The Slayer Chronicles: The Sunnydale Years

Chronicle Three: The Rat's Tale

Part Six

by

sHaYcH

(all previous disclaimers apply)

The phone in the salle rang, and Buffy stopped beating up the kick bag long enough to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Buffy? It’s Angel. You got a minute?" the vampire’s voice sounded strained.

Buffy frowned. "Sure," she sat down on the floor, making the cord stretch and twist in strange directions.

"I just finished talking to Xander about Oakheart," Angel said, by way of introduction.

"Do you know anything about it?" Buffy asked excitedly.

"More than I wish I did," Angel murmured. "But that’s not the point. Look, there’s some stuff I gotta tell you. Important stuff."

"Okay, shoot," Buffy stretched her legs out, crossing them. The door to the practice room opened and Amy walked in, carrying a bottle of sports drink and a towel. Buffy accepted them with a silent ‘thank you’, while listening to Angel speak.

"Because of the nature of the blade, only you can break the spell that protects it and you have to do it alone," Angel said.

"Why? I mean, yay, and stuff, but can’t we all just walk in and grab the thing and go?" Buffy asked, mopping her face with the towel.

Angel sighed. "I wish it were that easy. I found the sword before the Gypsies cursed me. I knew the blade was as deadly to me as it was to the legendary Magus, so I wanted to be certain that it would never fall into the hands of my most hated enemy - a slayer."

"That makes sense, even for a not evil person," Buffy acknowledged. Amy sat down next to the Slayer, pulling Buffy into her arms and snuggling her close. Buffy stiffened briefly, then relaxed into the embrace.

"To make a long story short, I had a spell cast so that only a Slayer who had," Angel coughed, "been intimate with me could find the sword. Anyone else who attempted it would be struck down on the spot."

"Oh, yeah, I can see where I qualify for that," Buffy said after a moment of silence. "But, I still don’t see why I have to do it alone."

"That’s another condition of the spell. I figured that no one would dare enter the lair of the Master alone, and even if they were that brave, then they wouldn’t get the blade anyway." Angel sounded almost regretful.

"Sounds like you’ve planned for everything. Well, I guess I get to be Action Buffy. Just tell me how to get to it, and I’m gone," Buffy said, trying not to purr as Amy slowly ran her fingers through the Slayer’s blonde hair.

"Faith and Cordelia will be there in a couple of days with the maps and the counterspell."

"I gotta wait?" Buffy sighed dramatically. "But I so wanted to slay this thing and get on with my life."

Angel chuckled. "It’s only a couple days, Buffy. Don’t worry. Or would you rather go without a map?"

"Oh, map. Please, I get lost on my way to the grocery store. A map is most desirable, thank you," Buffy said emphatically.

Amy nodded enthusiastically.

"All right, give me a few days so I can remember everything. You’ll have it as soon as I finish it," Angel promised.

"Great. Tell Faith I’m looking forward to seeing her. I really want to talk to her about my dreams."

***

Sometimes, Xander decided as he walked out of his parents house carrying the last of the things he had to move out, life just sucks slime balls. Not only did he have to endure almost three hours of his parent’s normal verbal abuse, but while he was packing, his mom gave him the guilt trip from hell.

Xander was broke. Way, very, incredibly, there’s only lint in my pockets, broke. Because of that, he couldn’t pay his parents the rent for his last month. And to hear his mom tell it, because of that, they couldn’t pay the mortgage. Which meant that the bank was going to foreclose, and his parents were going to be out on the streets, homeless. Or at least, that’s how Xander’s mom made him feel -like dirt. According to her, he was the lowest, scummiest excuse for a son that ever existed and he should be proud to fork over his earnings so that they might have a roof over their heads. Except, there were no such earnings.

Xander sighed and got into Anya’s car. His girlfriend gave him a sour look and frowned.

"They’re doing it again, aren’t they?" she said without preamble as she started up the little Datsun’s engine.

"Huh?" Xander said, shaken from his reverie. "Oh, no, it’s okay. Really."

Anya rolled her eyes. "See, this is why you should let me ask for some of my powers back. I’d disembowel your parents in a heartbeat."

Xander blanched. "Uh, thanks, An. That, um, really shows you care."

"Well really, what else can I do? They treat you like crap, and then they make you feel bad because they have to treat you like crap. Your parents are really messed up." The former demon swerved the car, barely avoiding a pedestrian. "Why don’t you get into a car and drive, you road hazard!" she leaned out of her window and yelled.

Xander covered his eyes. "An, they’re supposed to be able to cross the street when the light’s green."

"But he was in my way. I wanted to turn," she said stubbornly. "Anyway, so, spit it out. What’s their problem this time? Oh wait, let me guess…they need money."

Xander’s silence answered her question.

"Well they can join the rest of us," Anya said jovially. "I’m broke too."

Xander pulled his arm away from his face. "Broke? You? No way."

She shrugged. "D’Hoffryn’s pity money doesn’t last forever, I suppose. It’s no big deal, I mean, I can just do something and get some more."

"Yeah, yeah, you can get a job," Xander said softly.

"A job? But that would mean work. No, I was thinking about robbing a bank," Anya said conversationally.

Xander spluttered, sitting up and banging his head on the roof of the car. "What? Anya!"

She laughed. "Gotcha!"

Xander grumbled good-naturedly for a few minutes while Anya made pouty eyes at him. Finally, he relented. "Oh, all right, you got me," he admitted, pursing his lips in a wry grin.

Anya’s face lit up into a huge smile. "Now I get a reward! I want… I want…" she sing-songed, closing her eyes and letting the car drift off to the side of the road. Passing motorists honked and honked, but she totally ignored them. Xander sank down further and further into the faux leather of the passenger seat until finally Anya opened her eyes and slapped her palms on the steering wheel. "I know what I want, I want something to drink!" With that, she gunned the motor and pulled back into traffic, cutting off a slew of angry motorists.

Xander pried one hand off his eyes cautiously. "Is it safe to look yet?" he groaned while Anya ran another yellow light that was really almost red.

"Of course it is. What a silly question," Anya said, then suddenly turned the car into the parking lot of a corner market. Skewing the car sideways so she took three spaces, Anya hopped out of her seat and planted a brief kiss on Xander’s head. "Be right back honey," she said happily, then dashed off into the store.

Xander leaned over and shut the driver’s side door so he wouldn’t have to listen to the incessant buzzing of the broken recording of, "Your door is ajar." Then he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car, stretching his legs out. He ran a hand over his face wearily wondering whether he should just walk around town. After all, Sunnydale wasn’t that big, really.

The cramps in his legs were just starting to fade when he noticed the shiny object on the ground. Curious, he stepped closer to look, but it moved. Perplexed, and not a little bit annoyed, he stepped closer, this time reaching for it. Again, the item moved.

"To hell with you then," he muttered, turning away from the gleaming object. "I don’t need a quarter that bad."

::Xander…:: a sultry voice tickled at the back of his mind.

"Huh?" the young man frowned and looked around. "What?"

::Do you want me?:: the same voice asked, and suddenly, he turned to see a scantily clad woman. Miss July, or maybe Miss February smiled and waved at the stunned young man. His jaw dropped and the blonde bombshell wiggled her sun -bronzed hips alluringly.

"Oh mama," he said, wiping the drool from his chin. "Hello, gorgeous."

::Do you want me?:: the voice asked again, but this time the words appeared to come from the lips of the voluptuous blonde.

"Yeah, I can safely say that yeah, there’s want in there," Xander replied, taking a step toward the woman, who was now giving him a come hither glance while beckoning to him.

::Pick up the coin, Xander, and take me,:: she instructed and Xander stopped and bent to retrieve the glinting object. Just as his fingers were about to come in contact with the metal, a new voice interrupted him.

"Xander, what are you doing?" Anya’s shrill voice barely pierced his haze.

"Got to… pick it up…" he replied in a monotone.

Anya set her drink on the hood of the car to see what had so interested her boyfriend. Once she saw the object, she let out a howl of rage. "Oh no you don’t, he’s mine!" she screamed, kicking the coin away from Xander’s reach. "And you can’t have him, ever!"

Xander blinked. The coin was gone, replaced with a bare patch of blacktop. He looked up, and Miss July was gone as well. He rubbed his eyes, then turned to look at Anya. "She went bye-bye," he said sadly, still not quite aware of what had happened.

"You’re damned right she’s gone. And she better not come back if she knows what’s good for her," Anya said, shaking her fist at the ground. "Damn succubi and their boyfriend stealing ways. Do you know how hard it is to find a good man these days?"

"Succubi?" Xander said, coming back to himself. "As in, ride me hard and put me away dead, succubi?"

"I don’t know of any others," Anya said as she proceeded to do a thorough examination of him.

"What, whoa, hey hon, not in public, okay?" he said as she started to slip her hand down the waistband of his pants.

Anya made an innocent face. "I need to make sure she didn’t hurt you, Xander. Succubi are very dangerous."

Xander rolled his eyes. "I assure you, I - and they - are fine."

"Oh, all right. But I want to do a full body exam when we get back home," Anya said sternly.

Xander raised his eyebrows. "Do I get to examine you, as well?" he asked eagerly as she walked around to the driver’s side of the car.

Anya looked back over her shoulder at her boyfriend. "Will you use your ‘special’ tools, Doctor X?"

"Oh yeah," he drawled, grabbing the other can of soda and hopping into the car.

From her limousine, Michiko watched the couple drive away. A frown darkened her brow. She had failed to obtain the trickster. Pity, she hated killing useful tools. No matter. A simple phone call would take care of the Trickster, and then, there would be no one to interfere with her plans for her master. She ran a caressing hand over her belly. Inside, she could feel him move, rolling around, anxious to get out and claim his world.

