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 as I woke with the light shined through my window. I knew it was a new day, but I knew something was coming our way in the days to come. I got out of bed before getting into today's outfit. I headed into the bathroom to brush my teeth and pulled my hair into a ponytail.
"Ready for another day," I whispered before walking out of the bathroom and downstairs for breakfast.
When I got downstairs, I headed into the kitchen dining room and saw Rebekah feeding Persephone.
"Morning. Mm, what smells so good?" I said.
"Apple Pie Cinamon Rolls," Kate replied.
"Here," Jo said as she handed me a smoothie.
"What's today's flavour?" I asked.
"Pumpkin Cheesecake," Jenna answered.
I took a sip and moaned before getting a roll and started eating. Sometime later, it was time for us to get to school. We split up in different cars and headed to school.
When we got to school, we met up with Xander, Willow and Oz before we headed to the library. Kate, Kyra, and I started laptops for our college projects due tomorrow. We also were studying for our midterm exams tomorrow, which were in class this time.
"A campaign is like a war. It's won or lost in the trenches," Buffy voiced as she looked at the whiteboard with pictures of her competition.
The board had pictures of Michelle, Holly and Cordelia with thermometers filled in red up to their perceived levels of popularity. Each of the photos had lists of strengths and weaknesses for each girl.
"Holly, Michelle, and our real competition, Cordelia, all have big head starts," Buffy said as she pointed at the pictures with a laser pointer. "Speaking of big heads, if I had watermelon as big as Cordelia's, I'd be rich." She set down the laser pointer.
Buffy smiled at us as she nervously fidgetted in her spot. While Xander, Willow and Oz looked like they desperately wanted to be away from here.
"Waits for the laughs..." Buffy said as her smile faded before continuing to speak while taking a few steps in front of the board. "Okay, you're right. Making fun of the competition only makes me seem petty. Now, this is just like any other popularity contest. I've done this before." She took a breath before continuing. "The only difference being this time, I'm not actually popular. Although, I'm not exactly unpopular. A lot of people came to our welcome home party."
"But they were killed by zombies," Willow pointed out.
"Good point. Okay," Buffy replied as she pointed at Willow and stepped over to them. "...here's the plan. Willow, I need you to make a database. See who's for us, who's on the fence and where our real crisis areas are. Oz, you take the fringe: musicians, those not normally inclined to vote. Xander, what..." She noticed Cordelia coming into the library.
Cordelia looked at the others. I could tell she was wondering what was happening while she crossed her arms.
"Uh, Cordelia... Okay, look," Buffy added. "I know this is a little awkward, but I don't see any reason why we all can't get along during this campaign this time," She took a breath before continuing. "I mean, we're... almost friends, and... we are all riding together in the limo."
"Yeah, great," Cordelia said before asking Willow. "Willow, how's that database coming?"
"Uh, it's... just about done," Willow sighed as she looked down in shame.
"Xander?" Cordelia insistently questioned.
"I got your new flyers," Xander responded as he whipped his head around to face her while thinly smiling.
"Let's get cracking," Cordelia returned.
"She's my girlfriend," Xander said as Buffy gave them a betrayed look while he headed over to Cordelia.
"It's just that..." Willow said as she got off the table. "She needs it so much more than you do." While she shrugged a lot as she made her toward Xander and Cordelia.
For what? Cordelia's just a rich girl who believes she gets everything. It's not like she needs it for college or university applications.
"As Willow goes, so goes my nation," Oz voiced as he got off the table and followed Willow while Xander, Willow and Oz hung their heads in shame and embarrassment.
"Thanks for what you said, Buffy. I think we're getting along great. Don't you?" Cordelia stated as she faced Buffy with her arms crossed.
I saw Buffy give them a look of betrayal and abandonment before Cordelia turned and headed out of the library. Xander, Willow and Oz gave Buffy an apologetic glance before they followed Cordelia out.
"Seems like a lot of fuss for... one little title," Giles voiced as he, Jenna and Elijah came out from where they were.
"Well, you know, it's no fun if you don't try your best," Buffy said as she took a sip of her smoothie.
"As long as fun is still in the mix," Jenna replied.
"Sure! It's not like anyone takes it that seriously," Buffy returned as she smiled.
Kate, Kyra, Persephone and I jumped as Buffy shattered her glass smoothie bottle before she gave Giles, Elijah and Jenna a smile.
"Well, I have to go. Have fun with your college projects," Buffy voiced as she headed out of the library with Rebekah behind her.
"Bye," We said as Elijah got Persephone settled and headed into the storage room/nursery.
Kate, Kyra, and I continued working on our college projects while the others finished their homework.
Outside in the quad, the Homecoming Queen Campaigning was underway. All four girls were trying to get votes from the students. Buffy and Rebekah talked with a small group of students while she and Rebekah handed out fliers. Buffy looked over her shoulder at Cordelia while Cordelia glanced at her. Cordelia noticed Buffy staring before she shifted her attention to her own group of people while they held her flyer.
Time Skip
It was nightfall in Sunnydale. At Trick's place, a man was checking his riffle while Trick walked past him. Two brothers wrestling each other as Trick strolled past them before he walked past Lyle and Candy Gorch as they were making out on the couch.
Across town at the Slayer house...
Dear Diary,
After school, we did our high school homework, submitted our college midterm projects and played a bit before dinner. After dinner, we did Persephone's nightly routine. We got things ready for tomorrow's midterm college exams, doctor's appointments, and the dance tomorrow night. I can't believe we're 16-17 weeks into our pregnancies. Anyway, it's time for bed, and we have a lot to do tomorrow.
