"Helpless"
Based on the Episode Written by David Fury
The following story is copyright © 2022 by Mark Moore.
In Jenny's apartment, Buffy suddenly hit the floor hard on her back. She had her right knee pulled up to her chest. Faith crouched over her, holding herself up with her arms and grinning down at her. Buffy used her leg to throw Faith over her head. Faith flipped backward and landed flat on her back. Buffy did a kick-up, bringing her up to a standing position, and spun around to face Faith as she got to her feet. Faith hesitated for a moment before lunging at her with a wide punch that she easily ducked. Buffy came up behind her, and Faith turned around to face her. Faith tried a left-hand punch, but she inner-form-blocked it and flew into a half-spinning in-to-out crescent kick. Faith ducked it but got knocked off her feet when Buffy kept on spinning downwards with a back leg sweep, sending her to the floor. Buffy scrambled to grab a baguette from the coffee table and rolled toward Faith. She came up straddling her at the waist and plunged the long, thin loaf at her chest, stopping just short of penetration.
"Gotcha!" Buffy declared.
"Uhh! Right in the heart."
Buffy smiled. "Satisfied?"
Faith grinned. "Very."
Buffy was taken aback. "Okay." She set aside the baguette, stood up, and took a few steps away. "I didn't mean 'satisfied' like-"
Faith grabbed the baguette and got up also. "No, I-I wasn't trying to-"
"'Cause we're not having satisfaction in the personal sense."
"Of course." Faith exhaled.
Buffy smiled. "I should go." She walked past her. "Giles is-"
"-is waiting for you." Faith turned with her. "I..."
Buffy faced her.
"I know."
Buffy smiled. "Thanks. For the workout."
Faith nodded. "Um, am I gonna see you next weekend?"
"Um, actually, I-I do have a thing."
"Oh, a thing." Faith tried to be cool. "A date?"
Buffy nodded. "Nice attempt at casual. Actually, I do have a date." She stepped closer. "Older man. Very handsome. He likes it when I call him 'Daddy'."
Faith smiled. "Huh, your father." She frowned. "It is your father, right?"
Buffy gave her a big reassuring grin and nodded. "He's taking me to the ice show."
Faith sighed with relief.
"Which should be big fun. I could use a little fun."
Faith chuckled. "If you say so."
"Look, I know you probably think it's just a big, dumb, girly thing, but it's not. I mean...a lot of those skaters are Olympic medal winners. Every year, when I was little, my dad took me to the ice show on the weekend after my birthday, bought me cotton candy and one of those souvenir programs that has all the pictures, and, okay, it's a big, dumb, girly thing, but I love it."
Suddenly, the door opened, and Jenny walked in, carrying two reusable cloth bags full of groceries.
She kicked the door closed behind her and took a moment to survey the living room: pillows tossed everywhere, snack bags and crumbs on the floor, an overturned end table.
Jenny sighed. "Get a room, you two." She made her way to the kitchen.
"Would love to, seeing as I don't have one!" Faith yelled after her.
Buffy blushed.
In the Sunnydale High School library, Buffy was sitting at the table while Giles dangled a pink crystal in front of her. She played with a long, thin, translucent one. There was a rather large collection of crystals of various colors, shapes, and sizes on the table.
"This one?" Giles asked.
"Amethyst."
"Used for?"
"Breath mints?" Buffy looked up at him.
Giles was exasperated. "Charm bags, money spells, and for cleansing one's aura."
"Okay, so how do you know if one's aura's dirty? Somebody come by with a finger and write 'wash me' on it?" Buffy asked.
Giles set down his crystal, took off his glasses, and propped his arms on the table, leaning toward Buffy. "Buffy, I'm aware of your distaste for studying vibratory stones, but, since it is part of your training, I would appreciate your glib-free attention."
"Sorry. It's just, with Faith playing Anywhere But Here, I feel like somebody should be patrolling."
Giles looked over the crystals. "Well, Faith is not interested in proper training, so I must rely on you to keep up with yours."
"I hate being the good one."
"And as for patrolling, well, you'll be there soon enough." Giles was suddenly curious. "Why so anxious?"
"I guess it..." Buffy was suddenly self-conscious about her crystal and quickly put it down. "I just have some...energy to burn."
Giles put his glasses on, selected the largest blue crystal, and set it in front of Buffy. "Well, in due time, but, uh, for the present, if it's not entirely beyond your capabilities, try to concentrate."
Buffy sighed and stared into the crystal.
Later that night, in the playground, a vampire front-rolled down the slide and onto the ground.
