" Kate asked as she looked at another file.
"I'm calling the police," The nurse voiced as she walked toward us.
I reached over and yanked the phone off of the wall. It fell onto the desk with its wires torn.
"Now, you've got a whole bunch of candidates here. I wonder if any of them are missing like Rickie," Kyra voiced as we faced the nurse.
"Gosh, I bet they are," I expressed as I got a flash from another file of the same person from my last vision but with guards with a greyish tinge to their faces.
"You're getting yourselves in a lot of trouble," the nurse told us.
"We don't want any trouble," Buffy voiced before continuing. "We just want to be alone and quiet in a room with a chair, fireplace and a tea cozy. I don't even know what a tea cozy is, but I want one."
"Instead, we keep getting in trouble, which we are more than willing to share," Jeremy told the nurse as the nurse started to look nervous.
"What are you doing with these kids?" Kyra asked.
"Nothing. I just... I give him the names of the healthy ones," the nurse told us.
"Give them to who?" Kate questioned.
Across town at a building, the man that led Lily away was waiting for her outside a room.
"Well, don't you look nice?" the man voiced as Lily came out of the room wearing a simple long grey tunic.
"I guess," Lily replied.
"Well, you don't want to wear your own outfit to the cleansing. It'll get soaked," the man told her.
"A cleansing is like a baptism? Right?" Lily questioned.
"Not quite the same," the man responded.
"Will I see Rickie after?" Lily asked as she followed him down the hall.
"Oh, of course. He's waiting for you. He's very excited," the man told her as they continued down the hall.
In Sunnydale, the rest of the Scooby gang was walking along a cemetery pathway.
"Why do I have to be bait? I'm always bait," Cordelia complained as Oz twirled his stake. "Why can't Willow be bait?"
"He's already seen Willow," Xander voiced before saying. "And could you complain louder so that all the vampires leave?"
"I think this is a good spot," Oz told them as they all stopped and looked around before asking. "Is everybody packing?" Xander and Willow pulled out a stake, but Willow also had a cross. "Let's do it."
Willow, Oz and Xander split up before finding a spot to hide while Cordelia was alone and out in the open.
"I'm doing this for Buffy and Aurora's sake," Cordelia expressed before following after Xander and saying. "This has nothing to do with you."
"Yeah, like I needed that cleared up," Xander voiced as he found a hiding spot before saying. "Go away. This is my hiding spot."
"Where do I hide?" Cordelia questioned.
"You don't hide. You're the bait. Go act baity," Xander told her.
"What's the plan?" Cordelia asked.
"The vampire attacks you," Xander responded.
"And then what?" Cordelia questioned.
"The vampire kills you. We watch and rejoice," Xander joked.
Willow sighed from her hiding spot.
"Everything's a joke with you," Cordelia responded.
"No, just our relationship," Xander replied.
"What relationship?" Cordelia questioned.
Willow looked down at her stake as she contemplated using it on them, without realizing that the vampire they were looking for appeared behind her as he smiled evilly at her.
"Oh, that's right, I forgot," Xander voiced before saying. "We actually want to bury that piece of the past, don't we?"
While Xander was speaking, the vampire they were looking for was sneaking up on Willow.
Back in LA at the Family Home, the man and Lily walked into a room where a pool of black tar substance was.
"We come to this station to wash away the past," the man said as they walked over to the pool with what looked like black tar. "Go ahead, kneel." He indicated toward the edge of the pool.
Lily knelt as the man squatted next to her.
"We let the water run over the sin, the pain and the uncertainty," the man told her.
"It looks kinda... dirty," Lily responded.
"Yeah," the man said as he smiled.
After the clinic, we were outside the family home center. Buffy was talking to the men at the door.
"You know, we just... we woke up, and looked in the mirror, and thought, 'hey, what's with all the sin? We need to change. W-we're dirty. I'm bad with the... sex and the envy, and that loud music us kids listen to nowadays. W..." Buffy lied before realizing the men weren't buying it and said, "Oh, I just suck at undercover."
"Where's Ken?" I asked them.
One of the men tried to close the door, but Kyra blasted it open and slammed it into one of the man's faces. We marched inside and started searching for Ken.
