"Out of Mind, Out of Sight"
Based on the Episode Written by Joss Whedon, Ashley Gable, and Thomas A. Swyden
The following story is copyright © 2021 by Mark Moore.
At Sunnydale High School, Cordelia, Harmony, and boy named Mitch Fargo were walking down a hall. Cordelia had her arms around Mitch.
Cordelia smiled. "I just love springtime. Me and bright spring fashions!"
Mitch smiled. "Spring training."
Cordelia grinned. "Me at the end-of-school dance."
Harmony grinned. "The end of school."
"Definitely. My favorite time of year." Cordelia giggled. "I am, of course, having my dress specially made. Off the rack gives me hives."
"Lemme guess: blue, like your eyes!" Mitch laughed.
Cordelia forced a laugh. "My eyes are hazel, Helen Keller."
Harmony smiled. "You two will look so fine together in the May Queen photo."
"Well, I haven't been elected May Queen yet."
They reached the library doors. Suddenly, Buffy came barging out. She bumped into Mitch and dropped her bag, spilling out its contents: a couple stakes, a couple crosses, a mace, and other stuff.
"Uhhh! Behold, the weirdness!" Cordelia exclaimed.
Buffy looked up. "Sorry!" She gathered up her stuff and put them back in her bag.
Cordelia, Harmony, and Mitch continued down the hall.
"Okay, this is me." Mitch kissed Cordelia on the lips. "See ya."
"See ya."
Mitch went into a classroom. Cordelia and Harmony continued walking.
Harmony looked at Cordelia. "I'm kinda surprised that you're going with Mitch."
Cordelia looked at Harmony. "Why?"
"Well, I thought you'd be going with Angel."
Cordelia sighed. "Angel and I are, well, I don't know what we are. I brought it up to him recently, and he suggested I find a human date. I was like 'Have you seen the assholes that I go to school with?'"
Harmony laughed. "Good point. And he still declined?"
"Yeah. I can't figure out what his deal is. Does he want to be with me or not?" Cordelia sighed again. "It's so frustrating."
Later, in English class, they were discussing The Merchant of Venice.
"'If you prick us, do we not bleed? If you tickle us, do we not laugh? If you poison us, do we not die? And if you wrong us, shall we not revenge?'" Ms. Miller looked at the class. "Okay. So talk to me, people. How does what Shylock says here about being a Jew relate to our discussion about the anger of the outcast in society?"
"Well, how about color me totally self-involved?" Cordelia replied.
"Care to elaborate?" Ms. Miller asked her.
"Yeah. With Shylock, it's whine, whine, whine, like the whole world is about him. He acts like it's justice, him getting a pound of Antonio's flesh. It's not justice; it's yicky."
"But has Shylock suffered? What's his place in Venice society?" Ms. Miller asked.
Tara raised her hand. "Well, everyone looked down on him."
Cordelia looked at her. "That is such a Twinkie defense. Shylock should get over himself. People who think their problems are so huge craze me. Like this time I sort of ran over this girl on her bike. It was the most traumatizing event of my life, and she's trying to make it about her leg! Like my pain meant nothing."
"Well, Cordelia's raised an interesting point here."
The bell rang.
"Which we'll pursue at a later time."
The students got up to leave.
Cordelia walked up to Ms. Miller's desk. "Ms. Miller?"
"Good observations today, Cordelia. It's always exciting to know someone's actually done the reading."
"Thanks. Um, I wanna talk to you about my final paper. I'm really unfocused. I have all these thoughts, and I'm pretty sure they all contradict each other."
"Well, I have your outline here, but why don't you stop by tomorrow after school? We'll go over it then."
"That'd be great! Thanks a lot." Cordelia started to leave.
"You're welcome. I'll see you then."
"Okay! Bye!" Cordelia went into the hall and saw Harmony. "Harmony!"
Harmony smiled. "Hi!"
"They called and said the dress is ready. It's so great!" Cordelia exclaimed, excited. "Mitch is gonna die!"
Later, Cordelia was handing out chocolates in the hallway while campaigning for May Queen. "Now, remember who to vote for for May Queen! As in me!"
"Thanks." A boy took the offered chocolate and walked away.
Cordelia saw Harmony and walked over to her. "Hi! Isn't this the bomb? I'm such the campaign strategist."
Harmony took one chocolate and saw the "C" on the wrapper. "'C'. For Cordelia?"
"No, 'C' for Wilma, little brain! Of course, 'C' for Cordelia! This way, people will associate me with something sweet!" Cordelia absently continued to the next student. "Here's a chocolate..." She saw it was Buffy and pulled her hand back. "Oh. I don't think you need to put on any extra weight." She left.
"Well, I-I don't even like chocolates." Buffy turned and walked to her locker. "Okay, that was the lamest comeback of our times."
Tara arrived and kissed Buffy on the lips. "So...what's Cordelia up to?"
Buffy worked the combination. "Bribery. She's desperate to be May Queen."
"Oh. Uh, Cordelia just has a history of trying too hard." Tara shook her head. "I don't understand why anyone would wanna be May Queen, anyway."