"Soon, my master, soon, all will be yours."

***

"So…do you want to tell them?"

"Um, I don’t know. Do you?" Buffy rolled over and looked at Amy, who shrugged. Quietly, the radio played in the background, filling the silences of Amy’s room with the strains of Dvorak. The forensics student had discovered a real taste for classical music, to the point of leaving her radio on a local public radio station at all times.

"Well, I mean, I don’t want to hide, but I don’t want you to be uncomfortable, so, I guess it’s really up to you," Amy said lamely, hiding her face in the pillow.

"Hey, do you really think I’m that ashamed of us?" Buffy asked, stroking her fingers over Amy’s face. Amy just shrugged. Why shouldn’t she? You two have been sleeping in each other’s beds for three days, and you haven’t even bothered to tell your best friend! Buffy’s little mental voice chastised her. Buffy sighed. "Okay, I guess I have been a little reluctant to shout out my feelings, but it’s not because I’m ashamed of them."

"Oh, I know," Amy said, nodding fiercely. "I’m sure you’ve got a perfectly good reason which is why I didn’t push -"

Buffy put a finger over Amy’s lips. "Shh," she said. "I don’t really know what my reasons were, other than just not knowing the right words. I don’t wanna jinx what we have growing between us by pasting a label to it." Buffy twisted her lips into a wry grin. "I’m just not a pasty kind of girl. I want like, the bond that lasts forever type thing."

"Forever?" Amy whispered, sneaking her hand up to twine with Buffy’s.

"Yeah, or until one of the bad guys puts me in the ground," the slayer replied in a bittersweet tone. "There’s always that doom and gloom thing that hangs over me like a sword of damned cleats."

"Damocles," Amy corrected automatically.

"Whatever. Dead Greek guy, really sharp sword, thin string. Bad juju," Buffy said, giggling lightly.

Amy giggled, then laughed, then Buffy laughed, then both of them laughed, then, in the middle of laughing, Buffy leaned over and kissed Amy, and there was no more laughter, only the gentle sounds of lips and fingers caressing skin.

***

"I think you owe me a back rub," Willow whispered to Tara as they crept away from Amy’s door.

"Just as soon as you pony up the foot rub you owe me for Mr. Giles and Mrs. Summers," Tara whispered back.

"Oh, yeah, I forgot. Okay, um, how about we go back to our rooms and," Willow wiggled her eyebrows lasciviously, "get cozy."

Tara gave Willow a little push with her shoulder. "Oh you… you’re incorrigible, aren’t you?" she said, laughing at Willow’s outrageously faked expression of hurt at the shove.

"Honey," Willow mock-whined, "we only do it four times a day."

"Oh god, that was way too much information," a new voice said. Willow looked up and immediately flushed a deep scarlet as Xander came around the corner with a tray full of food. The young man’s ears were just as red as Willow’s face.

Tara laughed delightedly. "Good morning, Xander," she said, walking over to take the tray from his wavering hands. Dumbly, he let go of the tray, looking from Willow, to Tara and back again.

"What’s the matter, Xander?" Willow asked sweetly, trying hard to get control over her blushing. "Can’t handle the fact that Tara and I make love, often?"

Xander’s mouth moved, but no words came out. His ears got redder, and then, he let out an explosive sigh that was tainted by just the barest hint of a squeak. "Will, you know I love you and you know that I would never, ever think anything about you or Tara, but please, for the love of all that’s not in the gutter like my brain is, don’t ever mention you and sex with another girl again. It does bad things to my head."

Willow smirked and said, "Poor Xander, all that libido and Anya’s going job hunting today."

"It is sweet of him to bring her breakfast in bed, though," Tara commented, handing Xander back his tray.

Willow made much of pretending to look at a nonexistent watch. "You’d better hurry back though, or she may decide that she needs to get going without her morning snack."

Xander took one last look at Willow, who had moved next to Tara and slipped an arm around her girlfriend’s waist, and Tara, who had turned just slightly, tucking herself against Willow’s body, and he raced off toward his tower.

"Men," both wiccans said, giggling, then headed off to the kitchen.

***

Buffy opened the front door to the manor, blinking at the brightness of the daylight that streamed into the dark hall. "Faith, just the person I wanted to see. Come on in," the blonde slayer stepped out of the way, admitting Faith, Cordelia, Angel and a woman she didn’t know.

Buffy studied her, noting that she was blonde, with a round, cute face and had the body of a martial artist. The slayer also noticed that the woman stayed at least two feet away from Angel, even in the cramped quarters of the foyer. Their eyes met, and Buffy suddenly felt like she had been caught doing fifty in a thirty five zone. The slayer smiled nervously and nodded toward the hall.

"Come on, everyone’s in the living room, having lunch," she said, turning to walk toward the rest of the Scoobies.

"I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again," Faith commented as they walked down the opulent corridor, "this is one fantastic place, B."

"Thanks. You can give all the credit for that to Tara’s taste in decorators," Buffy said conversationally, then, dropping her tone, she whispered so that only the other slayer could hear, "By the way, Faith, old slaybuddy o’ mine, stay the hell out of my dreams!"

"Huh? Your dreams? Um, B, you sure you’re talking to the right gal? I mean, I’m flattered and all, but I have a girlfrien-" Faith said, stopping when Buffy turned and glared at her.

"Not. That. And ew. No. Sorry, Faith, you and me, we’re too much alike to be lovers. No, I’m talking about the boot to the butt thing. That was not a happening, five by five, funtime situation, got me?" Buffy said, her voice dropping several octaves. The blonde’s eyes were glinting dangerously, yet Faith could sense that there was something humorous lurking in them as well.

Still… "I haven’t a clue about what you’re referring to B, really," Faith said in a baffled tone of voice.

Cordelia sighed. "Of course not. But my legs sure do!" Remember the night I made you sleep on the couch?"

Faith’s brow wrinkled as she thought about it, then her eyes widened. "Yeah, babe, I do. I’m really sorry about that, it’s just that sometimes, I get these dreams and I kick my feet and -"

"And you talk in your sleep, too. I heard it all. You were telling Buffy something about eating a bowl of guts. Ew. Gross. Bad mental images, Faith. Anyway, then you kicked her. Or maybe you kicked her and then told her to eat the guts, either way, it doesn’t matter except that I had this horrible bruise on my leg for days! And right before my big interview for that sunscreen commercial, too!" Cordelia babbled while Faith’s face turned crimson.

Faith had no answer to that. Buffy smirked while the rest of the group wondered what the hell they were talking about.

***

"I what?" Faith said again for the fifth time as Buffy packed her duffel o’ death. Amy assisted the blonde slayer, offering quiet commentary on the slayer’s choice of weaponry.

"You can’t go with Buffy to get the sword," Cordelia said, giving Faith one of those looks that said she was very close to whapping the dark-haired slayer upside the head. Buffy stayed out of the conversation, hoping that Cordelia’s statement would be enough for Faith.

"Okay, why can’t I go with, then?" Faith wanted to know. She crossed her arms over her chest and frowned, daring her girlfriend to come up with a good reason.

"I had a vision," Cordelia started to say, while the rest of the gathered Scoobies sort of rolled their eyes.

Willow and Tara were cuddled together on a couch, sharing a laptop and searching for any new clues on the Magus Vampyr while Giles and Wesley were steadily reducing the huge pile of books the elder watcher had determined might be of some possible use.

"Wasn’t it one of those all important visions that added yet another body to this already way overcrowded little soiree?" Anya said, glancing pointedly at their guest, Detective Kate Lockely, of the LAPD.

Cordelia sighed heavily. "Did I ask for the visions? No, I did not. It’s not my fault that the Powers that Be decided to let me inherit Doyle’s little vision thing. I get the visions. I see pain and suffering and angst, I have to say something. Angel goes out and kicks butt. Or, in this case, I had a vision that if Faith here went with Buffy to get that sword thing, that she’d die a horrible death." Cordelia twined her hand in Faith’s dark hair, scratching her fingers delicately over the slayer’s neck. "And that’s just not acceptable to me. Now, as for her," she nodded toward Kate, who wore a bored expression on her face, "I had this brief flash that she would be needed by the end of all this stuff. Angel figured it was better to bring her now, than to regret it later."

"You know, I really love being talked about as if I were a piece of furniture," Kate said softly, speaking for the first time since entering the manor.

"Maybe if you didn’t act like one, you wouldn’t be treated like one," Anya said spitefully, automatically disliking anyone who caused Xander to stare and stutter as he had when greeting the beautiful cop.

"I’m going to get the sword now, if anyone cares," Buffy announced.

"Would you like me to drive you?" Amy and Faith offered at the same time.

"Faith, stay," Buffy said, "I don’t want anything to happen to you. Amy, please, I’d love it if you gave me a lift."

"Aw, you like her more than you like me," Faith said, pouting and sitting back down.

"There’s no prophecy of doom for her if she goes with," Buffy pointed out succinctly, sharing a quick glance with Angel, who shrugged slightly. "You should say something," Buffy mouthed at the vampire, who smiled nervously. "She has a right to know."

Angel looked away. "Bastard," Buffy murmured.

"Pardon me?" Amy said, frowning.

"Oh, nothing. Just… thinking out loud," Buffy said, forcing herself to be cheerful. "Anyway, let’s get this over with. I wanna skewer a bad guy."

***

"So why don’t you tell her?" BJ asked Angel quietly.

"What should I say? You can’t go with Buffy because she slept with me and you didn’t?" Angel said under his breath.