Inside the room, Lily started to reach down into the black water pool but hesitated. Her hand disappeared into the thick pick black water as Aurora, Buffy, and the others came into the room.
We finally found the room. The door slammed open as we came into the room.
"This is a private moment. If you could just..." Ken started to say as he looked over at us and stood up.
"How do you make them old, Ken?" Kate questioned.
"Do you feed on youth? What's the deal?" Kyra asked him.
"Do you really wanna know?" Ken responded with a question.
"What's going on?" We heard Lily question as we saw her near a pool of black tar substance.
Suddenly, we saw Lily get grabbed by something as we started towards her. Lily disappeared into the black slime as Ken grabbed Buffy. The rest of us tried to get him off of her as he started to choke her before we fell into the black pool.
On the other side of the pool, we were in a dimly lit passageway as we fell from the ceiling. Our group looked at the pool for a brief moment before looking at Lily who was holding her head as she leaned against a wall.
"Lily," Jeremy said as we crawled over to her.
I could tell that Ken was hurt from the fall.
"Oh..." Lily moaned in pain.
Kyra, Kate, Buffy and I looked at the pool and saw the waves dissipate.
"Oh, my face!" Ken moaned as we looked over at him. "Ow! My face!" He turned towards us as he pulled his hair and face off. "Do you have any idea how hard it is to glue that thing on?!"
I gasped as I saw Ken's face. It was red and his head was bald. It was exactly like my vision. I also noticed that pieces of his skin that were missing were redder than the rest of him. Lily started to panic as we got to our feet. Buffy and Jeremy tried to pull Lily up with them as Ken yelled.
"Guards!" Ken yelled as he stood up.
Buffy grabbed Lily's hand as the boys grabbed ours before we started running. We ran through the maze of halls before coming out to a ledge. The room was like a large ironwork. It had huge vats of molten metal, sparks flying everywhere, and it was hot and smoky. My sisters and I looked closer and saw people being used as slave labour while the guards had whips to keep them in line. We also saw zombie-like humans pounding metal on anvils, pushing wheelbarrows from one place to another and swinging sledgehammers. We heard coughing as people worked and whips snapping.
"Welcome to my world," Ken said as he came up behind us before saying. "I hope you like it." Ken and the guards hit Buffy and the boys in the face with their clubs before grabbing onto us. "You're never leaving here." He smiled and licked his lips as the guards dragged us away.
In Sunnydale, Xander and Cordelia were still arguing as the vampire stalked Willow.
"Let me just ask you one thing: how long did it take to forget me? Were you still taxing down the runway, or was it actually in the cab?" Xander asked.
"Oh, yeah, Mr. Faithful? You probably met up with some hot little Inca Mummy Girl," Cordelia responded before telling. "Yeah! I heard about her."
Xander raised his finger at her and was about to say something when they were interrupted by Willow's scream.
"Help!" Willow screamed as she was tackled to the ground.
Everyone's attention turned towards Willow as they rushed to her aid. Oz got there first and jumped over the vampire before grabbing him and throwing him aside. Willow and the vampire Andrew quickly got to their feet as Oz held his stake ready to attack. Willow ran as Oz lunged for Andrew, but he diverted Oz to the side and sent Oz rolling to the ground. Xander came at Andrew with his stake ready, but Andrew grabbed his wrist with one hand and his shoulder with the other as they began to struggle.
"Xander!" Cordelia exclaimed as she watched them struggle with worry in her eyes.
She decided to join the fight as she attacked Andrew from behind. She pushed Andrew and Xander to the ground before they were sandwiched in-between Andrew. Xander was on the bottom as Cordelia was on top, while Andrew was between them. While Cordelia's weight was on top of Andrew and Xander's advantage against the ground, Andrew couldn't hold the stake any longer as it plunged into his chest. He exploded into ashes between them as Cordelia fell on top of Xander. The two of them looked at each for a moment before they grabbed each other into a passionate kiss.
Back inside Ken's World...
We were dragged into a cell, while Buffy and the boys were dragged in and left on the floor unconscious. Lily, Kate, Kyra, and I sat behind them as we leaned against the walls and pillars.
"Oh. Uhh..." Buffy and the boys moaned as they regained continuousness.
