DEDICATION: For Rachel and Abby, the girl's who turned me from an occasional viewer to a die-hard fan!
Chapter 1
A full moon rose high in the sky over the mausoleums of Sunnydale Cemetery. Not a soul was in sight, which was understandable considering the fact that this place tended to be frequented by those without souls after nightfall. One such creature slipped quietly from one tombstone to the next. It was insatiably hungry, but had been in Sunnydale long enough to know that you couldn't just roll out of the crypt at moonrise and attack the first living thing you saw. Caution, calculation, and cunning were key to surviving in a town with a Slayer.
This particular vampire, however, had not calculated on being surprised from above. A small feminine figure leapt from an overhanging tree branch and buried a wooden stake into the vampire's heart. He disintegrated into a pile of dust before her feet even hit the ground.
"C'mon Buff!" said Xander Harris as he stood from his hiding place. "You didn't even give that one a sporting chance!"
"What can I say, I'm just not in a sporty mood," Buffy Summers sighed as she leaned over to stretch. She'd been crouching on that limb for the better part of half an hour, and her muscles had begun to stiffen. Nothing a quick bout with another creature of the night couldn't cure.
"Oh. Well the next time you're in a Sporty mood, or perhaps a Scary or Ginger mood, make sure to give me a call."
"Xander, I am not your personal Spice Girl!" Buffy tried to glare at her friend, but couldn't help cracking a smile. Xander might spend his nights helping her fight the creatures of the night, but at heart he was a normal teenage boy, with normal teenage hormones.
Xander smiled in return. When Buffy smiled she almost seemed like a normal seventeen year old girl. This blond haired beauty certainly didn't look like mankind's only hope, but she was the Slayer. The Chosen One. The one girl born to save her generation from vampires, demons, and other creepy things that lurked in the shadows and under the bed.
"Xander, you're staring at me." Buffy's voice interrupted his thoughts. "You weren't picturing me in one of Posh's skanky outfits, were you?"
"Nope. I was thinking more along the lines of Baby with her little pigtails." He decided now might be a good time to change the subject. "So, do we call in a night, or is there more slayage to be done?"
"You're calling it a night. I'm going to do one more sweep." Xander's face fell, and Buffy reached out to lay a hand on his shoulder. "I appreciate your company, but we both know that you're just putting off writing that paper on the French Revolution."
Xander groaned. "Man, I almost forgot about that!" Suddenly his face lit up. "Say, I don't suppose I could convince you to hit me, huh? Nothing big, just a minor concussion or anything that will keep me out of school tomorrow?
"As tempting as that offer is, I think I'll have to pass. That's just the sort of thing that would earn me one of Giles' responsibility lectures. C'mon, I'll walk you home."
"Make that school. Willow's on Oz duty tonight," Xander nodded toward the full moon "And I thought she might be able to tear herself away from wolf-boy for a little while and ..."
"Write your paper for you?"
"Hopefully!" The two friends laughed and chatted softly as they wove through tombstones toward the exit. Xander was doing a particularly good impression of their history teacher when Buffy stopped. Something wasn't right.
From there it all happened rather fast. First, Buffy felt a sharp sting on the back of her neck. Her fingers found and removed the metal dart almost immediately, but even as she examined it her vision was beginning to blur. She stumbled and reached to Xander for support, but he was no longer there.
"Buffy!" Xander's cry seemed to be coming through a tunnel as the Slayer fell to her knees. Wet grass and mud soaked through her jeans. Buffy tried to collect her thoughts. First things first, she had to get up! Her strong arms felt like jello when she attempted to push herself to her feet, and finally they collapsed under her weight. Her cheek came to rest on something cool and smooth; like satin sheets, her muddled brain thought. Above her someone laughed.
Just before she lost consciousness, Buffy gathered the strength to lift her head of the grave marker, and saw Ethan Rayne towering over her.
Chapter 2
Buffy was floating. Not an entirely unpleasant experience, although she preferred knowing which way was up. A thick white fog swirled around her, creating tiny eddies and waves across her body. She reached out for something to hold on to, push of or, or just give her some kind of clue as to where she was. There was nothing. Her arm just seemed to disappear as it was swallowed by the white sea.
Something dark flitted across the edge of her field of vision. Buffy turned her head, straining to see through the mist. Something was there alright, and it was moving toward her. As it neared its form became clearer. Apparently it was a human figure, although that was all she could discern from this distance.
She didn't know why, but Buffy felt a strong compulsion to reach this person, to talk to him. She tried swimming through the fog, but she didn't seem to be getting anywhere. The figure kept advancing.
"Buffy." A familiar voice, though muffled and far away. Buffy turned her head, trying to determine where the voice was coming from. When she looked back to the shadow, it was gone.
"Buffy," closer now. Insistent. The mist began to dissipate, and she was left alone in cold blackness.
* * * * *
"Buffy." A cool hand touched her forehead, and her eyelids fluttered. "Buffy, wake up." It was a gentle, soft voice, but it echoed like thunder in her aching head. She groaned.
The hand brushed her hair away from her face. This was a familiar gesture, and soothing. It calmed the drums in her head just enough to allow her to open her eyes.
"Angel?" His face was blurry, but she could just make out his familiar half-smile, his lips pulled ever so slightly to the right. Above them, his eyebrows were knitted with worry.
Buffy's vision cleared a bit, and she made the mistake of looking into Angel's eyes.
She was lost in an instant. All the pain seemed to melt away as she sunk deeper into those deep brown pools. This was the man that she loved. Angel hadn't allowed himself to get this close to her since ... well, since they had consummated their relationship. Since that one moment of happiness broke the decades long curse that had given him back his soul. In that one instant of passion he had turned from Angel: vampire and vigilante, to Angelus: a cold blooded killer out for revenge against those he had once loved. Buffy had been forced to send him to Hell just as Willow restored his soul, in order to save the world from destruction. Somehow Angel had managed to claw his way back into this world, but neither one wanted to risk the possibility of him changing again. So they kept their distance. Not just for their sake, but for the sake of their friends.
For the sake of their friends ...
