LOOKING TO THE FUTURE
It was Sunday morning. Buffy and Faith sat at the counter in the kitchen,
and waited, as Joyce finished preparing scrambled eggs, sausage, and toast.
It was a rarity for the older Summers to be home, let alone cook, so they
were taking advantage of it. Her mother was making the food as sort of
a celebration of her getting into Northwestern University.
Buffy's mind was nowhere near that. One, she knew she'd never be able
to leave the Hellmouth, and two, they were all going to die anyway. Another
week had gone by, and they were no closer to stopping the Ascension. So
what was the point of the future? There wasn't going to be one. Joyce was
so upbeat though, that she had entered the wonderful world of denial, and
was blind to the negativity.
The slayers got served, and just kind of poked at their eggs.
"I wish I had mashed potatoes. Maybe I could make something out of
them like Richard Dreyfuss did, and then aliens would come down and stop
the Ascension." Buffy muttered.
"Yeah. You think E.T.'s finger does more than glow? Maybe he could
bring a couple of his cousins and they could send the Mayor into a black
hole or somethin'." Faith wondered.
The blonde sighed. "That actually sounds like a good idea right now.
And that's sad."
"Hey! You know where we could get a chunk of amber with a sixty-five million-year-old mosquito in it? We could bring a T-Rex to life, and it could eat him."
"Where's Steven Spielberg when you need him?"
"Okay, enough gloominess." Joyce said. "I'm sure everything will work out. Now eat. We have happier things to look forward to."
"Mom..."
"I mean, it's not cheap, but, uh, I know we can make it work if your father pitches in. Not that Northwestern is your only option. It's a great school, though. I am so proud of you."
"You said that before."
"And will again soon."
"Mom, you know that I can't..." Buffy hesitated. "I just can't decide on a school right now. I mean I want to sleep on it, you know, mull it over. Raise them up my inner flagpole, see which one I salute."
"I know, sweetheart. I'm just so pleased that you have so many choices. Ooh, you know what? Your Aunt Arleen and her family are in Illinois. I've got to call and tell them."
Joyce grabbed the phone and started walking into the other room. She didn't see her daughter frown.
"I'd love to be wherever your mom is now." Faith said. "She's right, though. Northwestern. Big. You worked your ass off."
"Even if I had a choice, I wouldn't be interested. Least I know I'm smarter than I give myself credit for."
"You've always been my little Einstein." The brunette grinned.
"Again with the 'little' puns. Not really a fan of those."
Faith had been racking her brain to figure out something that would help them, for the past few days. Taking a deep breath, she realized they'd have to start with the only thing tangible they had. Technically, Giles had it now.
"There has to be...okay, the big things in the planner were what?"
"Hundred Days, over. Ascension, coming up. What else was there?"
"Damn." The Bostonian cursed. "He was supposed to call someone about a delivery, wasn't he?"
They hadn't made it much attention before, but everyone was ready to do just about anything. Follow anything. Truth was, they had forgotten about it.
"You're right." Buffy realized, getting some hope. "What is it? When is it going to be here? Where? Who?"
"Don't know, don't know, don't know, *and* don't know." Faith smirked.
"But it could be important, right? This could be our chance."
"Then the next question is, how do we go about gettin' the info?"
They looked at each other with a smile.
"Willow."
***
"It'll probably be in the Mayor's name." Buffy told her friend.
"And it'll probably come from outta town, so check shipping records."
Faith added.
They stood behind Willow, in her room, a half an hour later. The hacker
was hurriedly hitting keys, entering the search criteria. She felt a little
crowded.
"Could you guys...gimme some room?" She asked. "And slow down. I may
be a fast typist, but my fingers aren't that skilled." She spoke low next.
"Not as skilled as Faith's are, I bet."
Behind her, Buffy's eyes went wide.
Faith smiled widely. "Score two points for the redhead. Nice one."
Willow grinned to herself. She was surprised that she wasn't blushing.
Watching the slayers had caused her to develop a good sense for knowing
when an opportunity for an innuendo came up, and she decided to take advantage
of it for once. She was pretty pleased with her first attempt, however
blatant it was. Maybe this was a sign that she was ready to move on with
Oz.
Buffy was stunned. This was her innocent, shy, friend.
"Are you possessed? Spell go wrong? Cause..." The older slayer then
snapped back into reality. "Willow!"
"Yep. We've gone and corrupted her, B."
"Got something." The hacker said suddenly. "A shipment was sent off
two days ago from South America with its own courier. The Mayor spent a
lot of money. A lot."
"When's it gettin' here?"
"Tonight. The plane carrying it, is supposed to get here at seven."
"Let's play it safe this time." Buffy said. "Whatever it is, it's gonna
have to come back to City Hall. We go there, wait for it, and see if we
can find out what it is. Then we leave."
Faith saluted her partner. "Yes ma'am."
"Ma'am?" The blonde crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you trying
to make me feel old?"
"Do you want me to? Cause if that's what you want, Wal-Mart's sellin'
Depends real cheap."
"Grrr."