The ghost shrugged. "Seems better than letting her believe in the whims of Cordelia’s vision. Faith’s whole self image is built around the idea that she is a slayer, one of the chosen two who are fated by destiny to fight the things that go bump in the night. Yet, instead of being encouraged to do her duty, she’s being told that she’s not good enough. That she’s somehow less than Buffy, that she’s some kind of defective copy of the one true original. Isn’t this what allowed her to be manipulated by Richard Wilkins?"

"I don’t think Faith really feels that way," Angel said, shrugging lightly. "She’s probably just pissed that she doesn’t get to go kill something."

"Why is it that you men are always so dense? You talk a good game, Mr. Tall, Dark and Brooding, but you left your sensitive side in the dark ages. Wake up and smell the rejection," BJ said angrily, circling around the vampire accusingly. "Hell, I’ve been dead for years and I can see it."

Angel stood and walked out of the room.

BJ followed him, hissing, "Oh don’t think you can get away from me that easily, deadboy. This is my house and I can go wherever I please in it. So you get to listen to me no matter what. You talk a good game about helping Faith overcome the darkness within her heart, but in reality, you’re hoping for the easy cure. You don’t want to be beholden to anyone, least of all a slayer with a past almost as colorful as your own."

Angel stopped, turning to give the ghost a harsh glare. "What gives you the right to judge me? You’re just some child whose parents played with the occult. Now look at you, tied to a house, preying on the innocent trust of kids who don’t understand the full nature of the relationship you share! You’re no better than I am! Maybe even worse, since you hide your activities behind the golden smile of friendship."

"How dare you!" BJ whispered, seething with anger. "How dare you accuse me of being a Leach!"

"Aren’t you? Tell me honestly that you don’t feed off of the emotions of my friends just as surely as a vampire drinks the blood of his victims," Angel said wearily.

"No, I do not. I don’t know what you’ve encountered in the past, but I assure you that the psyches of your friends are safe from me. I am sustained by magic, not theft," BJ said hautily.

"My mistake," Angel replied, pushing himself away from the wall. "Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to find a shadow to hide in."

"I think not. You still have a slayer to talk to. You’re not getting out of this, deadboy. I don’t care how much it yanks your shorts to have to admit that you had nothing but sex and blood on the brain when you were bad to the bone. She needs to know that she’s just as good as Buffy," BJ said, making shooing motions at the vampire, who rolled his eyes.

"You won’t give up, will you?" he asked, rubbing his chin.

"Nope. And ghosts don’t sleep, either," she added, grinning mischievously.

"Oh, all right. I’ll talk to her. If she laughs in my face though," he said warningly, shaking his finger at the transparent form of the ghost.

"You’ll what? Call Ghostbusters?" the ghost taunted.

Angel made a face. "Well, I could show your old movies to the gang…" he threatened warningly.

"You wouldn’t," BJ said, obviously horrified by the thought.

"Try me," Angel retorted.

"All right, all right. Go talk to Faith already!" BJ relented, vanishing in a sparkle of lights.

But when he stuck his head back into the living room to look for the dark-haired slayer, Faith was gone.

***

"I think Will and Tara know about us," Buffy said conversationally as Amy drove the van to the cemetery where the remains of the Master’s crypt still stood.

"Oh?" Amy said, raising an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Yeah. They both kept looking at us and giggling all day. I wonder if they heard something the other day - you know, when we heard them giggling like crazy about Xander?" Buffy said, reaching over in a casually tentative fashion to play with Amy’s shoulder length hair. The smooth reddish blond strands slipped through her fingers like water. "I love your hair," she announced. "It’s so soft - like your fur was."

Amy’s ears turned a bright scarlet. "It’s so weird to think of that time," she said haltingly, bringing the van to a stop on a side street. "I remember it all, but the memories are from the animal’s point of view. I don’t know if I can explain it, really," Amy shrugged, looking down at her hands. "But it’s still something of a miracle for me to look at these," she raised one of her hands up and studied the way the street light created odd shadows on her skin, "and not see claws."

Buffy covered Amy’s hand with her own. "I never saw claws. I always saw my friend." She brought Amy’s hand to her lips and kissed the palm. "Now… now I see someone that I am coming to care about a great deal."

Amy smiled softly then leaned over to kiss Buffy sweetly. "Thanks," she said. "Now go get that sword. I’ll wait here for you. If it was dangerous for Faith, there’s no way I’m going."

"Okay, but be careful. This is vamp alley you know," Buffy warned, opening the van door and sliding out.

"I know. But I have this," Amy picked up a box full of tiny, dart sized stakes. "And I have this," she pointed to a Super Soaker style water canon. "Willow and Tara blessed it the other day for me," she said, patting the bright yellow plastic.

Buffy grinned. "Then you are well fortified. Lock the doors and don’t invite anyone in," she added in a precautionary tone as Amy playfully rolled her eyes.

The slayer slung her bag o’ death over her shoulder and took off toward the cemetery at a brisk jog.

***

"You know," Buffy panted, staking one vamp, dodging another’s clumsy jab and backflipping behind the last standing blood sucker, "You guys just need to get your acts together." She sank the stake deep into the monster’s back and watched with satisfaction as it turned to dust. "Because frankly, I’m not breaking a sweat here."

"Speak for yourself." As the dust cleared, Faith’s disheveled form was revealed.

"Faith! You can’t be here! Go back!" Buffy blurted, shooing the dark-haired slayer away.

Faith let out an inarticulate growl, tossing aside her stake so forcefully that it knocked over a tombstone. "What the hell is it with this, ‘Faith you can’t go’ crap? Aren’t I a slayer too? Isn’t it my destiny to fight the evil things that stalk the night? Or am I just your shadow, B? Good enough for L.A.’s nightmares, but when it comes to the big playground, I’m the dweeb no one wants to play with." The dark-haired slayer paced around Buffy, ranting aimlessly. "I mean, because if that’s what it is, then please, take the slayer powers from me. I’m no angel, but I’ll be damned if I’ll be someone’s shadow."

"Faith, you’re not my shadow. This isn’t about who’s the best or who’s the first, it’s about a spell. Plain and simple. Didn’t Angel tell you?" Buffy calmly asked as she put her weapons away.

Faith stopped pacing. "Tell me what?"

"About the sword…about why it’s here, in Sunnydale?" Buffy explained, taking a long drink from a bottle of sports drink. She handed the bottle to Faith, who finished it off and chucked it back into the duffel bag.

"No. I mean, he is secret plan boy… he keeps everything to himself unless we drag it out of him. But you should know that, you slept with him, right?" Faith said, shrugging lightly and wiping her mouth on the back of her hand.

Buffy kicked a stone across the ground, watching as it bounced off of several headstones. "Yeah. I did. And that sorta has something to do with my being the one to go get the dumb sword thing. See, he found it, way back when he was Angelus and he brought it here, to Sunnydale."

"No kidding? Whoa. Go figure. So, what did Angel do with this almighty bad ass sword?" Faith asked, ambling over to sit on the back of a tombstone.

"He sealed in a chamber under the Master’s crypt. Then he had a sorceress friend of his put a spell on it so that no one, dead, alive or demonic could get to it unless they met certain conditions," Buffy said, picking up the duffel and walking over to stand in front of Faith.

Faith cocked her head sideways. "Oh yeah, what?"

"One, that they were female."

"Check," Faith said, looking them both over.

"Two, that they were a slayer."

Faith drew one of her specialized pistols from its holster and fired three rounds. Buffy heard a choked off scream and then the characteristic implosive sound that signaled a vampire’s return to the earth that spawned him. "Check," she said, blowing on the barrel of the gun, then holstering it under her left arm.

"And three, that he’d had sex with her," Buffy said dully.

"Che- what?" Faith said, perplexed.

"Sex. You know, the horizontal mambo. That thing that requires an exchange of bodily fluids," Buffy said irritatedly. "So, as you can see, it’s nothing personal Faith. It’s all about sex."

"Fancy that," Faith said, a little bemused, looking away from Buffy. "Well it looks like you’re the big winner B. But since I’m here, I think I’ll tag along anyway. Wouldn’t want you to get into trouble or anything."

"Sorry, but your bus stops here, Faith. I made a promise," Buffy said, curling her hand up into a fist and laying the dark-haired slayer out with a well delivered blow. She shook her hand. "Ow. Damn, I always knew you were hard-headed."

The slayer pulled out her cell phone and called Amy. "Hey, um, Faith followed me. You might want to come and get her. She’s over by the Jenkins plot. She’ll probably be a little irritated, so you might want to have Cordelia come and meet you down here. Oh, and tell Cordy that she owes me one. Ah huh," Buffy smiled happily. "Yeah, I want this to be over too. I’ll see you on the other side. Me too. Bye." She folded up the phone and dropped it into her pocket.

"Okay, time to get that sword."

***

Buffy brushed away yet another cobweb and watched as several large, hairy spiders skittered away into the darkness. She shuddered and brandished her stake.

"Yeah, that’s right you little web-spinning fuzz balls, run…run from the mighty spider killer, for I am Buffy, the Slayer all things evil and gross."

She sniffed the air and sneezed violently, scaring even more creatures into hiding.

"You’d think that the dead would hire better decorators," she commented, looking around at the garishly painted walls of the Master’s lair. "Of course, most dead people’s tastes do not run to the seriously whacked." Buffy wrinkled her nose at the hideously grotesque images of suffering and pain that some poor artist had been forced to paint.