Buffy ran down the slide after him and stopped next to him in a ready stance. "Wow, that was really funny-looking!" She grinned widely. "Could you do it again?"
"I'll kill you for that." The vampire jumped up.
"For that? What were you trying to kill me for before?" Buffy asked him.
The vampire swung at her, but she ducked it and came up behind him. He faced her just in time to take a roundhouse kick in the shoulder. He swung again, but she ducked it and punched him in the gut, then rose back up and backhand-punched him in the head. Then she shoved him back a step, so she could follow up with a half-spinning wheel kick, making the vampire stumble back and fall onto the carousel.
Buffy strode toward him. "Okay, so here's the deal." She raised her stake.
Suddenly, she was overcome by dizziness. She closed her eyes and stepped back unsteadily in pain. The vampire seized the opening and rushed her, grabbed her by the jacket, swung her around, and threw her onto a picnic table. She rolled off it and onto the ground. The vampire jumped on top of her, straddling her. She turned her head away in fright. He grabbed her right wrist with one hand and with the other grabbed her hand and twisted it around, hurting her and making her cry out. Her stake was now pointed at her own chest, and the vampire used his weight to slowly push it down at her.
"Lemme know if I'm not doing this right."
Her eyes went wide with terror as she struggled desperately with him. The vampire leaned hard on the stake, slowly pushing it closer to Buffy's chest. She struggled hard to keep him at bay, but she was losing the battle. In a desperate attempt to get him off her, she head-butted the vampire. He was slightly stunned and stopped pushing down on the stake but remained on top of her. She then slapped him in the face hard and shoved him off her. He rolled away and onto all fours. Buffy scrambled to get the stake, rolled back onto her back, and braced the stake against her chest, pointing upward. The vampire jumped to his feet and lunged angrily for her, landing on top of her and impaling himself. Buffy waited a moment before she shoved his body off her and raised herself into a sitting position. She took a few breaths before standing up.
The next morning, in the library, Buffy stood by the table, concentrating on a target that she set up against the railing of the stack level. She raised a knife and threw it. It glanced off the target and clinked as it hit the floor.
Giles came into the library with his briefcase and a cup of coffee and headed toward his office. "Bit early in the day." He sipped his coffee.
"Giles, something's wrong."
Giles stopped. "Wrong?"
He saw the target with a few knives stuck awkwardly into it. None of them were anywhere near the center.
"Ah. Perhaps you shouldn't-"
Buffy threw a knife and missed.
"-do that anymore." Giles set down his briefcase.
"On top of that, I got a bad case of the dizzies last night and almost let a vamp stake me. With my own stake!" Buffy told him.
Giles sipped his coffee again as Buffy threw yet another knife. It flew wild.
"I'm way off my game. My game's left the country. It's in Cuernavaca. Giles, what's going on here?" Buffy asked.
Giles sat. "Well, perhaps you've got a bad flu bug or something."
"No. No, not sick. I can't get sick. My dad's coming to take me to the ice show. If I cancel, it's gonna break his heart."
"Well, just, um, take it easy for forty-eight hours. You know, forego patrolling until you feel yourself again." Giles got up again and went to get his briefcase.
Buffy picked up a couple more knives from the table. "No. No, I just need to spend a little more time training."
She threw one. This time, it went very wild and broke one of the reading lamps. Giles didn't see it, but he sure heard it.
"I'm gone!" Buffy turned and left.
"Thank you!" Giles went into his office without looking at the damage.
Buffy and Tara walked into the living room of their house. Buffy closed and locked the front door.
"Buffy?" Joyce called from the kitchen.
"Present."
Buffy and Tara walked through the dining room and into the kitchen.
A large birthday floral arrangement was on the island, complete with helium balloon and card. The tickets to the ice show were attached to the card. Joyce was at the stove, making dinner.
Buffy saw the flowers and smiled. "Ooh, present!"
"Uh, they're not. They're from your father."
Tara smiled. "I think it's sweet that your dad wants to take you to the ice show like when you were little. Especially now that he's not around so much."
Buffy took the card and tickets from the arrangement and looked at them. She was disappointed.
"His, uh, quarterly projections are unraveling, and he can't afford to take off right now. He promises to make it up to you. It's all right there in the letter. Buffy sadly folded up the tickets and the card without even opening it.
"I-If you want, I could ask somebody to cover for me at the gallery. I-I mean...if you want me to take you."
Buffy thought about it. "Only if you really wanna go." She looked at Tara.
Tara smiled. "I'd love to, i-if it's okay with you, Mrs. Summers."
Joyce smiled. "Have fun, you two."