"Careful, Red. I think she's mad."
"You leave Willow out of this. You've corrupted her enough already."
"Me? We both had a hand in it."
"Excuse me? I'm the innocent one in this relationship."
"Oh no. She's delusional now too."
Willow watched the exchange amused, and couldn't help but giggle. They
fit so well together. The slayers looked at her.
"Sorry. It's just...are you sure you aren't married?"
"Like I'd marry someone with such a perverted love for leather." Buffy
huffed.
"And there's no way I'd get hitched to someone who actually thinks
clothes from the Gap are wearable."
"You used to get clothes from Kids 'R Us!"
Faith gaped. "It was the only store closest to the bus stop!"
"Uh huh. Whatever. You and I both know that you worshipped the giraffe."
"Oh you're askin' for it, B."
The slayers grinned, and proceeded to kiss.
"Should I leave you two alone?" Willow asked after a few seconds.
The blonde pulled away from her girlfriend with a smile.
"Carried away. Done now."
"Turn that thing off, Red. Because you rock,"
"You really do,"
"And got us our only hope of puttin' an end to the Mayor, we're goin'
out."
The redhead shut down the computer.
"Where?"
"Coffee shop. I'm buyin'."
"Ooh! But its gotta be decaf. Caffeine and I don't mix."
Faith shook her head. "By the time I'm done with ya, it'll have no
effect." The three of them left the room, Willow and Faith walking in front
of Buffy. "Now, there's this one technique I use that she can't get enough
-"
"Faith!" Buffy screamed.
***
As they walked down the sidewalk toward the Espresso Pump, the girls passed by April Fools, the only formal wear shop worth going to in town. Willow and Faith were still ahead of Buffy, several feet ahead in fact, and she had given up on separating them.
Because she was hanging back, she looked in the window of the store
and saw someone inside who looked like Cordelia. It was her. But the cheerleader
didn't appear to be shopping. Her fellow slayer and her redheaded friend
noticed her lagging, and turned around.
"What's the hold up?" Faith called.
"You guys go on ahead. I'll meet you there, okay?"
She couldn't believe she was leaving Faith alone with Willow.
"Sure, B. We'll keep ourselves occupied somehow. Hurry, though. Who
knows what kinda trouble we might get into?"
Willow must have noticed the look of fear on her face.
"I'll be fine, Buffy." The two friends smiled at each other. "I think."
She waited until they were moving again, and then turned to enter the
shop. Inside,
Cordelia walked up to her immediately, not knowing who she was at first.
"Welcome to April Fools. Is there anything I can help you..." Once
it clicked for her that it was Buffy, the color drained from her face.
"...find?"
Cordelia just stared at the slayer for a second, and walked toward
the back of the store. She went into the storage room, and knelt down next
to a box. Beginning to unpack the new shipment of apparel, she heard Buffy
walk in.
"Hey."
"You shouldn't be in here."
"Yeah, I'm a delinquent. I'm supposed to do things I shouldn't. Just
ask Snyder."
The blonde smirked. "So...uh...how long have you been -?"
She sighed, and thought she might as well tell her. "Two weeks. Daddy
decided not to pay his taxes for a decade. They're taking everything. Hand
me a couple of those hangers?"
Buffy looked behind her, and on a shelf, were several clothes hangers.
She gave them to the cheerleader, who began to put them to use.
"I'm...sorry. Are you okay?"
"Besides the fact that life sucks, I'm fine."
Cordelia got up and carried the new arrivals into the store, and started
to hang them up on the racks.
"Do you have a place to live?"
"Just until after Graduation. If we don't all die, I might try LA.
Act, you know."
"Does Xander..."
Cordelia nodded. "Told him on Friday."
"No wonder we haven't seen him all weekend." Buffy looked around, and then watched as Cordelia did her job. "Do you have a break soon?"
"Actually..." She checked her watch. "Right now."
"Wanna come to the Espresso Pump with me? Faith and Willow are already there."
"By themselves?" Buffy nodded with a look of dread. "Okay." She smiled, finishing what she had been doing. They began to make their way out. "I just...don't know if I'll be able to deal with this. Going from having money to...not, is..."
"You will. You're strong, Cordy. And if you do go to LA, we'll all back you up."
"Xander won't." She frowned.
"He'll come around. When he gets emotional, he tends to go to the extreme end. It'll pass."
"I hope so."
"Hey, you got any good dresses for the Prom?"
"None that I can afford...but yeah. We do."
"Oh."
As the girls went out to the sidewalk, there was an awkward silence. Buffy had hit a sore spot. Eventually, the brunette broke it.
"Are you asking Faith?" Cordelia shook her head at her own stupidity. "Duh. Of course you are."
Buffy grinned. "I'm gonna make her sweat a little before I ask."
"I'm not really interested in the details of your sex life."
The slayer halted, and her face went red.
"What is it with people today? First Willow, now you. You know that's not what I meant." She closed her eyes, and took a breath. "Anyway, if you need someone to talk to, about whatever, I'm here."
"I know."