Buffy stood at the foot of the Master’s bier and stared at the carvings until she spotted the one in Angel’s description. "Knotwork, scroll, scroll, ah, here we are, a human heart. Gotta hand it to you, Angelus, your taste went right along with your personality - dark and totally wiggy." She reached out and depressed the heart and waited. After only a few seconds, she could hear the grinding of aged gears as they began to work for the first time in over a century. The bier slid sideways, revealing a leaden trunk. Inscribed within the top of the trunk was a strange symbol.

"Okay, there’s the easy part, now for the not so fun stuff," Buffy said, dusting off her hands. She laid her stake aside and pulled out a medical lancet and pricked her finger, all the while chanting in Latin. Buffy squeezed out three drops of her blood onto the sigil, then stepped back, praying that Angel had remembered everything properly and that she hadn’t flubbed one of the phrases.

At first, nothing happened. Then, the box started to rattle as lime green glowing fingers of energy began to crackle outward from the strange symbol. There was a rushing sound, then the metallic grinding of rusty hinges as the trunk lid popped open, revealing a cloth wrapped bundle within.

Steeling herself, Buffy closed her eyes and took a step forward, reaching for the object. When nothing worse than a strange tingly sensation greeted her, she opened her eyes and looked at what she held.

Dark purple velvet that looked as fresh as the day it was woven whisked away from a long, white oak mock katana. Buffy wrapped her hand around the hilt and took a practice swing with it, whistling at the balance of the wooden blade. Oakheart felt like an extension of her arm, and before she knew it, she was going into one of the sword katas that Merrick, her first Watcher had taught her. She finished the kata by tossing the blade up, catching it, twirling it around and sliding it home in the velvet cover she’d taken it out of.

"Not bad. It has its advantages," Buffy commented, then chanted the final bit of the Latin that would close the trunk and reseal the bier.

***

Faith woke with her head pillowed on something soft that smelled sweetly of jasmine blossoms. She moaned and turned her head inward, inhaling the scent deeply, then opened her eyes and looked up into the grimly frowning face of her lover, Cordelia Chase.

"I’m in trouble, aren’t I?" Faith whispered, cocking a half smile.

Cordelia continued to glare at her lover for a few seconds, then she squeezed the dark-haired slayer so tightly, that Faith couldn’t breathe. "Don’t…you…ever…do that again!" the actress growled softly.

"Glurk!" was Faith’s only response until Cordelia released her fierce hug. Faith sat up, rubbing her neck where Buffy had struck her. "You got it, sweet cheeks," the slayer drawled, receiving a light jab for her levity.

"I mean it!" the actress said, letting some of the fear that had raged inside of her heart since she had been told to go pick up her lover show in her eyes.

Faith sighed and looked out the window of her truck. She met Amy’s fear haunted eyes as the young woman sat in the driver’s seat of the Mystery Machine, waiting for Buffy.

"I hate this," Faith whispered suddenly. "I hate making you afraid of what I do, Cordelia. I hate that I can look out this window and into the eyes of another person whose heart is aching because there’s someone she cares for out there, risking her life against an unknown evil for people who will never know, or care that she might die for them. Most of all, I hate that I used to be one of those unknown evils!" The slayer held up her hands, painted in the shadow of the night and clenched her fists. "I just wanted to help her," she whispered raggedly. "I just wanted to try and make up for all the pain I caused." Wetness marred the dark-haired slayer’s almost perfect features.

Cordelia sighed softly and slid across the leather seat of the truck to wrap her arms around Faith’s waist. "You do help," she whispered. "Every day, you wake up and come to work with Angel and Wes and I and you make a difference for someone. You help Gunn train his gang so that they are better prepared to fight the demons. You are the first person to enter a dangerous situation and the last one to leave." When Faith didn’t respond, Cordelia brushed a soft kiss along the curve of her throat. "I’ve never been afraid of what you do, only afraid that you wouldn’t come home again. I’ve sorta gotten used to having someone around that I can see. No offense, Dennis," she added, just in case her ghost could somehow hear her. "As for making up for the things you did… I don’t know that you can. I just know that each time you help someone in pain, you make the world a little better."

"You really think so?" Faith asked, almost voicelessly.

"I do. You know I don’t say stuff I don’t mean," the actress replied, leaning back and pulling the slayer with her.

"Thanks," Faith said, resting her head against Cordelia’s chest. "This whole sword thing has made me feel a little like I’m the bratty little sister or something."

"Bratty, maybe, but definitely not little," Cordelia quipped, running her fingers through Faith’s dark brown hair.

"Hey! I’m not a brat!" Faith said, pouting a little.

"Oh?" Cordelia said, raising an eyebrow archly. "Who is it that will only eat her cereal with Crystal milk and C& H brown sugar?"

"That’s spoiled, not bratty," Faith said, attempting to defend herself, and belatedly realizing that she’d dug herself in deeper.

"Okay, so you’re a spoiled brat then," Cordelia retorted, grinning.

"Am not!" Faith said, backing up her conviction by poking the actress in the side.

"Hey! No fair poking!" Cordelia screetched, sitting up abruptly and sending Faith rolling toward the passenger door.

"Everything’s fair in love and war," Faith quipped, launching herself at Cordelia and beginning to tickle the actress mercilessly. Cordelia gave as good as she got and soon, the two were wrestling happily in the front of the truck.

Tap-tap. Both young women froze and slowly, Faith turned around to see Buffy standing outside the truck, staring in at them and tapping something swaddled in fabric against her shoulder. Cordelia reached down and turned the key long enough so that Faith could roll down a window.

"Don’t you two look like you’re having the best of times," Buffy said crossly. Faith studied the blonde slayer and had to hide a grin. Buffy was covered head to toe in dirt, cobwebs and the muck of a century’s worth of rodent droppings.

"Hey B, nice fashion statement. You’ve always been such an elegant trendsetter," Faith said, opening the door and hopping out.

"Oh ha-ha, you’re so funny, Faith," Buffy replied, then gave the dark-haired slayer a concerned once over. "You’re okay though? I … I ah, didn’t mean to um, you know…"

"Drop me like a sack of rotten potatoes?" Faith filled in for her, reaching up to rub the sore spot on the back of her head. "Nah, I’ll be okay. Gonna have a whopper of a goose egg for a while, but that’s it. See," she turned around and lifted up her head to show the blonde slayer the reddening lump at the base of her skull. "No biggie. Five by five, even."

Buffy let out a sigh of relief and leaned against the van tiredly. "Good. I really didn’t want to hurt you, Faith. You gotta believe that, but… well… I really didn’t want to test Angel’s sorceress friend’s skill at magic, either."

"I understand. I shouldn’t have followed you. I was just being bratty," Faith replied, while Cordelia snickered inside the truck. "So, is that it?" she asked nodding at the velvet package that Buffy cradled in her arms.

Buffy nodded. "Yup. It is."

"Can I see it?" Faith said impatiently, after waiting nearly five minutes for Buffy to say something more.

Buffy’s eyes jerked open. Something had been talking to her, singing sweetly in her ear that she was tired… that she should sleep… her arms were so sore. The sword was so heavy… she should really… just… put it down… Then Faith’s question startled her awake. "Huh? Uh, sure," she said, fumbling with the fabric some, trying to unwrap the blade without dropping the slippery velvet onto the ground.

"Hey, whoa," Faith blurted as Buffy began to waver on her feet. "B? Buffy? You okay?" Faith called out, reaching out to steady the blonde slayer. When her fingers contacted the other slayer’s flesh, Faith gagged as an overpoweringly strong odor of death and rot enveloped her. "Amy! Cordelia!" Faith ground out, taking shallow breaths, "There’s a siren nearby! Turn on the radio!"

The dark-haired slayer fought to keep her dinner down while holding up the now completely zoned-out Buffy. She looked in the truck, but Cordelia was also caught in the siren’s spell. Light, tickly strains of music began to brush the edges of Faith’s senses and she forced herself to bite her lip until it bled. Slowly, Faith dragged Buffy across the gravel toward the Mystery Machine. One step, two, three…four - she was there.

"Amy!" Faith shouted.

Amy, who had fallen asleep, jerked awake. The student took one look at the glazed over expression on Buffy’s face and hurriedly rolled down her window.

"Siren!" Faith exclaimed as soon as the window was open. Amy nodded, understanding that the slayer didn’t mean the kind that heralded emergency vehicles. A quick turn of the key and some fumbling with the radio produced music. Loud, blaring rock music. The sound seemed to roll out of the van in waves.

Slowly, Buffy began to twitch as the effects of the siren’s call wore off. Amy opened the door to the van and reached for the blonde slayer. As soon as she had passed her over, Faith nodded. "Be right back," she mouthed at the young woman, who nodded, wrapping her arms possessively around Buffy.

Faith turned back to the truck, where Cordelia had slumped over against the steering wheel. The slayer quickly slammed the door and sprinted off, following the dwindling scent of rot.

She found the creature seated in a tree not more than one hundred yards away from their parked vehicles. Faith drew one of her guns and pointed it at the demoness.

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just kill you," she said, glaring at the pathetically emaciated monster.

The demoness tossed her head back, spraying spittle and maggots all over. "Please," it hissed. "I am only doing as I was summoned to do. Let me go, I swear I will never return."

Faith wiped maggot guts off her face. "Who summoned you?" she demanded.

"The mother of He who will cleanse the Earth," the siren replied enigmatically.

"Can the riddles and talk straight, muck face, or eat a bullet. Your choice," Faith said, not willing to play around.

"I do not know her mortal name," the demoness admitted sadly. "For to know that would grant me my freedom."

"What good are you then?" Faith asked coldly, cocking the gun.

"No! Please, let me go! I swear that I will do no harm to your friends!" the creature fell out of the tree and landed at Faith’s feet.