A*
I closed my journal before laying it on the bedside table. I turned off the light before rolling over and falling asleep.
Time Skip
It was morning at the Slayer house, and only Buffy was still in bed. Buffy woke to find a note on her bedside table.
Buffy,
Aurora, Kate, and Kyra are at the university for their midterm exams. Persephone is with Elijah until after the midterm exams. I went to school early to help Giles, Klaus and Finn with the inventory. We will see you later.
Jenna
P.S. the cupcakes are in the fridge for your campaign, and breakfast is the leftover Apple Pie Cinamon Rolls.
Buffy put the note and got ready for school before heading downstairs. When she got to the bottom floor, she walked into the Kitchen dining room and warmed up a roll before sitting down to eat.
After Buffy was done eating, she headed off to school with the cupcakes still freshly made and her posters. When she got to school, she started day 2 of her campaign. She walked up to the board with pictures before stapling her larger flyer on top of Cordelia's photo and continuing down the hallway.
Across town at Trick's place, the spy brother's boss checked the maps and coordinates on his computer while the boys trained behind him. Another contender tested a bear entrapment in a different part of the house with a mannequin leg as he stuck the leg into the trap before the jaws snapped shut. In a separate area of the house, Kulak raised his arms and snapped them down with his forearms extended out at his waist. His forearms split open from his elbows to his wrists before two long green serrated weapons popped out of the holes and into his hands. He roared before having them at the wall, landing inches from each other.
Back at the high school, Buffy was coming down the stairs with a bounce in her step before fakely dropping her stack of flyers. She knelt and started to pick them while Scott came over and helped her.
"Sorry," Buffy said.
"Here," Scott replied as he handed her the flyer before they stood up. "I heard you were doing this." He looked at the leaflets.
"Uh... yeah. It's just something to pass the time," Buffy responded before adding. "It's silly, really."
"I don't think so. For what it's worth, you have my vote," Scott told her.
"No, I don't want you to feel..." Buffy started to say before reconsidering while smiling. "Thank you."
Scott nodded his head before leaving her. Buffy smiled to herself and pulled out her campaign notebook before opening it to a list of names. She checked off Scott's name before closing it. She noticed another boy walking by before tossing her flyers on the ground, making it look like it was an accident, again while bending down to pick them up with the boy.
A Short-Time Skip Later...
Buffy was wearing a Sunnydale High team jacket and was talking to a group of athletes wearing the same team jacket. They were smiling while Buffy made small talk. A little time later, she checked off a name before walking into the quad. Buffy spotted her competition about to offer a brownie to a boy before she walked over and gave him a big chocolate cupcake with red and yellow frosting. Buffy smiled at him before smugly walking off while marking off another name. As Buffy walked across the quad, she gave out two more cupcakes before walking over to a column and taping a poster. Across the courtyard, Cordelia gave baskets of sweets and chocolates to two of the students Buffy had given cupcakes to while Cordelia held a bag to dump their cupcakes into. Back across the quad, Buffy watched as Cordelia stepped over to a trashcan and dropped the bag with the cupcakes into it. Cordelia gave her a smug look and walked off.
Another Short Time Skip Later...
Willow was in the hall while looking at Buffy's and Cordelia's flyers on the wall before she started to walk toward the student lounge.
"Hey," Buffy said as she walked up to her.
"Hi! How are you? You good? You look good. Anything new?" a jumpy Willow replied as she smiled before continuing. "Hey, did I mention you look good?"
"Willow, it's okay that you're helping Cordelia. We're best friends. I'm not gonna hold it against you," Buffy told her.
"No, I'm not a friend. I'm a rabid dog who should be shot! But there are forces at work here! Dark, incomprehensible forces," Willow whined.
"And I'm sure they're more important than all we've been through together, or... the number of times that Aurora and I saved your life," Buffy responded.
"What do you want?" Willow asked as she looked at Buffy imploringly.
"Fifteen minutes alone on your laptop with Cordelia's database," Buffy answered.
"'Kay," Willow gave in with a squeaky voice.
They found a table by the window before sitting down while Willow slid her backpack off her shoulder and pulled her laptop out of her bag.
"Good! Oh!" Buffy said as she smiled while Willow turned on her laptop.
Outside in the same van that was watching Buffy, the two brothers were parked as they listened to a conversation. One of them was looking through binoculars while the other trained listening device and recorded the conversation.
"So, I spoke to the limo people, and we're all set," They heard Buffy say. "They'll pick up Faith, then us, and then swing by and get you guys. Now, what's your database tell you about my weaknesses?"
They continued to listen in on the conversation.
Back inside the school, after Buffy was done looking at the database. She went looking for another voter target before finding one. It was Jonathan. She talked while he ate the cupcake while they walked.
"You know, Jonathan, I've always felt a special bond between you and me," Buffy said as she had her arm around his shoulders.
"Cordelia gave me twelve dollars," Jonathan said with his mouth full as they stopped walking. "That buys a half dozen cupcakes." He took another bite.
Buffy turned and walked away before heading off to find Cordelia.
In another hallway, Cordelia was talking to another group of student voters.
"Are you kidding?" Cordelia said as she held her hand with two fingers spreading in the characteristic 'V' form of Star Trek Vulcan greeting.
"I've been doing the Vulcan death grip since I was four," Cordelia added as she smiled before poking a guy in the forehead a few times with her spread fingers.
Not realizing that she didn't know the first thing about Vulcan nerve pinch and not its proper name.
"So, you really are giving out money, huh?" Buffy voiced as she came up behind her with arms crossed.
"Is that tackier than your faux 'I'm shy but deep' campaign posters?" Cordelia responded as she turned to face her.