Continuing to stand there, she saw Cordelia's apprehension. The cheerleader
wanted to ask for something, but couldn't quite bring herself to do it.
Buffy was going to give it to her anyway. She hugged her tightly, and felt
the other girl slowly return it. A few seconds later, they separated.
"What do you say we get mochas?"
***
Willow was on her second cup of mocha. At first, Faith found funny the effect that the caffeine had on the hacker, but now she was just scared. She had heard of people having the jitters, though she could have sworn it was only before weddings. Willow was proving that wrong. Quickly and cautiously, the slayer reached for the cup. When her hand grabbed it, she pulled it over to her side of the table.
The redhead whimpered.
"You've had enough."
Faith watched as Willow rapidly shook her finger.
"I'll tell you when I've had enough." She put her hand over her mouth when she realized what she said. "Oh...no...God...sorry...I...oh. I warned you."
"And I'll listen from now on."
"Good...you listen...listening is good. You hear what people are saying that way. And then you can..." She babbled, but then trailed off, lunging for the cup. She missed. "Help me."
"What do you want me to do?"
"Water! Water works sometimes. Really well."
"I'll get you some. Just don't go anywhere."
"Our bodies are eighty-percent water, you know."
"I'm aware." Faith said, starting to rise.
"But if we're mostly water, why do people drown? That's weird, isn't it?"
"Boggles the mind." The brunette said. "Stay."
She went and got a large cup of water, and threw out the mochas. Now
that she wasn't looking at Willow, she could smile. The whole episode was
uniquely her.
Nobody else could replicate what the redhead did. A bizarre friend
to be sure, but someone Faith was more than glad to have in that category.
As she came over and sat back down, Willow was tapping her fingers on the
table.
Seeing the water, the wicca took it greedily, and started drinking it. By the time she put it down, it was empty.
"Thanks." She burped, and looked embarrassed. "Whoopsie." She started to giggle.
"I see that the high's wearin' off." Faith smirked.
"Hey! I don't do drugs!" She tried to glare, but started giggling again, and stared at the table. Then she got quiet suddenly.
"Still there?"
"Huh? Oh. Uh huh. We're friends, right?"
The slayer was caught off guard. "That's what I thought."
"I hoped you were gonna say that. Cause I need to ask you a question."
"O...kay."
Willow saw the look on Faith's face, and smiled. "A serious question."
"Shoot."
"When should Oz and I...make...love?" She asked quietly.
Faith waited several moments before responding.
"You sure you don't want to talk to Buffy about this?"
"I did. And now I'm asking you." Willow paused. "I've been thinking about it, and I've talked with him, and we both want it to be at the right time. Perfect. But I don't know what that time is."
"You'll know. It'll hit you. But as far as a specific date, can't help ya there."
The redhead sighed. "That's what Buffy said." She chewed on her bottom lip. "What was your first time like? Ever?"
Faith started to close up. "You don't wanna know."
(Open wide for Daddy, Princess.)
"Bad?"
"It sure as hell wasn't anywhere near perfect."
(This might hurt, but it'll make Daddy feel good. You wanna make me feel good, right, baby?)
She shrugged off the memories.
"Then we won't talk about it anymore."
There was an uncomfortable quietness then. Could she tell her? Would Willow look at her differently? Hate her? Pity her? It would destroy or solidify their friendship. Could she take the risk?
"It was my dad." Faith answered after awhile. "I'm not lookin' for sympathy, but seein' as we're friends and all, I just...you asked, and I figured...you should know."
"Thanks for trusting me." Willow put her hand atop Faith's, and gave it a squeeze, after getting over her shock. "I guess Buffy knows?"
The brunette nodded. "The guy was an asshole, and probably dead by now. I'm past it. Every other...they don't exist. Not anymore. She's my first time. Every time is with her." Willow smiled. "Like I said, you'll know. Just wait for it. It'll find you."
They looked toward the entrance, and saw Buffy and Cordelia walking in.
"If you ever need a hug, you know where to find me." The hacker whispered.
Faith smiled and then shifted her weight as her girlfriend came and sat on her lap. She kissed her.
"Just in time. She's finally back to normal."
"How much did she have?" Buffy asked.
"Two mochas, and a large water."
Willow's eyes went wide, and she jumped out of her seat.
"Bathroom!"
***
After dark, the slayers hid out front of City Hall, behind some bushes. They were waiting for the limousine they had seen leave forty minutes ago, to return. It was very nerve-racking for both of them, even though their senses were on full alert. The Mayor scared them simply because he was so sure he was going to succeed.
And he had that "politician persona", which meant he could hide any
vulnerabilities.
He already had the physical ones covered. They still remembered his
demonstration.
This was their shot, however. If they played it right, all of the Mayor's
plans would be kaput.
"We've seen this place way too damn much." Faith said.
"Agreed." Her partner said. "It's politicians like him that make me want to stay unregistered."
"You could vote against him."
"Yeah, but if I didn't know what he was, I'd probably be one of the people voting for him. I'm gullible that way."
"He's definitely a slick bastard."
"Look. Here it comes."