"Lily?" Jeremy muttered as they sat up and felt their heads for injuries.
"I always knew I would come here... sooner or later," Lily voiced before saying. "I knew I belonged here."
"Where?" Kate asked as we looked around.
"Hell," Lily answered.
"This isn't a Hell," Andy told her as he turned his head towards us.
I knew there wasn't just one hell, but many as my thoughts were interrupted.
"Isn't it?" Demon Ken questioned as he appeared on the other side of the bars.
We looked over at Demon Ken, but I could that the boys and Buffy were a bit dizzy from turning their heads so fast.
"Uh..." Buffy and the boys moaned in pain as they rubbed their foreheads.
"What is Hell but the total absence of hope? The substance, the tactile proof of despair," Demon Ken said.
Is this how Angel is feeling right now? No hope of coming home to Persephone and us.
"You're right, Lily. This is where you've been heading all your life," Demon Ken continued before telling her. "Just like Rickie."
"Rickie?" Lily whispered.
"He forgot you. Well, it took him a long time. He remembered your name years after he'd forgotten his own. But, in the end..." Demon Ken told her.
"Years? But..." Lily responded.
"Oh. Uh, interesting thing: time moves differently here than in your reality. A hundred years will pass here, but on earth, it's only a day," Demon Ken voiced.
"So you just work us till we're old and spit us back out?" I questioned.
"That's the plan. See, Lily, you'll die of old age before anyone wonders where you went. Not that anyone will, that's why we chose you," Demon Ken stated.
"You didn't choose any of us," Buffy voiced even though she didn't mean it.
"No, But... I know you...Anne, Pheobe. So afraid. So pathetically determined to run away from whatever it is you used to be," Demon Ken voiced as Buffy looked away, and Cole glared at him. "To disappear. Congratulations..." Buffy looked back at him. "You got your wish."
Demon Ken walked away as he left us to our thoughts.
A little while later, we were taken to a personnel evaluator. We were in before being herded back out as the doors opened. The girls and I tripped and fell as Lily and the others stopped. A guard started to explain as the boys helped us up.
"You work, and you'll live. That is all," Guard #1 said in a deep voice.
The guards had even less skin on their heads than Demon Ken. They were wearing a hood that looked like it was made from human skin sewn together. Their chins and cheeks were exposed flesh and muscle, and they had no lips covering their teeth. By the time the second guard spoke, we were standing, and Buffy was holding her head in pain.
"You don't complain or laugh or do anything besides work. Whatever you thought, whatever you were, does not matter. You are no one now. You mean nothing," The second guard told us.
The first guard walked over to a boy and faced him as the evaluator slammed close.
"Who are you?" Guard #1 asked.
"Aaron," the boy muttered with fear in his voice.
The second guard whaled on him with his club. The boy grunted in pain as he fell to the ground unconscious. Buffy sobered up as we stared intensely ahead.
"Who are you?" Guard #1 asked Lily.
"No one," Lily whispered.
"Who are you?" Guard #1 asked the next person.
"No one," the second boy responded in fear.
"Who are you?" Guard #1 asked me as he reached Buffy and me.
"I'm Aurora, and this is Buffy," I answered as I looked at him for a moment and smiled. "The Vampire Slayers, and you are?"
Both guards roared as they swung clubs to strike us. We sidestepped them before grabbing their arms as they bent over from their follow-through. I slammed my other forearm down on the guards and broke it before he fell to the floor in pain. I picked up his club and swung it at guard number #4 as Buffy did the same to guard #3 striking them in the head. We swung again at two more guards and knocked them unconscious.
"Anyone who's not having fun here, follow us," Jeremy voiced as we started to run.
The group followed us.
Sparks were going everywhere as we saw people working as we hid underneath a metal staircase.
"There's no way we get back up there without meeting new people," Leo voiced as we looked up at the guards.
"Okay, Lily, when the guards leave... and they will leave... I want you to take these people and get them up there, okay? Fast and quiet," Kyra told Lily as she looked at her.
"You're leaving me? But..." Lily started to say.
"Lily... You can handle this and 'cause we say so," Buffy interrupted.
"We've gone public," Kate voiced as a siren began to blare.
"Okay, quick, get them up. Go! Quiet!" I told Lily.
