Chapter 7: Brushfire Training Camp

[Black Eye Guy]

3 weeks had passed since the Joshua Tree Camp was raided by Ansara and her group. Ansara had disappeared off the map, with no sign of her or Drusilla.

The scoobies went up to L.A. and met up with the others, before travelling to Westbury, England, to another Camp, The Brushfire training camp was set up as the main base of operations in England. The Building, on the outside looks like a normal house, walking through the door, you go along a corridor to a common room at the end, with a seating area and a kitchen, up stairs there are sleeping quarters, enough to hold 50 people.

Down in the basement, there is a secret entrance to an underground facility. A elevator takes you down 3 floors, The first floor is all offices where Intel is gathered, anything from Demon classifications, to the personnel information on all the known newly activated slayers, There are hard copies of all the information in a sealed vault in the back, with a quick destruction feature. The information is also available from any of the computer terminals in the offices, With the correct clearance, All the information is also backed up to a remote server. The second floor down is a training room stocked with weapons. And the Third floor down is a medical centre.

As this camp is used mostly as a information gathering facility, only Ten Slayers train in this facility, with another 20 personnel who go through all the information from the training camps all over the world and cataloguing it, creating a new “Watchers Library”

Before the Gang left L.A. Nina decided to stay to wait for her family to return, Oz opted to stay with her and begin the training to controll her ‘Wolfiness’, with the eventual plans of meeting up with the gang at a later date. Connor also decided to stay in L.A and returned home to his parents, and also planned to meet up the gang later.

All the rest came to the Brushfire Camp, in order to use it’s facilities to track down Ansara. And are waiting on information….


Willow ran her hand through her wet hair, brushing it off her face. And wiped the drops of water making their way down to her chin. She dropped her rain coat off her back and hung it up, the water quickly pooled under it.

She made her way down the corridor, she had just been out to see Althenea. She had gone to ask for her help with finding the origins of the letter that had arrived with Amy, which was made allot harder since the letter was destroyed along with the Joshua tree camp. But she was hopeful that with The Covens help she could find a way to find who wrote the letter. The idea that it was Tara scared her, but she was sure it was her handwriting and although she wouldn't say it there was a small pit of hope growing in her stomach.

Althenea said they would look into it and get back to her asap, so willow decided to push it to the back of her mind and concentrate on the problem at hand. Ansara had literally disappeared off the face of the planet, even with all their resources they couldn't find any trace of her. Willow held her hand up to the hand scanner beside the elevator door and entered, She went down one floor. And exited the elevator into the clean white offices, the room was huge and filled with computers. Each one had access to the still under construction Watchers Library, Information on demons that could be pulled up with wave of a mouse. they also had a record of every known slayer, all the information, whereabouts, contact info and active missions.

Willow sat down at one of the terminals and pressed her thumb up to the panel on the front of the screen.

"Full Access Granted"

flashed across the screen, followed by

"No new messages"

Willow sighed, she had been reaching out to contacts all over the world, trying to find any information of the whereabouts of the Slayer turned Vampire, but no one had any info, what so ever. Willow logged out and left the room in search of the others, she headed towards the kitchen...

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike sighed, flicking his new Zippo open and shut.

Bored.

If there was a word for the last three weeks, it was bored.

He sat alone in his room, leaning against the end of the bed. The TV flickered in front of him, some random infomercial or another. He sighed again.

Bored.

He hadn't seen Gwen much in last few weeks - it seems she pulled a Slayer recovery job back at Joshua, and she was receiving high praise for her efforts. Not that it was undeserved, but...

Spike was bored, damnit.

Sighing again, he reached for the clicker and shut the TV off. "Sod this," he muttered to himself. He grabbed his coat and and tossed it on.

To the kitchen it was, then.

[Black Eye Guy]

Willow leaned against the back of the elevator, as the doors closed, before a hand shot through the crack and held the door open. And in walked one of the Training camps staff, a young female, with long back hair and a pair of glasses down the bottom of her nose. Willow recognised her from the office, she was one of the Training watchers.

"Hi" She muttered and she looked up at Willow, smiling briefly, before looking away.

Willow smiled back and nodded. Conversations were kinda awkward with the staff, as Her, Buffy, Xander and Giles were like these peoples boss's, which just felt weird.

They stood in silence for the few moments as the elevator reached the main level, The girl muttered a "bye" and walked out ahead of her. Willow smiled again, and then made her way to the kitchen, pushing open the door, she was surprised to find the room empty. The last few week there hadn't been much to do, people had taken to eating and hanging out in the kitchen - just waiting for some information to act on. But this place was deserted.

[Lyri]

Gwen sat alone in her room. The drapes were closed and the room was drenched in an eerie half light, but she made no attempt to amend that.

Her long hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, not her natural look, and she wore elbow high black gloves. Ever since aquiring L.I.S.A, she usually went without gloves, trusting herself and her power.

But ever since Joshua, when she'd failed herself and everyone else, Gwen had retreated into herself, turned back into the girl she used to be, the one who kept to herself and didn't let anyone in. It was all she knew to do. With her power at its highest level, she couldn't get close to anyone.

She knew she should be out there, mixing with her new...work mates or whatever, but she didn't know how. They were different than she was. They new how to react.

Spike was the only one she conneted with, but she couldn't even force herself to speak to him, afraid that he would bring up her failure.

So she'd hidden in her room, stepping out only to grab some food, avoiding everyone on the way. Even Spike. When she saw him at the other end of the corridor, she'd turned and ran the other way.

She really was a failure.

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

Amy sat in her room as well. She conjured herself a small rubber ball, and began playing catch with it. She tossed it up in the air, then used her magic to slow it, watching as it lazily drifted downward back to her open palm. The ball seemed to be moving as slowly as her life was around here. She had not really been involved in the doing of anything interesting lately.

She remembered what Andrew had said to her back in L.A., that she should try to open up to people. She had been thinking about it all this time, and yeah, maybe it was something worth pursuing. Still, the appropriate time hadn't exactly presented itself. A lot of people around here either seemed pretty distant, or hated her...or both. There was still Andrew and Dawn, who she did talk to, but this place was pretty big, so she did not see them often. Even when she did, it was just small-talk type stuff they discussed, like how each other's days had been and what they had been up to now that they were in England. Nothing remotely personal or "open up" like; she was continually putting off any conversations like that.

Maybe now was a good time to stop.

Either way, she was becoming bored out of her mind watching the little ball float. She decided to walk around a bit and see where her feet led her. She left her room and began wandering around, until she eventually found herself in front of the elevator. She rode it to the second floor, and ended up inside the training room, staring around at a plethora of weapons and training equipment stocked inside.

[Buffy Summers]

Buffy pulled the covers up over her head. The heavy drapes on the windows of her room blocked out most of the light from outside, but stil she took comfort in being enclosed in the warm quilts and sheets. She was hiding.