Faith gagged at the horrible stench that rose off the monster’s skin. "Get away from me before I put you out of my misery," Faith growled, kicking the siren away.

The demoness stood, pulling her bits of tattered clothing around her. "Oh thank you, slayer, thank you. You won’t regret this, I promise!" she said, backing away slowly, then turning and running off into the darkness as Faith lowered her gun.

"Gross does not even begin to describe this," Faith muttered, taking off her jacket and shaking out the maggots. "I so need a shower, it’s not funny," she added, trudging back to the parked cars.

***

A low whistle greeted the unveiling of the boken. The gang was gathered in the library of the mansion while Buffy and Faith took turns telling the story of how Oakheart was retrieved and of the encounter with the siren afterwards.

In the middle of Faith’s part of the story, BJ materialized and glided across the room to Buffy. Stopping just a few centimeters from the sword, the ghost slowly ran her hand down the wooden blade.

"There is," the ghost said softly, though her voice seemed to fill the room, "a definite presence here. And… it can sense us. But we are not its target, and it is content to lay dormant until it is needed." BJ looked up and allowed her gaze to bore deep into Buffy’s green eyes. "Be careful, for this blade carries power greater than any you have ever touched before. Treat it lightly, and you will get burned." Then she vanished with a percussive pop.

Cordelia rolled her eyes. "At least Dennis doesn’t go in for the dramatics."

Angel chuckled dryly. "Oh, I don’t know… at least you know when she’s coming and going."

"Be that as it may," Giles said, taking off his glasses and rubbing his forehead. "Now that Buffy has the sword, we need to discover the whereabouts of the Magus’ lair. Willow, have you and Tara had any luck?"

Willow shook her head. "Not a bit. I can’t seem to get past the firewall at the Council’s site and no one else has even heard of the Magus."

"Maybe we’re going at this the wrong way," Amy said suddenly. "Maybe, we should be using science instead of magic to find the Magus."

"Go on, Amy," Buffy said encouragingly, setting the sword on the table and walking over to her girlfriend’s side.

Amy stood up and began pacing around the room. "I found a partial print while I was cleaning up the bathroom upstairs," she said, running her fingers through her hair. "I didn’t think it was that important, but I took some tape and copied it anyway. Maybe if Willow scans it and gets it to NCIC and VICAP, something might jump out and give us a clue."

"NC what C?" Xander asked, confused. "And what’s a VICAP?"

"They’re databases run by the police organizations of the world," Willow said, getting up and turning on the newly installed computer in the library. Amy left to get the print. "Cops are always saving criminal data like prints and M.O.’s and stuff in them."

"And anyone can just log in and dig through the files?" the young man wanted to know.

Willow shrugged nonchalantly. "Well, no, but they’re not that hard to get into."

"Will," Xander said, after watching the hacker easily breeze through the first parts of the encrypted database. "Remind me never to piss you off," he finished. Willow chuckled, leaning over and flipping open the scanner.

Amy returned with the print, and, after a few tries, she and Willow managed to scan it. Willow made a copy of the scan and sent it to the database while everyone else crossed their fingers and waited.

"This might take a while," Willow said, pushing the chair away from the computer and shutting off the monitor. "I’ll let you know as soon as something comes up."

"I guess this is our cue to go out and stake vampires," Buffy said, looking over at Faith, who grinned in reply.

"Sounds five by five to me, B. But, shower first? I think I’ve got maggots in some not so good places," Faith said, making a face.

"Ew. You are so like showering alone," Cordelia exclaimed, jumping away from her girlfriend. Faith pouted, but Cordelia remained adament.

"And this would be my cue to start dinner," Joyce said, getting up. "Would you like to help me in the kitchen, Rupert?" she asked, smiling sweetly.

Giles coughed, but joined her.

"They must be orgasm buddies," Anya said, none too quietly. "His ears are turning red like yours do." The former demon reached up and tugged on the parts in question.

Xander sighed. "I now know far more than I ever wanted to about your love life, Giles."

"Now you know you know how I feel, Xander," Giles replied softly, causing everyone else to laugh.

"Yeah, but you’re like, old," Xander retorted. Anya tilted her head up and glared at him.

"Technically, I’m the oldest person in this room," she said, putting one hand on her hip. "Does that make me like, old?" she asked, imitating Xander’s tone perfectly.

"She’s got you there, Xan," Faith said, walking past the gaping young man and punching him lightly in the shoulder.

"I, uh, I…" he struggled.

"Yeah, I’d just shut up now, if I were you," Buffy added as she exited the room.

"Willow…" Xander turned pleading eyes on his oldest friend.

"Sorry, Xander, you got yourself into this one, you can get out of it," the red head said as she and Tara left.

"Honey," Xander said to Anya, who gave him and arch look. "You know I love you," he tried.

"Orgasms. Lots of them. Now," Anya demanded, turning and walking out the door.

Xander grinned goofily, then shrugged. "Guess I can’t argue with that," he said, then followed her out.

***

"Hey Van, check it out," Detective Manning pointed over the dashboard of the car she shared with Detective Richards into the shadows of the alleyway behind Willie’s Bar. Two figures could be seen standing head-to-head, conversing. "Looks like Sunnydale does have a drug trade after all. Wanna bust a normal perp for once?"

"I’m all over it," Detective Richards replied, slipping her service weapon from its holster under her left arm. The two women quietly exited their vehicle and started creeping toward the alley. One at a time, they slid into the trash and rat infested crevice between Willie’s bar and a laundromat.

Manning took a deep breath, then called out, "Hold it right there!"

"Damn it!" a voice blurted angrily, then the sound of running feet could be heard. Richards took off after the runner while Manning kept her weapon trained on the other perp, a young man in his late twenties with a shock of close cropped bleach blonde hair.

He rolled his eyes and took a drag of his cigarette, waiting for the cop to approach him. He looked over Manning’s shoulder and spotted a familiar figure. With a nasty smile he flicked his cigarette onto the ground and stomped it out.

"’Bout time you showed up. Your sodding coppers were about to arrest little old me," Spike drawled, crossing his arms.

"Don’t move, asshole!" Manning growled.

Spike sighed in annoyance. "Oh go ahead, shoot me. It’s not like it’ll do any bloody good."

Manning raised an eyebrow, then grinned. "So it’s that way, huh. Well then, I’ve got something that will work for you too." She transferred the gun to a one-handed grip and reached into her pocket to pull out a vial of clear liquid. "I’d imagine that holy water isn’t too kind to you, bleach boy."

A spark of almost fear flashed in Spike’s eyes. "Um, Detective, that won’t be necessary, really. Spike’s harmless." A new voice, a familiar one said diffidently.

Manning quickly glanced behind her. Buffy Summers, one of the strange group of teenagers who lived in a place called Chesley Manor stood there. Manning bit her lip speculatively. One of the girls that Summers lived with was Tara Walsh, a self-proclaimed witch. The kind that could cast spells. Only this witch’s spells really worked. Tara’s girlfriend, Willow Rosenberg, was also a real witch.

Since the strange killings had began, since she and her partner had arrived in Sunnydale, Manning had often suspected that Buffy and her friends knew a lot more about the town than they let on. Maybe it was time to find out.

"All right. You’ve got my attention. Why is he harmless?"

Buffy smirked. "He’s got a chip in his head that prevents him from harming humans, isn’t that right Spikey boy?"

Spike let out an irritated grunt and lit up another cigarette. "That’s right. I was just enjoying a harmless chat with a pal when your girl in blue came along and scared him away."

Buffy raised an eyebrow. "That friend wouldn’t have happened to have been about to sell you a pint of blood, would he?"

"No! Of course not!" Spike protested innocently. "We were only sharing a bit of a fag is all. You Californians and your bloody no smoking policies!"

"Oh, so this isn’t yours?" Buffy held up a packet filled with a thick, viscous liquid, complete with its own straw.

Spike shrugged. "So what if it is? It’s just pig’s blood. And I wasn’t buying it, I was just having a bit of a drink with a friend."

Buffy looked at the bag, noticing the mark of a local butcher on the paper label. "He’s telling the truth," she said, tossing the blood at Spike, who caught it neatly and stuffed it into a pocket.

Manning holstered her weapon and used her radio to contact Richards, who was having zero luck in locating the other perp. "A vegetarian vampire. Now, I have seen everything. Okay, Miss Summers, do you want to tell me why you know so much about this?" Manning turned her attention to Buffy, who shrugged.

"I’m a slayer," she said succinctly, as if that answered everything.

***

"So, the slayer is what, exactly?" Manning asked for the third time since Buffy had invited the two officers, along with Spike and his unusual friend Alizelle back to the mansion.

As soon as she had spotted Giles, the half-demon had nodded to the watcher and the two had vanished into the library while the rest of the gang lounged around the living room sipping cold beverages. Spike nursed a beer and chatted about his travels with Tara and Willow while Buffy and Faith tried their best to explain to the two detectives exactly what a slayer was.

Buffy and Faith looked at each other, shrugged and said simultaneously, "We hunt vampires."

"And other nasties," Buffy added, holding out her finger and ticking off each monster as she listed it, "such as demons, evil mages, ghosts and near immortal mayors."

"Oh yeah, and messing with the machinations of evil legal firms," Faith said, smiling wryly while Cordelia snuggled back into her arms. "Just the usual two girls against the forces of death and darkness scenario, right B?"

"Exactly, except for the two girls part. I mean, we’re the slayers and we do have some nifty powers and stuff, but we couldn’t do what we do alone - thus, the Scoobies," Buffy said proudly, gesturing to the others in the room.