"Xander!" Buffy sat up suddenly as the events of the evening came flooding back. Her body told her quite clearly that she was not ready for such sudden movements. The room seemed to spin as Angel caught her by the shoulders.
"Buffy! It's okay. He's okay."
"Well, I'm not sure okay is exactly the right word for it," Xander spoke up from his chair across the room. "After being attacked by three vampires and seeing what happened to you I'm definitely not okay. Let's try, so-scared-I-still-might-soil-myself. But physically, I'm in one piece."
Buffy sat completely still for a moment, afraid she might redeposit her lunch on Angel's velvet shirt. When it was safe, she turned her head to look around, and noticed for the first time that she was in Giles' apartment. His home was practically devoid of personal items. Instead, it was a virtual cornucopia of all things demonic. Relics, maps, weapons ... and books. Rows and rows of books. Buffy sometimes wondered if there were actually more books here than at Sunnydale High School where Giles was employed as the school librarian.
The Englishman stepped out of the kitchenette with a ceramic mug. "Ah, good. You're awake. I was beginning to think you would sleep through midterm examinations." Giles' attempt at light heartedness was not lost on Buffy, but they had known each other too long for him to fool her easily. She could see the concern in his eyes.
"I'm not that lucky." She tried to smile, but even those small muscle movements made her queasy. "Man," she said as closed her eyes and rested her head on Angel's shoulder. "What'd he hit me with?
"I'm not quite sure, actually. But this should help." Giles set the steaming cup of liquid in front of her. "I know you don't particularly care for tea, but this particular brew should help flush the last of the drug from your system." He glanced at the clock. "As much as I hate to, I'm afraid I have to run."
"Run?" Buffy was hurt. "Your slayer was just attacked and drugged! I would have thought part of your Watcher's duties would be to be here until I can stand up without feeling like I'm trapped on a run-away merry-go-round! Besides, where could you possibly have to go at this hour?"
"Buffy, you've been unconscious for almost seven hours," Angel said quietly. Buffy looked to the clock and saw that he was right.
"Oh, Giles! I'm so ..."
"It's quite alright," he answered. "And believe me, I'd rather be here with you than meeting with Principal Snyder about the library budget." Giles grimaced. "I swear, that man is more annoying than ... well ..."
"An un-pickable wedgie?" Xander offered.
Giles had long since learned to ignore some of Xander's more colorful comments. "Especially since he was forced to re-enroll Buffy in her classes. Take your time, get to school if you feel able. But it is imperative that you meet me in the library directly after classes. There are, unfortunately, some things we must discuss."
"Giles, I thought ... I thought I saw ..."
"Ethan?" he sighed. "I'm afraid so. I shudder to think of what might have transpired had Angel not arrived when he did."
Chapter 3
Giles removed his glasses to rub his tired eyes. He had been up all night caring for Buffy, and busy all day looking through old Sunnydale newspapers and police records searching for any clue was to what Ethan was doing in town. He let out a long, deep sigh. Most men's teenage years come back to haunt them at some point in their adult lives, and he was no exception.
Young Rupert Giles had been quite a hell-raiser, literally. Besides the normal teen-age rites of passage such as stolen cigarette and late night drag races, there had been nights of black magic with his good friend Ethan Rayne. Ethan had given Giles the nickname "Ripper," and the two had caused more than their share of mayhem. Giles eventually grew up, came to his senses, and joined the watcher's council to fight the forces of darkness. Ethan on the other hand, was lost in a dark world, willing to do anything, worship any demon, commit any atrocity in his lust for power.
Ethan also enjoyed tormenting his former friend Ripper, and caused trouble in Sunnydale whenever possible. So was the attack on Buffy just a way of getting back at him, or something more sinister? Unfortunately, Giles was beginning to think they'd have to wait for his next move to be sure.
At that moment Buffy and Willow burst through the library doors, chattering a mile a minute. Giles smiled in spite of himself. He could never understand how Buffy could go through an ordeal like she had last night, and still joke around with her friends like a normal teen-ager the next day. Actually, it was rather odd for a slayer to have friends at all, let alone to employ them in her fight against evil. Xander and Willow often referred to Buffy's entourage as the "Scooby Gang." This elite organization included Angel, Willow, her werewolf boyfriend Oz, Xander, and his girlfriend Cordelia. At one point there had been another teacher involved, Ms. Jenny Calendar. The woman had been beautiful, with a flare for the dramatic and a talent for magic. Giles had loved her, but Angelus took her away from him forever. Giles still found it difficult to look Angel in the eye, though he knew he was no longer the beast who had killed his love.
But this was no time for losing himself in his personal miseries. Buffy's life was in danger, and as Watcher part of his job was to put her well being before his own.
"Hey Giles!" exclaimed Buffy as she leaned across the library counter. "What's the sitch? Any word on why Mr. Bad Boy's in town?"
Three years as the girl's watcher, and Giles still had to take a moment to translate the Buffy-speak. "Unfortunately, no. With the vampiric activity during the attack we can assume that he has formed some allies here, but I'm not yet sure for what purpose. You must be extra careful tonight."
"Don't worry. He can't get me twice with the same trick. Besides, Angel already agreed to come with." Giles couldn't help but notice the way her eyes lit up just by mentioning his name. Young love.
"Well, I'll be here all night anyway," Willow piped up as she pointed toward the steel cage to her right. "Tonight's the last werewolf night for this month. Any hacking I can do for ya?"
Giles did his best to appear stern and disapproving. "You know I don't advise illegal maneuvers on that dread machine ... but if you did accidentally stumble upon some credit card records, bank statements, hotel registries ..."
"Anything that would tell us what he's doing and where he's doing it. Piece of cake." Willow grinned as she sat down behind the computer terminal.
"Well, if you don't need me after all I'll be going home for a quick pre-slayage nap. I'm surprisingly tired considering the amount of unscheduled sleep I got last night," Buffy said with a yawn.
"Oh yes. Of course. I'll call you if Willow or I find anything pertaining to our current situation." With that, Giles returned to his office.