Since she had watched all their work in America go up in flames, literally, she had mostly stayed locked up in her room. She depended on David even more now, allowing him to bring her the little food she would accept. She tried to sleep as much as possible, to keep her mind dormant, to keep from the thoughts that haunted her every waking moment.

She had almost died.

She could have died.

She was supposed to be The Slayer. She was always the strongest. She always won. But not this time. Ansara had in effect let her go. If she couldn't protect the others, what use was she? All of the "Chosen One" garbage was...well garbage.

She closed her eyes.

[sk8rj04]

Gunn had taken the momentary lack of demonic activity at this camp to settle down a bit. But it wasn't long before he realized he wasn't the "settling down" type, and had trained in the training room, before feeling awkward as young slayers began inhabiting the training room, and he went up to his room to sharpen things.

Feeling bored of that, he found himself at the elevator doors waiting for them to open, hoping one of the gang was behind the doors. That way he wouldn't be bored alone. He would have someone to be bored with.

He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply.

When he opened his eyes, he was surprised to see a familiar face.

[zombie.apparatus]

Andrew was happy to have left LA. A little change was good for him. As always, Andrew's favorite place to be was in the kitchen or in his room playing with this action figures that he thought no body knew about. Nothing had really happened over the past few days. He hadn't really talked to Amy like he did back in LA, just the small chat to see how she was doing and then saying goodbye. Amy seemed like a lost soul, trying to figure out what her purpose was and whom her friends were, or who her friends were going to be.

Andrew still remained close with his best friend Dawn. He wondered how she was feeling about the whole Connor deal. Andrew knew Dawn didn't like to talk about it, as she would get upset about it as soon as it was brought up in conversation. It was kind of good being back with the gang. Though, it certainly wasn’t like it used to be. Everyone had kind of changed since Andrew had come back to reunite with the gang, but then again, so had he.

[Wanabee-slayer]

:: Dawn thought about leaving LA and still resented the fact that Connor had opted to stay. When they had left things between the two of them had seemed to have gooten more or less awkward. The thought of him usually brought back a lump in her throat that she really would have preferred to avoid. She had come to England feeling a little detatched from the world but had noticed she wasn't the only one. She felt bad about the way she was acting but it was how she wanted to deal with it. Conor had made his desicion and she'd just have to learn to live with it. She'd avoided telling Buffy but knew sooner or later it would come out. Deciding to visit the older miss Summers , Dawn walked to Buffy's room. Knocking on the door and opening it slowly Dawn stuck her head in. Buffy had been acting differently and Dawn couldn't help but notice.::

Buffy:" Buffy? It's me."

[Buffy Summers]

Buffy pushed the covers off of her face. She turned her head and looked at the door. She really didn't want to have to get up. She called through the closed door.

"Dawn? Can you come back later hon, it's not a good time."

She covered her head with the covers again.

[Wanabee-slayer]

:: Dawn sighed and walked away. Once again she was alone. She was starting to wonder if maybe someone was trying to tell her something, like maybe she'd always be alone, maybe things were just meant to be like this. Shaking her head Dawn ran off down the hall to find somewhere quiet and dark to sit.::

[Angels baby101]

:: Illyria bored with just sitting in her room, had put it apon herself to begin exploring her new surroundings. She was getting annoyed with all the moving around. She hated being told to go somewhere and then just sit and wait. she watched the elevator numbers as it traveled down the shaft. Dinging at each point. Slowly it came to a stop and the doors openned revealing a tired looking Gunn. Her eyes narrowed to him waiting for him to enter the elevator or step aside so she could continue her exploring, on another level. Part of her had sympathy for the man standing before her... after all it was his fault that her shell "Fred" as they called her died making room for her essense. Part of her was grateful because now she could be free... in a sense... ::

[sk8rj04]

::Gunn's eyes went wide as the elevator doors opened and revealed the blue demon. She, he, it, whatever, looked so much like Fred, yet not, that it was hard for him to see her. His eyes fell down as he entered the elevator. He didn't know what to say to the demon. "Hey, thanks for all the help fighting these bad guys, I'm glad you're not trying to kill us too" seemed a little inappropriate. Especially if, in some sense, this was Fred. All he could think of was one simple little question to ask.::

Illyria: "This place boring you too?"

[Black Eye Guy]

Willow paced around the kitchen, Thinking. Things had been really weird since they left America. The gang had felt a little defeated having to abandon their base, and then having herd nothing on the wareabouts of Ansara. They seemed to be floating about their days here.

Everyone was pretty much keeping to themselves, especially Buffy, who Willow had barely seen since arriving here. Although David had been keeping her updated on how she was.

Giles had also decided to take some time off, soon after they arrived here Giles announced he would be leaving for a while, he was gonna go home (Which wasn't to far from here) Which had kinda left Willow in charge. But she didn't really have anything to be in charge of, all their efforts had gone towards finding Ansara who was unfindable, so there wasn't a whole lot to be doing. The last time she had been put in charge was much easier, they had a plan - bring Buffy back.

She walked over to the fridge and pulled it open, taking a bottle of water she made her way back towards the elevator - which was being used - so she took the stairs and went back to the Computer room. To check her messages again.

"Two new Messages"

She read them over, before smiling. "Guess we have something to do now..."

[Angels baby101]

:: Illyria cocked her head at Gunn... Normally he barely looked at her let alone speak...she could sense hatred running through his veins but some love for the lost one too.::

"yes.... its boring, and thats beginning to annoy me... this waiting to do something."

:: Illyria Moved to one side of the elevator so Gunn step in. He still looked at her funny.... as did some of the others... she wondered when they were going to stop that... Stupid human habbit.::

[sk8rj04]

::Gunn looked back up. He decided to let whatever resentment he was feeling towards the blue demon subside. He was the one, afterall, who sent the carcophagous(sp?) to Fred's lab just to get some stupid law information in his head. He had no idea what would happen, but he DID play a role in the girls demise. He felt a pang of guilt, one of the many pangs he has felt since Fred had died, but let that, too, subside.::

Illyria: "I hear it's becoming a sport among the good guys these days.

:: He tried a smile to relive tension. Maybe some humor would do some good.::

[Wanabee-slayer]

:: Walking the halls was kind of eerie when you were alone. It was times like these when you realised how alone you really are. And despite all the quiet Dawn still couldn't find any peace from her thoughts. All the issues she had hoped to leave in LA still haunted her every waking moment. Deciding that she didn't want to be alone Dawn went off in search of Andrew and found him in a near by room.::

Andrew:"Hey."

:: Hey? Gee that was a great way to start conversation. ::

[zombie.apparatus]

:: Andrew saw Dawn approach him. He gave her a smile and gave her a big hug. ::

Dawn: "hey! how are you.. what have you been doing? I have been bored out of my brains. Thankgod for Mr Incredible!"

::Andew had referred to the action figure that was visible to Dawn that was poking out of his pocket.::

Dawn: "have you talked to buffy lately, what is happening?"