Buffy opened her locker. "I was May Queen."
"You were?" Tara asked, surprised.
"At my old school." Buffy switched out books, closed her locker, and turned back to face Tara. "Well, we didn't call it 'May Queen', but we had the coronation and the dance and all that stuff. It was nice."
Tara still didn't get the appeal, but she didn't say anything.
Suddenly, a boy came running down the hall. "Guys! C'mon!"
Buffy looked up.
"Mitch got whaled on! I think he's dead!"
Buffy and Tara looked at each other and then followed the boy.
Principal Snyder was standing in front of the door to the gym, talking to the students. "Dead? Of course not. What are you, ghouls?"
They all turned to look when the paramedics opened the doors to the gym and wheeled Mitch out.
"There are no dead students here. This week. Clear back, make room, all of you."
Buffy grabbed the gurney and stopped it. "Mitch, what happened?"
"I don't know. I-I heard something. I tried to grab a-a bat...that hit me."
"What hit you?" Buffy asked him.
"The bat! By itself; the thing was floating; it knocked me out."
The paramedics wheeled him away.
Buffy looked at Tara. "I'd better check out the scene." She started toward the locker room.
"Where do you think you're going?" Snyder asked her.
Buffy stopped and faced him. "Um, Mitch wanted me to get his comb. He - He likes his comb."
"I don't think Mitch needs his comb right now. I think Mitch needs medical attention. And you need to stay away from the crime scene. Always sticking your nose in."
"Sue?" Tara asked loudly, looking at the closest student. "What did you say? Mitch was gonna sue the school?"
Snyder looked at Tara. "Sue? Who?"
Buffy mouthed "Thank you" to Tara and quickly went into the locker room.
Tara was a bit nervous. "Well, his dad is the most powerful lawyer in Sunnydale."
"Hold on. What have you heard?" Snyder asked her.
"His dad, the lawyer. You haven't heard of him? Other lawyers call him 'The Beast'."
The locker room was deserted. Buffy walked quietly and looked around. She saw the bat on the floor and went over to it. She nudged it with her foot, and it just rolled away. She went into the nearest row of lockers, where four of the locker doors were damaged and wide open. She looked into one of the lockers and noticed a large letter on the door next to it. She closed all of the lockers and saw the word "look" painted in red.
Buffy told Tara what she had found later in the cafeteria during lunch.
"'Look'? That's all it said?" Tara asked. "Look at what? Look at Mitch?"
"Maybe. All I know is it's a message."
Giles came over to them. "Ah, here you are."
Buffy glanced at him and then looked back at Tara. "And monsters don't usually send messages. It's pretty much crush, kill, destroy. This was different."
"I'd have to say you're right."
Buffy grinned. "I love it when he says that!" She looked at Giles. "Any theories?"
Giles sat down at their table. "Uh, I'm, uh, it's a bit of a puzzle, really. Um, I've never actually heard of anyone attacked by a lone baseball bat before. Assuming the bat itself is not possessed, uh, there are a few possibilities that bear investigating. Uh, someone with telekinesis, uh, the power to move objects at will, uh, uh, an invisible creature, um, or possibly a poltergeist."
"A ghost?" Tara asked.
"Yes, and a very angry one."
Buffy stuck a fry in her mouth. "Yeah, I'd say. The locker room was a real scene."
Tara felt upset. "If it's a ghost, then we're talking about a dead kid."
Buffy was somber. "I guess so. You know, why don't you compile a list of dead or missing kids? It's probably a good place to start."
Tara nodded. "Okay."
Giles nodded. "And, uh, I'll research all the possibilities, ghosts included."
"What are you gonna do?" Tara asked Buffy.
"Gonna find out what I can about Mitch. This attack wasn't random. Gonna ask around, talk to his friends."
Later, Harmony found Cordelia at the drinking fountain on the balcony.
Harmony smiled. "Hi!"
Cordelia stopped drinking and looked at her friend. "Oh, hi."
"Cordelia, you weren't in fifth period."
"I went to the hospital."
"Oh, Mitch. How is he? Will he be okay?"
"Well, the doctor says he'll be fine. They're gonna send him home tomorrow. But...you should've seen him lying there. All black and blue? How's he gonna look in our Spring Fling pictures? How am I ever gonna be able to show them to anyone?" Cordelia asked.
"Well, they can do wonderful things with airbrushes these days."
"You think?" Cordelia asked her.
Cordelia and Harmony walked along the balcony toward the stairs.
"I just hope they can prop him up long enough to take the picture."
"Cordelia, can I talk to you?"
Cordelia looked and saw Buffy standing in the doorway. "Oh, great."
"Uff!" Harmony felt something push her backward, and she tumbled down the stairs.
Buffy, Cordelia, and others ran down after her. Principal Snyder saw it happen, too.
"Harmony!" Cordelia yelled.
Buffy and Cordelia crouched down next to Harmony.
"Oh, for heaven's sakes! Clear back, everyone! Give her some air!" Snyder looked at a student. "You! School nurse, now!"
The student nodded and ran off.