* * * * *
Buffy sat alone in the far corner of the Bronze. The club was packed, which wasn't all that unusual when you considered that it was practically the only place in Sunnydale which catered to the nightlife of the younger generation.
She scanned the crowd looking for Willow or one of the gang. The sea of faces was familiar from the hallways at school, but something was odd about the way they were moving. The teens almost looked like marionettes, pulled by invisible strings by someone in the rafters above.
A hand fell on Buffy's shoulder. Her breath caught in her throat as she turned to face a dark figure, cloaked in the shadows.
"Things are not as they seem."
* * * * *
Buffy shook her head as she slowly descended the stairs of her home. Part of being the Chosen One was having dreams. Often they were prophetic, warning her of dangers to come. They had saved her life more than once. Sometimes they were just plain weird, probably due to the fact that she spend many of her waking hours dealing with ghouls and goblins. Still, better to be on the safe side. She'd have to remember to tell Giles about this latest one.
Buffy's mother, was bustling around the kitchen trying to fix some dinner for herself and her daughter. She smiled. "Hi honey. Hungry?" Buffy nodded sleepily. "Good! I was thinking I might make a big casserole tonight. There's a show opening at the gallery this weekend, so I'll probably be spending the next few evenings working late ..." she stopped rambling and sighed. "You didn't come home last night."
"Oh, Mom, I'm sorry. I ended up at Giles' place. We kind of had a ... uh ... situation."
"I see." Joyce Summers tried to busy herself at the stove. She had just recently found out about her daughter's extra-curricular activities, and was still having a great deal of difficulty dealing with the reality of it all. "Vampire? Demon?"
"Nope. Just your run of the mill bad guy this time." Buffy helped herself to some orange juice from the fridge. "A little trickier to deal with since you can't just well, you know, kill 'em." Her mother flinched at that, so Buffy hurried on. "Anyway, Giles and I aren't exactly sure how to go about this. We had to plan and stuff ... I'm sorry I didn't call."
Joyce turned her back to Buffy so that she wouldn't be able to see her concern. "I understand. Really. Speaking of which, Willow just called. Giles wants to see you before you go on your rounds, or whatever you call them."
Buffy glanced at her watch. "Oh, I gotta scoot then. Sorry about the whole mother-daughter eating together thing. Maybe we can do it next week."
Joyce turned just in time to see the door close behind her only daughter. "Be careful," she whispered.
Chapter 4
Buffy's footsteps echoed in the empty hallways. Most students found the school kind of creepy when deserted, but not Buffy. When it was quiet and peaceful like this she let herself forget the whole place was build on a Hellmouth.
All the lights were blazing in the library, but there was no one in sight. "Hello?"
"Oh, Buffy!" Willow's voice came from the cage, where she and Oz were cuddled up on a sleeping bag. "We didn't hear you come in."
"I can see that. Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt."
"S'alright," said Oz. Sometimes he was so laid-back he didn't seem like he belonged among the living. But the beast inside him was truly vicious, so for everyone's safety he locked himself up for three nights once a month. He stood. "Gettin' to be about that time anyway." He helped Willow get to her feet and then pulled her close, whispering something in her ear. Willow giggled, and Buffy looked away. She was happy for her friends, but they still served as a reminder of what she and Angel could never have. When she turned back Oz was locking himself in the cage, and Willow was back at the computer.
"So, whadda we got?" said Buffy, sliding into a chair next to her friend.
"Not too much. But I did manage to dig up a credit card purchase from a magic store in New Mexico last week. I traced it back through one of those companies that watches your cards for unusual purchases. You know, in case it gets stolen? Anyway, I came up with this." She handed Buffy a computer printout.
"A Syrithian dagger? What's it do?"
"On it's own, not much of anything," Giles emerged from his office. "These days they are most commonly used as decoration, or in some sort of symbolic way. There are some older spells though, in which this particular blade can prove very powerful." The older man sighed and pushed his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose. "Unfortunately there are quite a few of these spells, and none that we've found so far seem to fit Ethan's profile." He stopped and looked around the library. "Xander and Cordelia are supposed to be looking one of those spells up for me, but I can't seem to find them."
"Uh, I'm here. We're here. Hold on!" A slightly disheveled Xander stepped from between the stacks, followed by Cordelia. Her hair and make-up were flawless, of course. Each carried a small stack of books.
"Oh really, you two! There is serious work to be done here." Giles gave them a very stern look and then retreated into his office.
"Work work work. That's all we ever do around here." Cordelia flopped into a chair.
"Yeah, you two were sure working hard when I walked in," Buffy chided. A low growl emanated from the cage, and they all turned to see werewolf-Oz pacing behind the bars. "Guess the moon's up. Time to go meet Angel. Why did Giles want to see me, anyway?"
"I think he just wanted to warn you to be careful," said Willow.
"I was actually planning on getting myself killed tonight, but if he insists ..."
"I dunno, Buffy. He's been kinda wigged ever since I found that Syrithian knife thing. He hasn't said anything to me, but from what I've found on the 'net so far it looks like you can work some serious mojo with it if you know how."
Xander spoke up. "And we all know he knows how. Remember that Halloween when he turned Buffy into a helpless little thing and me into big bad soldier man?"
"And we all know it'd take some pretty powerful magic to turn Xander into any kind of real man," Cordelia added.
Xander started to nod in agreement, then realized what she had said. "Hey!" Buffy didn't understand how the two of them stayed together. The only time they weren't fighting or insulting each other was when their lips were engaged in more intimate activities.
"Okay, I got it. Tonight careful is my middle name." With that, Buffy walked out of the library and into the night.
* * * * *
"Well this has been a boring night," Buffy sighed. Angel stopped and looked at her quizzically. "Oh! Not boring as in you were boring. More like ..."
"Uneventful?"
"Yeah, that's it." They walked in silence for a moment. "I'm sorry Angel, I guess I'm just distracted. When Ethan shows up like this Giles gets major wigged. I guess he feels like this is all his fault or something."
"I can understand. Guilt is a powerful force, Buffy. Just when you think you might be able to finally forget and move on with your life, something happens to bring it all back." Angel's voice trailed off as he stared up into the night sky.