"Yes," Buffy returned.
"This whole trying to be like me really isn't funny anymore," Cordelia told her.
"I was never trying to be like you, and when was it funny?" Buffy replied.
"I don't see why your pathetic need to recapture your glory days gives you the right to splinter my vote," Cordelia stated.
"How can you think it's okay to talk to people like this? Do you have parents?" Buffy questioned as she couldn't believe what she was saying.
"Yeah. Two of them... unlike some people," Cordelia responded.
"Your brain isn't even connected to your mouth, is it?" a flabbergasted Buffy said as Xander, Willow, Jeremy, Rebekah, and Jo walked up behind them.
"Why don't you do us a favour and stay out of my way?" Cordelia replied before she started to walk past while putting a hand on Buffy's shoulder to push her out of the way.
"Don't ever do that again," Buffy voiced as she grabbed Cordelia's hand and pulled it off her.
"You're sick, you know that?" Cordelia returned as she jerked her hand away.
"Okay, let's not say something we'll... uh, regret later..." Xander said as he grabbed Cordelia's arms from behind.
"You crazy freak!" Cordelia called Buffy.
"Vapid whore!" Buffy exclaimed.
"... like that!" Xander finished his sentence.
"What did you call me?!" Cordelia screamed as Xander pulled Cordelia away Buffy while Jeremy and Rebekah tried to pull Buffy away Cordelia.
Xander led Cordelia away and down the hall while Willow stepped up to Buffy with a worried look.
"This is just..." Willow started to say before walking away.
Rebekah, Jo, Jeremy and Buffy walked out of the school as it was the end of the day.
After school, Willow and Xander headed to Willow's home to talk about what happened at school and get ready for the dance.
"...the worst thing that's ever happened. Ever!" Willow exclaimed as she and Xander walked into her bedroom.
She sat down on her bed before crossing her arms and legs while looking down sadly.
"I know. I know. It's just... when I look at you now, it's like I'm seeing you for the first time," Xander said as he sat down next before putting his arm around her.
"I'm talking about Buffy and Cordelia," Willow pointed out.
"Me, too," Xander replied while yanking his arm back.
"What are we gonna do? I mean, we have to do something. This is all our fault," Willow sighed.
"How do you get from 'chick fight' to 'our fault'?" Xander questioned.
"Because we felt so guilty about the fluke, we overcompensated helping Cordelia, and we spun the whole group dynamic out of orbit," a flustered Willow said before taking a breath and continuing. "And we're just a big meteor shower heading for Earth."
"Okay, calm down. Let's just put our heads together and think of something," Xander replied before taking a breath as Willow nodded and continued. "Okay, one of us here is pretty damn smart, and I am..." Willow looked at him while he continued. "...just in Hell. I-I mean, I-I thought being a senior at last, a-and have a girlfriend at last, w-would be a good thing." Before he asked. "Now, why wouldn't that be a good thing?" He noticed Willow's fixed glaze on his mouth. "What?"
"Sometimes, when you're falling to pieces, your mouth," Willow said as she reached up with her hand towards his mouth. "...it just does the sweetest thing." She smiled.
Xander reached up with his hand before taking hers and lowered their hands onto his knee while placing his other hand over her hand.
"What are we gonna do?" Willow asked.
"We just have to get Buffy and Cordelia to communicate," Xander answered.
"I'm talking about us," Willow voiced.
They sat in silence for a moment. A couple of minutes later, they got up and got ready for the dance.
Time Skip later...
After School, Buffy joined us for some in-home spa treatments before we got ready for the dance. We had our nails, makeup and hair done by each other before we each took turns getting our dresses.
"Aurora, you first," Kate voiced.
I slipped into my light pink dress before pulling the sleeves up.
"Can someone do the ties?" I asked.
"I got it," Elijah replied as he tied the ties of my dress up.
I added my jewelry and other accessories before slipping my silver stake into the holder under my dress. I got into my flats and did them up before reapplying my lipgloss.
"Buffy, your turn," I stated.
Buffy got into her pink dress, and I zipped Buffy's dress. Buffy added her jewelry and accessories to her outfit before she added her silver stake to the holder under her formal dress.
"Kate, your turn," Buffy said as she got into her shoes and did them up.
Kate got into her white and gold dress before Buffy did the back of the dress up. Kate added her accessories, shoes, and extra jewelry before adding her silver stake underneath her dress in her stakeholder.
"Kyra, your last," Kate voiced.
Kyra got into her purple sleeveless dress before Buffy did it up. Kyra got into her shoes before adding her jewelry and accessories.
"Well, don't you just look beautiful," Jenna said as she came in holding Persephone. "Doesn't your mama and aunts look pretty, Persephone?"
"Ma-ma," Persephone said before yawning and reaching out to me.
I took her in my arms before hugging her and kissing her forehead.
"Mama loves you, have a good sleep," I whispered before handing her over to Elijah.
We headed downstairs and into the living room for photos. We took pictures with just us girls before taking individual, couple and group photographs.
"The limos are here," Jenna voiced.
"See you later," Kate voiced as we headed out of the house.
The boys headed to the second limo while the girls and I headed to the first limousine as the driver opened the door. Kate, Kyra and I got in first, sat down and saw Cordelia. Buffy followed us in and sat down next to Cordelia.
"What's going on here? Where's Faith?" Buffy asked as she noticed Cordelia wearing a green satin dress with a corsage on her wrist.
Cordelia handed Buffy a card and opened it.
Dear Cordelia and Buffy,
We won't be riding with you to the dance. We want you to work things out your problems because our friendships are more important than who wins Homecoming Queen.