Later, in the library, Giles got out the crystals again and carefully laid them out on the table. Buffy sat and watched him.
"I think we should start with the grounding crystal again." Giles set the largest blue crystal on the table in front of Buffy. He absently set the box aside. "Now, look very carefully for the tiny flaw at its core." He leaned against the table.
Buffy started to concentrate on the crystal. At its center was a small stake-shaped flaw in an otherwise nearly clear blue crystal. Buffy heard faint wind chimes and slowly went into a trance.
Giles leaned over further and looked into her face. "Buffy?"
Satisfied that she was caught in the crystal's thrall, he pulled a small case from his briefcase, set it on the table, and opened it. Inside was a hypodermic needle, a test tube full of a clear yellow liquid, and an alcohol-soaked gauze pad. Keeping a careful eye on Buffy, he took the pad and leaned toward her. He took her arm, pushed up her sleeve, and wiped the pad on a spot near the inside of her elbow. He filled the syringe, tapped it to get any air bubbles to the tip, and pushed on the plunger until the fluid began to squirt out. Again, he checked to be sure Buffy was under, then he took her arm in one hand and, with the other, stuck in the needle. Slowly, he depressed the plunger, all of the while keeping an eye on his charge. She didn't stir in the least. He pulled the needle back out. Buffy did not bleed from the site. Quickly, he put everything away. Buffy remained in the crystal's thrall. Giles sat on the table, trying to be casual, and waved his hand between Buffy and the crystal. She came out of her trance and looked up at him.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Buffy rubbed her temples. "Did I zone out on you? It's just...I'm nursing that flu bug."
"It's best to take care of that. Perhaps we should, um..."
"Call it a night." Buffy sighed. "Yeah, that's a good idea. Thanks." She got up weakly and groaned as she walked out of the library.
Giles smiled to himself. "Good night."
The next day, at Sunnydale High, Buffy and Tara walked from the stairs in the quad. They heard a boy raising his voice and looked in his direction. He was talking to Harmony.
"You don't do that to me! I waited for you at the Bronze all night!"
"And the big deal is?" Harmony asked him.
"You made me look like some kind of dork in front of my posse!" He grabbed her arm.
Harmony was offended and slapped his arm away. "First of all, 'posse'? Passé! Second of all, anyone with a teaspoon of brains knows not to take my flirting seriously."
She tried to leave, but he grabbed her by both shoulders and pushed her against a tree.
"Hey! I'm not through here."
Buffy immediately moved in and grabbed the boy's arm. "Oh, I beg to differ."
She tried to yank at it but found she had absolutely no strength. He scoffed at her and nudged her away rather hard. Buffy fell backward, stumbled onto a bench, and rolled off onto the ground.
Harmony was incensed and shoved him away from her. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"
"Ow."
She started pounding him in the chest with punches. He quickly backed away, but Harmony kept up with him and wouldn't let up.
"God, the chick started it!" the boy cried.
Tara got down to her knees to help Buffy up. "Are you okay?"
Buffy slowly sat up, very confused.
In the hall, Giles was heading toward the library with a stack of magazines.
Buffy caught up with him. "Okay, I just got swatted down by some no-neck and rescued by Harmony. What the hell is happening?"
"I'm sure it'll sort itself out."
Buffy was desperate to know. "You're not getting the big picture here. I-I have no strength. I have no coordination. I throw knives like-"
"A girl?"
Buffy was confused by his reaction. "Like I'm not a Slayer."
Giles sighed. "For whatever reason, you kept your Slayer powers even after you died, and, through a fluke, there are now two Slayers. It's possible that your Slayer powers left you and were given to Faith. Look, Buffy, I-I-I assure you, um...given time...w-w-we'll get to the bottom of - of whatever's causing this, um...anomaly."
"Promise me."
"Yes. I give you my word." Giles headed down the hall for his library.
Inside an abandoned boardinghouse, Quentin Travers, a member of the Watchers Council, and Giles were sharing a cup of tea. The place was dark and musty. A few of the wall lamps were lit, and there was a fire going in the fireplace. It was clear, though, that no one had lived here for years. The furniture was torn, and the books on the shelves were strewn about. The windows were bricked shut.
"You're having doubts. Cruciamentum is not easy...for Slayer or Watcher. But it's been done this way for a dozen centuries. Whenever a Slayer commits murder and is found guilty. It's justice."
"It's an archaic exercise in cruelty. To lock her in this...tomb...weakened, defenseless." Giles looked at the crate behind him. "And to unleash that on her." He stared at the crate in the other room for a long moment before turning back to Quentin. "If any one of the Council still had actual contact with a Slayer, they would see, but I'm the one in the thick of it."