[Wanabee-slayer]

:: DAwn smiled at Andrew and tried to stiffle a lagh as she stared at the action figure pretruding from his pocket.::

Andrew:"Buffy kind of wanted to be left alone. You know what she's like."

[zombie.apparatus]

:: Andrew wrapped his arm around her shoulder ::

Dawn: "come on, im starving.. some twinkie bars sound good right about now, you in."

[Wanabee-slayer]

:: DAwn rested her head on Andrew's shoulder and smiled as she followed him to the kitchen.::

Andrew:"I'm definitely in."

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike looked up briefly as the elevator doors dinged. He followed the small herd of hungry Slayers in the direction of what he thought was the kitchen. He turned out to be right.

The place was just as white as the last, just as shiny and almost hospital-like. All we need is the prattling White Coats, he mused. He shoved the pang he felt for the Joshua Camp aside.

He moved over to the counter, hands unfurling from his duster pockets to be placed on the counter. A balding man looked up sharply. Spike raised one amused eyebrow in his direction. The man looked him up and down for a moment. Spike grinned a bit, noticing a bit of shock on the man's face. Big Bad, right here.

"O pos," Spike said finally, leaning back off the counter. The man nodded once and returned with his glass in seconds. Spike nodded, still grinning at the man. He could tell he was unnerving him. Well, he was bored, damnit. Torturing the poor bloke was the most fun he'd had since arriving to the sodding camp. He raised his glass at the man and winked. Feeling a little less bored, he turned and found a place in the far corner of the kitchen area.

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

:: All of the slayers who had been training in the training room seemed to be vacating it for some snacks, passing Amy right by and heading to the elevator. The witch sighed, looking around at the now empty room. It seemed so vast and lonely now that everyone was gone.

Still unable to think of something more interesting to do, she used her magic to float a set of knives over from where they lay beside other assorted weapons. Catching one in her hand, she gripped the hilt tightly, and let the others hover beside her.

Staring at a target sitting on the wall opposite her, she pulled her arm back, and hurled it with all the might she could. Unfortunately, she had used a little too much power in her throw. The knife sank into the wall, nowhere near the target. She held out her hand once again, allowing the knife to come back to her. This time, when she threw, she aimed a bit more carefully, and the knife sank into the outer rim of the target.

Dissatisfied with the outcome of her throws thus far, she began to use her magic to throw the knives instead. After all, if this was training for future battles, in what instance would she choose to use her hands over her magic? Guiding one of the knives that still floated beside her, she let it fly, and watched it soar straight into the center of the target. ::

[Black Eye Guy]

Willow left the computer room, all her facts looked up, she was ready for speech time. A little nervous, but ready. About 20 minuets ago Willow sent messages to everyone to meet her in the briefing room. She rode the elevator down and entered the small room.

This facility wasn't really equipped for dealing with full scale mission brief, it was being used mostly as a information hub - but it was the best they had, till now.

She smiled at everyone, they were all here, looking restless and bored. this wasn't a group that was so good at the sitting around they were 'Doers' but they had nothing to do.

She walked up in front of everyone, and smiled briefly...

"Ok.. Well I have some good news. As you have probably noticed this place isn't really equipped to deal with being Slayer central, it was never meant to be. This place is mostly for information gathering, it probably isn't the safest place for us to be, if we were found we would also be giving away the location of.. well everything. "

Speaking with more confidence now, she spoke clearly and quickly

"So we're moving. We have been looking into securing a bigger location and we have that now. We will be relocating up to Scotland, the mansion is pretty impressive and the latest security systems have been installed, both mechanically and magickal"

"But before we move, we also have a few problems to take care of. Firstly we got a message from an old friend..."

She looked at Buffy, briefly before looking around the room

"Riley Finn. He works with the government helping to control the demon population. He was contacted by a demon claiming to have some information we would want - but he'll only speak to the Slayer or someone from her team. So we're gonna send a team down to make contact and find out what he has to offer."

She cleared her throat before continuing

"I've also received a message from one of the recruiters, Vi, she was sent to receive a newbie, but when she got there the girl hadn't been seen in a few days - She has disappeared, no sign of a struggle or anything to suggest she’s been injured she‘s just gone, which wouldn't mean anything except this is the third slayer that has disappeared before she could be recruited.

I hope I don't have to stress the importance of the idea of Slayers who aren’t aware of the full extent of their power, disappearing. We need to find out where their going, and fast..."

She looked around at the people in the room, these people were her friends, they weren’t the slayers they had been training she wasn't the boss of them, she didn't have a glittery plaque this time. She didn't want to tell them where they had to go.

"Any questions? And who wants to go where?"

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

Willow: "Hey, give me a job, any interesting job, and I'll do it, if for no other reason than too avoid my brains melting into mush from boredom".

:: Amy, quite honestly, was up for anything. Sitting around and doing nothing was not the way she liked to live; she was practically going out of her mind, and could tell she was not alone in feeling that way. She had nothing but gratitude for these new opportunities. She would go talk to this Riley person if that was the option that she was presented with. It would probably be slightly more interesting to look into why the new slayers were going missing, though. That was more like an investigation, and less like a meet-and-greet. Maybe it would even involve some action. It would be a sweet relief to be able to use her magic on something besides a training room dart board. ::

[sk8rj04]

::Gunn stood in the back, letting all the information Willow gave the group sink in. What did he want to do? Go with Buffy to talk to this demon? Or meet up with Vi, and help track down Little Miss Missing? In any case, Gunn was ready for some action. He was tired of sitting around doing nothing, when he knew full well he could be doing something productive. He raised his hand.::

Willow: "I have a question. Where exactly is this demon we're supposed to talk to? Or Vi? Shouldn't we know where we would be going before we make a decision on what we want to do?"

[Black Eye Guy]

Willow grinned as Gunn raised his hand, as if he had to be allowed to ask a question.

"I hope we won't be making decisions based on which place has the best weather?"

She smiled to show she was only joking.

"Vi is in America, New York to be specific. And Riley said in his message that he and his squad are positioned in Africa. He wouldn't send exact locations on such in such an unsecured way. But when we decided who's going he will let us know.

If you choose to go to Riley you will meet up with them at their base of operations. And they will set up the meet. If you go to New York you will be meeting up with the team there and they will brief you on the full mission."

"Faith I was thinking, on a worst case scenario that we have Slayers going bad or misusing their abilities, maybe it would be handy if you where there. Talk from personal experience?"

She really hoped this was not the case, but if it is, then the good guy, bad guy turned good guy (maybe it was good girl?) would be the best possible person to have on hand, having lived through that experience.

[Lyri]

::Gwen sat in the corner of the room, as far away from everyone as she could get. She had her knees pulled up to her chin, and she watched as the new girl, Amy volunteered, and Gunn ask where they would all be going.