"I know. How do you think I felt when we ... when you and I ... and then after Ms. Calendar ..."
Angel turned to her. "Jenny's death was not your fault. Neither was what happened to me. You didn't know what would happen. You had no idea ... what I was capable of. What I would do."
Buffy looked up into her lover's face. "I know that in my head. But my heart, it still hurts. I was so mean to her, Angel. You didn't see the way I treated her, the awful things I said. I blamed her for everything that happened to you, and it wasn't her fault. And all that time she was working so hard to help us, to help you. Without her you wouldn't be here, but I can't say thank you. I can't say I'm sorry. I just wish I could ..."
"So do I, Buffy." Angel pulled her into his arms. "So do I."
Buffy laid her head against Angel's chest. She supposed that by now she should be used to not hearing a heartbeat there, but it still seemed odd sometimes. Still, his arms were strong and comforting. His embrace reminded her of earlier days, before they discovered the truth about his curse. Back when they could be close without fears. Despite everything that had happened, Angel's arms were still the only place Buffy ever felt completely safe.
Finally, Angel's chest heaved with a sigh. "We should probably head back to the library and check in with Giles. I don't think we're going to find anything out here tonight."
But neither one of them moved for a long time.
* * * * *
"Find anything yet?" asked Buffy as she and Angel entered the library.
"Nothing. Zilch. Nada," replied Xander, slamming his book closed and adding it to the growing pile on the table.
"No luck here, either," added Willow as she peeked around the computer monitor.
"This is pointless! We're not going to find anything, and because I spent my night poring over these dumb old books instead of sleeping I'm going to be all puffy-eyed." Everyone stared at Cordelia. "What?"
"Cordelia may be right," said Buffy.
Xander's jaw dropped. "Someone call Ripley's Believe it or Not!" He was rewarded with an elbow in the gut from his girlfriend.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Seriously, guys. Maybe we should call it a night. Everyone's tired, and it doesn't look like Ethan's causing any trouble tonight."
"Maybe Angel scared him off for good," Cordelia offered.
"Somehow I doubt that," interjected Giles as he stepped from his office. He was holding a rather large, dusty book. "I believe I've discovered what Ethan is after."
Willow perked up. "Well that's good news, isn't it?"
"No, it's rather not. It seems the bloody fool wants to make himself immortal. I've found reference to a ritual through which worshipers of a demon called Kroxyl gained eternal life. They would perform a human sacrifice by removing the victim's heart with the Syrithian Dagger, then ... consuming it while it was still beating."
"Yummy," said Xander with a grimace.
Buffy wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Okay, it sounds like something Ethan would do, but you said there were lots of spells using that knife thing. How do you know this is the one?"
"Because this is the only spell that makes sense in light of last nights events," said Giles, slowly. "This is the only one that requires a Slayer as a human sacrifice."
Chapter 5
Buffy stepped out of Giles' weapon cage and sighed. She understood his concern at Ethan's presence and his wanting to squeeze in some extra battle practice before nightfall, but if he was going to make her stay after school the least he could do was to show up on time!
The slayer hefted the sword she had chosen moments earlier and inspected it. It was a beautiful weapon, one of Buffy's favorites. The hilt felt as if it had been made to fit her hand, with a soft leather wrapping which was comfortable and kept the sword from slipping from her grasp. The blade itself was double edged, perfect for when one was being attacked from several directions. Heavy enough to cause serious damage, light enough to weld easily, and Giles made sure to keep it sharp enough to split a hair.
Buffy decided that she might as well begin without Giles. It would make the watcher happy to see her take the initiative to begin the session on her own, and a happy watcher was watcher more inclined to let his slayer go home early enough to grab a decent dinner.
Parry. Dodge. Lunge. She slid easily from one move to the next, just as she had been taught. She spun to face her imaginary opponent, and instead found herself face to face with Giles.
Buffy brushed the hair and sweat from her forehead. "Hey Giles! I was beginning to think you wouldn't show ..." her voice trailed off as a figure stepped from behind Giles. Jenny Calendar. She was dressed in the same willowy green dress she had worn the night Angelus broke her neck, but her face was different. Pale and cold.
"He is not as he is." With that Jenny reached around Giles' neck with her right arm. Long fingernails dug into the skin under his chin, and she began to slowly pull the skin away. Blood covered the librarian's body and pooled around his feet. The sickening sound of flesh tearing from muscle filled the room. Buffy looked on, horrified, as the former teacher dropped Giles' face to the floor, revealing behind it the leering countenance of Ethan Rayne.
* * * * *
"Man Buff, you look trashed! You didn't sneak off to another frat party without me, did you?" Buffy pulled a chair up to the lunch table and glared at Xander. "Whoa! I withdraw the question."
"Sorry. I haven't been sleeping well lately. I guess it's starting to get to me," Buffy said wearily.
"Well duh! I mean, I know that if some wacked out looney wanted to cut my heart out and eat it I wouldn't be sleeping much either. Especially since he could sneak into your house or something." Cordelia's face lit up. "Ooh! I know! What if we get Angel to turn him into a vampire! Then he won't be able to come in unless you invite him!"
Even Xander was at a loss for words after that. It was Oz who spoke up first. "I'm thinking we go with plan B." He draped his arm over Willow's shoulder as she nodded in agreement.
"There is no plan B. Not yet, anyway." Buffy lowered her head and rubbed her eyes.
"Seriously, Buffy. You don't look so good. Is there anything we can do?" Willow looked concerned.
Buffy gave her friend a reassuring smile. "I'm okay, really. I'll just grab a few Z's in trig as usual."
Satisfied, Willow turned the conversation to new topics. "So, is everybody coming to the Bronze this weekend? Oz's band is playing on Friday." She ran her fingers through his already tousled looking hair, which was bright orange this week.
"Miss 'Wombats attacked my Kid?' Oh horrors!" said Cordelia sarcastically, still hurt from the reaction her idea had generated.
"We're 'Dingos ate my Baby,'" Oz corrected.