"Which is why you're not qualified to make this decision. You're too close."
"That's not true."
"Look at it this way. A Slayer is not just physical prowess. She must have cunning, imagination, a confidence derived from self-reliance. Once this is all over, if she survives, your Buffy will be stronger for it."
"Or she'll be dead for it."
"That is the aim, yes. It is effectively a death sentence, after all." Quentin calmly sipped his tea.
Giles fumed.
"Rupert, if this girl is everything you say, then you've nothing to worry about."
Giles wasn't so sure. He set down his cup, stood up, put on his glasses, and left without saying a word.
In the library, Buffy and Tara were at the table, doing research into Buffy's condition.
Buffy dropped her book onto the table, got up, and walked toward the stairs.
Tara got up and followed. "Buffy."
They stopped.
"I hope you get your powers back."
"Thanks, Tara." Buffy started up to the stacks.
"But what if you don't?"
Buffy stopped and sighed. "Okay...if I don't get my powers back, then I don't. I'll deal. I lived a long time without them. I can do it again. My strength comes from more than my Slayer powers."
Giles walked into the library.
Buffy ran up to him. "Giles. Did you find anything?"
"Uh, no. Not yet."
Tara walked over to Buffy. "Sweetie, let's call it a night. We'll have a nice, quiet celebration at home."
Later, in their living room, Buffy and Tara were sitting on the couch. Buffy unwrapped a book, Tara's birthday gift to her. She opened it and leafed through it. It was a copy of Shadows over Innsmouth, an anthology collection that included "The Shadow Over Innsmouth" by H. P. Lovecraft and works by other authors. On the title page, Tara had written "To My Dearest Buffy, Love, Tara".
Buffy was on the verge of tears. "Thank you. That's beautiful."
"You really like it?" Tara asked her.
"Of course, I do. It's sweet and thoughtful and...full of neat words to learn." Buffy kissed Tara on the lips.
Tara smiled. "I love you."
Buffy smiled. "I love you, too. But will you still love me if I become helpless and boring?"
"Buffy, you could never be helpless or boring, not even if you tried."
Buffy raised her eyebrows. "Don't be so sure. Before I was a Slayer, I was..." She paused in consideration. "Well, I-I don't wanna say shallow, but...let's say Cordelia looked like a classical philosopher next to me."
Tara laughed out loud. Buffy couldn't help but join in.
"So...about time we shower and...get to bed, huh?" Tara suggested flirtatiously.
Buffy smiled. "You know I love a good birthday fuck, but I'm gonna get some exercise in first and try to strengthen my weak muscles."
Later that night, Giles opened the door to the boardinghouse and took a tentative look inside. Everything seemed quiet.
"Quentin?"
He stepped in and closed the door, still wary of the place. He went into the sitting room. Nothing seemed amiss. He walked back out and down the hall, looking up the stairs. Still, all seemed well, but it was just too quiet. He took a few steps up to the landing.
"Hello? Quentin? Hob-"
He noticed the stair railing felt clammy and looked at his hand. It was covered with fresh blood. From the landing, he looked into the other room and saw the closed crate standing there. He rushed down the stairs and looked for a weapon. He grabbed one of the stair rail supports and broke it out with the heel of his other hand. He headed straight for the crate, intending to kill whatever was inside, but found it empty. Alarmed, he looked around and then down at the floor. There, he saw tracks of blood leading into the kitchen. He followed them, ready for anything. Holding his makeshift stake up and ready, he grabbed the doorknob and swung it open, but nothing was there to meet him. He searched for the light switch, first on one side, then the other, and flipped it on when he found it. He saw what was left of Hobson lying on the table. It looked like he had received a horrific mauling. Giles immediately dropped the stake, backed out of the kitchen, put his hand to his mouth, and did his best not to vomit. Quickly, he regained his composure and made tracks out of the house.
Buffy went out for a jog. She watched as a car passed and then stepped into the street to cross it. Near the other side of the street, she walked past a couple of guys just hanging out by a car.
"Let's find out. Hey, sweet girl!" one of them called.
Buffy stopped cold.
"How much for a blowjob for me and my buddy?"
They laughed to themselves. Buffy began to turn around but thought better of taking them on in her weakened state. She continued along the street.
She rounded a corner and heard humming but didn't see anyone around. She stopped and looked behind her but saw no one there either.
She started to walk again as she turned back and ran right into a vampire. He held onto her by the arms while she tried to pull away.
"Let me go."