::Gwen stayed quiet. She didn't know everyone well enough to volunteer. She'd never met Vi or Riley, so offering to go when she didn't know anyone was kind of idiotic in her eyes.

::she looked around the room, at faces that were slowly becoming more familiar, and waited for someone to notice to her.

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike had seated himself away from the main group, near the back of the room. He had wanted to go to Gwen when she'd walked in, but she looked like she wanted to be alone. Spike had decided against anything, even though he shot her concerned glances now and then.

He listened to Willow as she spoke, legs splayed lazily, arms crossed as though bored. Which, generally, he was. The past few weeks here had driven him near insane. He almost wished for Ansara and her cronies to show so he could have something to kill, damnit.

At the mention of Riley, Spike's lips curled into an unconscious sneer. He made a move to speak, but both Gunn and Amy got there first.

Spike shifted in his seat, getting Willow's attention. He scoffed. "Wherever Captain Cardboard is going to be is where I will not, thanks so much," he said, voice dripping sarcasm. "Last thing I need is Military Prat playing tag-a-long." Spike looked up, seeming to think on that for a second. "Well, that just might be loads of fun, now won't it? I might end up killing the poor ponce."

[Black Eye Guy]

One month later

The gang is still situated in England, in the Brushfire training camp. The main storage hub of the New Councils records, Data on all the Slayers they had found so far along with ongoing Demon database.

No word had reached them on Ansara, yet.

Willow sat at her desk, rereading the email she had just received from Giles. He had left to find somewhere to house the Slayers. Somewhere to be there main base of operations, She had expected it to be somewhere cool. But this she was not expecting, He had attached a picture, and it was perfect.

She could barely contain her excitement, they were gonna be livening in a castle! Giles also mentioned that he believed they had found allot, if not most of the newly activated slayers. Although now they weren’t forced to be chosen, they had the choice to use their power or live a normal lie, only those that wanted to fight, would.

Finding the Slayers was going well, willow had to modify the 'Find a potential' Spell a bit but it worked. She and Giles had also been training a new generations of Witch's, since she had been so helpful to Buffy it just made sense to pair up the slayers as a team, individual patrols were a thing of the past, with almost all slayers over the world patrolling in two's, if not more. The main 'Cell' included Buffy and the gang, along with the best of the new slayers.

The Watchers council may had been destroyed, but their assets hadn't. Instead of sitting on their money though the had bought some of the finest equipment money could buy, along with providing help to any of the slayers that needed it, for things such as education.

It was still a little daunting to Willow, they were sitting at the head of an empire. A powerful empire that was a forced to be reckoned with, and the demon community knew it.?

[Lyri]

::Gwen sighed as she walked, patrolling the section of town she had been assigned to.

::She was bored. Patrolling for vampires and other nasties wasn't really her deal, but she'd signed up to the cause, Buffy's cause, and now she had to play along. She could handle herself while out on patrol. She'd taken out more than her fair share of vampires, fried so many demons she'd lost count, but the life wasn't hers, she was borrowing it, trying to make it fit. She knew that, given time, she would probably find herself so deeply emmersed in the vampire hunting world that she wouldn't want to leave. But right now, she was just trying to stay afloat.

::Isabel Frazier, the Slayer she had been paired off with, seemed to be really digging the slaying lifestyle. The sweet little Southern girl rarely stopped talking about how much her life had changed since she'd become a Slayer. Gwen liked her. she was cute, and smart and as fast as hell. They'd fitted themselves together, so much so that patrol could actually be fun sometimes.

::But not tonight. Apparently, tonight was a slow night. They'd been patrolling for hours now,and had so far come across two stray vampires that had been dispatched without incident. nothing more challenging than that.

::Gwen sighed againa and turned to the younger girl.::

Isabel: "Hey, Is, why do you head on home? I don't think we're gonna see much more action tonight."

"Uh, okay, but what about you?"

"I'm just gonna take a walk. Clear my head a little. I'll be back in less than an hour, I promise."

Isabel nodded. "Okay, see ya later, Gwen."

::Gwen watched as Isabel turned on her heel and headed back home.

::Turning, Gwen started walking in the opposite direction. She started to thinking about everything that had happened to her in the last few months. She'd always known she'd never be a normal girl, but everything with Buffy and Ansara was so far beyond normal she didn't know what she should call it.

::Turning a corner, Gwen came upon the large house that the end of the block. They past this house almost every night on patrol, and every time she saw it, something inside her stirred, but she'd ignored it, because of Isabel.

::But she was alone tonight, so she decided to indulge herself. she vaulted the low wall with ease, and crept slowly across the dark grass to the nearest window. Inside the house was dark, but even Gwen could tell that the people who lived there weren't exactly poor.

::Something glittered in the light of the streetlamps and Gwen craned her neck to get a better look.

::Standing against the wall farthest from the living room, Gwen could see a large display cabinate. Behind the glass sat a diamond necklace.

::Gwen's eyes lit up.::

"I could get a sweet price for that if I fenced it."

::Taking a step back, Gween looked around to see if she was beeing watched. Seeing no one, she walked around to the otherside of the building untilshe found the security control box. She opened the front of it and smiled.::

"This is going to be so easy."

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

:: Patrol was pretty much routine to Amy by now. It was not like she could continue to stay with the group, do nothing, and complain that she was bored. This way, she was contributing, and entertaining herself. Not to mention that by killing vamps she was attempting to help a bit, as the members of the group she had been befriending, like Andrew, had suggested. ::

:: One thing that majorly pissed her off was the little "Slayer Buddy System" that had now been put into action. First off, she enjoyed working alone, and had more than enough power to handle a simple patrol by herself. She went alone sometimes anyway, but she got bombared with insistence that she take along her slaying partner next time, a few times upon her return. Apparently, it made much more sense to avoid danger by never doing solo patrols, which was not complicated with the amount of available slayers. Plus, it helped give less experienced slayers the experience that they needed. ::

:: The second reason this patrolling style bugged her was only two words long: Lena Lowell. Lena was the slayer which had been assigned as her partner, and Lena bugged her to no end. She talked Amy's ear off all night, which made it harder to sneak up on any vampires, and she was so involved in what she was saying that she constantly screamed from shock when one showed up. She did okay slaying them, but as far as Amy was concerned, the girl was more trouble than she was worth. ::

:: Anyway, for these two reasons, tonight Amy had decided for herself to patrol on her own. As she walked around searching for signs of evil, she weighed the possibilities of asking for a different slayer to partner with. With so many slayers, why would that be such a problem? Personally, she would have preferred to switch from having a partner to going alone, but if partners were what they insisted on, she at the least deserved a better one. ::

:: Suddenly, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Someone was climbing over the wall in front of a large house. Curious, she walked up to the wall, and rather than try to climb it, waved her hand in front of it to make it transparent to her. Through it, she spotted Gwen, sneaking towards the window. ::

Well, well. What's the little freak up to?