"Whatever," she rolled her eyes. "Of course we'll be there! It's not like there's anything better to do around here."
Xander scooted his chair closer to Cordelia's. "Um, I can think of something else we were going to do."
Cordelia answered with an impish grin. "Well I didn't say we'd be there all night."
Willow flinched involuntarily. Xander had been her closest friend since ... well, as long as she could remember. And for most of those years Willow had waited for Xander to wake up and realize that she was in love with him. Things had changed now that she was with Oz, but it still bothered her a little to see Xander with I'm-so-rich-and popular Cordy. She glanced over at Buffy, expecting a knowing look of sympathy from her friend, but Buffy was in her own little world, staring into the distance.
* * * * *
Buffy had been kidding when she joked about taking a nap during math class, but as she sat in the back row she found it difficult to keep her eyes open. She stifled a yawn and tried to pay attention.
"As you can see, X must equal 36 degrees. Now, when we plug that number into the original equation ..." Mr. Mohonski's voice was quiet, monotonous. Buffy's eyelids began to droop, and gradually slid closed.
When she opened them again, she was no longer in room 211.
She was in the graveyard.
It was quiet. Buffy was used to hearing the wing whispering through the leaves, crickets chirping in the tall grass, the occasional car passing by on the road. Tonight her footsteps echoed loudly through the eery nothingness.
Suddenly a figure appeared before her, a man who's face was the feral-like visage of a vampire. Startled, Buffy took a step backward and fell, striking her head on a tombstone. She lay dazed for a second too long, and her attacker took advantage of the moment. Clawed hands shot up from the cold ground, pinning her down.
And then he was beside her, the vampire who had startled her. He looked as if he might have been a biker in life, with torn jeans and a grimy Harley Davidson t-shirt worn underneath an even filthier black leather jacket. "It's too bad Rayne want you alive, Slayer." He spit out the word as if it was the most insulting title he could think of. The vampire knelt down beside her and leaned in close, until his nose was almost touching hers and his matted hair brushed her cheek. "Otherwise I'd personally pay you back for all the trouble you've caused 'round here." His grotesque features twisted into a horrible grin, fangs gleaming in the moonlight. Buffy turned her head from his putrid breath, and when she looked again he was gone.
In his place stood Jenny Calendar. "Buffy, you must realize by now that you are already his." She reached out her hand and caressed Buffy's cheek with a hand of ice.
"No!" Buffy screamed and jerked her body away.
Then she became aware of the classroom, and 27 pairs of eyes staring at her. "Um, sorry. Really big bug." A lame excuse, but she was saved from further embarrassment by the bell signaling the end of the school day.
Buffy was used to getting whispers and stares, but that didn't make them hurt any less. She quickly gathered her books and left the classroom, trying to ignore the hushed conversations about her even odder than usual behavior.
"Buffy! Wait up!" She had been in such a hurry to leave that she forgot Xander had been in class with her. "What was all that about? Last time I checked bugs weren't exactly a threat around here unless they were at least ten feet tall."
Buffy did not feel like talking to anyone at that moment, but she knew Xander well enough to know that he wouldn't give up easily. She described her dream as quickly as she could, making sure to leave out the part about Jenny Calendar.
"Whoa Buff, that doesn't sound too good. Guess we should go see Mr. Bookman."
"No!" Buffy said, a little too hastily. "I mean ... I need to go home first. I uh, gotta have dinner with my Mom. You know, that whole 'quality time' thing. I'll stop in and tell him before I patrol." With that she walked away, leaving Xander alone in the hallway.
Chapter 4
For the second night in a row things seemed normal in Sunnydale, and to the slayer, normal meant trouble. When demons and vampires went into hiding, you knew something big was going to go down. So when Buffy caught sight of a lone vampire sneaking through the park, it got her attention. Normally she would have staked him right then and there, but since some of the town's nightlife appeared to be on Ethan's payroll she didn't want to take any chances. She pointed him out to Angel, and the two began to follow at a distance.
The vampire led them through the trees for the almost 45 minutes before emerging into a clearing. Less than a hundred yards away was Scenic Point, a favorite make-out spot for Sunnydale teens. Buffy could just barely see the outline of a single car parked alongside the road, and the vampire was heading straight toward it.
There was no more time to wait. Buffy ran from the trees and stopped in the middle of the road. "Hey! Don't you think you should let those kids have a little privacy?" The vampire whirled about to face Buffy, his altered face emanating the rage he felt at being interrupted during the hunt. With a roar, he launched himself toward the girl. Buffy didn't even have to move, she just planted her feet firmly on the ground and swung her stake arm upward as the vampire lunged at her.
A moment later, Angel was at Buffy's side. "Well, that was um ... interesting."
"Yeah," said Buffy as she brushed the vampire dust from her jacket. "The guy practically staked himself. And I don't see any cavalry so ..."
"He probably wasn't one of Ethan's men."
"Which means we just wasted almost an hour tracking a vampire so stupid we probably could have staked him and gone on in about 30 seconds." Buffy glanced at the sky, and then at her watch. "Sunrise is only three hours away, and we have a lot of ground to cover. We'd better get moving."
Angel grabbed Buffy's arm. "Whoa there. Shouldn't you go home and get some sleep? You do have school tomorrow, and all."
Buffy shook him off. "I'm not going to be able to get any sleep until I know Ethan is taken care of. And I'd rather find him before he finds me. Now are you going to help or not?"
"Of course I want to help. I just want to make sure you're taken care of."
"I can take care of myself," Buffy snapped. Angel looked stunned, almost as if Buffy had slapped him. She sighed. "Look, we can cover more ground if we split up, okay? If you go check the museum grounds I'll sweep the graveyard and then go straight home to rest. Promise"
"If you're sure that's the way you want it." Angel didn't think this was a very good idea, but he knew there was no arguing with her when she was in one of those moods.
"I'm sure," and with that, Buffy headed back down the road toward the graveyard.