"Ow! Fuck! Oh, my ankle!" Harmony cried. "I think it's broken."
"What happened?" Buffy asked her.
Snyder looked at Buffy. "Hey! Who's the principal here?" He looked at Harmony. "What happened?"
"She fell!" Cordelia told him. "She - She - We were standing at the top of the stairs, and she just fell! All by herself!"
"No! I was pushed!" Harmony corrected.
Buffy got up when she heard laughter and footsteps going up the stairs. She followed the sounds up the stairs. Snyder bent down and touched Harmony's ankle.
"Ow!" Harmony cried in pain.
"Don't sue."
Buffy reached the top of the stairs and still heard the laughter. She saw a door close and followed whoever it was inside.
"Is anybody here?" Buffy called.
She felt something bump her and heard footsteps going into the band room. She looked around, confused.
"Hey! Who's here?" Buffy asked.
She went into the band room and heard activity somewhere.
"Okay, I know someone's here. Look, I'm not gonna hurt you. I just wanna talk to you." Buffy looked around for a while and finally left.
After school, students were leaving for the day. Buffy, Tara, and Giles were standing outside the main entrance.
"Giles, have you ever touched a ghost?" Buffy asked.
"Uh, no. From what I've heard, uh, having a-a ghost pass through you is a singular experience. It's a - It's a rather, uh, cold, amorphous feeling. It makes your hair stand on end."
"You see, that's my problem. I touched the thing, but it didn't go through me. It bumped into me. And it wasn't cold."
"So...we're talking about what, an invisible person?" Tara asked.
Buffy looked at her. "A girl. She laughed."
Giles pondered that. "A girl on campus with the ability to become invisible. It must be a fairly heady experience...having that ability."
"How'd she get it? Is she a witch?" Tara asked. "'Cause we can fight a witch."
Giles thought about it. "Hmm. Greek myths speak of cloaks of invisibility, but they're usually for the gods."
Buffy looked at him. "This girl's sorta petty for a god."
"She's got a grudge. But why Harmony?" Tara asked.
"Harmony and Mitch. The common denominator is...Cordelia!" Buffy realized.
"So what now?" Tara asked her.
"First thing tomorrow, why don't you pull up that missing kids list?" Buffy suggested.
"Got it." Tara kissed Buffy on the lips. "I'll see ya then."
Buffy smiled. "Bye."
Giles looked at Buffy. "So...I'll look into ways that you can de-cloak an invisible someone. What about you?"
"I think Cordelia's gonna be workin' on her May Queen dress tonight. Maybe there'll be some action. Guess I'm gonna start the hunt."
"How, exactly, do you propose to hunt someone you can't see?" Giles asked her.
Buffy gave Giles an inquisitive look.
That night, Buffy and Giles walked back into the school.
Giles looked at Buffy. "You may have to work on listening to people."
"Very funny."
"I thought so."
Buffy heard activity to her left. She found the room where Cordelia and her friends were getting her dress ready. They fussed over the dress. Buffy heard the conversation and laughter coming from the room.
"Should I wear my hair up? Do you think I should wear it up?" Cordelia asked her friends.
Buffy peeked through the door to watch.
"How does the, um, hem go?" Cordelia asked. "Is it - Is it long enough, or..."
Buffy smiled.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Cordelia asked.
Buffy looked down and remembered her own experience as May Queen. As she turned to go, she heard a flute playing. She began to follow the sound.
In the library, Giles went up the stairs and stopped when he heard the music. The music stopped, and he continued into the stacks. He heard a squeaking and stopped again.
"Who's there?" Giles asked.
After a moment, he took a few steps to a glass-enclosed bookcase and saw his reflection - and Angel next to him. He turned away, startled, and saw Angel standing there.
"Don't worry. I'm not here to eat."
"Cordelia told me you don't feed from humans anymore."
"Not for a long while."
"Is that why you're here? To see her?"
"I can't. It's, uh..." Angel paused. "It's too hard for me to be around her."
"What can I, uh..." Giles paused. "What can I do for you?"
"I know you've been researching the Master."
"Yes, the vampire king. I've tried to learn as much as I can about him for the day that Buffy must face him."
"Something's already in motion, something big, but I don't know what. You've read all the Slayer lore there is, right?"
"I-I've studied all the extant volumes, of course. But the, uh, most salient books of Slayer prophecy have been lost. The Tiberius Manifesto, the Pergamum Codex-"
"The Codex?" Angel asked.
"It's reputed to have contained the most complete prophecies about the Slayer's role in the end years. Unfortunately, the book was lost in the fifteenth century."
"Not lost. Misplaced. I can get it."
Giles gasped, astounded. "That would be most helpful! Uh, m-my own volumes have...been rather useless of late."
Angel looked at the book that Giles was holding. "Legends of Vishnu?"
Giles was a bit embarrassed. "There's an...invisible girl terrorizing the school."
"That's not really my area of expertise."
"Nor mine, I'm afraid. Uh, it's fascinating, though. By all accounts it's a-a-a wonderful power to possess. Um, speaking of..." Giles pointed at Angel's reflection in the bookcase's glass and raised an eyebrow.