She pulled harder, and he yanked her back.
"You didn't say please!"
Buffy started to struggle in earnest. "Help me! Somebody, please!"
She got her left arm loose, pulled her right arm out of her jacket, and let her left arm slip out of the other sleeve as she began to run. Another vampire headed her off and roared at her. She screamed and began to run back the other way, dodging the first vampire, who made no move to give chase. The second vampire, however, continued to run after her.
"Help me, please! Somebody!" Buffy screamed in desperation.
She turned and ran along an alley behind a row of houses.
"Somebody, please help me!" Buffy cried.
At the far end of the alley, she encountered a fence. She tried to climb it but didn't have the strength. She dropped back down, checked behind her, and saw the vampire coming. She looked down and saw the fence had been cut at the base, and so she quickly got down and crawled through it. He caught up and grabbed her by the leg. She kept crawling, making him lose his balance and grip, but he scrambled to grab her foot. He couldn't get a good hold of it, though, and Buffy slipped through and began to run.
Buffy ran into the street and tried to flag down a car. "Stop! Please, I need help!"
The driver honked his horn and swerved sharply to get around her, but he just kept going.
"Please, stop!" Buffy begged.
She looked over at the vampire and saw him climbing the fence. Another car honked at her and screeched around her. A third car came in the other direction. Buffy thought she recognized it. She did when it stopped.
Giles pushed open the passenger-side door. "Hurry!"
She jumped in, and Giles gunned it just as the vampire got there. He grabbed the door and got his feet up just inside the car. Buffy hit him repeatedly as they sped along, and eventually he couldn't hold on any longer. He dropped out of the car.
In the library, Buffy was sitting at the table, wrapped in a blanket. "When I hit him, it felt like my arm was broken; it hurt so much. I can't be helpless like that. Giles, please, we have to figure out what's happening to me."
Giles opened his briefcase and pulled out the case with the syringe. He opened it, let out a deep sigh, and set it in front of her. "It's an organic compound...of muscle relaxants and adrenal suppressors. The effect is temporary. You'll be yourself again in a few days."
Buffy couldn't believe her ears or eyes. She reached out to the tube of liquid and touched it. "You?"
"It's your punishment, Buffy." Giles took off his glasses. "It's given to any Slayer that has been convicted of murder. You were tried in absentia by the Watchers Council and found guilty of one count of murder and one count of abusing your Slayer powers." He swallowed hard. "The Slayer is disabled and then entrapped with a vampire foe whom she is not expected to defeat." He paced toward his office. "The vampire you were to face...has escaped." He stopped at the door, facing away from her. "His name is Zackary Kralik. As a mortal, he murdered and tortured more than a dozen women before he was committed to an asylum for the criminally insane. When a vamp-"
Buffy stood up and threw the syringe case at him but missed, hitting the wall beside him. She sobbed angrily. "You fucking bastard. All this time, you saw what it was doing to me. All this time, and you didn't say a word!"
Giles faced her. "I wanted to."
Buffy sobbed. "Liar."
"In matters of tradition and protocol, I must answer to the Council."
"Fuck the Council!" Buffy ran her hands through her hair in disbelief of her betrayal.
"My role in this...was very specific. I was to administer the injections and to direct you to the old boardinghouse on Prescott Lane."
Buffy cried and shook her head. "I can't...I can't hear this."
"Buffy, please."
Buffy looked him in the face. "Who are you?" She lowered her hands. "How could you do this to me?"
Giles reached out to her. "I am deeply sorry, Buffy, and you have to understand-"
Buffy backed away, shaking with hatred, and warned him off with her hand. "If you touch me, I'll kill you."
Giles lowered his hand. "You have to listen to me. I will attempt to keep you safe, I promise you. Now, whatever I have to do to deal with Kralik...and to win back your trust-"
"You stuck a needle in me. You poisoned me!" Buffy interrupted, sobbing.
Behind them, Cordelia walked into the library. "What's going on?" She saw Buffy's tear-streaked face. "Oh, God. Is the world ending? I have to research a paper on Bosnia for tomorrow, but, if the world's ending, I'm not gonna bother."
Buffy started to walk out of the library.
"You can't walk home alone, Buffy. It isn't safe."
Buffy stopped. Cordelia didn't understand and looked at her.
Buffy faced away. "I don't know you."
Cordelia faced Giles. "Did something take her memory?" She turned to Buffy. "He's Giles. Giiillles." She grinned. "He hangs out here a lot."
Buffy turned around. "Cordelia, could you please drive me home?"
Cordelia was surprised and looked at Buffy in concern. "Of course."