Your friends.
P.S. The limos weren't cheap, and the Mikaelsons paid half. Work it out.
P.P.S. And We're Sorry. Aurora, Kate, and Kyra. You are mediators tonight.
Buffy folded the note and set it down.
"Well..." I voiced as I noticed corsages waiting for us in small boxes.
"They bought us corsages?" Kate questioned.
I reached over and touched one of them and got a vision flash of two humans, two vampires, a hunter and a demon hunting us. I sighed before putting on the winter rose corsage before the other girls picked theirs.
"I took the orchid," Cordelia told us.
"Okay," Buffy said as she rolled her eyes.
We heard the driver get in and start the car before we started moving.
Twenty minutes later, we should have been at the Bronze by now, but we weren't. The driver continued to drive while we talked.
"I don't see what the big deal is," Cordelia told us.
"I'm not making a big deal. You wanted the orchid, and you got the orchid," Buffy replied.
"It goes with my complexion better," Cordelia voiced.
"It does have sallow tint," Buffy returned as the car came to a complete stop.
"Finally, we're here," Kyra stated as we heard the driver get out, but we also heard him take off on us.
We looked at each other before looking at Cordelia in concern. Buffy opened the door and got out before we followed suit with Cordelia behind us before she closed the door. We looked around and found ourselves in the middle of the woods.
"What is this?" Cordelia loudly asked. "Okay, guys, we've had enough of your stupid little game!"
I noticed the VCR and a monitor on a large rock before walking over.
"What's massively wrong with this picture?" I muttered as the others joined us.
We saw a sign on the DVD player saying, 'Press Play.' Kate pressed play before a dark-skinned man appeared on the screen.
"Hello, ladies. Welcome to SlayerFest," The dark-skinned man said.
We stared at the screen in disbelief but knew some of us were ready in case of a fight.
"What is SlayerFest, you ask? Well, as in most of life, there are the hunters and the hunted. Can you guess where you three fall? From the beginning of this DVD, you have thirty seconds..." The dark-skinned man continued before checking his watch. "No, that's seventeen now... to run for your lives." He smiled. "Faith... Buffy... Aurora... Have a nice death." His smile went huge as the screen went dark with the words SlayerFest appearing in Red and White colours.
"Hello! How stupid are you, people!" Cordelia screamed. "They are the Slayers and Huntresses!" She pointed at us. "I'm a Homecoming Queen!" She laid her hand on her chest.
We heard a distant gunshot before the monitor exploded. Cordelia gasped in fright before Kate took her hand, and we started running.
At the Homecoming Dance, Oz's band was on stage performing. Xander, Willow, Jo, Rebekah, Jeremy, Cole, Andy, Leo, Klaus, Finn, Sam, Dean, and Kol were watching them perform. Xander was eating a finger sandwich while wondering where Buffy, Aurora, Kate, Kyra, and Cordelia were.
"What has you all so mopey?" Faith asked as she came up behind him.
"Oh, we're not mopey. We're grooving," Xander said as he looked at her before pointing at the stage. "On Oz's band. He's a great guy, Oz."
"He wrote this song for me," Willow told her.
Faith glanced around the room before spotting Scott dancing with another girl.
"Sleazebag!" Faith said to the girls before she huffed and walked away.
"We have to find Buffy and Aurora. Something terrible's happened," Giles voiced as he rushed over to them.
The group looked at him but wasn't upset by the news.
"Just kidding. Thought I'd give you a scare," Giles added as he smiled.
Willow looked back at the band before Jeremy offered Jo a dance while Xander just stared at him.
"Are those finger sandwiches?" Giles questioned as he spotted Xander's sandwich.
Giles headed to the buffet table to grab some of his own while Xander looked back at the band with the others.
Back across town in the woods...
We jogged through the woods while Buffy and I scanned the forest around us. Cordelia followed us with Kate and Kyra behind her.
"I have an idea. We talk to these people, we explain that I'm not a Slayer, and they let me go," Cordelia voiced as we went from jogging to walking.
We ignored Cordelia's comment while we kept scanning the forest around us.
"Look out!" Cordelia exclaimed as Buffy was about to step into a bear trap.
Buffy quickly lifted her foot back up as the trap snapped shut, but we knew someone must be nearby.
"Get down!" Buffy yelled as she grabbed Cordelia and pulled her to the ground.
While the rest of us got to work on the person in question. Kyra used her powers and hurled the trap at the hunter. The hunter staggered back as it hit him before stepping into another. He grunted in pain as it snapped on his leg. Buffy and I hurried over to him before I grabbed the gun.
"That's gotta be smart," Buffy voiced as I pointed the gun at him.
"Now, we can let you off that, or I can put a bullet in your head," I told him.
"How many are in this little game, and what are they packing?" Kyra asked him as the hunter tried to pull the trap free from his leg.
He stared at us as he ignored the questions. Buffy took the gun from me before pressing it against the man's wound.
"There's me, two Germans with AR-15 and grenade launcher... yellow-skinned demon with long knives... A Vampire couple from Texas named Gorch," The hunter told us.
I groaned as I remembered the only surviving Gorch Brother.
"That everybody?" Kate questioned.
"Everybody who's out here. Germans are wired. Their boss is tracking them on a computer. Now get me out of this!" The hunter responded.
"Could I ask you an eensy favour? Could you tell your friends that I'm not a Sl..." Cordelia started to say before she screamed and jumped back as the yellow-skinned demon the hunter told us about sliced the tree in front of us.
We started to run away from the demon and tried to find a place to hide. I could only hope the others were having fun.