:: She secretly followed as Gwen made her way over to what looked like a security control box. She was pretty sure Gwen could not tell that she was there. Having a hunch about what Gwen coud be planning, and reflecting on the slow patrol night, she continued to watch her from afar as she went, following quietly behind. ::

[sk8rj04]

::Gunn always felt more himself when he was out hunting vampires. He didn't ever know exactly why. Though, hunting alone was always different than hunting with his crew. His crew. He had gone through so much since he had left his vampire hunting gang. Since his own sister was turned on his watch, and then went back to kill her. Since Rondell had gotten his ass killed during an ambush attack on some vamps and he had to burn the body.

::After that, he knew he was apart of Angel's crew. And soon he fell in love with Fred. Fred. The girl he had fallen in love with, had killed for, and who broke his heart. And the girl he had killed so he could have some kind of stupid brain upgrade. He hadn't meant to kill Fred. He didn't know what was gonna happen with the sarcophagus he okayed to be sent to Fred's department in Wolfram & Hart. He just knew he was getting his fix.

::And that began everything that has happened over the past couple of years, leading to this moment in an alley located in the Manhattan area of New York City. He had to get out of camp. And.. do something. He wasn't doing anything productive sitting around the place, waiting for someone to tell him what to do. He didn't know much of what was going on with Vi and her slayer recruitee's disappearance. He would have to talk with Vi more into detail with that later.

::But for now, he would hunt.

::He was alone. He knew that there was some slayer/crew member buddy system in place. But he had slipped out of camp before someone could stop him. The concept was okay, he guessed. But hanging out with newbie slayers wasn't exactly his style. He was more into the working things out alone, and then returning to base later to get an update. And then he would go out again. Alone. Like he was now.

::He had started out in Lower Manhatten, going through alleyways, strolling through small pubs. He knew Robin's mom was a slayer in New York back in the 60's. How she staked out this city every night for years before Spike had done her in, he didn't know. The place was huge. He had though about starting in the Bronx or Queens, and working his way into Manhattan before deciding if any vamp wanted to get a good kill, they would be working the Manhattan area.

::So now, he was in some alley behind a dance club he had been scoping. He spotted a male vampire chatting up a blonde at the bar. Why the idiot would chose to sit in front of a mirror was beyond Gunn. But he casually waited for the vamp and his victim to leave the club, and followed them into this alley.::

This should be interesting.

[Lyri]

::Gwen located the wires that connected to the alarms of the large house. Amping her power up, she zapped the wiring, using a small dagger to strip the outer covering. She knew immediatly the security system had shut down and she smiled.

::Closing the metal box, Gwen crossed back to the window she had been looking through her eyes glittering again as she saw the necklace once more.

::Taking her dagger out again, slipped it beneath the sill of the window and worked at the lock on the inside until it turned and she slid the widow up only enough for her to squeeze through.

::Gwen landed silently to the highly polished floor of what she could now see was a show room of some kind. As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she could see other cabinets lined the wall, the window of which she had just climbed through. Gwen's smile widened.

"Sweet."

::She crossed to the cabinet that held the necklace that had first drawn her attention. She gazed at it through the glass, trying to figure out how to get it out from behind the glass while making as little noise as possible.

::Behind her, something growled.

::Gwen froze, the only movement the current of electricity now dancing up and down her forearms.

::Slowly, her heart triphammering against her ribcage, Gwen turned to look behind her.

::In front of the window, still open, allowing the night air into the room, stood what Gwen could only guess were demons of some kind. Three of them, all of them looking at her like she was the first meal they had seen in days.

::She swallowed hard.::

"Yep, that's not good."

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike was bored again.

He walked lazily around the compound, supposedly on a hunt. No big uglies had been seen around the compound in days, weeks even. He puffed on his cigarette, idly examining his nails as if they even mildly interested him. He thought equally as idly about painting them again before exhaling a plume of smoke in a loud sigh and letting his hand swing back to his side.

"Bugger," he muttered. This was sodding ridiculous. There was no bleeding point in patrolling the grounds of the compound anyway. The entire place was outfitted with a load of supernatural forcefields or what-the-sodding-hell-ever. He vaguely remembered having it explained to him but the technicalities made him sleepy.

He'd been spending the past few days helping the new girls train - not exactly the top of list of Funnest Things to do Ever, but it beat sitting in his bedroom like precious Peaches and counting his past indiscretions. He'd rather not, thank you so much.

There was one girl, though. A fiery little thing with black hair - Raven, her name was. Lots of rage. Spike loved pummeling the little bit. She was a great load of fun to throw around.

But he was itching for an actual fight. He needed something to bleeding kill, damnit. And this prancing around the compound wasn't doing a damn spot of good on that front.

He sighed again, flicking his cigarette away and shoving his hands in his pockets. He began to move away from the compound, intent on actually patrolling rather than walking in a big, boring circle. This night could still look up.

[sk8rj04]

::Gunn stepped out of the building through a back exit, and continued to follow the vampire and his prey. The alley he was in was considerably clean for an alley in the middle of New York. There wasn't much trash on the ground, and even the dumpster he saw about ten feet to his right wasn't very full. Which seemed a bit odd, considering the night club he just stepped out of.

::Unfortunately, he had to walk by the dumpster in order to follow the vampire because to his left was a street, and no sane vamp would take its prey through the street if he could just dispose of it in an alley. Gunn pulled a stake out of a long side pocket on his pants, and continued walking through the alley.

::An annoying shriek filled the air not a moment later and Gunn kicked his pace up a few notches. Gunn always wondered why girls scream when they see a monster. Not only was it annoying, but it was pretty useless when staring at a demon. What? Did they hope that maybe the annoying noise coming out of their mouth was going to scare the creature off? Gunn left the question unanswered in his head as he made his way toward the scream. Dashing down the alley, he hoped he wouldn't be too late.

Damnit. Next time, think less and start out with a faster pace, Gunn!

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

:: As Amy watched Gwen break into the house, and then eye the necklace, her suspicions were confirmed. Gwen was clearly planning to steal it. ::

What's the deal with that? Isn't she supposed to be playing for Team Good?

:: Of course, Amy did not have much time to ponder this, because three demons suddenly showed up behind Gwen, and that demanded more of her attention. She wondered if Gwen had even noticed that they were there. The one standing at the head of the three let out a low, guttural growl. In an instant, electricity was sparking up and down the arms of the human toaster. ::

Yup, she knows.

:: Amy pondered just how interesting it would be to stand and watch. Other than in the one with her, she had never seen Gwen in a fight. And the one with her could not fairly count, after all, because Gwen never stood a chance. Then again, the most interesting thing that had happened to her in the last few weeks, possibly months, was a boring, routine patrol with her "Slayer Buddy". It would be a blast to finally get to exersize her powers by taking out a few demons. ::

:: Without another thought, she telekinetically slammed the partially open window the rest of the way up, and it resounded with a loud thwack. The demons turned at the sound, and before even entering the house, she held her hand out before her. ::

"Incindere"

:: Flames instantly swelled from a compacted ball in her hand. She threw it at one of the demons before he could react, and he growled angrily. As he did so, she levitated up to the window, enabling her to easily move through it. She then quickly took a stand in front of it, her hand bursting with another ball of bright, hot fire. ::

Demons: "Anyone else want a piece?"

