Ugly was probably the most polite word one could use to describe the demon sitting in a tank of filthy water with vampire minions scooping cupfuls of water onto his huge, blobby body to keep it from drying out as he berated them.

"Last night the fools I sent out to retrieve my amulet failed to return to even report their failure. Tonight you tell me someone already found my amulet and removed it from Gleaves' mausoleum. A century of searching for information on who had it, only to find out it never left Sunnydale and now to find someone stole it from the mausoleum before you could?! Do you at least have any idea who could have taken it?!" He demanded, hating the helpless feeling of having to depend on these useless morons.

"We've interrogated a local human who runs a Sanctuary bar." Vincent, one of his minions told him. "Something unprecedented has happened in Sunnydale, there are two Slayers here."

"Two? There's never two, how can there be two?" The ugly creature demanded.

"One of them died at the hands of Heinrich Nest, Master of the Aurelius Line. She was somehow revived by a human companion and able to destroy him. But her death Called a second and now they protect Sunnydale together."

"Those are the only two possibilities for who took my amulet, the Slayers or Wilkins, given he's responsible for my condition and wouldn't want me to regain my power. Grab one of each of their followers and bring them to me, I will get my amulet back and I will regain my strength." The minions hurried to obey as Balthazar dreamed of revenge for the humiliation Wilkins had inflicted on him by defeating him a century ago and crippling him in the process.

The minions, using information obtained from Willy, snitch and owner of Willy's Bar, a local demon bar, identified some of the Mayor's followers and the Watcher of the two Slayers and decided to grab the Mayor's follower first, as they reasoned, the Mayor had more to gain keeping the amulet out of Balthazar's hands and dragged the nervous little man before their Master.

"You're one of Wilkins' followers?" Balthazar demanded.

"Deputy Mayor Allen Finch." The frightened little man admitted. "My family has served him for over a century."

"Do you know who I am?"

"Um, Balthazar, he knows you're in town, his lieutenant, Mr. Trick, fancy dressed vampire, brought two of your swords to him after the Slayers ran into some of your vampires and slayed them."

"Do you know if the Slayers know who I am?"

"I don't know, the Mayor hasn't mentioned it. He would have mentioned it if he did know. He doesn't want trouble."

"I don't care what he wants, I want my amulet and I will get it! Does he have it?!"

"Again, not that I know, he didn't even mention it and hasn't, as far as I know, sent anyone to find it. He's never even mentioned you before Mr. Trick brought him the swords."

"So he humiliated me and then forgot me?! I'm going to enjoy butchering him." He flung out his arms and the little man was telekinetically drawn to him. "You're going to take a message to him."

"I, I am? What, what's the message? I don't have a pen and paper to write it down."

"You don't need one. You are the message." A distinctive snap, followed by a scream was heard as the Deputy Mayor's back was snapped, crippling him. "But since I don't want Wilkins to know for sure I'm coming after him, I can't let you just tell him, now can I? He needs to figure out the message, so much more fun if he's chasing himself in circles. Plus there's the fun to be had in just plain torturing you." Allen screamed again as one by one, every bone below his neck was broken. Followed by his skull. None of it enough to outright kill him, but enough to make him unconscious and to slip into a coma.

"Drop him on Wilkins doorstep and you'd better not feed on him, I'll know. This is my game!" He ordered his minions, who hurried to obey. "And my revenge. Wilkins may not have my amulet, bring me one of the Slayer's followers, let's see if they've got my amulet!" He ordered others, who also scrambled to obey. "The rest you, go after the Slayers, maybe one of you will get lucky and do us all a favor and kill them permanently!" The rest, nearly twenty, save for the ones tending to and guarding him, also scrambled to obey.

Which is how Buffy and Faith found themselves under attack from nearly twenty vampires at once. Which quickly developed into the Slayers working a rhythm as Buffy stunned and then threw vampires, one after another, at Faith, who promptly staked them.

While Richard Wilkins was discovering the still living, but definitely not talking, Deputy Mayor Allen Finch on his doorstep.

And Wesley Wyndham-Price, Watcher to the two Slayers, Buffy Summers and Faith Lehaine, who was running tests on the amulet in a science lab at the High School, along with Willow Rosenberg, found himself trying to fight off several vampires alone after Willow was knocked unconscious by a blow to the head from a swung tabletop microscope. The second blow to the head she'd taken in less then a year and the third time she was knocked unconscious. The first blow put her into a coma. This second blow caused a different problem.