They ducked lower, and watched the limousine come to a stop by the sidewalk in front of the building. A guy stepped out, vampire, carrying a box. Watching him go inside, they saw the car go around the corner, heading toward a parking lot.
"Go." The brunette said. "I'll keep watch."
"Be right back, honey." Buffy said with a grin.
The blonde slayer took off around the corner, and entered the parking lot. Creeping up to the long, black vehicle, she waited for a second, staring at the passenger side window. The driver was still inside. She could make out a body, even through the dark windows. Bending down, she moved past the front of the limousine, got in front of the driver's window, and smashed it with her fist.
Reaching in with both hands, she grabbed the vampire driver by the lapels of his suit jacket, and pulled him halfway out.
"So, what's in the box?" She asked with a polite smile.
***
Buffy felt Faith's foot hit her stomach, and in an overly dramatic way,
she dropped hard to a sitting position, and let herself fall back. She
didn't move.
"B?" The concerned, standing slayer asked, leaning down.
Faith saw the blonde's hands shoot up, and then they grabbed her shirt.
She was off balance, but couldn't help matching Buffy's mischievous smile.
The older slayer's leg kicked up then, right in between her legs. Faith
soon found herself being flung over her sparring partner and onto her back.
Xander, who had been watching, couldn't pass up the opportunity before
him. He had gotten accustomed to the slayers and could now, more or less,
keep his hormones in check. Plus, it was a Monday, and his body was usually
not at its peak functioning level, yet. And he was still preoccupied with
what Cordelia had told him. He wasn't sure what he was feeling anymore,
but he did know that the thought of losing her, hurt. Badly.
He was keeping it hidden for now.
"Enough foreplay, ladies. I mean...'training'." He made quotes with
his fingers.
"Things to do, boxes to steal..." He said with an innocent _expression_.
They got off the library floor, and Buffy was fuming.
"And again with the comments! That's three now. Is Oz the only one
who can hold himself back? And he's a werewolf!"
"Your point?"
"I...don't know. But...ahh!" She screamed.
"Better?" Oz asked.
"Much. Thanks."
"You bet."
"Didn't mean any offense with the 'werewolf' thing."
"None taken."
"There are things that need discussing." Wesley said.
"She told you all she got from the vamp, Wes." Faith said, taking a
seat. "Box of Gavrock. Mayor eats what's in it. Big deal for Ascension."
Giles and Willow came in; carrying several large blueprints, and set
them down on the table.
"What's that?" The watcher asked.
"Maps." The librarian answered.
"And stuff." The redhead continued. "Plans for City Hall. They were in the Water and Power mainframe."
"The box is being kept under guard in a conference room on the top floor." Buffy pointed to the map. "There. I got that from the vamp too. Then I introduced him to Mr. Pointy. They didn't hit it off."
"Well, now, here's what I think we should do..." Wesley tried.
"Skylight. Right above the room." Faith observed. "We should get the A-Guy in on this. He's been on disability long enough."
"Agreed." Giles said.
"And there's a fire ladder on the eastside of the building." Xander saw, pointing.
"Yes, yes, fine, but we still need to consider whether the Mayor..." Wesley attempted again.
"It won't be enough to simply have possession of the box." Giles reminded everyone.
"Right, we have to destroy it. Not just physically. Ritually, with some down and dirty black magic." Willow said with a smile.
"Hang on. We don't know what such a ritual would require." Wesley pointed out.
"I think the Breath of the Atropyx is standard for this sort of thing. Fairly simple recipe. Xander?" Giles handed a book to the teenager.
Buffy and Faith looked at each other with a smirk. Were they doing a
spell or baking a cake?
"I know. I'm ingredient-gettin' guy."
"All right, stop! I demand everyone stop this instant!" The watcher yelled. They all looked at him. "I'm in charge here and I say this is all moving much too fast. We need time to fully analyze the situation and devise a proper and strategic stratagem."
"Wes, hop on the train or get off the tracks." Buffy advised.
"Or get run over by it. Whatever works for ya." Faith said.
"The Mayor will most assuredly have supernatural safeguards protecting the box." Wesley told them, and was greeted with silence. "Oh, we all forgot about that, did we?"
"Looks like a job for Wiccan girl. What do you say, Will? Big time danger." Buffy said to her friend.
"Hey, I eat danger for breakfast." Willow grinned.
"But oddly enough, she panics in the face of breakfast foods." Xander joked, heading for the doors. He saw Cordelia standing in his way. She had been watching quietly for the last couple minutes. "Hey."
"Hey." The cheerleader said. "Do you need help getting...um..."
The gang waited for Xander's response.
"Sure. I could use some." He smiled.
As they made their way out, Buffy turned to the remaining occupants of the library.
"Let's get to work."
***
For the second night in a row, the slayers were once again outside of City Hall. Only this time, they weren't alone. They arrived in a black van, with Wesley driving, Giles beside him, and Willow and Angel in the back with them. Faith slid open the side door and the four of them hopped out while the Englishmen stayed put.
"Now remember, if anything should go awry, Wesley and I will create a diversion." Giles said.