Back at the dance, Giles, Klaus, Finn, Sam, Dean, Cole, Andy, and Leo were eating from the buffet table while Faith moved around the table over to Scott. He was dancing slowly and close to his date.
"Scott? There you are, honey!" Faith said as she touched the couple before they pulled apart. "Hey, good news. The doctor says that the itching, the swelling, and the burning should clear up," She used a lot of gestures before her hands on his chest. "...but we gotta keep using the ointment."
Scott's date wasn't sure what to make of what Faith said.
"Hi," Faith said as she turned to Scott's date and touched her shoulder.
Faith turned back to Scott before grabbing him by the lapels and giving him a little pull. She let him go before walking off while an embarrassed Scott turned to back and looked at his date. Back at the buffet, the boys and Giles were munching at the buffet table before walking up to Willow and Xander while they stared into space.
"I suspect the... uh... finger food contains... actual fingers," Giles said.
Xander gave a quick disgusted glance while Willow sadly stared at the floor.
"I-I-I think I'll retreat to the library until the coronation," Giles told them but got no reaction. "I wanna be here w-when Buffy... Well, uh, however, the thing turns out for her." He took a breath before continuing. "A-and that was a fine thing you two did, putting Buffy and Cordelia together while having Kate, Kyra and Aurora mediate." He held out his leftover sandwich wrapped in a napkin to Xander.
"We'll join you," Klaus voiced as he and Finn followed Giles out of the dance.
"We did one fine thing," Willow said as she continued to look down at the floor with a frown.
"You thought it would help them," Jo told her.
"Yeah. They've been gone for a while. They must really be getting into it," Xander responded without realizing the danger his girlfriend and his friends were in.
Back in the woods...
We found a run-down cabin before Buffy kicked the door in. We rushed in before Buffy pushed the door shut with one while she held the hunter's rifle in the other. Kate put a chair underneath the handle to barricade it. Kyra went to every window and closed the shutters before drawing the drapes over them.
"We should be safe in her for a while, and you need to find a weapon," Buffy told Cordelia while the rest of us took our stakes out of our thigh holders.
"Safe? I'm not safe. I'm gonna die!" Cordelia panted in fright.
"Yeah, you are if you stand there," Kyra said as she shrugged while pulling another drape over a shudder before it came loose and fell to the floor.
I pulled the other drape across enough to block the view while Cordelia sobbed.
"I'm never gonna be crowned Homecoming Queen. I'm never gonna graduate from high school. I'm never gonna know if it's real between Xander and me or if it's just..." Cordelia sobbed before taking a breath and continued. "...some temporary insantiy..." She sobbed. "I loved him. And now I'm never gonna get the chance to tell him."
Buffy sighed and headed over to Cordelia.
"Yes, you are. We are gonna get out of here. We are gonna head back to the library, where Giles, Klaus, Finn and the rest of the weapons live," I told her.
"Then we're gonna take out the rest of these guys just in time for you to..." Buffy said. "congratulate me on my sweeping victory as Homecoming Queen." She and I headed towards the window.
"I know what you're up to," Cordelia voiced as we turned back and faced her. "You think if you get me mad enough. I won't be so scared." She took a breath before she told us. "And, hey! It's working! Where's a damned weapon?" She started looking for anything she could use as a weapon.
"You really love Xander?" Kate questioned as we continued to surveillance the windows.
"Well, he kinda grows on you like... a Chia Pet," Cordelia told us as I noticed her hold a spatula and head over to us.
"That's it?" Buffy questioned.
"Just this and the telephone," Cordelia voiced.
Then I remembered we had our cell phones. I pulled out my cell phone and saw I had no cell service. Damn it.
"A Telephone. And you didn't think that'd be helpful?" Kyra returned.
"No, this is better for..." Cordelia started to say as she swung it a few times to only realize it wasn't much use. "Oh." She exhaled.
We headed over to the phone while Kyra dialled the phone number for the library.
In Trick's place, the brother's boss was using his laptop while he tracked the happenings in the woods.
"You're about to see why Daniel Boone and that idiot demon are creatures of the past... and why I am the future. I'm picking up a signal." The boss said as he zeroed in on the grid on his laptop map. "They've got a phone!"
Back at the cabin...
Kyra was leaving a message for Giles and the others for help.
"If you get this message, Giles, get help and get out here..." Kyra said before she paused for a moment and added. "Hello?"
"What happened?" Cordelia questioned.
"It went dead," Buffy responded.
"Aurora, your phone?" Kyra questioned as she saw me put my phone away in a thigh holder next to my stakeholder.
"No service," I responded.
We started to pace and think about what happens next without realizing the danger outside was getting closer.
In the woods, the hunter was still trying to pry the bear trap open as Kulak walked behind and watched him struggle.
"Want me to cut that leg off?" Kulak asked.
"No, thanks," the hunter voiced.
Kulak gave him a disgusted grunt before walking off after the girls.
In a different part of the woods, two brothers were decked out in all black. They had their guns raised and ready while listening to their boss in their earpieces.
"Continue proceeding south ninety meters to vector three," they heard their boss say as they scanned the area as they went.
At the library, Giles, Klaus, and Finn had come in from the dance. They placed their outer jackets on the counter before walking towards the office. They made tea and coffee before Finn spoke up.
"There's a message on the machine," Finn voiced as he noticed the machine blinking.
Giles pressed play on the machine before taking a sip of his tea.
"Giles, it's me, Kate, Aurora, Buffy... and Cordelia. We're in a cabin in Miller's Woods, and we're in big trouble," They heard Kyra's voice.