Angel smiled. "Don't believe everything you read."
The next day, at school, people were gathered in the quad, where a stage had been set up. Buffy and Tara were there. Buffy leaned on a nearby pillar.
Principal Snyder was standing on the stage. "The winner is Cordelia Chase! Let's bring up our new May Queen."
Buffy, Tara, and the other students applauded.
Cordelia walked onto the stage and over to the microphone. "Thank you for making the right choice - and for showing me how much you all love me."
The crowd applauded again.
"Being this popular is not just my right, but my responsibility, and I want you to know I take it very seriously. It all began when..."
Buffy stared at Cordelia. "Last night was a bust. But I still think Cordy's the key."
Tara held up a sheet of paper. "This is the dead and missing list. I pulled up their classes, activities, medical records..."
Buffy took it. "Good work."
Tara noticed two men in black suits loitering by some stairs. "Has Cordelia hired a bodyguard or something?"
Buffy didn't care. She was reading the list. "Hey, check out this one. It's the most recent disappearance, Marcie Ross; disappeared, like, six months ago."
Tara looked at her. "I don't know her."
"Her only activity was band. She played the flute."
"So?"
"Well, last night, when I was hunting, I heard this flute, but I couldn't figure out where it was coming from. And it was in the band room that I lost Miss Invisible yesterday. You know what? This all tracks. I'm gonna check it out. See you later?"
"Okay, I'll see you after geometry." Tara kissed Buffy on the lips.
"Ask not what your school can do for you; ask: 'Hey! What am I wearing to the Spring Fling?'"
Buffy chuckled, looked at Cordelia, and then walked away.
Buffy looked around the band room and almost ran into a chair. She noticed a boot print on it, guessed it was used as a step to climb, and looked up. She noticed in the corner of the ceiling that there was an access hatch. She climbed up onto the cabinet and crawled over to the hatch. She lifted it up and put it aside as she poked her head in and had a look around. She climbed up onto the ceiling and began to crawl through the space. Near a skylight, she found some things. A flute was there, and Buffy picked it up to look at it. Buffy picked up a teddy bear, looked at it, and put it back. She looked under some sheet music, found a yearbook, pulled it out, and opened it.
"Marcie Ross. So it is you." Buffy sat there and reflected for a moment, and then she closed the yearbook and took it with her as she started back to the hatch.
Once out, she closed the hatch and climbed back down from the cabinet.
Cordelia arrived at Ms. Miller's classroom and knocked on the door.
After waiting a while, Cordelia opened the door and walked in. "Ms. Miller?"
She found Ms. Miller slumped over on her desk. A plastic bag was over Ms. Miller's head.
"Oh, my God! Ms. Miller!" Cordelia ran over and lifted her up. "Oh, my God!" She pulled the bag off Ms. Miller's head. "Are you okay?"
Ms. Miller drew a sudden, deep breath and began coughing.
"Ms. Miller, what happened?" Cordelia asked.
"Attacked. Didn't see."
They heard the noise of a piece of chalk writing on the board. Cordelia and Ms. Miller turned to see a floating piece of chalk finish writing the word "listen".
Buffy met Tara after their final class, and they went to the library. They sat at the table, and Buffy told Giles and Tara about what she'd found.
"A nest?" Giles asked.
"It looked like she'd been there for months. It's where I found this." Buffy opened the yearbook and put it on the table for Tara to see.
"Oh, my Goddess!" Tara exclaimed. "'Have a nice summer.' 'Have a nice summer.' This girl had no friends at all."
Giles looked at the girls in confusion. "Uh, once again, I teeter at the precipice of the generation gap."
Buffy looked at him. "'Have a nice summer' is what you write when you have nothing to say."
Tara nodded. "It's the kiss of death."
Buffy looked at her. "You didn't know Marcie Ross?"
Tara shook her head. "Never met her. Why?"
"'Cause you wrote it, too." Buffy pointed to Tara's signature.
Tara looked. "'Have a nice...'" She sighed. "Fuck, I'm horrible."
Buffy put a comforting hand on Tara's shoulder. "You don't remember her?"
"No, I probably didn't see her except to sign the book. I mean...this is a big school." Tara looked at her printouts and suddenly felt even more horrible. "Uh, scratch that. I had four classes with her last year."
Buffy thought about this. "So...no one noticed her, and now she's invisible."
"What, she turned invisible, because no one noticed her?" Tara asked.
Giles hit the table. "Of course!" He got up. "I've been investigating the mystical causes of invisibility when I-I should have looked at the quantum mechanical!"
Buffy and Tara looked at him in confusion.
"Physics."
"I think I speak for both of us when I say 'Huh?'" Buffy asked.
Giles got a book. "It's a rudimentary concept that - that reality is shaped, even - even...created by our perception."
Buffy started to get it. "And with the Hellmouth below us sending out mystical energy..."
"People perceived Marcie as - as - as invisible, and - and - and - and she became so."
"This isn't this great power that she can control. It's something that was done to her. That we did to her."
Tara looked at Buffy. "Well, not you, sweetie. You weren't here yet."