[sk8rj04]

::Gunn stepped into the end of the alley. The vampire had the girl in a hold with her head pulled back, her bare neck ready to be bitten.::

Gunn: "You know, when she screams like that, I don't think she's feelin' it."

::The vampire looked up at Gunn, keeping his hold on the girl.::

Vamp: "Who the hell are you?"

::Gunn stepped closer to the demon and his prey. He kept his stake hidden by his side, not wanting to reveal his plan right away.::

Gunn: "Just a brother wonderin' what you could be doin' to that poor girl to make her scream so damn loud. Really, you could hear that alarm two blocks over."

::The vampire grinned.::

Vamp: "You think you can stop me?"

::Gunn shrugged.::

Gunn: "Figure I could try."

::The vamp lowered his mouth toward the girl's neck. The girl tried desperately to break free of his grasp, but all that she could manage was a pathetic squirm.::

Vamp: "Go ahead. Stop me."

[Lyri]

::Gwen sent a charge of electricty at the demon that seemed to be asserting itself as leader of the three. She smiled nervously.::

"Okay, three demons, one of me. I can do this."

::The demon she hit growled low in its throat, the other two mimicking it. The head demon took a step forward, crouching low, getting ready to charge.

::Then the window behind them slammed open and the three of them turned on the spot.

::Gwen wanted to know what was going on, but she was scared to take her eyes off the demons in front of her. Yes, they had their backs turned, but she didn't want to be blindsided by one of them. As she fought an internal struggle, her eyes were drawn upward by the sudden ball of fire that flew through the window, hitting the demnon Gwen had already attacked. It growled again.::

"Okay, now that's just gonna piss him off."

::Gwen built up another electric blast, stronger this time. She was just about to aim at the same demon, when someone flew through the window, landing softly on the wooden floor.

::The newcomer spoke to the demons and Gwen groaned.::

"Amy?! What the hell are you doing here?"

::Gwen looked around the room, realizing that Amy probably knew what she had been up to.::

"Oh, this is definitely not good."

::Reminded of her presence when she spoke, one of the demons turned back to Gwen and began to stalk towards her.::

"Okay, panic later, fight now."

::She sent the bolt of power at the demon, catching it in the chest, staggering it. Crossing the room quickly, Gwen kicked out, hitting the demon under the chin and sending it flying back. Electricty surged up and down her arms, and she concentrated all of it into her fist as she punched the demon in the face. The zap as her fist connected made Gwen smile and the demon wimper as it landed on it's back. Dropping to one knee, Gwen laid her palm flat on the demon's chest. This time, her power was aimed at the heart.

::Gwen flashed back to the night she had first met Angel and Gunn, in the vault of the auction house. She had used this same technique on Gunn. The only difference being, this time she was trying to stop the heart, not restart it.

::The demon convulsed under her hand, twitching as the power surged through its body, then it was still.

::Gwen looked up, locking eyes with Amy. She knew the next few minutes weren't going to be easy, and not just because of the demons.::

"So, how do you wanna play this?"

[Black Eye Guy]

There's something there...

Every time she spoke to her she could sense it, but she couldn't put her finger on it. She had been looking into her theory for a short while now, she had first realised it on the day they had met, The connection... she felt it.

She sighed and slammed the book in front of her closed. There was no point in researching it, there was nothing on this, and barely any information on, those things. She couldn't even let anyone know about her ideas, it wouldn't be fair to bring it up, only to find that she was wrong and they had gotten there hopes up for nothing.

She stood up from her desk, she was in the research room of the compound, and even from here she could tell where everyone was. Ever since the activation spell, it was like she had that map from Harry Potter, that allowed the little wizard to see where everyone was in the castle, in her head. She could sense each of the slayers in the compound, where they were, and the ones in the areas near the compound, out on patrol. If she wished she could sense the others but the slayers were just an automatic thing.

She rode the elevator up to the kitchen floor, and walked right in, knowing there were two girls in there. She walked into the kitchen, to find Sarah, a 17 year old girl with long brown hair, and Laura, a recent addition to their ever growing army. Both girls were laughing and joking as Willow walked in, both stopped immediately and jumped to the feet, very military style.

"It creeps me out when you guys do that, I'm not like a general." She smiled, giving the girls a moment to relax, which they didn't, "Right well I have a mission for the two of you, I have to go somewhere, thought it wouldn't hurt to have some, like protection with me"

"Aren’t you like super powerful?" Laura blurted out, clearly regretting it a few moments later.

"I wouldn't go with super, but I can hold my own. But doesn’t hurt to have some back up. We'll be leaving in an hour, and back before morning, before anyone even notices we're gone. Which by the way leads me to, don't tell anyone we're going"

She smiled then left before they had a chance to ask any questions, she headed back to her room to get ready. She didn't like leaving the compound, but they had the best security available, both magically and mechanically.

An hour later the small group was getting into a helicopter, Willow gave the pilot the position and they waited in silence till they reached the place, the girls clearly a little uncomfortable about not knowing all the details.

"We're here!" The pilot yelled back to them. The girls immediately sprung into action throwing themselves from the helicopter, propelling down, hitting the ground and disconnection themselves from the ropes. Willow gracefully walked off the helicopter, not attached to any ropes or suspenders, and glided down landing softly on the hard grass.

Willow waved to the pilot, as he left them. The girls were looking around, both outfitted with Armour and weapons. Willow noticed it immediately and walked straight toward the old tree, she had only made it a few steps before there was a flash and armoured guards came running out of the tree branding swords over the heads and growling. the girls took no time in responding throwing themselves into the fray, rushing past Willow, who smiled.

"The welcoming committee"

[sk8rj04]

::Gunn's eyes grew wide as he darted toward the vampire. He couldn't believe he had wasted time taunting the vamp instead of trying to save the girl. No. No, No, No. I won't let someone else die on account of me and my arrogance.

::But before he got close enough to the vampire to make any kind of physical contact, the demon exploded into ashes, leaving only a mountain of dust at his and the young girl's feet.

::Caught off guard, Gunn took a step back. He stared at the pile of dust for a few seconds. Then, his gaze turned toward the girl. He hadn't even cared to look at her before. But now, being the only other thing in the alley besides himself, he finally noticed her.

::She was a brunette, with a slight red tint to her straight hair. She had a sweet girl look to her, like Fred. But unlike Fred, he could see determination and hatred in her eyes. Even standing still, arms by her side, he could sense a fighter's feel from her. Gunn figured she was checking him out as well.::

Gunn: "You're a slayer."