Buffy turned and walked out.
Cordelia looked at Giles. "But if the world doesn't end, I'm gonna need a note." She followed Buffy out of the library.
Cordelia pulled up in front of Buffy's house and parked her car. She looked at Buffy. "Are you gonna be okay?"
Buffy shook her head. "I dunno. Vampires, I can handle...usually. But what do I do when people want me dead?"
"Fight back."
Buffy stared at her for a long moment. Then they hugged each other.
When they released each other, Buffy unfastened her seatbelt, unlocked and opened the passenger-side door, and got out of Cordelia's car. She closed the door, and Cordelia drove off.
Buffy walked up to the front porch and saw the front door standing open. Concerned, she walked into the house.
"Tara?" Buffy called.
There was no response.
"Mom, you home yet?" Buffy called.
No response.
She noticed something. Taped to the door frame was a Polaroid photo. She pulled it down to look at it. It was of her mother with Kralik behind her, holding her by the neck. She turned the picture over, and on the back was written "come".
Soon, up in her room, Buffy had a heavy leather bag open on her bed. She pulled a knife and several stakes from her trunk and dropped them into the bag. At her desk, she opened the top left drawer with her Slayer stuff and pulled out a bottle of holy water. This she dropped into the pocket of her overalls. She closed the bag and heaved it up by the strap and onto her shoulder. It was very heavy, and she had to lean to the side quite a bit to counterbalance it as she walked out of her room.
Tara walked up the stairs at that moment. "Buffy, what's going on?"
"Where were you?" Buffy asked.
"I went out looking for you when you didn't come home. Is something wrong?"
Buffy headed down the stairs. "Long story. Short version is Giles is an asshole, and Mom's been kidnapped by a vampire. I'm going to rescue her."
Tara followed Buffy down the stairs. "I'm coming with you."
"No. Stay inside. Lock the doors."
"But your powers-"
"They'll come back." Buffy faced Tara and kissed her on the lips. "I love you."
Tara was worried, thinking that had a finality to it. "I love you, too, sweetie. Stay safe."
Buffy turned and headed out the front door. Tara closed and locked it.
Buffy arrived at the abandoned boardinghouse. The sign outside read "Sunnydale Arms, Rooms for Let, Breakfast Included, Inquire Within". Buffy opened the front door quietly and looked in. She had her crossbow up and ready. The front rooms were empty and quiet, so she stepped in.
She took one of her stakes and put it down between the door and the frame to keep it open. Again, she raised her bow and looked around the front rooms. She stepped in further and looked through the archway into the sitting room. The fire was going there. She walked once around the room and then set her bag down on the old couch. She continued to explore the area quietly, fearful and nervous. She approached a door and cautiously took hold of the knob. Quickly, she twisted it and pulled the door open, only to find it had been bricked up on the other side. She closed it.
The door leading outside closed, and the latch echoed loudly. Buffy spun around to face the noise.
In Giles' office, he was on the phone, trying to reach Quentin. The other end of the line kept ringing. Just then, Quentin arrived at the door and walked in.
Giles saw him and set the phone back down in its cradle. "I was just trying to reach you."
"I was on watch over by the boardinghouse." Quentin paced away.
"Then you know what's happened."
"Yes."
Giles was angry. "He's killed Hobson and made Blair one of his own. Your perfectly-controlled punishment seems to have spun rather impressively out of control, don't you think?"
Quentin turned and gave him a long look, then paced back the other way to the teapot. "It changes nothing." He lifted the lid from the teapot.
"Well, then, allow me." Giles leaned on his desk. "I've told Buffy everything."
Quentin looked up from the teapot. "That is in direct opposition to the Council's orders." He set the lid back down.
"Yes." Giles crossed his arms. "Interestingly, I don't give a rat's ass about the Council's orders. There will be no execution."
Quentin poured a cup of tea. "The execution has already begun. Your Slayer entered the field of play about ten minutes ago."
Giles stood up, surprised. "Why?"
"I don't know. I returned there just as she entered."
Giles grabbed his keys from his desk and started out of the office.
Quentin tried to stop him. "Now, Giles, we've no business-"
Giles grabbed him by the coat and shoved him up against the door frame. "This is not business!" He let the man go and strode out of the library.