Buffy smiled. "Oh, yeah."
"What does she want?" Tara asked.
Cordelia came into the library.
"Just what we thought. Cordelia." Buffy turned to a certain page in the yearbook to show Tara the marked-up picture of Cordelia.
"What?" Cordelia asked.
Buffy, Tara, and Giles looked at her.
"I knew you'd be here. Buffy, I, uh, I-I know we've had our differences, with you being so weird and all..." Cordelia sighed. "Well, anyway, despite all of that, I know that you share this feeling that we have for each other, deep down..." She paused. "Somebody is after me! They just tried to kill Ms. Miller! Uh, she was helping me with my homework. And Mitch! And Harmony?! This is all about me! Me, me, me!"
"Wow! For once, you're right!" Buffy told her.
"I'm coming to you for help, because you're always around when all this weird shit is happening. And I know you're very strong, and you've got all those weapons..." Cordelia paused. "Please! I don't have anyone else to turn to!"
Giles got up and offered her a chair. "Please. Sit down."
"Okay. Thanks." Cordelia sat down.
Giles sat down as well.
"Okay." Buffy sighed. "Cordelia, your attacker is an invisible girl."
Tara looked at Cordelia. "Who is really, really fucking pissed at you."
"Well, I don't care what it is, just get rid of it!" Cordelia demanded.
"Well, it's not that simple; it's a person; it's..." Buffy showed her the yearbook. "It's this person. Now, do you have any idea why she'd be so-"
"Oh, God! Is she really wearing Laura Ashley?" Cordelia interrupted.
"So homicidal?" Tara finished Buffy's question.
Cordelia sighed in frustration. "I have no idea! I've never seen this girl before in my life!"
Buffy sighed. "Tell us about the attack on Ms. Miller."
"I came to her classroom, and she was being suffocated with a plastic bag." Cordelia smiled. "I totally saved her life. Anyway, then we see this message being written on the chalkboard: 'listen'."
Giles thought about that. "So we now have two messages from Marcie: 'look' and 'listen'."
Tara looked at him. "Messages we don't understand."
Buffy looked at her. "I don't think we're supposed to...yet. Marcie's not quite ready. But from what she did to Cordelia's picture, I would say that she's wigged on the whole May Queen thing. Maybe she's gonna do something about it."
Tara thought about it. "Stop the coronation tonight, maybe. Keep you guys away from the Bronze?"
"Nothing is keeping me from the Bronze tonight!" Cordelia declared.
Buffy looked at her. "Uh, can we just revel in your fabulous lack of priorities?"
Cordelia looked at her. "If I'm not crowned tonight, then - then Marcie's won! And that would be bad. She's evil, okay? Way eviler than me."
Buffy looked at Giles. "Cordelia has a point."
Cordelia looked at Giles. "Buffy's with me on this."
"Anyway, continuing the normal May Queen activities may be the best way to draw Marcie out. We can use Cordelia as bait."
"Great!" Cordelia looked at Buffy. "Bait?"
Giles looked at Tara. "Tara, you'll help me begin our research anew. Unless we find a way to cure Marcie's invisibility, then Buffy will be..."
Buffy felt solemn. "A sitting duck."
They all got up to do their tasks.
Buffy looked at Cordelia. "C'mon."
"Well, I have to try on my dress. And am I really bait?" Cordelia asked.
"Uh-huh." Buffy headed toward the doors.
Cordelia followed her with a sigh. "Great."
As they walked through the halls, Buffy filled Cordelia in on the details regarding Marcie and her disappearance.
"So...how much the creepy is it that this Marcie's been at this for months? Spying on us? Learning our most guarded secrets? So...are you saying she's invisible, because she's so unpopular?" Cordelia asked Buffy.
"That about sums it up."
Cordelia sighed. "Bummer for her. It's awful to feel that lonely."
"Hmm. So you've read something about the feeling?" Buffy asked her.
Cordelia stopped Buffy and looked her in the eyes. "Hey! You think I'm never lonely, because I'm so cute and popular? I can be surrounded by people and be completely alone. It's not like any of them really know me. I don't even know if they like me half the time. People just want to be in a popular zone. Sometimes, when I talk, everyone's so busy agreeing with me, they don't hear a word I say."
"Well, if you feel so alone, then why do you work so hard at being popular?" Buffy asked her, genuinely curious.
"Well, it beats being alone all by yourself." Cordelia continued down the hall.
After considering that for a moment, Buffy quickly followed.
Back in the library, Tara heard a flute play. "Shhh! Listen!"
She and Giles listened for a moment and looked in the direction of the music.
Giles stood up. "Come on."
Tara stood up. They left the library.
"We could...talk to her. Perhaps reason with her. Or possibly grab her."
Tara looked at Giles. "You think that'll work?"
Giles shrugged. They started down the hall.
Buffy opened the door to a mop closet, went inside, and turned on the light.
"If you ever tell to anyone that I changed in a mop closet..."
"Your secret dies with me." Buffy looked around. "Looks okay. But hurry."
"Okay."
Buffy left the closet, Cordelia went in, and Buffy closed the door.