* * * * *
As Buffy walked through the cemetery gates, she silently cursed herself. Why had she been so mean to Angel? After all, he was just trying to help. And she'd been grouchy with the rest of her friends as well. If she could get some rest she was sure she'd be fine, but the nightmares just wouldn't go away. This was her third straight night without much sleep, and she wasn't all that anxious to go home and give it another try. But she was going to have to. A few more nights like this and she wouldn't be able to hold her own against Cordelia, let alone against Ethan or his goons.
Buffy was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice the vampire until she was practically on top of him. His guttural growl caught her attention, and when she looked up she found herself staring into the face of the former Harley rider from her dream. Startled, she took a step back, tripped over a low lying grave marker, and found herself flat on her back. Before she could right herself four more vampires had materialized seemingly from nowhere, and were holding her down by her hands and feet.
The biker vampire laughed as he stood beside her. "It's too bad Rayne wants you alive, Slayer." He knelt beside her, and leaned in close.
"Yeah, I know. It's payback time." Buffy slammed her forehead into the vampire's face as hard as she could. He screamed in pain and rage as he flew backward into the vampires holding her feet, knocking them over as well. With her legs free, Buffy was able to kick off the two remaining vampires holding her down. She rolled backwards into a handstand, and then vaulted to an upright position. Within seconds there was a stake in each hand, and the first vampire was dispatched moment after that. "One down, four to go. Who's next?"
The two that had been holding her legs were on their feet again, and attacked from opposite sides. Buffy dropped into a crouch and put her weight on her hands, then swung her legs around as if she was on a pommel horse, sweeping both attackers off their feet. She turned and plunged a stake into the heart of the first, simultaneously aiming a kick toward the chin of the vampire at her rear, who was attempting to regain his footing. He was dust a split second after his partner.
Buffy stood to face the two remaining vampires. One took off running, but Harley wasn't about to give up that easily. He charged. Buffy used the momentum of the much bigger man to her advantage. She grabbed him by the shoulders and planted a foot in his belly, then rolled onto her back and flipped him to the ground. The biker landed on his back while Buffy continued to roll, and she ended up sitting on his chest. Buffy fell the last few inches to the ground as the vampire disintegrated beneath her.
"Lose something?" Buffy turned to see Angel holding the runaway vampire by the collar. He staked him with his free hand. "Guess it's a good thing I stopped by to make sure you were really going home. I think we need to go have a talk with Giles."
* * * * *
"I take it this night wasn't as quiet as the last," commented Giles as he observed Buffy's disheveled condition.
"Not exactly. We didn't see Ethan, but we had a little run in with his men."
"Are you sure it wasn't just your every day vampire?" asked Willow.
"Nope. The guy from the cemetery said he had specific instructions to deliver me to Ethan alive."
"Hey, isn't that what happened in your dream earlier today?" If Buffy's slayer powers had included a look to kill, Xander would have been dead on the spot.
Giles looked confused. "Dream? What dream?"
Buffy sunk down into the nearest available chair. "I've been having these dreams lately. There's a ... a person who keeps trying to tell me something. And then I dreamed about the vamps I met tonight ..."
Giles jumped to his feet. "You mean that you've been having these dreams for days and you didn't see fit to tell me about them?"
"I didn't tell you because I wasn't sure what they meant and I didn't want you to overreact," said Buffy, staring down at the floor.
"Overreact?" the watcher was enraged. "Oh excuse me if being concerned for your life is overreacting! The last time I checked it was part of my job!"
"Your job?" Now Buffy was standing as well. "You chose your job. What about my job? I didn't have a say in being who I am, but now my job is to protect you, all of you! And when I mess up, people tend to get killed. It puts the pressure on, you know? If I told you about every dream I have about being killed or seeing the people I love die, we'd be here all day!"
"But with Ethan in town things are different! Can't you see that?"
"Look Giles, I know you're going through a hard time with your old sorcerer buddy here in town, okay? I'm just trying to spare you any more pain! You've been through enough because of me."
At this, Giles began to calm down. "What on earth are you talking about?"
"My dreams haven't been about Ethan, Giles. They're about Jenny."
Giles slowly lowered himself into his chair. "Good heavens," he whispered to himself.
"You see, you have enough to worry about without dealing with my guilt. You don't need to know that lately I see her every time I close my eyes! That I hear her voice in my dreams! That no matter where I go she's still there, blaming me!"
"Buffy, Jenny's death it ... it wasn't your fault." Giles stammered.
"Yes it was. I'm the Slayer." The twin doors to the library swung wildly on their hinges as Buffy ran from the room with tears streaming down her cheeks.
Chapter 7
It was an effort to walk in a straight line as Buffy entered school the next morning. She had collapsed into bed after her confrontation with Giles, and emotional and physical exhaustion helped her to find sleep rather quickly. But only a few minutes later she had awakened to find Jenny Calendar standing at the foot of her bed. Buffy blinked once and the image was gone, but she had definitely been there. The rest of the night was spent sitting up with all the lights on, peering into the shadows to make sure the former teacher wasn't hiding somewhere.
Now she was back in school. Her mother had urged her to stay home and rest, but that was the last thing Buffy wanted. As long as she could stay awake, she figured Ms. Calendar couldn't bother her.
Buffy paused at the doors to the library, trying to decide what she was going to say to Giles after the episode last night. She took a deep breath and was about to push open the door when she heard Xander's voice. "I'm really worried, guys. She seems like she's flying off the handle."
Cordelia spoke next. "Maybe this Ethan guy cast some sort of spell on her."
"No," this was Giles' voice. "Ethan doesn't know about Jenny. Besides, her slightly neurotic state would probably make her more difficult to capture, rather than easier."
"So now I'm neurotic." Xander, Cordelia, and Giles turned to see Buffy standing in the doorway. "It's nice to know what you really think of me."
"Buffy, we just, we wanted to ... we're worried about you," stammered Xander.
Buffy nodded. "I see. So worried that you had to hold a little conference about me, huh? Next time why don't you come to me, instead of talking about me behind my back."