They headed towards the weapons cabinet without hearing the rest of the message, but before they could open the metal cabinet. They were attacked.
Back in the cabin...
Cordelia was sitting on a cot while the rest of us tried to make a plan.
"Why is it that every time I go somewhere with you, it always ends in violence and terror?" Cordelia questioned.
"Welcome to our lives," I voiced as I stared out of the window.
"I don't wanna be in your lives. I wanna be in my life," Cordelia returned.
"Well, there's the door," Buffy told her. "Please feel free to walk out at any time and live your life." She pointed at the door with the rifle.
Kyra walked over to another window before looking out.
"All I wanted was to be Homecoming Queen," Cordelia replied.
"And that's all I wanted, too, Cordelia," Buffy said as she turned and faced her while lowering the gun. She sighed while liking at her outfit before heading to another window while telling her. "I spent a year's allowance to help make this dress." She looked out.
"I don't even get why you care about Homecoming when you're doing stuff like this," Cordelia returned.
"Because this is all we do. This is what our lives are," Buffy voiced as she lowered her head and stepped into the room. "You couldn't understand." She shrugged. "I just thought... Homecoming Queen." She smiled while Cordelia kept her mouth shut. "I could pick up a yearbook someday and say; I was there. I went to high school, had friends, and... for one moment, I got to live in the world." She smiled again. "And there'd be proof. Proof that I was chosen for something other than this."
Cordelia gave her an understanding look while Buffy raised the rifle.
"Besides..." Buffy added as she pumped the rifle. "I look cute in a tiara."
Cordelia let out a laugh before we heard a growl outside the cabin.
"Do you hear..." Cordelia started to say before the yellow-skinned demon crashed through the window.
He immediately grabbed Buffy and threw her down onto an old mattress and pillow, making her drop the gun. Kate and Kyra rushed to me and pulled me away from the fight. Buffy rolled out of the way before the demon swung at her with his blades, slicing into the pillow. Buffy rushed to the far wall and grabbed her silver stakes from under her dress while Cordelia slapped him on the back with her spatula. I tried to freeze his feet to the floor, but he kept moving too fast.
"Cor, the gun!" Buffy yelled as she blocked the blades with stakes and shoved them aside.
The demon fell before getting to his knees and swinging the blades at her.
"Ooh!" Buffy reacted as she got cut while making her fall.
Kyra used her powers and pushed the rifle toward Cordelia before she spotted it and picked it up. The yellow-skinned demon stood up and took another swing at Buffy, but Buffy grabbed the end of the rug and yanked it out from under him, making him fall. Cordelia raised the gun, waved it looking for the target and shot it but missed hitting a bottle on a shelf instead.
"Cordelia, the spatula," Kate voiced.
Outside the cabin, the brothers snuck up on it while listening to their boss.
"Prepare for lunch," The boss told them.
Back inside the cabin...
Buffy and the yellow-skinned demon were still fighting. The yellow-skinned demon swung at Buffy, but she avoided it and grabbed the hanging lamp above her while using it to give him a mid-air roundhouse kick to the face. He flew backwards into the desk against the wall before falling to the ground.
Outside the cabin, one of the brothers loaded a grenade into his launcher and closed the chamber before their boss gave them coordinates over their earpieces.
"Targets in range. Ready your weapons. Y-axis fifty-three degrees west by eight degrees south," their boss told them.
The second brother punched the coordinates into his targeting screen.
Back inside the cabin...
Buffy jumped down from the hanging lamp as Cordelia tried to get Buffy's attention.
"Buffy!" Cordelia screamed.
Buffy looked at her as Cordelia tossed the gun at her and grabbed it. Buffy aimed at the demon as he got up from the floor before he turned his attention to me and started after me. Buffy pulled the trigger, but nothing came from it. Buffy threw the gun at Kate, who caught it before blocking the demon's hit. The demon's blade embedded itself in the gun's stock before I took it from Kate and swung it around, pulling the arm of the yellow-skinned demon with it while pinning him down.
Outside the cabin, the brothers waited for the order to launch their weapons.
"Launch!" Their boss ordered.
The second brother pressed the button to launch it.
Inside the cabin...
We turned towards the window as a grenade penetrated the window shutter and fell to the floor. I could tell we were in danger, but before long, I could feel myself shimmer out of the cabin while Kate and Kyra orbed out with Cordelia and Buffy. We booked it far away from the run-down cabin as it exploded. The explosion knocked us to the ground as we panted from the running.
"We got to get to the library," Kate voiced.
We got up and started running through the woods toward the direction of the library without realizing we were still being hunted.
At the library, the surviving Gorch Brother Lyle and his wife Candy had the book cage door open and had found the weapons stash. There were a couple of battle axes and a mace on a table while Candy loaded a bolt into a crossbow before turning it and pointing it at Lyle.
"Easy, darling," Lyle said as he nudged the weapon away. "These things go through you faster than Grandpa Pete's chilli."
"I want to do Buffy and Aurora: my wedding present for what happened to your brother," Candy told him.
"Tector," Lyle muttered.
"When are they coming?" Candy impatiently asked.
"Well, he's their watcher, and they are someone important to them," Lyle answered while looking down at the floor. "They'll show... just as soon as they get rid of some of our competition."
They looked down to see Giles lying unconscious while Klaus and Finn were faking unconscious.
In Trick's house, the brother's boss tracked Buffy, Aurora, Cordelia, Kate, and Kyra on his laptop.
"They're heading west, back into town," The boss told Trick.
"They got away?" Trick questioned.
"Temporarily," The boss replied.
"Well, give it up for the Slayers. They got character," Trick voiced. "I'll take care of it." They heard a knock at the door.