Giles and Tara went down the stairs, into the basement, and looked around. They listened for the next direction to take.
Tara heard the flute through a pair of heavy metal doors. "Over here."
She opened the door, and Giles followed her into the boiler room.
"Marcie?" Giles called. "We know what happened to you. Please, can we talk to you?"
"I'm sorry I ignored you." Tara followed the sound of the flute over to a shelf and found a tape recorder playing. "Shit." She looked at Giles. "I think it's a trap."
They heard the sound of feet running. The door slammed shut. They heard a hissing sound.
"What's that sound?" Giles asked.
"You know what you were saying before?" Buffy asked Cordelia through the door. "I understand. Somehow, it doesn't seem to matter how popular you are when-"
"You were popular?" Cordelia asked in disbelief. "In what alternate universe?"
"In L.A. Th-The point is...I did sort of feel like something was missing."
"Is that when you became an angry bitch and got kicked out?" Cordelia asked her.
"Okay. Can we have the heartfelt talk with a little less talk from you?" Buffy asked.
She got no response.
"Cordelia?" Buffy asked.
She heard noises inside the closet and some muffled screaming.
"Cordelia!" Buffy tried the door, but it was locked. "Cordelia!" She punched through the door and reached in to unlock it.
She opened the door, ran in, and saw Cordelia being pulled through the ceiling.
"Buffy!" Cordelia cried.
Buffy jumped and tried to grab her legs, but Cordelia was pulled through too quickly. Buffy stepped back, took a running jump up to grab a pipe, and swung herself up and through the opening.
Buffy looked around the ceiling crawl space and found Cordelia lying there.
"Cordelia!" Buffy kneeled next to her. "Cordelia!" She took her pulse. "Oh, my God!"
Buffy looked around for what to do when she felt a kick. She rolled away and fell through a ceiling panel and onto a desk below, smashing it and getting knocked out.
Buffy woke and lifted her head to look around. She saw a syringe at the last moment as she was injected in the neck. Buffy's vision blurred, and in just a few seconds she fell back to the floor, unconscious.
"It's gas." Giles checked the furnace. "She's snuffed out the pilot light! The gas is on full!" He looked around. "I can't find the shutoff valve."
Tara found the valve handle on the floor. "Okay, that's bad. How 'bout the door?"
Tara slammed herself into it, but it didn't budge. She spotted a bar, grabbed it, and started to swing it at the door like a ram.
"No!" Giles screamed. "One spark, and you'll take the whole building with us!"
"Oh, shit." Tara stopped hitting the door. "Sorry."
Giles tried to turn the gas valve off with his bare hands with some success. "That should give us a few minutes, but we b..." He paused. "If we don't get out of this room soon..."
"Why is Marcie doing this?" Tara asked him.
"The loneliness, the constant exile; she's..." Giles coughed. "She has gone mad!"
Tara thought for a moment. "Is there a way to prevent sparks?"
"Perhaps." Giles took off his jacket and wrapped it around the bar. "One, two, three!"
The two of them rammed the door with the bar, and it made a deep, loud boom, but it didn't budge.
"Again!" Giles told her.
They tried. The door still wouldn't budge.
They kept trying until they were too weak. Tara and Giles dropped the bar and sat on the floor.
"Mr. Giles, you are..." Tara paused. "I'm blacking out on you." She collapsed onto Giles but remained barely conscious.
Giles weakly slapped against the door. It suddenly opened, and Giles fell through it.
Angel stood in the doorway and looked around and down. He quickly grabbed Giles and helped him up. "Come on!"
He helped Giles out of the room. Angel pulled Tara up, and she got out by herself. Giles slammed the door closed. They all coughed and tried to breathe.
"What happened?" Tara asked, her mind still cloudy.
Angel looked at her. "You tell me."
Tara shook her head and slowly sobered up.
"I brought you the Codex." Angel handed the book to Giles. "I came in through the basement. I smelled the gas."
"Yes, w-w-well, shut it off; otherwise, uh, the whole building will go up!" Giles told him.
Angel nodded. "I'll get it. It's not like I need the oxygen."
"Come on, let's get out of here." Giles went up the stairs.
Tara waved bye to Angel and then followed Giles.
Cordelia woke up and looked around. She and Buffy were in the Bronze and tied to the May Queen and King thrones, respectively. Buffy woke up.
Cordelia looked at her. "Buffy? You're awake?"
Buffy was a bit disoriented. "Yeah."
"I can't feel my face!" Cordelia cried.
"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.
"My face. My face is numb. What is she doing?"
"I don't know."
Cordelia looked at the curtain. "Learn" was written on it in glitter.
"What does that mean?" Cordelia asked Buffy.
"I don't know."
A tray was wheeled over to Buffy and Cordelia.
"Uh, I'm disappointed. I'd really hoped you guys had figured it out by now."
"Well, why don't you explain it?" Buffy asked. "C'mon, Marcie, what are we supposed to learn?"
"Yeah, what do you wanna teach us?!" Cordelia asked.
"You don't get it. You're not the student. You're the lesson."