"Let's synchronize our watches. I have twenty-one four..." Wesley started, but the three girls held up their bare wrists. "Yes, typical."
"Maybe we could just count. One, one thousand, two one thousand..." Willow offered.
"Be careful, all of you." Giles said.
"Are we ever anything else?" Faith asked rhetorically.
Giles just shook his head. The two men watched the foursome walk off,
and Angel pull down the fire ladder. Then he held up the thermos that he
had brought, to Wesley.
"Tea?"
***
Back in the library, Oz was placing a large, ceramic pot on a pedestal,
when
Cordelia and Xander came through the doors. Xander was carrying a large
brown bag. His girlfriend took a seat at the table. They hadn't spoken
during the entire trip. She was worried now. He didn't seem hostile, but
the silence between them wasn't something she was used to.
"You get the stuff?" The guitarist asked.
"Yeah." Xander replied, pulling plastic baggies out of the larger paper bag, and inspecting them. "Essence of toad, twice-blessed sage, maybe that's the toad?"
"Well, we better be sure. Destroying this box is supposed to be a pretty delicate operation."
"Well, then, they shouldn't leave it in the hands of the lay people."
"Are you mad at me?" Cordelia asked suddenly.
Both guys looked at her, and then Oz busied himself by studying the
ingredients.
Xander sighed, and knelt down in front of her.
"No. It's not your fault, right?"
"You don't want to talk about it?" She asked softly.
"What is there to say? I'm sorry I wigged. I don't handle big news well. But if you want to leave at the end of the year, I can't stop you. LA won't know what hit 'em."
"So you don't want me to leave."
"Why would I want that?" He paused. "I just don't want to think about it right now. Let's enjoy the time we have left, and if it looks like we have a chance with averting A-Day, we'll figure stuff out." He took her hand and gave her a small kiss on the lips.
"Okay." She smiled.
"We're good?"
"Uh huh." Cordelia looked at Oz then. "What do we need to do?"
"Oh, Willow laid it out for us pretty well." Oz showed them the wicca's instructions.
"Wow! She even drew helpful diagrams. That's the pedestal." Xander recognized.
"And the ingredients. And us. See, there's you and there's me."
"Where am I?" Cordelia asked.
"Here. Your shirt says supervise."
"I can do that."
"Well, how can you tell which is which?" Xander wondered. "I mean, they all look kinda stick-figurey to me."
"Well, this one's me. See, the little guitar." Oz explained.
"Oh, gotcha."
Oz dropped three, gold objects into the pot. "Okay, toad me."
"Toad him." The brunette said in an authoritative tone.
***
On the roof of the town government building, the slayers, the witch, and the vampire, looked down through the skylight to see the box right where it was supposed to be. Angel and Faith slowly opened the skylight, and Buffy handed Willow a book, and a bottle containing blue powder.
"Do your stuff." The blonde said.
The redhead read a spell from the book, in Latin, while pouring the bottle's contents over the box. As she finished, they all saw a blue force field appear, and then dissipate.
"Oh yeah, I'm bad." She congratulated herself, as Faith gave her a high five.
"Four stars, Will. Now get going."
"I'm gone."
She started going down the ladder, and Angel began to fit Buffy with
a harness and set up a pully system.
"Watch the hands, Big Guy." Faith said.
Buffy turned to the vampire. "Isn't she sweet?"
"Like candy. If I knew how that tasted."
He lowered her down into the room, and over the box.
"Got it!" As she picked up the box, alarms went off from somewhere.
Up above,
Angel was pulling hard on the chord, but she wasn't moving. "Angel!"
"It's jammed."
Faith grabbed a hold too, but even with her added strength, Buffy wasn't budging.
"I'd like very much to come up now, please!"
"We know!" They said in unison.
Two vampires entered the room, in suits no less, growling.
"Don't suppose you want to help me get down." They growled some more. "Didn't think so."
"Screw this." Faith hissed, jumping down and hitting the table. Angel
soon followed.
While they fought, Buffy did a vertical spin in the harness, somehow
managing to free herself from its confines. She tossed Faith the box, and
the brunette hit a vampire's face with it, knocking him down. The three
of them easily made it out of the room, running at full speed.
Outside, the van they arrived in sped by, as the trio dove behind some
bushes.
***
Around ten minutes later, Willow was being dragged into the room her
friends had just destroyed, in the grips of a vampire. The Mayor was surveying
the damage, and she could clearly hear how upset he was.
"Well, this is very unfortunate. I just had this conference room redecorated,
for Pete's sake. At taxpayers' expense. And, oh yeah..." He smashed a chair,
enraged.
"They've got my box."
Willow was struggling, and he heard her. "Let me go!"
"Well...hello there." He gave her a big smile.
***
"How did this happen?" Buffy asked a sullen group.
They came back to the library without Willow. Besides being angry, everyone was extremely worried. She was in the Lion's Den.
"We thought she stayed with you." Giles said lamely.
"They must have grabbed her when she hit the ground. Buffy, I'm sorry." Angel apologized.