Lily started to lead them away.
"I'm sorry I said this was your fault before," Lily said as she walked back to us.
"Lily, this can wait," Kate voiced.
"Well, in case we die..." Lily started to say.
"Go! Go!" Buffy interrupted.
"Andy, Jeremy go with them," Cole told them.
Lily, Andy and Jeremy ran off to lead the group out as we saw two guards coming for us. Kate, Kyra, Buffy, Cole and I started to run as we tried to lead the guards away. We winded through the people as they blindly kept working.
"Get out of the way!" We heard a guard yell.
I could tell they were keeping up with us as another guard yelled.
"Come on, get out of the way!" another guard yelled.
Cole saw a pole jutting out of the floor and grabbed it before swinging it around and knocking one of the guards out as I kicked one of them with an aerial side kick. Buffy, Kate, Leo and Kyra were fighting their guards as Cole let go of the pole before we started running again. Moments later, we reached a platform and shoulder rolled onto it before rising to a standing position. We had five pursuers up on the stage and tried to backhand swing at us with their sledgehammers, but we ducked them and blocked their second swings. One of the guards kicked with his knee and got Buffy in the stomach, stunning her. Another guard punched me and knocked me to the floor. The same guards swung at our heads, but Buffy and I clamped our hands around the hammer's handle and yanked them up and over us. Buffy and I still had their hammers and quickly got to our feet as the guards rolled off the platform. I saw Kate, Kyra, Leo and Cole fighting the guards as four guards left the ledge and started approaching us.
With Lily, Andy and Leo...
They were leading the group up a set of stairs.
"C'mon, C'mon, everybody, go! Go!" Lily, Andy and Jeremy said as they ushered them up.
Leo was in front as one after the other quickly climbed up the stairs before Lily and Andy brought up the rear.
Back at the Platform...
The five of us continued to fight the guards. I kicked a guard in the face with a full spinning out-to-in crescent kick before he took the blow and fell off the platform. Buffy's guard swung at Buffy's legs with his sledgehammer before she jumped high to avoid the swing. I swung my hammer into the guard's face, knocking him down as he tried to get up again. I knocked him down again with a snapping roundhouse kick to his arm, which kicked his hammer away in the process. The guards got back to their feet. Buffy and I swung our hammer in an uppercut, striking them in the jaw and sending them flying off the platform in a backflip. Another two guards jumped onto the platform and tackled Buffy and me as they struggled to the hammers out of our hands.
Up above on the ledge, Demon Ken and two more guards came out to see what was happening. Demon Ken couldn't believe what he was seeing as he saw Anne, 'Phoebe' and their friends fighting the guards.
"Humans don't fight back," Demon Ken voiced as he watched from the ledge.
Demon ken watched as the guard on the platform tried to pound 'Anne's' head with his club, but her hammer held high and blocked his attack.
"Humans don't fight back!" Demon Ken said with rage as the guard dropped his weapon.
'Anne' swung down her hammer with her hands, which carried the guard's hands. She grabbed him by the neck, spun around once before throwing him through the air before he hit a steel beam and slumped to the ground. Another guard was up on the platform with a battle-axe. He was swinging it at Phoebe, but she leaned aside and missed.
"That's how this works!" Demon Ken exclaimed.
'Pheobe' managed to duck the guard's next swing, avoiding decapitation. The guard swung again from above, but she blocked his attack with her hammer. The head of the axe was embedded in the handle. 'Pheobe' did a front snap kick that dislodged the axe before knocking the weapon out of the guard's hands and spinning up in the air. She knelt and knocked his legs out from under him with her hammer before catching the battle axe as it fell. 'Pheobe' got to her feet before the guard to his before roundhouse kicking in the face. The guard went flying off of the platform.
"Get down there!" Demon Ken ordered the guards with him.
The guards ran down the stairs as they obeyed his command.