Trick headed to the door while the boss continued to track the girls. When Trick got to the door, he opened it to find two police officers waiting.
"Evening, gentlemen, how may I help you?" Trick said before being grabbed by the officers and dragged out of the house. "Excuse me! Anybody got a warrant?" They dragged him off towards their car, and off they went.
Inside the high school...
Buffy, Kate, Kyra, Cordelia, and I were finally at the high school. We walked through the halls and headed for the library.
"The hunter and spike-head are down and out. We've lost the German brothers twice, but they seem to keep finding us," I voiced.
"Well, if we can take them out and the Gorches, we can still make Homecoming," Buffy responded.
"Those animals! Hunting us down like poor defenceless..." Cordelia said before adding. "...well, animals."
We walked into the library.
"We just need to find Giles..." Buffy started to say before being grabbed by a female vampire.
She swung Buffy around and let go, but Buffy maintained her balance and didn't fall. The female vampire kicked Buffy in the face, making her stagger a bit before grabbing her by the back of her neck. She shoved her into a bookcase, books fell, and shelves broke before Buffy fell to the ground. I tried to step up to fight her, but Finn stopped me as Buffy kicked Candy's leg out from under her, making her fall.
"Cordelia, give this to Buffy," I said as I handed my silver stake over to Cordelia.
"Buffy!" Cordelia yelled as Buffy scrambled to her feet before Cordelia tossed my silver stake toward her.
Buffy got my stake in mid-air before turning to face the female vampire. The female vampire grabbed the coat rack as she got up. Buffy lunged at her with the stake and impaled her on it before the female vampire shoved the base of the coat rack into Buffy's face, making her stumble back into the walls. Buffy fell over a wastebasket and into a potted tree before falling to the floor unconscious. I got free of Finn and ran towards Buffy as the female vampire dropped the coat rack and noticed my stake sticking out of her chest.
"Candy!" The surviving Gorch brother yelled with a look of terror as the female vampire Candy burst into ashes before our eyes. "Oh, Candy..." He headed towards us. "I'm gonna kill you, Slayers, for this? You hear me?"
Cordelia calmly stepped over and headed him off.
"I hear you, you redneck moron. You got a dress that goes with that hat?" Cordelia voiced.
"I'm gonna..." a furious Lyle said.
"Rip out my innards, play with my eyeballs, boil my brain and it for brunch," Cordelia interrupted him as I smirked at what she said while she continued. "Listen up, needle-brain. Buffy, Kate, Kyra, Aurora, and I have taken out four of your cronies, not to mention your girlfriend."
"WIFE!" Lyle growled.
"Whatever. The point is, I haven't even broken a sweat. See, in the end, Buffy and Aurora are the runner-ups. I'm the Queen. You get me mad," Cordelia said as she got into his face and glared at him. "What do you think I'm gonna do to you?"
Lyle was taken aback as he considered his next move while an impatient Cordelia raised her eyebrows at him.
"Later," Lyle said as he tipped his hat and nodded before leaving the library.
We heard Giles wake up and get off the floor. I looked at Cordelia, and I could tell she was impressed with herself standing up to a vampire. A couple of minutes later, Buffy had awakened from unconsciousness while I picked up my silver stake and placed it back into my holder.
"That should teach him to mistake you for a Slayer," I told her as Giles and Finn started to deal with the mess left by Gorches.
"Yes, I must admit I do feel partly responsible. I did give your friends your tacit approval to make the switch in the limousine," Giles said.
"Aw, it's okay. It gave us a chance to spend some quality death time," Buffy replied.
"And we got these free corsages," Cordelia voiced as she looked at hers.
Kate, Kyra, Buffy and I took ours off and looked at it.
"Oh, that's nice. Although, I don't recall them mentioning corsages or us getting corsages," Finn stated.
"The hunter... said that the Germans were hooked into a computer," Kate pointed out.
We looked closely at our corsages and found a small transmitter in each.
"And they're hooked into us," Kyra replied.
We all looked up as we heard a door slam out in the halls, and we knew someone was coming our way.
"Oh, God, get rid of these things!" Cordelia exclaimed as she quickly pulled off her corsage and handed it over to us.
"We need some wet toilet paper," Buffy told us.
"Yeah! That'll help," Cordelia sarcastically said.
Klaus quickly got the wet toilet paper and handed it to us. Buffy and I took the transmitters before we put them into the corsages and headed out of the library.
In the halls, the two brothers had pulled on their night vision goggles and scanned the hallways.
"Transmitting coordinates now," Their boss said. "They're fifty feet away."
They spotted Buffy and fired but missed before going after her.
After the german brothers shot at us, we ducked into a classroom. We hid until one of the brothers came into the room. We spotted the brother and got ready to throw the transmitter with wet toilet paper at the brother. Buffy and I raised from behind a low bookcase and threw a wad of wet toilet paper each at the brother's back before hiding again. Moments later, we heard gunshots until there were no more, and the brothers were killed. I could feel that their boss would think they had killed us, but in reality, his assassins were dead. We got up as we heard running and screaming.
"Aurora?! Buffy?!" Kate, Kyra, Klaus, Giles and Finn yelled.
"In here!" We yelled back.
They came running into the classroom while we survey the damage left by the shots and only saw the destroyed windows.
"We need to get to the dance," Cordelia voiced.
We headed out of the classroom to the cars and got in. We were off to the dance.
Across town at City Hall, Trick was still being escorted by police before being shoved into the Mayor's office.
"Hello! Nice to meet you," The Mayor said as he looked up and smiled before offering his hand in greetings.