::The girl shrugged.::

Girl: "If that's what you want to call it."

::Questions filled Gunn's head, but he drove them off.::

Gunn: "Who are you?"

Girl: "Tatum Cohen."

::She stepped toward him.::

Tatum: "And you call yourself..?"

Gunn: "Gunn."

Tatum: "Gunn. Nice name."

::She continued pass him.::

Tatum: "Nice to meet you Gunn."

::Gunn turned as she passed him.::

Gunn: "Where are you going?"

Tatum: "There are more of them out there. Someone has to kill them."

::And without looking back, Tatum the Vampire Slayer left Gunn behind in the alley.::

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike was on the hunt.

His posture lent nothing to his senses - he was honed, his body on alert. By all outward appearances he looked like a guy out on a walk - he sauntered slow, another cigarette dangling from his lips. He looked bored, if anything.

shush, shush. The sound of the leaves against the ground. crinkle, snap. Something was coming...behind him. He froze for a moment.

One sniff of the air and he relaxed. He inhaled on his cigarette and said, without bothering to turn around, "Don't you Slayers have a bedtime, love?"

A low chuckle. "Damn. Can't sneak a damn thing past you." He turned to eye Raven, who leaned against a tree. "I got bored. Saw you walking. Can I join the party, or is this a creature of the night thing?"

He stared at her for a second. What was he supposed to say? Someone, Buffy or Willow more like, would have his ass on a platter if he tossed the chance for one of the girls to get some training. And Raven was a good time, he had to admit. Even though she talked to much and look liberties with his personal space.

He made a show of rolling his eyes, though. He waved her along. "Yea, right, fine, love." She grinned at him and Spike turned around to continue his hunt. He whirled suddenly, making Raven stop in her tracks and raise an eyebrow. "Only because your Queen Slayer would have my balls if I said no. You understand?"

Raven grinned. "Yea, right." She jogged and fell into step beside him. "Gimme a smoke. Willow took mine."

[Black Eye Guy]

Willow felt the power of the two slayers as they ran past her, throwing themselves at the enemy. Any signs of nervousness or uneasy disappeared as they threw themselves into battle, all that could be seen now was confidence and strength. they fought back to back, as the enemy surrounded them in a circle.

The girls were severely out numbered, but showed no fear. Willow knew the girls could handle this small army. She had hung back, and the demons hadn't even noticed her.

Keep the bad guys at bay, I'm going in. She spoke mentally to the Slayer duo, they nodded in unison, without showing any sign of finding it weird that someone had just talked to them in their head.

She walked hastily around the group, which still hadn't noticed her, but that was partly due to magick. She walked through the door in the tree. She hesitated for a second upon entering the room, it was not what she was expecting, a huge open cavern that stretched down as far as the eye could see. It was impressive.

Putting her awe aside she walked through and continued down into the caverns below, leading from room to room. Eventually reaching an area that was like a living space, with a sofa and books surrounding every inch of the wall. This was why there was such little information on, well allot of things, it was a hidden library of things that predated the written word... although as soon as people learned to write this is where they wrote it.

Willow took her time looking at the titles of the books, it didn't help that loads of them didn't have a title. This was going to take longer then she thought, she started taking some of the books down to have a look through them.

An hour and a half later, and she was surrounded by open book lying all around the floor.

"Ah Ha!" She looked around expecting someone to be impressed with that fact that she had found something, but she was alone at the moment. It had been that way allot lately, The gang had kinda split a little, what with having to go off to different countries to recruit new slayers, or doing their own research. Kennedy had left the group a while ago, she was needed to help train a new group of slayers, and Willow had to stay here. Their relationship could survive long distance but it was a pain in the ass.

She stood up, clutching the book she had found. It wasn't worth it to clean up the mess she had left behind, so she just walked towards the doorway out of the library. As she reached the doorway she was suddenly thrown backwards by an invisible force. She flew through the air, and smashed into the book case on the opposite wall, sending books flying everywhere. She landed in a heap on the floor.

"son of a...", She shook it off, standing up again. Blood dripping down her arm, she had cut herself on the shelf, a small slash on her forearm. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath and the cut closed itself. Opening her eyes again, once more she walked towards the door again, stopping just before it. She stretched out her hand holding the book towards the door and a barrier appeared, she moved it back the barrier disappeared.

"Sneaky, anti-theft devise", She put the book in her left hand and held out her right hand, palm face forward, towards the door. She made the barrier appear. Her hand started to shake as she forced power towards the barrier, determination on her face, she started breathing deeply then closed her eyes, held them shut for a moment, then opened them. Her eyes were now a deep black, suddenly the barrier ripped apart. She walked through the arch way, with ease, this time and turned to look at the room, the doorway suddenly sealed itself shut, defeated.

Willow exited the tree, her eyes returned to normal, to find the two girls waiting for her, the enemy no where to be seen, clearly they had won.

"We ready to go?" She asked the two young women.

[sk8rj04]

::Gunn stood in the alley, helpless to stop the girl from exiting. It took him a few seconds to process what had just laid out right in front of him. Not only had he discovered a new slayer, but she had no idea what the hell a slayer was. And above that, she had even gone as far as playing the helpless victim in order to kill the vampire. From that, he came to the conclusion that not only did she enjoy the kill, but she took great pleasure in planning the kill as well.

::Gunn was so busy contemplating what the hell had just happened in the alley outside the club that he hadn't realized that he had made his way back to camp. When he got to there, mind still focused on Tatum, he had nearly bumped into some slayer as he tried to enter. Realizing within seconds of knocking into the redhead what was about to happen, he stopped himself by sidestepping her walking into him. He wondered how much of a klutz he looked like as he walked past her.

::He needed to find Willow or Buffy and tell them what had gone down. Maybe they could make more sense of what he could not.::

[Mesektet Ra]

Well, this was amounting to a good lot of nothing.

Spike was actually pissed off. Where the hell were the DEMONS? The VAMPIRES? He needed something to stab. He'd been sitting square on his ass for Christ knew how long and he needed to fight.

He sighed loudly. He tossed a glance over to Raven, who was sitting on a bench and smoking another one of his cigarettes. She looked just about as bored as he felt.

She looked up at him and exhaled. "I'm bored," she said flatly, a hint of a childlike whine in her voice. "Aren't we supposed to be killing things?"

Spike scoffed and reached for his cigs. "Took the words out of my mouth, love." He shook his head sadly and lit his cigarette. "Seems the baddies took a holiday. Don't wanna get caught in Slayer Country, yea?"

Raven rolled her eyes, dropping her cigarette on the ground and stomping it out with a combat boot clad foot. "I hate it when they start to think," she muttered. "Well, screw this." She stood and started to head back the way they came. "I could be watching crappy British TV with Is right now, or y'know, sleeping, God for freakin' bid. Are you coming or what?"