Down belong, Kate, Kyra, Buffy, Cole, Leo and I were still fighting the guards as ten more guards joined the fight. Buffy swung a backhand punch at his head, but the guard blocked it and shoved her out of the way. The guard she was fighting before punched her with a backhanded fist. She stumbled a little before recovering and ducking his second swing at her head as she did a side kick to his ass, sending him off the platform. Two guards climbed onto the platform before I threw the battle-axe at one of them. I watched as it sliced into his chest and the power that sent him flying off of the platform. Another guard tried to do a wide swing, but I blocked it as I grabbed his arm and sent him somersaulting through the air and off the platform. Another guard attacked as I smashed my elbow into his nose and followed with a full spin and backhanded punch to the head, the guard fell awkwardly. I felt a hit to the face as I was caught unaware and stumbled back. Four more guards surrounded Buffy and me. Buffy snap-kicked one in the face while I side-kicked another. Buffy's kick was followed by a full spinning hook kick to third, which smacked him soundly in the skull. One of the guards punched me in the face hard before making me stagger as I tried to regain my balance a second guard grabbed my neck and yanked my head up. Buffy was in the same position as me and was punched in the stomach as my guards tried, but it didn't hurt me.
What I didn't know, something was happening with Lily, Andy and Leo.
Down a dimly lit corridor, a group of people ran down it. Behind them were Lily and Jeremy as they rounded a corner. Demon Ken grabbed her behind before punching Jeremy. Demon Ken pulled out a large knife before holding it to her neck. She didn't struggle as he led her back to the ledge. While Jeremy got back up and slowly followed.
Back at the platform...
The guards continued to punch Buffy but did not succeed with me due to the protection spells on my stomach. Buffy and I finally retaliated as we swung our arms out, backhanded punched two of them, and high kicked the third, knocking him down. We swung our arms out in a wide arc and hit the first two with one, which knocked them down. A fourth guard roundhouse kicked Buffy in the stomach before trying with me, but I pretended he hit me and staggered. Two guards latched onto our arms before trying to throw us but managed to reverse the move and threw them off the platform instead. Another two guards dived for our legs, but we lept and pulled our legs into a tuck jump over them. We ran off of the platform and grabbed two poles. They bent with our weight as we rode it down to the floor below before starting the run again with Kate, Kyra, Leo, and Cole behind us. We didn't get very far when we saw Demon Ken returning with a knife against Lily's neck. We stopped in our tracks. The guards that chased us caught up and grabbed us by the arms.
"One of you fights... and you all die!" Demon Ken yelled as he let Lily go and pushed her to the side. "That... was not... permitted." He intently stared down at us.
"Yeah, but it was fun," Buffy voiced.
"You've got guts. I think I'd like to slice you open and play with them," Demon Ken responded with a smile and held up his knife before addressing everyone in the area. "Let everyone know!"
Lily cowered behind him as Demon Ken had forgotten that she was there.
"This is the price of rebellio..." Demon Ken started to say before he was pushed from behind by Lily.
Demon Ken screamed as he fell from the high ledge to the floor below. The guards holding us were just watched as he hit the floor bottom with a thud. We gave Lily a surprised look and quickly used the advantage and backhanded our captors in the face and the groin before shoving our weight and making them fall backwards onto a group of barrels. One of the guards punched high, but I blocked it. I grabbed his arm and flipped him over and onto a pile of burlap sacks. I jumped onto the pile and stepped across my fallen attacker as he tried to grab me but missed. I jumped high into the air and grabbed hold of a heavy chain hanging from above. I hand-over-hand it as quickly as possible until I reached the ledge. Leo and Cole had orbed/shimmered onto with Kate, Kyra, and Buffy were with Lily and Jeremy. We ran through the door and on our way to find the others, and they were struggling with a heavy iron gate.
"They'll be coming," Lily voiced as Buffy, Jeremy, Cole, and Andy crouched down to take hold of the gate.
I could tell they braced themselves for a heavy lift.
"Okay... this... works... the abs... and... the glutes," Buffy grunted as she and the boys began to raise the gate.
As she got it high enough, Lily waved for the others to crawl through. Everyone scrambled to the other side before the rest of us followed through.
"Buffy, you're going to feel that for a week!" Kate voiced as Jeremy followed, then Cole, and then Andy.