"And Angel Investigations," Cordelia added smartly. "Although, he did sort of start that on his own, so he could pay back all the evil stuff he did when he was Angelus…"

Detective Richards held out a hand to stop the actress from saying anything else. "I think we’re getting ahead of ourselves here. Why don’t we just go back to ‘slayer’ and why Buffy and Faith believe they are these special warriors." The dark skinned woman sighed exhaustedly and rubbed her own neck. "Though I’m not sure why I’m even bothering. This is all so unreal. A vampire who sips pig’s blood from a straw and another who runs a detective agency." Richards shook her head and laughed derisively. "Why not?" she shrugged. "Monsters walk the streets in Sunnydale… only they’re really monsters." She giggled a little nervously and Manning shot her a strange look.

Joyce Summers walked into the room and handed Detective Richards a cup of coffee. "Here, Detective, you look like you could use this."

"Thanks," Richards said, taking the cup and sipping at it, then cradling its warmth close to her chest as if to ward off the strangeness of the room’s occupants.

Manning gratefully accepted her mug and took a hearty drink, then set the cup aside to continue her questioning of the two slayers. "Okay, let’s say that for the moment, I accept that you are who you claim to be, why didn’t you tell us before?"

Buffy gave the blonde detective a long look before saying, "Would you have said anything, Detective?"

Manning laughed. "No, I suppose I wouldn’t have. All right, I accept that you didn’t say anything. But now that we know, will you tell us why you and your friends seem to be the target of a murderer’s antics?"

Buffy took a glass of soda from her mom, smiled her thanks and took a deep breath and began to explain what she knew of the Magus Vampyr to the two detectives. Richards listened for a few moments before looking over to Kate Lockely, who had curled up in a chair in the corner of the room.

"Fresh air?" she said, nodding toward the front of the house.

Kate stood up. "Sure. I’ve heard this before."

The two detectives headed up to the roof where they found chairs by the pool and settled in, staring at the stars for long, quiet moments before Vanessa let out an explosive breath.

"So, I’ve been meaning to thank you for suggesting we move here," she said, giving Kate a pointed stare.

Kate grinned wryly. "Hey, you gotta admit, it beats busting punks for dope."

Vanessa shifted in her seat and crossed her legs. "Yeah, but at least the punks didn’t see me as a food source. Look, I’m not saying that I absolutely hate it here, but I sure would have appreciated a little head’s up, you know?"

"Yeah, I know, and I’m sorry, but if I’d told you ahead of time, would you have come?" Kate asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don’t know. Probably not. Anyway. Now that we’re here, was it your plan for us to get to know this ‘Scooby Gang’ of kids?" Vanessa asked.

Kate kicked her feet up on the table and shrugged. "Well, I’d kinda hoped you would connect with Angel’s friends. I was not aware of the ‘Scooby’ factor. Though it makes a lot of sense, once you think about it."

"So why are you here?" Vanessa said.

"Cordelia - Faith’s girlfriend - she had a vision …"

"A vision? What is she, some kind psychic friend?" Vanessa quipped, chuckling.

Kate laughed. "No, no, not that. Cordy’s a seer."

"A what?" Vanessa said, uncrossing her legs and scooting the chair closer to the table.

"A seer - remember the movie Krull? The old guy who could see the future? That’s a seer. Only what Cordelia sees is generally related to the supernatural. People who need Angel’s help," Kate explained.

"And you know this because?" Vanessa asked curiously.

"I asked," Kate said, shrugging. "When Angel called to tell me that I had to come to Sunnydale with them."

"Had to? Wow. So, it’s like, fate? Right. Whatever. I think I’ll just hang out and come along for the ride," Vanessa said, folding her arms behind her head and looking up at the sky. "I have to say one thing though - that Walsh kid sure knows how to make a home."

Kate tipped her head back as well. "Yeah, this place is certainly nice," she agreed softly.

"I could get used to visiting," Vanessa said, yawning.

A soft snore was Kate’s only reply.

***

"And she’s totally unaware of this?" Giles said softly to the woman who had been introduced as Alizelle.

Aliz nodded sadly. "And that’s how it’s going to be. At least until after the Tribunal. I won’t have her endangered just because of me."

"I really do think she deserves to know," Giles started to say, but was halted by Alizelle’s stern face.

"It’s my problem. I’ll decide who needs to know. Right now, it’s safer if she doesn’t know. Maybe," Aliz took a deep breath and looked out the skylight, "maybe someday, when my father no longer cares about me, I can tell her, but not now."

"Why tell me?" Giles asked, sitting on the edge of the table. "Surely you must know that my loyalty is to the slayers."

"I know. But I’d hoped your loyalty would be tempered with a bit of caution. And," Aliz sighed and looked away. "And if something does happen to me, then, I want you," the half-demon’s voice broke a little, "I want you to tell her that I never wanted to let her go. And, and that I loved her more than anything."

Before he could say anything, Alizelle turned and exited the library. Giles shook his head sadly, watching the woman go. He took his glasses off and cleaned them slowly, thinking about what he’d just been told.

Across the room, Willow’s computer chirruped noisily. The printer kicked on and began spitting out paper.

"This must be my cue to alert the others," Giles muttered softly, putting his glasses back on and heading downstairs.

***

Willow grabbed the last of the pages to flutter out of the printer and held up a picture for the group to see.

"Michiko?" Amy whispered, staring at the image of her forensics teacher’s assistant.

"Lieutenant Michiko Satomi, according to NCIC," Willow said softly, scanning the documents. "Japanese liaison to the Seattle Police Department over a year ago and hasn’t been seen since. Presumed returned to Tokyo."

"Something tells me that she didn’t go home," Xander said, looking at Amy’s stricken face.

"She - she’s the TA in my forensics class. I - I’ve had lunch with her a couple of times an-and I went to dinner with her once," Amy said, still bewildered by the revelation.

Buffy covered her girlfriend’s hand with her own, squeezing it gently, causing Amy to look up and smile at the blonde slayer. No one else seemed to notice.

"Well, I say, let’s go get her," Faith said, miming staking someone. "It’d be wicked cool if we could wax this bad guy before the end of the world."

"Well you can count us out," Spike said from across the room. Alizelle had her nose buried in one of Giles’ books, but she took a moment to look up and nod in agreement with Spike.

"Yes, I’m afraid we wouldn’t be much help," she said softly.

"That’s all right. You can stay and help me make cookies," Joyce said, running her fingers through the hair at the nape of Giles’ neck.

"Oh goody," Spike drawled sarcastically, pulling out a cigarette and lighting up.

Willow had been looking through the document quietly. Finally, she looked up and said in a frustrated tone of voice, "There’s no known address here…"

"I know where she lives," Amy said quietly. "Or at least, where she told the school she lived. It’s in my student handbook." The young woman ran to go get the book and was back shortly.

Anya looked at Xander and whispered loudly, "Does this mean we get to celebrate later?"

Xander smiled, "I hope so, hon."

"Oh goody, you can wear that thing we bought," Anya said, running her fingers down Xander’s chest. The young man gulped and smiled nervously.

"Here," Amy burst through the door and held out her campus handbook, open to a specific page, "Michiko Oyama, 1610 Grove street, number 13."

"Well, it can’t hurt to check it out," Detective Manning said, reaching for her radio.

"Wait! If you send a bunch of Sunnydale’s finest out there, she’ll either run, or kill them," Buffy said quietly. "It would be better if we all just slowly made our way over there. We can check it out then."

After a little more wrangling, Buffy got her way.

***

The Grove street apartment was empty. Just a bed and a few scraps of paper were all that was left.

"But she was here," Buffy said to an older woman who the Detectives had wakened to let them into the apartment.

"Oh yes. Not more than a day ago. Then she up and paid off her bill and left. Said something about needing a change of scenery. Would you be interested in it?" the old woman asked coyly.

"I’m sorry ma’am, but as of now, this apartment is a crime scene. We’ll be sending a unit out here to do a thorough check of the place tomorrow," Detective Richards said, taking the old woman by the elbow and leading her away.

"Oh dear, what happened?" the old woman was saying as they walked.

Manning paced around the rooms looking for any clues while Buffy waved to Willow and Tara, inviting them in. Cordelia and Faith followed.

Faith sniffed the air in the apartment. "She likes her booze," she commented, sniffing some more. Slowly, she walked toward the bedroom, where the remains of a queen sized bed lay in a shambles. Detective Manning was studying something on the floor, but Faith was drawn to one side of the bed. Faith knelt down and picked something up. It was a sliver of mirror coated with a fine, white dust.

Carefully, the slayer touched a finger to the dust, then tasted it, spitting almost immediately. "Coke," she said, handing the fragment to the detective, who concurred.

"I’ll bag this. Don’t know what good it will do, but I’ll bag this," Manning said, slipping the mirror into an evidence bag.

Cordelia walked into the room to snuggle Faith, but before she could reach for the dark-haired slayer, she moaned and grabbed her head, swaying dangerously.

Faith wrapped her arms around the actress and slowly lowered the two of them to the ground, carefully cradling Cordelia against her chest.

"Whoa!" Detective Manning said, noticing this, "Is she epileptic? Should I call dispatch for an ambulance?"

"No, she’s having a vision. She’ll be okay in a bit," Faith said softly, stroking Cordelia’s hair out of her face as the girl twitched in the throes of the vision.

Buffy overhead Faith and came into the bedroom. "Should I get the stretcher?"

"You have a stretcher?" Manning said, while Faith shook her head.

"No, she’ll be okay. Won’t you, sweet cheeks?" Faith said, caressing her lover’s face softly.

"Mm, you keep doing that and I’m going to think you like me, slayer," Cordelia said warmly as she opened her eyes.