Giles stood and walked toward his slayer. "Buffy, please calm down. I know things are difficult for you right now ... "
"You have no idea how difficult things are!" Buffy's face was reddening with anger. "You aren't the one who can't sleep at night! I'm so tired I can keep my thoughts straight, but I still have to stop Ethan and keep the whole town safe!"
Willow gently took Buffy's hand in hers. "That's why you need to let us help you. Please, Buffy. Try to calm down, okay?"
Willow made a great deal of sense, and Buffy suddenly felt embarrassed. "Okay. Okay. I'm sorry." Willow squeezed Buffy's hand in support, then led her over to a chair.
Giles knelt at her side. "As painful as it may be, I need you to tell me what has happened. What exactly has transpired in your dreams?" So Buffy told Giles everything, all the dreams she had since Ethan's first appearance. As she spoke, Giles' eyebrows furrowed in concentration. "This just doesn't make any sense. Your dreams do coincide with Ethan's arrival, but I can see no reason why he would do such a thing. In fact, I'm not sure its within his power to do so."
"Well I think he could do it," said Cordelia. "He managed to get into everybody's heads last Halloween."
Giles shook his head. "No, that was different. The only way Ethan can influence someone's thoughts like that is through some sort of contact. The costumes provided him with that contact on that occasion."
"What about the dart?" offered Oz.
"Nope," said Willow. "That was our first thought too. I did some tests last night. No magic, just your average tranquilizer."
Xander was puzzled. "But then what's going on? Slayer dreams are supposed to help, not make you nuts ... oh, um, bad choice of words, huh?"
Buffy offered a week smile. "No it's okay. I have been kind of nuts lately." She turned to Giles. "The thing that I don't get is why now? We've been in more danger lots of times. My dreams about the Master were nothing like this, and he even managed to kill me ... for a few minutes anyway."
"My thoughts exactly." Giles was interrupted by first bell. "All of you should get to your classes. I'm going to go through the Watcher's journals. Maybe there will be something of use to us."
Everyone gathered their books and headed toward the door. "Buffy!" Giles' call caught her just before she left the room. "We will discover the cause of this." She nodded and headed toward her first period class, wondering if his parting comment had been to reassure her, or himself.
* * * * *
Evening found Buffy sitting at her usual table at the Bronze. Giles was still busy reading through the chronicles left by previous watchers, but so far his search had been unsuccessful. The gang had stayed after school to help, but Giles eventually shooed them away claiming they were distracting him with their "ceaseless chattering." Buffy suspected it was all a ploy to help take her mind off of Ms. Calendar and Ethan, which was basically impossible. Still, she was managing to have somewhat of an enjoyable evening. Oz's band sounded excellent, as usual, and all her friends were doing their best to keep things light. Even Cordelia was attempting to be pleasant, which she accomplished basically by keeping her mouth shut.
The one thing that was beginning to bug her was the fact that no one would let her have a minute alone. Willow had basically become attached to her at the hip. Not that Buffy didn't appreciate the gesture, but she wasn't used to being fussed over. At the moment, though, she seemed to have been granted a reprieve. Xander and Cordelia were dancing, and Willow had excused herself to the Ladies' room.
Buffy sighed and nursed an iced mocha. She hoped the caffeine would keep her alert for the duration of the night, but she was going to have to get some sleep tomorrow, nightmares or not.
Something on the dance floor caught her eye. It looked almost like ... no. It couldn't be. Then it was there again. A familiar face among the throng of teenagers. Buffy rubbed her eyes. Those dreams were really getting to her, if she thought she was seeing Jenny Calendar while she was awake now. But there it was again! A quick flash, barely a glimpse of her figure, her face, but it was defiantly there. Buffy's breathing quickened. Her eyes darted around the room. Jenny was everywhere now! There, on the catwalk. And there, getting a drink at the bar.
Someone laid a hand gently on Buffy's shoulder. She jumped up, knocking her chair to the ground in the process. Jenny had come out of hiding, and was standing directly in front of her.
Chapter 8
"Why are you doing this to me?" Buffy hauled off and landed a punch squarely on Jenny's jaw ... but the person who lay unconscious on the floor a moment later wasn't Jenny.
It was Willow.
Oz dropped his guitar and jumped off of the stage, pushing the crowd away. He cradled his lovers head on his lap, and looked up at Buffy with accusing eyes.
"Oh my God," whispered Cordelia. Xander just stood there, stunned.
Buffy slowly backed away from her fallen friend "I'm not dreaming. I'm not dreaming this time, am I?" A man tried to grab her by the arm as she backed slowly toward the door, but she shook him off.
"Somebody call 911!" The girl's cry broke Buffy's trance-like state. She turned and ran.
Buffy tore through the streets of Sunnydale, not knowing where she was going and not really caring. She ran until her lungs felt as if they would burst, then ran some more. After a while she stopped to think. She had to go somewhere.
Panic-stricken, Buffy turned to the one who always knew the answers. Giles looked up sharply as she burst through the library doors, almost tearing them off their hinges. "Giles, what's wrong with me?" Buffy buried her head in his shirt and sobbed uncontrollably. Not knowing what else to do, he wrapped her arms around the girl and held her.
* * * * *
"So, this is what it feels like to be crazy," Buffy thought to herself. She sat on the bed with her knees pulled up to her chest, head resting on the padded wall. The rooms in the psych ward weren't exactly what she expected. The walls were thickly padded, as was the floor, but there were also large windows (barred of course) for natural light. The doctor had given her something to help her sleep, but he didn't know about a slayer's metabolism. It had only calmed her down to the point where she could almost think logically about her situation.
After the incident at the Bronze, Giles decided it would be best to check her into the hospital for observation. Buffy agreed. They wouldn't be able to hold her there against her will, but at least this way she'd be less likely to hurt any of her friends again.
Willow was going to be fine, thank goodness. Oz had brought her to the hospital as well, thinking that Buffy might have broken her jaw. The X-rays came back showing that there weren't any fractures, but she would still be swollen and sore for at least a week. When they left Buffy's side they were still attempting to concoct a plausible story to tell Mr. and Mrs. Rosenberg.