Buffy started to hold the gate over her head before squeezing her head and shoulder between the two bars to get to the other side. Suddenly, Demon Ken appeared behind her, bloodied from his fall and tackled her to the floor. His club went flying as the gate fell behind him. He screamed in pain as he arched up. Buffy rolled to a stop out of his reach before getting to her hands and knees. She looked over at him as he continued to scream in pain. We saw that the gate had landed on his calves and pinned him down. Andy, Kyra and Jeremy went through the portal to help the others through slime. Kate, Leo and Cole were helping the others from this side. I headed over to get in line as Buffy got to her feet and picked up Ken's club.
"You've ruined... You..." Demon Ken started to say as she approached him.
"Hey, Ken, wanna see my impression of Gandhi?" Buffy voiced before wielding the club back and bringing it down onto his head, crushing his skull.
"Gandhi?" Lily questioned as she went over to Buffy and looked a bit squeamish.
"Well, you know, if he was really pissed off," I heard Buffy say as Cole pulled me up and out of the slime pool.
On the other side of the slime pool, the homeless people walked out of the room after coming out. Lily, Cole and I helped Buffy out of the black pool. Buffy yanked her legs from the slim before rolling onto the floor. We stood up and looked at the black slime pool.
"What do we do about..." Lily started to ask as she pointed to the portal.
With a flash of light, the pool's tiles mysteriously matched itself along its edges.
"What just happened?" Kate asked about what we had just seen.
"I don't know, but I believe it's time to go home and pack," Andy voiced.
"Why?" Lily asked.
"It's time for us to return to Sunnydale," Jeremy responded.
"Lily, you can stay with us tonight," Kate expressed.
"If you don't mind the noise of packing," Leo replied.
"Okay," Lily returned as we headed out of the Family Home.
Twenty minutes later, we were back at the apartments and were to our apartments.
"I texted Elijah and told him to start packing Persephone's things," Cole voiced.
"Okay," I replied as we got to our floor.
We walked over to the door and Cole opened it. We walked in and saw Elijah putting things in boxes.
"Good evening," Elijah whispered.
"Hey," Cole and I whispered back.
"Let's get packing," I voiced before kissing Elijah and Cole on their cheeks before heading to the bathroom.
I walked into the bathroom and started the shower. I undressed and quickly showered before getting out and wrapping myself in my housecoat. I blow-dried my hair as I combed it before heading into the bedroom to get into my PJs. I grabbed a clean pair of PJs before changing into them. I went to the walk-in closet and grabbed my spelled suitcases and travel bags before opening them. I started packing all of my clothes into the bags before starting on my spell jewelry boxes and spelled accessories boxes.
"Here are a couple of boxes," Cole said as he came into the room.
"Thanks," I whispered.
I walked over to the shoe boxes and placed them in the box. I packed my laptop/charger into my travel bag before packing my work stuff into the boxes. We continued packing the boxes before we brushed our teeth. I headed into the nursery to check on Persephone. I walked over to the crib and saw Persephone asleep in the crib.
"Night, my love and sweet dreams. We're going home tomorrow," I whispered before heading out of the nursery.
I walked back into the room to see Elijah and Cole closing the luggage bags and travel bags before pulling back the covers.
"Night, Aurora," Elijah said as I got into the middle of the bed.
"Night," I whispered as I turned on my side and closed my eyes.
"Night, Elijah. Night, Aurora," Cole said as he joined me.
"Night, Cole," Elijah said as he joined us.
Ten minutes later, I could feel the sleep taking over me.
Time Skip
I woke to noise in the kitchen as the sun streamed into the room. I got up and dressed before opening the travel bag and one of the luggage bags. I walked into the bathroom and brushed my teeth before grabbing my spelled make-up case and toiletries bag. I headed back into the bedroom and placed my toiletries bag into my travel bag before placing my spelled makeup case into my luggage and closing both bags. I grabbed my luggage bags and travel bag before heading out of the bedroom to the living room, kitchen and dining room combo.
When I walked into the room, I saw everyone having tea, coffee, smoothies and Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins. I noticed that Jenna was here instead of being in Sunnydale.
"Morning," I said as I sat my luggage and travel bag next to the rest of the luggage bags and boxes.
"Morning," Everyone replied as I sat down.
"One Banana Berry Smoothie," Elijah said as he handed me a smoothie in a Disney Tumblr.
"Thank you," I replied as I grabbed a couple of muffins before asking. "So, what's the plan?"