"Me too, B. We should've made sure she was okay." Faith said, the guilt hitting her.
"Look, it's nobody's fault, okay? We just need to focus and deal." Buffy
said, taking a deep breath. "Oz, I swear I won't let them hurt her."
The musician didn't say a word.
"We go back. Full-on assault." Xander said, bravely.
"I'm with him." The dark-haired slayer said.
"Ditto." Cordelia agreed.
"They'll kill her." Giles stated.
"We're assuming they haven't already?" Wesley asked.
"No. No, they know what she means to us. She's too valuable as long as we still have the box. We trade." Buffy said.
"We can't."
"No, it's the safest plan." She looked at Faith, who had to nod, and
then at Giles.
"It's the only way, right?"
"It might well be." The librarian agreed, not coming up with a better idea.
"Look, we call the Mayor and arrange a meeting."
"This box must be destroyed." Wesley argued.
"I need a volunteer to hit Wesley." Xander was angry.
"We were gettin' along so well. Don't ruin it now." Faith warned.
"Giles, you know I'm right about this." The watcher tried to look for help.
"Wes, you want to duck and cover at this point?" The blonde asked.
"Damn it, you listen to me! This box is the key to the Mayor's Ascension. Thousands of lives depend on our getting rid of it. Now I want to help Willow as much as the rest of you..."
"I don't think he does." Faith said.
"- but we will find another way." He kept talking.
"There is no other way." Buffy told him.
"You're the ones who said take the fight to the Mayor. You were right. This is the town's best hope of survival."
"Somebody died cause of him already, cause of me, and I couldn't do a thing about it." Faith snapped. "If we can save Willow, I'm gonna do it. She's my friend, damn it. To hell with the town. It'll still be here tomorrow. She might not be."
"All right! Let's deal with this rationally." Giles interjected.
"Why are you taking his side?" Buffy asked in disbelief.
The gang started to get vocal, and Wesley raised his voice above all of them.
"You'd sacrifice thousands of lives? Your families, your friends?" Oz
got up from the chair he had been sitting in, and walked over to the pot.
"It can all end right here. We have the means to destroy this box."
As the guitarist smashed the pot on the ground, Faith elbowed her watcher
in the stomach. Wesley doubled over, the wind taken out of him.
Buffy looked at him with a glare.
"Giles, make the phone call."
***
Locked in a cramped storeroom, Willow was trying to open the only window inside, which was also locked, by banging on it as hard as she could. She knew she should be scared, but she didn't have time to be. She had to escape. When she saw that she wasn't going to get anywhere, she decided to try looking in a desk that was in the room. She must have been making a lot of noise, because the vampire guard came in.
"What are you doing?" He asked, suspiciously, vampiric face on.
"Oh, uh, I'm looking for a sucking candy, cause my mouth gets dry when
I'm nervous, or held prisoner against my will." She answered. The vampire
approached her slowly, baring his fangs. "And suddenly I'm thinking sucking
isn't a good word to use around vampires. Hey! Did you get permission to
eat the hostage? I don't think so. You're going to be in some trouble when
the Mayor..."
The vampire grabbed her shoulders and pressed her against a wall.
"Just a little taste." He assured her, leaning in.
Then, Willow magickally made a pencil from the desk drawer float up
behind him, and stab him in the back. He crumbled. Smiling, she left
the room in a hurry, going down a hallway. But she changed her mind when
she saw that the Mayor's office door was open. How could she pass up the
opportunity?
She went in and closed the door. Immediately drawn to the cupboard to the right of the entrance, she opened it, and was greeted by various black arts statuettes, powders, organs, and skulls. Reaching for the bottom shelf, she hit some kind of release that revealed a hidden compartment containing the Books of Ascension.
Gasping, she couldn't help but skim the pages of a volume. After a minute or two, the office door opened, and the Mayor strolled in. She dropped the book out of surprise.
"Doing some late night reading, are we?" He asked. "In my experience, sometimes knowledge comes with too heavy a price, young lady. Remember that."
"What are you going to do with me?"
"Funny you should bring that up, because I just received a heck of an interesting phone call."
***
"The whole place is locked down, except for the front." Oz said, testing to make sure a cafeteria door was locked.
"Yeah, it gives me that comforting trapped feeling." Xander commented, holding a bat.
"One way out means one way in. I want to see them coming." Buffy said.
"I'm ready." Faith said, coming to stand next to her partner.
"Guess they're shy." Xander gulped, as the lights went out.
"I can see all right." Angel said, peering into the dark.
Two vampire guards pushed open the front doors, followed by the Mayor,
then another one, which was holding Willow. The two sides glared at each
other. The Mayor and the slayers walked a couple feet away from their groups.
"Well, this is exciting, isn't it?" The Mayor chuckled. "Clandestine meetings by dark of night. Exchange of prisoners. I just...I feel like we should all be wearing trench coats."
"Let her go." Buffy didn't want to waste any time.
"No. Not until the box is in my hands." He looked at his foes. "Aren't you quite the pair? Can't you just feel the love? Not caring what anybody thinks of you...strong-willed is what you two are."