There was still the whole problem of Ethan Rayne to worry about, but with the security of the psychiatric wing being as strict as it was, Buffy felt secure that he wouldn't be able to find her.
Jenny Calendar, however, was a completely different matter.
She was there, sitting at the foot of the bed. Buffy closed her eyes. "You aren't real. You aren't real." But this time when she opened them, Jenny was still there.
"He already has you, Buffy. Don't you see?"
"No!" Buffy closed her eyes again. "I'm not his. I'm not your's. You aren't even here." Once again, she felt Jenny's cold hand caress her cheek. She opened her eyes, and discovered the look on Jenny's face wasn't one of condemnation.
It was one of concern.
"There isn't much time. I've been trying to show you the truth, but you won't see," she sighed. "Look past the guilt. See the reality. It's right in front of you." Jenny's last sentence was barely audible as her form faded away, and Buffy was alone.
An idea was beginning to form in the Slayer's mind. A crazy idea, but then again, she was a patient in a psychiatric hospital. Buffy slowly uncurled herself and stood, still a bit woozy from the medication she'd been given. She walked over to the locked door which led to the hallway.
Or at least, it used to lead to the hallway. The view through the small window was no longer that of patients and nurses. Instead it looked like some sort of dark storeroom, lit only by hundreds of candles. In the center was some sort of make-shift table or altar, and on the altar ... Buffy gasped. She finally understood what Jenny had been trying to tell her. She ran to the back wall and stood there for a moment, gathering all her strength and resolve. Then she threw herself toward the door as fast and hard as she could.
Chapter 9
Ethan Rayne smiled to himself as he slid into his ceremonial robes. Tonight would be a night to remember. Not only would he gain immortality, but he had the chance to make good old Ripper suffer while he was at it. And as an added bonus, he would rid himself of that pesky slayer.
After looking in the mirror to make sure everything was in order (one didn't want to look shabby when presenting an offering to a demon as temperamental as Kroxyl) he walked toward the altar, carefully stepping over the candles he had arranged in a protective circle. The candlelight flickered across the Slayer's face. She was so beautiful lying there with her hair unbound, dressed only in the white shift Ethan had purchased for the occasion. Ethan lightly caressed her cheek with one finger. It was a shame that such a beauty had been wasted on a slayer. But her beauty would make her sacrifice even more pleasing to the demon.
The clock on the wall struck midnight. It was time. "Kroxyl, master of all darkness, I call on thee. My life up to now has been nothing, a mere blink of an eye compared to your eternal night. Share with me your gift. Your power. Your glory. I shall live every day of my undying life to serve you." Ethan lifted his right arm, hand clasped around the hilt of the Syrithian dagger. It's black blade seemed to glow with a dark fire as it reflected the dim light of the candles. "I offer this one to you, a symbol of your fight against the beings of light. Infuse me with her strength and power, and with your never ending existence!" With a loud cry, Ethan closed his eyes and plunged the dagger toward Buffy's breast.
When he didn't feel the impact of blade to bone, he opened his eyes, and saw Buffy's hands clapped on both sides of the knife. "Sorry Ethan, not today." She pushed hard, causing the hilt of the dagger to strike Ethan in the forehead. He howled in pain.
"How did you do ... you shouldn't be ...I gave you enough sedative to knock down an elephant!" Ethan backed away as Buffy stood and advanced toward him.
Buffy smiled. "I had a little help from an old friend." Ethan took off running. Buffy began to give chase, but soon realized she was still weak from whatever Ethan had drugged her with. She sank to her knees to catch her breath.
By the time she felt strong enough to stand, Ethan was long gone. Buffy sighed and left the building in search of a pay phone.
* * * * *
"Thank you," said Buffy as she accepted the cup of tea Giles offered her. She had no sooner taken her first sip when the door burst open.
"Buffy!" Willow ran into Giles' apartment and threw her arms around her friend, almost knocking the coffee table over in the process.
"Whoa there, Will. I'm still a little shaky." Buffy laughed as she returned the hug.
"It's a Kodak moment," said Oz, looking to Xander and Cordelia who had entered with him.
"Sure is. Good to have you back ..." Xander's eyes traveled down Buffy's body. "Yowza! Where'd you get that outfit?"
Buffy suddenly realized she was still wearing the slightly revealing white garment. Giles offered her a blanket, which she gratefully pulled around her shoulders. "I'm not sure. I guess Ethan must have put it on me."
"You mean he actually saw you naked? Gross!" Cordelia said with a grimace.
"Lucky stiff," said Xander, earning him yet another elbow to the gut from his girlfriend.
"Can we please stick to the subject at hand?" sighed Giles.
"Oh. Right. So let me get this straight. You've been unconscious since Ethan drugged and kidnaped you last night, right?" asked Xander. "So how did you escape?"
"I'm not exactly sure. I had this dream, and I thought I was here, with all of you. And we figured it all out - the dagger, the sacrifice ... everything. I don't know if it was Slayer's intuition or if I just subconsciously picked up what Ethan was doing." She shivered and pulled the blanket tighter around her body. "But the weirdest thing was that Jenny was there, too."
"Jenny?" Giles looked startled. "But Jenny has never had anything to do with Ethan."
"I know. That's the part that's got me a bit wigged. She was the one who warned me, who showed me that none of it was real. She's the only reason I'm still alive." Buffy looked to Giles. "I don't know what to think. Was it just a dream, or was it really her?"
Giles thought for a moment, then sighed. "I suppose we'll probably never know. But I think it's safe to assume that it may have been her ghost or spirit. She wanted to assist us in life, she might still be helping in death."
"Even after everything that happened between her and me? After the way I treated her?"
"Maybe because of it." Giles laid his hand on Buffy's shoulder. "Perhaps it was her way of letting you know that everything is alright now." He was about to continue when the door opened again.
"I've been everywhere, and I can't ... Buffy!" Angel hurried to her side and took her hand in his. "Are you alright?"
"I'm fine." Buffy smiled and looked at her friends, and then up at the stars through the skylight. For a moment she thought she caught a glimpse of Jenny Calendar's reflection on the glass.
Jenny was smiling.