In the boardinghouse, Buffy slowly moved out of the sitting room, back into the foyer. She looked around before entering it, then went back over to the door to check it. It was locked shut. She yanked at it several times, but she couldn't budge it. Blair came up behind her and growled. Buffy spun around and aimed the crossbow at him. She pulled the trigger, but the bolt flew right past his face. Blair grabbed the bow, jerked it out of her hands, and threw it down. He grabbed her by the throat and began to choke her. Buffy grabbed onto his arm and stomped on his foot. Blair let go. She shoved him aside and ran into the sitting room. She opened her bag and tried to reach in, but Blair reached for her over the back of the couch. Buffy jumped away and ran to the far wall by the bookcase. Blair moved to follow, but Buffy pushed the bookcase over on top of him. He struggled underneath it but couldn't lift it off. Buffy climbed over it and went to her bag, opened it, and reached in. Blair reached out from under the bookcase and grabbed her ankle. Buffy screamed and looked around for a weapon. She spied the andirons, grabbed the tongs, and started to whale on Blair's arm. She had to hit him several times before he finally let go. Buffy grabbed her bag and ran out of the room. She stopped in the hallway and looked around.
"Hide and seeeek..."
She looked all around her.
"Hide and seek!"
The hall, the stairs, and the adjacent room were empty. There, she saw Kralik's crate. The crate door was closed and looked locked. She approached it, and it suddenly swung open. Kralik jumped out and grabbed her by the throat. Buffy gasped in fright but didn't struggle.
"Why did you come to the dark of the woods?" Kralik asked.
He yanked her bag out of her hands and looked into it. Inside was a smaller bow, several stakes, and a few knives.
"To bring all these sweets to grandmother's house?" Kralik asked.
He dropped the bag and pulled her closer. Buffy surprised him by holding up a cross. He leaped back from her in fear. She held it out at arm's length, shaking nervously. Kralik stared at her for a while, smiling evilly, then suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled it and the cross into his chest. There, he rubbed it around and laughed as it burned against his skin.
"Oh, oh, no, no. Just a little lower." Kralik nudged it down to his penis. "Right..." He inhaled in ecstasy. "Oh, yes. Yes. Oh." He gasped. "Oooh! Thank you very much."
Buffy let go of the cross and ran in terror. She ran into the kitchen and locked the door. She noticed a body but didn't have time to really look at it before she was distracted by Kralik pounding on the door. She ran to the counter and rifled through the drawers, looking for anything that she could use. She found nothing but then looked up when the pounding stopped. Her breathing was shallow and panting with fear. She looked around again but couldn't find anything of use. Slowly, she stepped back to the door and quietly opened it.
The coast was clear, so she walked into the hall. She constantly looked around as she made her way toward the stairs. When she was almost there, she made a dash for them and started to run up. Kralik punched his arm through the railing and tripped her, making her fall and cut her forehead against the steps. He grabbed her leg and pulled her down a ways. She struggled to get away. She grabbed a broken piece of the railing and stabbed at his arm with it. He let go and ran up the stairs after her. Buffy scrambled to her feet, ran to the top, and started down the hall.
At a bend in the hall, she stopped and looked around. The hallway was empty, so she ran to the first door. It was locked, so she went to the next. It opened, and she ran in, slamming the door behind her.
The room was pitch dark. Buffy searched around until she found a string hanging from the ceiling. She pulled it, and the light went on. She stared in shock at the walls around her. They were covered with Polaroids of her mother. She grabbed one off the wall to make sure. Just then, she heard Kralik pounding at the door. He punched through and reached in, searching for the knob to unlock it. She ran to another door, opened it, and ran out into the hall. Just as she reached the end, Kralik stepped out in front of her.
"If you stray from the path, you will lose your way."
He reached out and put his hand on her cheek. She tried to push him away, but he was too strong and bent down toward her neck.
"I won't take it all. I won't take it all."
She strained hard to keep him at bay. Suddenly, Kralik had an attack. He grabbed his head and began to scream. Buffy tried to get past him, but he shoved her into the wall, stunning her. He pulled out his pill bottle and struggled to get it open. Buffy regained her head and grabbed the bottle out of his hands. She ran down the hall, away from him.
"No! No! No!"
Buffy reached the far end of the hall and leaped into the laundry chute.
Buffy slid down the chute, out of it, and onto a table in the basement. It broke beneath her, and she fell to the floor in a cloud of dust. Her mother was there, tied to a chair and gagged.
"Buffy?" Joyce asked, muffled.
Buffy got up and scrambled over to her mother. She tried to untie her but couldn't.
"Buffy, we have to get out-"
They heard pounding at the basement door. Buffy stopped struggling with the ropes. She looked around and saw a glass near the wine racks. She quickly ran over to it, took the bottle of holy water out of her pocket, opened it, and poured the holy water into the glass.