"Yeah, hi, it's a pleasure. Where am I?" Trick replied as he ignored the Mayor's handshake.
"In my office. I'm Richard Wilkins. I'm the Mayor of Sunnydale. And you're..." The Mayor said while pointing at Trick. "Mr. Trick." He gestured towards a chair and added. "Please, sit down." He walked around his desk to the other side of his desk. "That's an exciting suit."
"Well, clothes make the man," Trick responded as he sat down.
"Well, as I understand it, you're not a man exactly," The Mayor stated as Trick nodded. "Mr. Trick, I've been the Mayor for quite some time. I like things to run smoothly. This will be a very important year for me."
"Election year," Trick voiced.
"Something like that," The Mayor returned.
"If this is the part where you tell me that I don't fit in here in your quiet little neighbourhood, you can skip it 'cause, see, that all got old long before I became a vampire," Trick said before asking. "Do you know what I'm saying?"
"Do you have children?" The Mayor replied as Trick smiled while he continued. "Children are the heart of a community." He walked around his desk again. "They need to be looked after. Controlled." He sat on his desk. "The more rebellious element needs to be dealt with. The children are our future. We need them. I need them."
"If this rebellious element means who I think it does, then that problem may be taken care of this very evening," Trick stated.
"So I've heard," The Mayor responded as he chuckled before continuing. "That's a very enterprising idea you have: SlayerFest." He laughed before telling him. "I love that name, by the way. You see, that's the kind of initiative I need on my team."
"What if I don't wanna be a part of the team?" Trick asked.
"Oh, no, that won't be an issue," The Mayor answered.
Trick stared at him as the Mayor reached into his desk and pulled out a thin plastic box before opening the lid.
"See, you and I are going to get along very well," The Mayor continued before offering the box to Trick and adding. "Moist towelette?"
Trick stared at the box with uncertainty as if the box contained holy water.
At the dance...
We had just made it to the dance. They were about to announce the winner of Homecoming Queen. The band's drummer gave a brief drumroll to get everyone's attention.
"Hey, guys, the moment we've all been waiting for," Devon voiced.
"They're gonna announce the Queen. Where are they? What's keeping them?" Willow questioned in panic.
We started walking through the crowd toward the rest of our group. We were a little dirty and very dishevelled from our ordeal.
"I'm gonna go with mud wrestling," Oz responded as he spotted us.
"Oh, God! What did you guys do to each other?" Xander questioned as Andy went over to Kyra and checked on her.
Leo and Cole did the same with Kate and me. Leo and Jeremy helped heal me. It was hard to heal me because of the baby.
"Long story," I voiced.
"Got hunted," Cordelia told him.
"Apparently not that long," Kyra stated.
Willow, Rebekah and Jo looked at us in disbelief.
"Tell you one thing, though: you don't wanna mess with Cordelia," Kate advised them.
"No," Xander nervously chuckled while getting a look from Cordelia.
Another drumroll happened as they got our attention.
"In this envelope, I hold the name of this year's Homecoming Queen," Devon stated.
We heard a few calls throughout the crowd, but before he opened the envelope made another announcement about an after-party.
"After all that we've been through tonight, this whole who-gets-to-be-queen capade seems pretty..." Cordelia started to say.
"Damn important," Buffy interrupted.
"Oh, yeah," Cordelia returned while the rest of us girls rolled our eyes.
"And the winner is..." Devon said as he opened the envelope and checked the name. "Hey, I believe we have a first for Sunnydale High. We have a tie." Cordelia and Buffy exchanged a look and smiled before he announced. "The winners are Holly Charleston and Michelle Blake!"
Michelle and Holly pushed past them as Buffy and Cordelia's smiles faded. Everyone around applauded as the two queens made their way to the stage. I could tell Buffy and Cordelia were in disbelief as Devon held the homecoming corn over Michelle's head and then over Holly's. The crowd continued applauding as one of the queens, Michelle stepped up to the mic.
"I'm just so honoured!" Michelle giggled.
I saw Buffy and Cordelia exchange another look before rolling their eyes as they started to go. I grabbed Cole's arm and followed them while Kate and Kyra followed suit.
"I can't believe it! I mean, that you would pick me... or us... out of every girl in the whole school! It's just... it's so wonderful!" Michelle continued as Cordelia rolled her eyes again. "I promised myself I'm not gonna cry..."
We heard sobbing as we headed out the door. When we got outside, Cordelia headed back home while the rest of us shimmered/orbed back to our home.
When we got home, we got out of our dresses and placed them back into their bags for dry cleaning before undoing our hairstyles. Then we each took turns in the shower and washing the dirt, grim and the hunt off us. The boys showered but headed to Jeremy's room for a sleepover while the rest of us changed into our PJs and headed to our rooms. I checked my baby monitor on my laptop to see Persephone asleep before grabbing my journal and started writing.
Dear Diary,
Tonight was going fine until we started being hunted for being Slayers. We stopped a hunter and a yellow-skinned demon... Killed one female vampire and got two German assassin Brothers killed. Buffy and Cordelia didn't win their campaign but worked things out. Hopefully, tomorrow will be better. This weekend, week and the following weekend are chock-full of more Halloween Fun. As well as we have Persephone's first pumpkin Farm visit coming up to pick our pumpkins for Halloween. Bye for now.
A*
I closed my journal and set it aside as Elijah walked into my room.
"I hope it's okay. Jenna tells me your aunt will not be here in the morning," Elijah told me.
"Of course," I replied as I tapped the bedside next to me.
Elijah came over and pulled over the covers before getting in. I shut off the light before we fell asleep after a long night.