"What did you do to my face?" Cordelia asked her.
"Your face. That's what this is all about, isn't it? Your beautiful face. That's what makes you shine just a little bit brighter than the rest of us. We all want what you have. To be noticed, remembered. To be seen."
"What are you doing?" Cordelia asked.
"Well, I'm fulfilling your fondest wish." Marcie pulled off the cloth covering the tray, revealing several surgical instruments.
Cordelia gasped when she saw them.
"I'm gonna give you a face no one will ever forget."
Buffy was starting to panic. "Marcie, you can't do this."
"What are you gonna do? Slay me?"
"Marcie, you know this is wrong."
Buffy suddenly felt a punch to the face.
"You shoulda stayed outta my way. Y'know, I-I thought - I thought you would understand my vision, but you're just like them." Marcie took a scalpel from the tray and swung it at Cordelia's face.
Cordelia gasped. "Please don't do this!" She watched the blade float in front of her and broke down crying. "Nooohohoho!"
"You should be grateful. I mean...people who pass you in the street are gonna remember you for the rest of their lives."
Buffy struggled to reach for the tray while Marcie concentrated on Cordelia.
"Children are gonna dream about you. And every one of your - your friends who comes to the coronation tonight will take the sight of the May Queen to their graves."
"Wait!" Cordelia screamed.
"No, we really have to get started. The local anesthetic's gonna wear off soon, and I don't want you to faint. It's less fun if you're not awake. Let me see. I think we should start with your smile. I think it should be wider."
"Marcie, I know you think I don't understand, but I do!" Cordelia insisted.
"Yeah, I'll bet you know how I feel. I'm sure you can just be with all your friends and feel so alone, 'cause they don't really know you. You're just a typical, self-involved, spoiled little brat, and you think you can charm your way out of this, don't you?! Isn't that what you think?!" Marcie swung the scalpel and cut Cordelia's cheek.
Buffy looked at Cordelia in shock. Tears streamed down Cordelia's cheeks as she sobbed.
"I see right through you."
Buffy freed her legs and kicked the instrument tray into Marcie. Marcie stumbled back into the curtain. Buffy quickly pulled the rest of the ropes off and got out of her chair.
"Oh, my God! Get me out of here, please!" Cordelia begged.
Buffy started working on Cordelia's ropes. "Hold still!"
Buffy heard Marcie getting back up, and Marcie kicked Buffy away from Cordelia.
Cordelia screamed, crying more than ever. "Uh, huh, huh, oh, my God!"
Buffy got up. "Y'know, I really felt sorry for you. You've suffered. There's one thing I really didn't factor into all this. You're a thundering loony!"
"Shut up!" Marcie yelled.
"Just a sick, fucked-up bitch!" Buffy added.
"Shut up!" Marcie screamed, knocking Buffy down again.
"Buffy, are you okay?" Cordelia asked.
Buffy tried to get up, but Marcie kicked her back down.
"Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" Cordelia cried.
Buffy tried to get up again, but Marcie punched her and knocked her onto the chair.
"Buffy!" Cordelia screamed.
Buffy fell off the chair and tipped it over onto herself in the process.
"Buffy! Oh, my God!" Cordelia screamed.
Buffy got up again and took a blind swing.
"Hey, moron! I'm invisible!" Marcie knocked Buffy down. "How are you gonna fight someone you can't see?"
"Oh, my God!" Cordelia was in hysterics.
Buffy was distracted by it. "Cordelia, shut up."
Cordelia suddenly felt very meek. "Okay."
Buffy closed her eyes and tried to sense where Marcie was. The floor creaked, and Buffy spun around and landed a punch right on target. Marcie staggered back into a red banner, and it wrapped around her and got pulled down with her. She got up with the banner draped over her head.
"I see you." Buffy punched Marcie again, knocking her down once more.
The side door opened, and several people in black suits came in.
"Everybody stay where you are."
Two men ran over to Buffy and Marcie.
One of them had his gun drawn. "FBI! Nobody move!"
Another held out his hand to keep Buffy back. "Okay, we'll take it from here now, ma'am." He helped Marcie up.
"Take what from where?" Buffy asked, confused.
"I'm agent Doyle; this is Agent Manetti. We're here for the girl."
"Well, where were you ten minutes ago, when she was playing surgeon?" Buffy asked him.
"I'm sorry, we came as fast as we could."
"Oh, my God!" Marcie exclaimed.
Doyle handed Marcie off to another agent. "We'll take it from here on."
"C'mon." The other agent took Marcie away.
"You can cure her?" Buffy asked Doyle.
"We can rehabilitate her."
Manetti looked at Buffy. "In time, she'll learn to be a useful member of society again."
Marcie was led out of the Bronze by the other agents. "Where are we going?"
Doyle nodded. "Very useful."
Buffy realized something. "This isn't the first time this has happened, is it? It's happened at other schools."
Manetti shook his head. "We're not at liberty to discuss that."
Doyle nodded. "It would be best for you to forget this whole incident."
"Do you know that you guys are very creepy?" Buffy asked them.
Doyle ignored that. "Thank you for your help."