Kralik smashed the door in and came running down the stairs. "Where are they? Where are they?!"
He ran into the room, and Buffy faked trying to get past him and up the stairs. He grabbed her and shoved her against a wall. He saw the pill bottle in her hands and snatched it from her. He struggled with the lid as he stumbled over to where he saw the glass of water near the wine racks. He got the lid off, popped a couple of pills, and gulped down the water. He gasped for air and took several deep breaths as he began to calm down. He smiled evilly over at Buffy and took some forced steps in her direction. Buffy just watched him come.
"You don't seem to understand your place in all of this. Do you have any idea..." Suddenly, Kralik realized something was very wrong and stopped in his tracks. "Oh, my!" He looked down at the glass in his hand. "What have you...?" He began to shake and looked back up at Buffy. "My pills!"
She pulled the now-empty bottle of holy water from her pocket and held it up for him to see.
Kralik dropped the glass and began to shake violently, grunting and groaning in pain. "No. No..."
Smoke began to puff out of his clothes.
Buffy watched coolly. "If I was at full Slayer power, I'd be punning right about now."
"No! No!" Kralik screamed loudly one final time and then burned to death from the inside out.
Buffy closed her eyes and let out a sigh of relief. She pocketed the bottle and rushed over to her mother. She pulled the gag from her mouth and began to work on the ropes again.
Joyce was breathing heavily. "Buffy, thank God you're okay. Oh, that man..."
Buffy was straining. "I can't get these. They're too tight."
"Can't you just..." Joyce jerked in her chair, suggesting Buffy just tear the ropes.
"Not right now." Buffy looked around. "Maybe there's some clippers around."
She stood up to look around, when suddenly Blair lunged at her. Giles was right behind him.
"Oh, Buffy!" Joyce yelled.
Blair grabbed Giles and threw him against a shelf rack. Blair punched him in the face and in the gut. Giles doubled over but thrust up with his arm, plunging a stake into Blair's chest, killing him. Slowly, Giles straightened up.
He and Buffy looked at each other for a long time.
Later, in the library, Buffy was sitting at the table. Quentin stood calmly at the head as he spoke. Giles leaned in the doorway to his office. Tara arrived at the library but hung back by the door and watched in silence.
"You have placed me in an awkward situation, Miss Summers. No one expected you to survive. The Council is very...perturbed."
Buffy stared at him with controlled fury.
"But you'll be pleased to hear the Council had decided to absolve you of guilt in the slim chance of your victory, so there's no need for you to fear retribution."
Buffy continued staring at him silently.
"I understand that you're upset-"
"You understand nothing. You set that monster loose, and he came after my mother."
"You think we were unfair?"
"I think you better leave town before I get my strength back."
"We're not in the business of fair, Miss Summers; we're fighting a war."
"You're waging a war. She's fighting it. There is a difference."
"Mr. Giles, if you don't mind-"
"It is done. We're finished."
"Not quite. She survived. You didn't." Quentin faced him. "I've recommended to the Council, and they've agreed, that you be relieved of your duties as Watcher immediately. You're fired."
Giles was taken aback. "On what grounds?"
"Your affection for your charge has rendered you incapable of clear and impartial judgment, and that is useless to the cause."
Buffy looked at Giles. Giles looked down.
"It would be best if you had no further contact with the Slayer."
Buffy broke her stare and considered Quentin's words.
Giles shook his head with hostility. "I'm not going anywhere."
"No, well, I didn't expect you would adhere to that. However, if you interfere with the new Watcher or countermand his authority in any way, you will be dealt with. Are we clear?"
"Oh, we're very clear."
Quentin bowed slightly to Buffy. "Congratulations."
Buffy looked up at him with a stare of hatred. "Bite me."
Quentin chuckled ruefully. "Yes, well, colorful girl."
He turned and left the library, not paying Tara any mind. Giles looked up again and put on his glasses. He looked over at Buffy. She gazed down into space for a moment, then sniffed and put her hand to her forehead. She sniffed again, reaching out for the cloth that was lying on the table, next to a bowl of water, and picked it up. Giles walked over to her and put his hand on the cloth. Buffy recoiled in terror.
Tara stared at her love sadly and walked over to the table. "Back off, Giles."
He did and retreated into his office.
Tara sat down to Buffy's right and put her hand on the cloth. Buffy let her take it from her hand. Tara dipped it in the water, reached out, and gently patted it over the gash in her forehead. Buffy winced in pain but didn't pull away. She looked at her girlfriend with love in her eyes. Tara turned the now-bloody cloth over and continued to lightly dab it on her wound.