"You goin' somewhere with this?" Faith asked
"It'll be satisfying when I kill you, that's all."
"That's not gonna happen." Buffy said.
"Oh no?"
"You won't survive." Angel spoke.
"Angel, right? How are you handling, 'being left in the dust', so to
speak? Boy, it must sting." He smiled. "And even if you all do live, manage
to beat me, what will happen then? Miss Rosenberg here will no doubt leave
town, what with her scores and all, and you'll have one less reason to
keep fighting, Miss Summers. She'll forget you.
"Buffy's going to go on to college eventually. Where does that leave
you, Faith?
Another early member of the unemployment line. Slaying doesn't pay
well."
He looked at Cordelia. "And you're in a bit of financial trouble. If I heard right, you're soon to be homeless."
He turned to Xander. "Your marks are less than stellar. Joining Faith, I suppose?"
Then in Oz's direction. "What happens if you don't keep yourself properly confined one of the nights...well, you're not exactly the same person then, are you? I shudder to think of the consequences.
"What lives do any of you have to look forward to?"
"I don't think we need to talk about this." Buffy said sharply.
"God, you kids, you know. You don't like to think about the future. You don't like to make plans. Unless you want to watch your friend get sucked dry, show a little respect for your elders."
"You're not my elder. I've got a lotta years on you." Angel reminded him.
The Mayor sighed at the vampire, and shook his head in disgust. They weren't going to listen.
"Make the trade." Angel, who had been holding box, traded with the vampire. Willow went and stood behind the slayers. "Well, that went smooth."
Snyder rushed in with two policemen.
"Nobody moves!" The principal ordered. The Mayor stepped back into the shadows. "I knew you kids were up to something."
"Snyder, get out of here." The blonde said.
"You're not giving orders, young lady. I suppose you're going to tell me I won't find drugs in this box." He reached for the box that was still in the vampire's hands, and set it down on a table.
"Principal Snyder." The Mayor revealed himself. "I think we have a problem."
"Mr. Mayor, I had no idea you...I'm terribly sorry."
"No, it's I who should apologize. Coming down here at night. What must you be thinking? But you see, I just needed to..." One of the policemen was opening the box. "No! Don't do that!"
A spider-like creature leapt out of the box, and onto the policeman's
face. The policeman attempted to pull it off his face, but couldn't. Eventually,
he collapsed to the floor, dead. The creature released its grip, and skittered
off into the shadows.
Everyone started nervously looking for the thing.
"Oh god." Wesley said.
"Where did it go?" Xander asked.
"Get that door open!" Snyder said to the one cop left.
"No! You can't let that thing out of here!" Giles yelled.
"I still want to know where it went." Xander said, getting up on a
chair.
"Listen." Buffy said quietly.
There were noises. The creature was moving.
"Where's it comin' from?" Faith asked.
Out of nowhere, it dropped onto the Mayor's face and he fell backward onto a table. After a few moments, when it saw it was having no effect, the creature jumped off him, and disappeared again. He sat up, and Snyder stared in horror, watching the wounds heal.
"Wouldn't leave that open." The Mayor said.
Buffy slammed the lid of the box shut just as a second creature was
coming out. Limbs clattered on the floor. The same creature that had just
attacked the Mayor, tried her next. It landed on her back, and she dropped
quickly, crushing it against the floor.
"Buffy!" Faith exclaimed.
"I'm all right." The other slayer said, and let herself be helped up.
The Mayor walked over to the box and picked it up. The danger was gone.
"Is that all of them?" Oz asked.
"Ah, not really. You see, there's about fifty...billion of these happy
little critters in here. Would you like to see?" The cop got the front
doors open, and he and the two vampires took off. "Raise your hand if you're
invulnerable."
As he left, Snyder walked over to the group, a chair against his chest.
"You. All of you. Why couldn't you be dealing drugs like normal people?"
He stood there for a second, and then left cautiously, taking the chair
with him.
"Well, that went swimmingly." Wesley commented.
"We did alright." Buffy said, sharing a look with Faith and Willow.
***
In the library, Willow sat in between the two slayers on the counter.
Giles and Wesley watched as the redhead talked about her night.
"So he was like, 'Just a little taste' and then I was like, 'Oh yeah!
Try it!' Okay, I didn't say that, but he was poofed. I poofed! With a pencil!
Using magick! And then it got to the really scary part..."
"This is fascinating, but let's get back to the point. You actually
had your hands on the Books of Ascension?" Giles asked.
"Volumes One through Five."
"Is there anything you can remember that could be of use to us? Anything at all?"
"Well, I was in a hurry, and what I did read was kind of over-involved. If you ask me, way over-written. Actually, there were a few pages that looked kind of interesting but I didn't have a chance to read them fully." He looked crushed. Until she pulled out a couple pages from her pocket, and handed them to him. "See what you can make of them?"
He smiled and hurried off.
"You didn't see a knife there, did you? Wicked cool lookin' one?" Faith asked.
"Nope." Willow answered.