"Well, first, we're showing Lily her apartment," Kate voiced.
"Then, packing the cars," Jenna told me as she fed Persephone her breakfast.
"Then, we're stopping at Farmer's market on our way out of town before heading back to Sunnydale," Kyra responded.
We continued eating and drinking our breakfast before getting up and walking out of the apartment before heading down the hall.
We walked until Kate stopped at a door and opened it before entering the apartment. We followed them into the studio apartment.
"Let us give you the tour," Buffy voiced.
"Here's the living room, Kitchen, and dining room combo," Kate said as she showed her the living room, kitchen, and dining room combo.
"This is where you'll sleep," Kyra told her as she showed Lily her bedroom.
"And your bathroom," I responded as I showed her the bathroom.
"This concludes our tour," Buffy said as she faced Lily.
"It's really nice," Lily responded as she leaned against the wall.
"All the rent's paid up for the next three weeks," Kate voiced.
"Rent is about $100 every two weeks," Kyra said.
"Everything like water, hydro and cable are covered," I told her.
"Who's the landlord?" Lily asked.
"Elijah and Cole are," I responded.
"I spoke to Mitch this morning at the diner," Buffy said as she pulled out her uniform and I placed mine on the bed. "He said you can start on Thursday." She walked over to the bed before laying her uniform on it. "He's, uh... he's kind of... repulsive, but, uh, he won't you a hard time."
"Um... We'll call and check up on you," Kate voiced as Lily sat down on the bed and placed her hand on Buffy's uniform.
"I'm not... great," Lily said as she looked at us. "At taking care of myself."
"It gets easier. Takes practice," Kyra told her.
I could tell that Lily was upset as she looked down at Buffy's uniform and the nametag pinned to it.
"Hey..." Lily said as we looked at her before asking. "Can I be 'Anne'?"
"Of course," Buffy answered as she smiled at Lily.
"Well, here are the keys," Kate said as she handed over the apartment keys.
"Yeah, we have to check everything before we pack the cars," Kyra said.
We all took turns hugging Lily before leaving the room.
After leaving Lily, we separated and headed back to our apartments to grab our bags and boxes to get them situated in the cars. I walked into my apartment to see Persephone crawling in the living room with no containers or luggage bags waiting.
"Where are the boxes and bags?" I asked Jenna.
"The boys took them to the cars," Jenna said as I knelt to Persephone's level and picked her up.
"How are Willow and the others?" I asked.
"Willow told me you sent a postcard from when we were in Florida," Jenna told me.
"I did that because it didn't feel right, that no one knew if we were okay," I responded as Persephone tried to pull my hair.
"I understand why you did that," Jenna said as the door opened to see Cole.
"Ready to go?" Cole asked.
"Yes," I replied as we headed out the door.
Cole locked up before we headed to the garage.
When we got to the garage, I placed Persephone in her car seat before doing up the straps.
"We're going on a little ride, miss Persephone," I said before closing the door.
I headed to my side of the car as Buffy got into Jenna's car with Jeremy and Rebekah. I got in before closing the door and doing up my seatbelt. Cole and Elijah got in after Elijah closed the trunk. Elijah started the car, and we were off.
Short Time Skip Later...
After leaving the apartment, we went into an indoor farmer's market. We looked around, bought some things and ate lunch before heading to the cars.
"Last stop, Sunnydale," Cole voiced in a subway manner.
We got into the cars as Persephone slept in her car seat before Elijah started the car. We were off once again.
Another Time Skip later...
Inside the Summers/Forbes/Lockwood/Gibert house, Joyce was trying to get a stuck utensil out of the dishwasher when she heard a knock on the door. Joyce looked up with a startled look. She frowned at the fork she pulled out and put it down before standing up, grabbing a towel and heading for the door as she wiped her hands. Joyce paused in the dining room for a minute before looking towards the door and wondering who might be there. She draped the towel over a chair and slowly went to the door. She opened it and found...
After a long drive, we headed for the door. Buffy knocked as we waited for Aunt Joyce to open it. Minutes later, Aunt Joyce opened the door. We were tired and dishevelled as we stared at Aunt Joyce for a moment. We stepped into her arms and held each other for a long embrace.
T.B.C