"Oh. Well, that’s good, because I do," Faith replied, smiling at the actress.

Cordelia sat up and rubbed her head. "Oh god, Doyle, thank you, thank you so much. I always wanted to have frequent migraine headaches."

Faith reached into her pocket and pulled out a tiny bottle of pills. She opened it and handed one to Cordelia, who made a sour face, but put it under her tongue.

"Bleh," the actress said a few minutes later. "Tastes like the boys locker room used to smell."

"Here, sweet cheeks," Faith said, handing Cordelia a wrapped piece of candy. "I remembered this time."

"This time?" Buffy prompted curiously.

Faith shrugged while Cordelia lazily inhaled the scent of the candy like a connoisseur would sniff a fine wine. "Yeah. Last time I gave her one of those pills she had to wait almost two hours before she could get the taste out of her mouth because no one had a breath mint on them."

Cordelia smiled softly and rested her cheek against Faith’s chest. "Thank you," she said, popping the sweet into her mouth. She rolled her eyes in ecstasy. "Oh my god, where did you find them? These are my favorite! I’ve looked all over L.A. for them, but no one seems to have them!" Cordelia’s face was stuck somewhere between a pout and the contented smile of a well stroked cat.

The dark-haired slayer chuckled and hugged Cordelia close. "My secret, but I’ll always have them for you," Faith promised, kissing the top of Cordelia’s head.

"What are they?" Buffy asked curiously.

"Double chocolate fudge ripple with a dash of amaretto," Cordelia said, licking her lips in pure enjoyment. "Heaven on the tongue."

Buffy chuckled. "Sounds like it. I might have to get that source from you, Faith. Amy would just love them."

Faith looked up at Buffy and raised an eyebrow. "Amy?" she said, drawing out the name.

Buffy shrugged and smiled nervously. "Um, yeah, we’re uh, sort of, no, we are dating."

"Woo hoo Buffster!" Faith crowed holding out her hand for Buffy to high-five. "Welcome to the glorious world of girl on girl lovin’!"

"Faith!" Cordelia said, poking Faith in the side sharply. "You make it sound so…so… puerile. Grow up!"

Faith laughed. "Oh sweet cheeks, you know I’m only funnin’, right B?"

Buffy gave Faith a long look before breaking into laughter. "Right, F. Now, Cordy, you had a vision?"

"Oh, yeah. Big danger. Some chick is about to be monster munchies…in the warehouse district. Over by the old granary, I think."

"We’re on it," Buffy said, helping Faith and Cordelia to stand.

Manning just sighed and shook her head as the teens raced out of the apartment and down to their waiting cars. "Monster chasing is definitely for the young," she said quietly, then went out to find Vanessa and follow them.

***

The hairs on the back of Buffy’s neck rose and she unconsciously smoothed them. "This is the place. My spidey-sense is tingling."

"Yeah, I can feel it too," Tara said, rubbing the bridge of her nose, fighting back the vampiric transformation that marred the girls normally pretty features.

"Let it out," the blonde slayer whispered to her friend, "You’ll need the strength."

Tara gave Buffy a brief smile before submitting to her darker side and letting the vamp out. The change was drastic, as the girl’s normally thin features thickened and hardened and a lunatic glint of hunger sparkled in her blue eyes, turning them steel gray.

"It’s like, creepiness leaves a scent, or something," Willow whispered as she looked through a pouch, making sure she had brought all the best spell ingredients.

"It stinks," Anya said sullenly. "It smells like a corpse after it’s been out in the sun for three days." She inhaled deeply and frowned. "No, wait, four days. There’s just the slightest tinge of true rot backing up the death smell."

"Gee, the things you pick up when you’re a former demon," Xander said cheerfully, rubbing his hands together. "Anyone want a candy bar? Chocolatey goodness," he drawled, pulling out a couple of Hershey bars and waving them around.

"I’ll pass," Buffy said, opting for a granola bar instead.

"Me too," Amy said absently as she worked to slide small dart-like shards of wood into a bandolier.

"I suppose I’ll take one," Giles said from the driver’s seat. "As I will no doubt need the sugar rush just to keep up with you all."

"You should offer some to Faith as well," Tara suggested in between bites of her own granola bar.

Xander looked like he was going to protest, then shrugged and gave up. "Yeah, you’re right. We must feed the hungry slayer so that the hungry slayer will kick much vamp buttage."

Giles parked the van between two buildings and waited for Faith and Cordelia to park behind them. Then they all climbed out of the van and stood around silently.

Oakheart hung from a haphazardly thrown together scabbard on Buffy’s back while Amy had her bandolier of darts slung over her shoulder. Faith had her specialized pistols and Cordelia was armed with one mean looking water canon.

Xander had the one remaining blaster hidden under a trench coat and Anya carried a wicked looking battle axe. Giles wore a large wooden crucifix and carried a crossbow. Tara and Willow quietly discussed spells.

"I suppose we’re all ready," Buffy said, after looking over the gang. "Angel’s with the cops and they’ll take the back while we storm the front. Ready?"

Xander fingered the trigger of the blaster nervously. "Oh yeah, I really wanna get this end of the world stuff over with, I have places to go…"

"Girlfriends to do," Willow whispered suggestively, which caused everyone to giggle.

"That was funny," Anya said belatedly. "Hah hah hah hah. See, I’m laughing, because that was funny."

"Okay, so this is where we all say so long and thanks for all the fishsticks, right?" Faith said, wrapping her arms around Cordelia’s waist protectively. "I don’t suppose you’d consider waiting in the car, would you sweet cheeks?"

Cordelia elbowed Faith in the ribs, smiling a saccharine filled smile. "Not unless you plan on waiting with me, beloved."

"Didn’t think so," Faith said, kissing Cordelia’s cheek. "Well, okay. So, here it goes. If I bite it in there - and there’s always a good chance I will - then I just wanted to tell you all thanks. Thanks for giving me a second chance. I never deserved it and I hope that I’ve somehow done a little to balance the scales." Faith shrugged and looked away.

"I guess it’s my turn," Cordelia said softly. "I wasn’t always a part of the group, but I always believed in what you - now we - do. I’m not ashamed to call any one of you my friend."

"Great, can we go kill the bad guys now? I’m bored," Anya whined softly while taking a few practice swings with her axe.

"Anya, you really do need to consider how your attitude will affect others," Giles said harshly.

"Well looky here, looks like we got us a little war party boys," a sneering voice said.

Buffy spun around to see a large group of vampires packing up around the two cars. The blonde slayer grinned wickedly and said, "Okay ladies, no more time for chit-chat, the fun boys are here."

***

Michiko watched the carnage from a loft above an old warehouse. The two slayers worked quite well together, she noted, watching as Buffy ducked while Faith shot three of the other slayer’s attackers. They all did, each member of the group working as a team. But it would all be for naught, for her minions would do as they were hired to do - delay the slayers until the Magus’ birth.

She ran her hands over her grossly distended belly, luxuriating in the pleasurable sensation of the Magus’ growth spurts. She had fed only moments ago, yet she still felt terribly hungry. The scent of blood hung thick in the air, spurring her hunger to almost immeasurable heights, yet Michiko did not feed.

Laid out on a makeshift altar and dressed only in the thinnest of silken gowns was the Magus’ first meal; Sarah Matthews. The former homicide detective was lost to the grip of cocaine, dreamily laughing at the ropes that held her bound to the huge block of marble that Michiko had brought into the warehouse. Beneath her, cut deeply into the rock, was a pentagram.

Michiko stared at the sight, imagining her piece of art running red with Sarah’s thick blood and licked her lips in anticipation. "Soon, my darling, soon," she crooned, gliding across the floor to possessively stroke her fingers over Sarah’s chest.

Sarah arched up into Michiko’s touch, moaning in ecstasy. Michiko smiled wickedly, luxuriating in the aura of the Magus’ Chosen.

The sound of a thousand bells rang in Michiko’s ears as her abdomen rippled and stretched. "Yes!" she gasped, falling back against the altar, reaching for the blade that would open the way for the Magus to step forth and claim his world. She never heard the front door burst open, or the shrieks of her men dying as the slayers and their friends cut, hacked and staked their way through to her.

Buffy looked up and saw the macabre scene in the loft and shouted, "Faith! Upstairs! With me!"

Faith’s head whipped around until she could see the loft as well. She nodded and leapt up, grabbing hold of the top of the stairwell and pulling herself up.

"Show off," Buffy grumbled, leaping over vampires and running up the stairs.

Kate, Vanessa and Elise stood aside as Angel kicked in the back door, then the three women rushed in. Only Kate stopped and turned to look at Angel. He stood there, bouncing on his heels for just a few moments while Kate smiled mockingly. "Oh, all right, come in, Angel," she finally said, turning away from the vampire and racing to follow her friends.

Angel sighed and ran in after her.

The bottom floor of the warehouse was chaos. The vamps and the Scoobies seemed pretty evenly matched until Cordelia unleashed her cannon of holy water, which sent the vamps shrieking into the corridor where Angel waited, stakes in hand.

Upstairs, Buffy and Faith were engaged by six rather steroid overdosed vamps while Michiko’s stomach continued to ripple and expand.

"Got to," Buffy wheezed, staking a beefstick vamp in the chest once, then again, just for good measure, "get to her before she hatches."

"Gotcha," Faith said, dropping the broken bit of wood she’d been using as a weapon and drawing her gun. A wicked gleam of delight sparkled from her eyes. "I knew I saved a clip for a reason," she drawled happily, taking her time to aim and shoot each of the remaining vamps in the chest, laughing hysterically when the vamps vanished into dust.