"Damn." She suddenly felt the need to hug the hacker, and did it before she had a chance to think. She pulled away a few moments later, to see both girls smiling at her, and cleared her throat. "Glad you're okay, Red."
"This is your night for suave, Will. You should get captured more often." Buffy said.
"No, thank you."
"Well, let's hope there is something useful in those pages. The Mayor has the Box of Gavrock. As of now, we are right back where we started. Wouldn't you say?" Wesley said with annoyance.
"I hate you. I just wanna make that clear." Faith spat.
***
The following morning, Faith and Buffy sat underneath a tree on the
High School's front lawn. Willow was sitting across from them. It wasn't
the same as their spot in the Commons, but it was still cozy. They were
thinking about going there again, because the Mayor got to them. He wanted
them to think about the future? Fine.
Buffy wanted to deal with what had been said. Cordelia and Xander were
doing their own type of dealing. They had stayed home so they could just
be with each other for awhile. Faith knew what that was going to lead to,
and she was silently cheering them on.
"You're gonna go to school. Don't let what he said stop you, okay?"
Buffy told her partner.
"I'm not. Why would I listen to someone who's gonna die?"
She wasn't, but her confidence level was substantially lower than it
had been. It got the blonde to smile though, and it got her a kiss. As
long as it continued to do that, she'd follow through.
"And Will -"
"I'm not going anywhere." The redhead interrupted, and handed her friend an envelope.
"UC Sunnydale?" Buffy asked, reading it.
"I will be matriculating with Class of 2003."
"Are you serious?"
"Say, isn't that where you're going?"
Buffy hugged her and they tumbled onto the ground.
"You wanna get in on this?" She asked Faith.
The brunette shook her head. "I'll watch."
"I can't believe it! Are you serious?" Buffy was all excited, but then
stopped herself.
"Ah, wait, what am I saying? You can't."
"What do you mean, I can't?" Willow asked.
"I won't let you."
"Of the three people here, which is the boss of me?"
"You show her who's boss." Faith encouraged the hacker with a grin.
Buffy looked at her partner. "There are better schools."
"Sunnydale's not bad. And I can design my own curriculum." Willow explained.
"Okay, well, there are safer schools. There are safer prisons. I can't let you stay because of me."
"Actually, this isn't about you. Although I'm fond, don't get me wrong, of you. The other night, you know, being captured and all, facing off with that vampire, winning...things just, kind of, got clear. I mean, you've been fighting evil here for three years, and I've helped some, and now we're supposed to decide what we want to do with our lives.
"And I just realized that that's what I want to do. Fight evil, help people. I mean, I think it's worth doing. And I don't think you do it because you have to. It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in."
"I kind of love you." The blonde said in awe. She saw Faith staring at her. "Platonically! Platonically."
"Hell, I kind of love her too."
Willow blushed. "And, besides, I have a shot at being a bad ass Wiccan, and what better place to learn?"
"Guess what we just did?" Buffy asked. "We proved the Mayor wrong. I say we celebrate."
"Mochas?"
"No, no, no." Faith said quickly.
"Decaf. Promise." Willow said. The Bostonian was wary, but agreed
with a nod.
The three of them stood. "Oz is over there. I'm gonna ask him if he
wants to come."
As their friend walked off, Faith put her arms around her girlfriend, and they kissed in view of everyone outside. The Mayor was right on one thing. They didn't care, and they were happy. Even more so now, because they had pages from the Books of Ascension. Things were looking up.
"I love the way you do that, honey." Buffy said with a smile. "And you, of course."
"Whoa. What's with the pet name all of the sudden? That's twice."
"I dunno." The blonde shrugged. "I like it. And don't people say those kinds of things when they plan on being together for the long haul? But, if that's not what you want, then..."
"Don't put words in my mouth, *dear*." Faith said sarcastically.
"Wouldn't dream of it. I like putting other things in your mouth." She grinned.
"I like that you like that." Faith matched the grin. "Okay, I'll go with the name thing, but I'm not gonna do anything sappy. Like honeybunch or buttercup."
"Nah. Sappy you're not."
"Hmm...Baby? That could work." Oz and Willow were coming over. "Let's go, baby." Faith made a face. "No, see? That doesn't sound right either. In bed, maybe..."
"Uh...ready guys?" Willow asked, trying to remain casual.
"We're trying to figure out -" Buffy began to explain.
"A name Faith can call you that nobody else does. Just for you." Oz understood. "She already does."
"'B'!" Faith exclaimed. "Now that fits. I'll stick with that."
"How'd you decide to call her that, anyway?" Willow wondered.
"I'll tell ya sometime. I guess I was stakin' out my territory way back then."
"I'm yours." The blonde said. "Honey."
"We ready to go now?" The redhead asked with a smile.
"Lead the way, Red."
--
"I wanna set the record straight. I thought the cop was a prostitute."
(Homer J. Simpson)
"You think you know? What's to come? What you are? You haven't even
begun."
(Tara to Buffy, BTVS)
"Since when is there a cowboy in 'Death of a Salesman' anyway?" (Willow,
BTVS)