"Oh, and, uh...have a nice day."
Buffy watched them go.
"Can I get untied now?" Cordelia asked Buffy.
Buffy turned to Cordelia and kneeled down to untie her. She smiled up at Cordelia.
Tara came in through the side door. "Buffy, what the hell happened? Who were those guys?"
"FBI." Buffy finished untying Cordelia and stood up.
Cordelia stood up. "Thanks." She touched her cheek and then looked at the blood on her hand. She looked at Buffy. "Is it bad?"
"It'll heal." Buffy looked at Tara. "C'mon, let's get our Queen cleaned up. She's got a big night."
Buffy and Tara washed and disinfected Cordelia's wound in the ladies' restroom. Tara told Buffy and Cordelia about her and Giles' little adventure, selectively removing Angel's involvement to avoid drama from Cordelia. When they came out of the restroom, people were already starting to gather for the coronation.
"So...why is the coronation being held at the Bronze?" Tara asked, confused.
Buffy looked at her. "Same reason that the Spring Fling will be held here later this month: Snyder's a cheap-ass bitch that wants to shave a bit off the school's electrical bill."
Tara nodded in understanding. "Ah."
Buffy shuddered. "I just can't believe how twisted Marcie got."
Cordelia looked at Tara. "By the way, how did you guys get out of the boiler room?"
Tara was nervous. "Oh, well, when the gas was coming down, we-"
"Janitor, um, found us. Shut the valve off." Giles came up and walked alongside them.
Tara nodded. "We were lucky."
Buffy thought this seemed suspicious. "I'll say."
Cordelia looked at all of them. "Listen, um, I guess I just want to say thank you, all of you. You really helped me out, and you didn't have to. So...thank you."
Buffy looked into Cordelia's eyes. "Of course, we had to help you. That's what friends do for each other."
Cordelia grinned.
Tara looked at Cordelia. "Listen, we're gonna grab dinner after the coronation. Want to join us?"
Mitch came up behind Cordelia. "Whoa, whoa. You're not hangin' with these losers, are you?"
Cordelia looked at him, and then she looked at the others. She looked back at him. "Fuck off, asshole."
"Excuse me?!" Mitch asked, stunned.
Tara smiled. "I believe she said 'Fuck off, asshole.'"
Mitch looked at Cordelia. "But we're gonna get crowned soon!"
Cordelia shook her head. "Not together. I don't wanna be seen anywhere near you."
"All right, fine! Fuck this! I'm outta here!" Mitch turned and stormed off.
Cordelia looked at Tara and Buffy. "So...dinner, huh? What are we talkin' 'bout?"
Buffy and Tara looked at each other, shrugged, and took out their wallets to count their money.
Cordelia waved a hand. "Fuck it! I'm in such a good mood! My treat! Let's hit Olive Garden!"
Buffy and Tara smiled and pocketed their wallets.
Cordelia sighed. "It's gonna be weird having my picture taken without the May King, though."
Buffy looked and saw Angel standing nearby. He suddenly looked embarrassed. He had come to check on Cordelia and clearly hadn't planned on being spotted. Buffy motioned with her head to come over. He seemed hesitant.
"Get your ass over here, Angel!" Buffy yelled.
Cordelia, Tara, and Giles looked at him in surprise. Embarrassed, Angel walked over to them.
Angel looked at Cordelia. "Hey."
"Hey, yourself."
Angel looked at Tara and Giles. "So...are you two feeling all right?"
Tara nodded. "Uh-huh. You got us out of there just in time."
Cordelia and Buffy looked at Giles in surprise.
"Well, uh, that is, you see..." Giles paused and looked sheepishly at Cordelia. "I told a porkie."
Buffy cleared her throat. "Anyway, Cordy's in need of a May King, since the elected one bailed."
Angel was uncertain. "Oh, gee, I dunno-"
Cordelia pouted. "Pleeeaaassseee!"
Angel sighed. "Okay, fine."
Cordelia grinned. "Whoo!" She looked at Buffy and Tara. "So what's this I hear about you bitches forming a band? Do you have a manager yet?"
Buffy and Tara felt a building sense of dread.
"Because I've got a ton of ideas!" Cordelia continued.
"And now, let's welcome our May King and Queen, Mitch Fargo and Cordelia Chase!" Principal Snyder announced.
"Whoo! C'mon!" Cordelia grabbed Angel's hand and dragged him to the stage.
Buffy cast her eyes heavenward. "Oh, thank fucking God!"
After some initial confusion, Cordelia was crowned May Queen, and Angel was crowned May King. Everyone applauded for them. Cordelia pulled Angel into a deep tongue kiss, which Principal Snyder tried to break up. Cordelia and Angel had their photos taken together and separately. Even Buffy and Tara surprised Cordelia by kissing her on the cheeks for a photo. Then Cordelia and Angel danced together, and Buffy and Tara danced together. Harmony recorded the entire thing for posterity with her video camera. It was a fun night.
But then Buffy thought back to her nightmares, and a shadow fell over her soul. She wondered just what was in store for her as the school year approached its end.