Buffy drew Oakheart and turned to face Michiko. The vampiric sorceress was laid out next to the woman in the white gown, caressing herself with the flat of a strangely hooked dagger.

"All right Bitch, here’s a little hello from history!" Buffy growled, swinging the blade at the woman.

Michiko opened her eyes to see death blazing through the air. "No!" she shrieked, diving out of the way. "Where did you get that? I destroyed all of the scrolls, all of them!" Michiko’s words grew angrier. Her voice grew harsh and she began to spit out phrases in a language Buffy did not understand. The blonde slayer kept her distance as Michiko’s hands began to glow an awful shade of orangish-purple. A foul smelling wind rose up and began buffeting both slayers, tossing them around the room while Michiko continued to chant, raising her hands skyward in supplication to some dark god.

The sorceress’ hands changed and grew, becoming hideous claws that were tipped with six inch long talons. As her chant ended, Michiko looked up and caught Buffy’s eyes with her own. The sorceress’ eyes glowed with an evil red light. "You will die, Slayer," she growled lashing out at Buffy, barely missing the blonde slayer’s face by inches. Twin bolts of energy shot out of Michiko’s upraised hands, barely missing Buffy and Faith, who grabbed a newly arrived vamp by the shoulders, dragging him around to take the blast.

"Hah-hah, missed me, missed me, and you’ll never kiss me," Faith taunted, firing three rounds into the sorceress.

Michiko laughed wickedly. "You and all of your worthless friends will feed the Magus when he comes. And he comes soon, I can feel him." Michiko purred happily, stroking her belly in a parody of an erotic gesture. The wounds inflicted by the bullets closed immediately.

"Oh, gross. You know, I’m really, really getting tired of this whole end of the world stuff. Why don’t you just," Buffy swung Oakheart to the right, and then, too fast for Michiko’s eyes to follow, she switched hands and drove the blade straight into the sorceress’ belly. "Go the hell away," Buffy finished, letting go of the sword and brushing off her hands.

Michiko looked down at the two feet of wood that stuck out of her stomach and shrieked madly. Her eyes started to bleed as her body began to ripple and expand. Her hands flailed this way and that, accidentally shoving the blade of the dagger into Sarah’s leg. The woman groaned in pain, but did not otherwise show any indication that she knew what was going on. Michiko grabbed for the shaft of the boken, snatching away her hand as it smoked and burned upon contact with the enchanted blade. Oakheart turned into a lance of pure white energy as it slowly pushed itself through Michiko’s body.

Buffy watched in silent awe as the figure of a man dressed in an ancient silk kimono appeared to grasp the hilt and thrust the sword the rest of the way through the sorceress, twisting the blade the entire time. An unearthly howl of pain and frustration echoed around the room as a blackish ooze spilled out of the woman’s body and onto the floor, turning to ash.

When only blood fountained from Michiko’s body, he pulled out the sword and bowed over it, saying, "And so it finally ends," before vanishing, letting the boken fall to the ground. Buffy stared at the blade. Where once the wood was almost a pale white, it was now dark black and charred.

Michiko’s mouth opened in a soundless scream of agony as bits of blood and spittle dripped down her chin. Buffy gagged when she saw that the sorceress’ belly was nothing but a shredded ruin of bloody tissue. Buffy leaned over to pick up the sword and saw Faith come up behind the sorceress and drive her make-shift stake through the woman’s back with such force that bones shattered. As the tip of the stake pierced through Michiko’s heart, she let out a sigh that sounded almost relieved. For one, perfect second, Michiko smiled peacefully, then turned to dust and mingled with the ashes of the Magus.

Buffy wiped off Oakheart, sheathed the blade and walked over to the woman on the altar. The slayer didn’t recognize her, but she winced anyway when she saw the deep wound that Michiko’s blade had made in the woman’s upper thigh.

"That’s gotta hurt," Faith said softly, reaching for the ropes that held the woman down.

"Yeah. I got her. Could you get Amy? And see what’s going on downstairs. It’s a little too quiet down there," Buffy said, pulling out a pocketknife.

"Sure. Buffy," Faith paused at the top of the stairs to look back at her blonde counterpart.

"Yeah?" Buffy looked up from cutting the woman free.

"We make a hell of a team, don’t we?" Faith said, then back-flipped off the landing.

"Show off," Buffy said fondly. "Shhh," she said to the woman, who was starting to come around.

"Huh? Michi? Where am I?" Sarah moaned, feeling the worst headache she’d ever had come over her.

"Shh," Buffy said again, helping the woman to sit up.

"Where am I?" Sarah asked softly, rubbing her eyes.

"You’re in a warehouse in Sunnydale," Buffy replied, looking up and smiling gratefully at Amy, who had climbed the stairs. Behind her was Kate Lockely, whose face was a mixture of confusion and shock.

"Cordelia said you needed us," Amy said by way of greeting.

"Yeah, I just sent Faith down…" Buffy said, moving out of the way as Amy walked over to look at Sarah.

"She’s a little busy. Seems Cordelia decided to block a heavy wooden beam with her arm," Amy said absently.

Kate finally found her voice. "Sarah?" she whispered. "Sarah Matthews?"

Sarah’s head shot up and she stared at Kate for a long moment before saying, "Kate Lockely? Fuck me. How the hell did you end up here in hell?" then she passed out.

Kate was by Sarah’s side instantly, helping Amy to move the unconscious woman to a bed.

"You know her?" Buffy said, standing back out of the way.

"We went to the academy together," Kate said, grabbing a bottle of water and starting to clean the wound in Sarah’s leg.

"I guess we know why Cordy’s vision said to bring you now," Buffy said, but Kate didn’t hear her. She turned to Amy, who was yelling down at Giles to bring up the stretcher. "So what’s wrong with Cordy?"

"Oh, nothing much. Her shoulder’s dislocated and she broke two ribs. She’ll be fine," Amy said quietly as she waited for Giles.

Buffy laughed. "Oh, this I gotta see," she said, running down stairs.

***

"Ow. Don’t do that," Cordelia growled at Faith, who chuckled.

"What? I thought you liked it when I touched you there," Faith said, all innocence.

The actress gave her lover an icy cold glare. "Fine, I’ll remember that the next time you break a rib!"

Faith chuckled. "Oh all right, I’m sorry. Forgive me?" she batted her eyes prettily, causing Cordelia to laugh.

"Ow. Ow. Ow. Damnit. Ow," she said in between chuckles.

Buffy leaned around Amy, who was snuggled up against the blonde slayer’s side, half asleep. "Could you guys keep it down? My girlfriend’s taking a nap."

"Girlfriend!" Xander squeaked, staring at Buffy and Amy with bugged out eyes. "What, is it contagious now? Honey, don’t get too close to them, I don’t wanna lose you too!" he grabbed Anya and pulled her close, much to her delight.

"Ooo, Xander, can we have orgasms here?" she asked coyly.

"Oh dear god," Giles said while Joyce played with his hair.

Tara and Willow, who were stretched out on their stomachs in front of the television, giggled and twined their feet together.

"Oh look at all of you, aren’t we just the sweetest picture? Makes me want to vomit," Spike said as he and Alizelle came into the room bearing a huge tray full of cookies and milk.

Upstairs, in a guest bedroom, Sarah Matthews slept restlessly, tossing and turning as the drugs that Michiko had poured into her system worked their way out. By her side was her old friend, Kate Lockely.

Down at the Sunnydale police department, Detectives Manning and Richards were putting the finishing touches on their report and signing off on Michiko’s victims.

Perched on the roof like some deranged gargoyle, Angel gazed out into the night as the moon rose high overhead.

"You should be downstairs, with everyone else, celebrating," a familiar voice said as BJ materialized beside him.

"Celebration is for the living," Angel said with a shrug. "I called Wes, found out what our next job is and now I’m just waiting to go home."

BJ laid her intangible head against his shoulder. "Your life sounds so dry, Angel. What about laughter? Or smiles? Don’t you ever just see something so beautiful, you just smile for hours?"

Angel’s face grew sad and drawn. "I did. Once. I won’t go there again," he said softly, pulling away from the ghost’s cool touch.

"Ah. Buffy," she said knowingly. "The curse. But the curse doesn’t prevent you from having friends, does it?"

"I’m not a make new friends kind of guy," he said gruffly.

"Well, I love making new friends, so I think I’ll just have to make you one," BJ said, grinning and holding out an ethereal hand. "Hi, I’m Mariah Chesley. But you can call me BJ."

Perhaps it was her smile. Perhaps it was the fact that he had rid the world of another thirty of his kind. Whatever it was that made him do it, Angel would never know as he extended his hand out to the ghost and gave her a wry half smile.

"Angel."

fin

09/30/00

Author’s Note: Hi : ) You might have noticed some terms in this last story relating to the science of Forensics : ) I wanted to take a moment to say that I have no formal training in this field and that I did very little research into it. All that you see here is gleaned from years of reading mysteries (Patricia Cornwell is wonderful!) and watching television shows with mystery plot lines. (Movies too, though not as much.) If I messed up, it’s my fault and all my fault, not that of my beta readers or anyone else. : )

Also, I realize that becoming a forensic scientist means that a person usually takes lots and lots of classes and has years and years of college behind them. I know I probably skipped a few steps with Amy. I apologize for the inaccuracy. Let’s just say she’s a very gifted student who proved her aptitude by passing several tests. : )

For those of you who are keeping up with my musical tastes, this story was partially influenced by Billie Myers’ new cd, "Vertigo".

Thank you and as always, comments and constructive critiques are always welcome at: shaych3@aol.com : )

***