Spike held up a hand. There was something in the air...a scent. Familiar. Like...freshly turned earth. And rot.

And a noise...a low, almost inaudible shush shush. Voices. Far off, but not far off to be heard.

They were coming closer. After a few moments, Raven's head cocked to the side - she heard it too, or felt it.

Vampires.

Spike smiled a slow, dark smile. He looked over a Raven. "Let's go kill something, eh, love?"

[Black Eye Guy]

Willow jumped from the helicopter, landing on the hard ground of the compound. The book, her prize, clutched to her chest, she brushed the hair out of her face , as it flew around madly from the propellers, she ducked low and moved away. The two slayers did the same, as they moved away she felt the great machine take off into the air again, and with it a sense rose in her stomach things really had changed since the days of Sunnydale.

Once the winds died down, Willow shook it off and turned back to the girls who were doing the same. "I need you to do me a favour, don't tell anyone about this little mission out of the country. I need to work on something before I let everyone know, ok?" The Girls nodded in unison, and Willow smiled, she nodded to the girls, dismissing them and then headed back into the compound.

She headed straight for the computer room, the cool room was deserted. She logged in receiving a bunch of urgent mail, which she would have to ignore for now. She placed the book out on the table and began to read...

[GATEGOD]

Faith relaxed her head and turned to her side finding a more comfortable position. The covers felt warm as she tightly grabbed them feeling more at ease in her new bed. It was nearly time to get up but she didn't care, she had awoken minutes ago but it seemed like eternity. She was just about ready to get up to meet the new day with a shower and a workout when she fell back down hugging her pillow. 'Screw this' she thought as she closed her eyes again.

There were never many opportune moments for rest and relaxation with what had been going on lately and she was in need and rightly deserved some. All these people, all these girls, all these slayers, they could go another hour or so without her. And if they couldn't, well then that's there problem. As Faith began to fall back into what promised to be an entertaining dream she felt a hand at her side and she sprung from the bed elbowing the perpetrator into the wall.

When she finally saw who it was who had been there she laughed. "Damn girl, you nearly got yourself killed. What have I told you about coming into my room when I'm sleeping." Faith extended her hand helping the would be slayer to her feet. "So... what is it? Did you need something or do you just have a death wish?"

"N..no, no It's just that I just got back from a... never mind, I was just wondering If later today, you could train with me. You know, give me a few pointers here and there, how to really put the demons in their place, for when the time comes and I'm outnumbered five to one." she said, seeming somewhat unsure of herself.

'Heh' Faith said as she began to crack a smile. "I'd love to give ya a tip or two Laura. It's always good to be prepared, or so Buffy keeps telling me, the real thing though, the thing that is more important then anything else is Faith." the moment she said it she new how it sounded but it was true. Laura smiled at her, "Not me, Faith in yourself and in your ability to deliver on the day. If you feel like crap then your going to fight like it. If you feel as if you could take on the world on the other hand then the vamps can't even touch you. Plus instinct. Everything a slayer needs is within her at all times. You are your greatest weapon, not a stake or a crossbow, those are nice obviously, but quick thinking is what wins the day." she ended almost laughing as she felt the Buffy in her come out. "So when did you have in mind as you can see I'm not even awake yet."

"Is an hour good? I can be in the training room right after I get cleaned up and grab a bite to eat." she said leaning against the door shaking off her shoulder still sore from the impact of the wall.

"Sounds like plan, I'll catch ya there in about an hour." Laura smiled and headed out of her room as Faith through the covers back onto her bed and grabbed a towel from the closet. Shower time. The only thing Faith liked more then sex, a nice long shower.

[palabravampiress]

:: Xander knocked. Three times. Real fast and excited like. Because, well, that’s what he was: excited. For the first time in weeks, there was something to do. Strike that: there was something to kill. And Spike – Spike – had called for backup. Okay, so really Raven had made the call. And yeah, maybe he had overheard Spike ranting and raving about not wanting to share the action. That could have just been background noise from the fight. ::

:: But still, Xander thought with a grin. I can’t wait to see the look on Billy Idol Jr.’s face when I show up for the bail out. ::


Faith’s Door: "Faith!"


:: But I need backup first, he thought. ::

:: He knocked again. Still no answer. ::


Faith’s Door: Faith: "Hey Faith!"


:: Xander sighed and rolled his eyes. ::


Xander: "Okay, I am so going to regret this. (Pause) Which sort of begs the question: why am I doing it?"


:: He shrugged leaned up against the wall and pressed his ear to the door. It was amazing how much more he relied on his ears now. ::

:: He listened. No music. No snoring. No… kicking stuff or other Faith-like destructive behavior. ::

:: Xander knocked again. The sound reverberated off the door and the door reverberated off the knock, all of which led to a distinctly Xander-like “Ow” moment. ::


Xander: "And that’s why I got my ass kicked like a sissy in the alley."


:: With his ear still ringing, Xander backed away from the door and knocked from a safe, non ear-drum shattering distance. ::


Faith’s Door: "C’mon Faith, open up! Spike and Raven just called in some action. Thought you could use a little act – kill –"


:: Oh God. Oh God. Think, brain! Words. Remember those? he thought. ::


Faith’s Door: "Aha! Slaying!"


:: Xander looked at his feet. ::


Xander: "I am such a putz."

[GATEGOD]

Faith’s Door: "C’mon Faith, open up! Spike and Raven just called in some action. Thought you could use a little act – kill –"

Faith’s Door: "Aha! Slaying!"

Faith was tightening the towel around herself when she heard Xander call for her for what seemed like the eighth time. Atleast he knew to knock unlike some others in this little 'house' of theirs. She finally decided to the give his due and opened the door. "Xander! what you come for another ride or something boy?" she asked he stared down at the towel wrapped around her body. "It's not that I wouldn't love to and all... It's just that I was planning on taking a shower, you could..." before she could finish he cut her off.

[palabravampiress]

:: Xander stared. ::

:: Faith… Towel… Pretty, he thought. Also, he wished he had two eyes. ::

Last thought up on the brain train was a sense memory flash of the sudden lack of oxygen that had occurred the last time this particular slayer had laid her hands on him. Blue face. Burning lungs. Burning… other things. No picnic.

:: He made what he was sure was a dorky hand gesture. Sort of an “OK” sign, but not quite. ::


Faith: "Huh. Okay. Not what I was expecting."


Soft thighs. Pretty. Inviting. Naked… Anya.


Xander felt a surge of – something unidentifiable – in his chest. It wasn’t lust. That had put in an appearance, sure, but it was gone now. This was something sadder.

:: He took a step back. He diverted his gaze, which wasn’t so hard with only the one eye to worry about. Then, a beat later, he finally spoke. ::


Faith: "Umm, actually, I was kind of looking for the other kind of action."


Xander wasn’t sure whether to kick himself or congratulate himself on resisting one of the deadlier kinds of temptation known to… well, known to him, and to how many others, he didn’t particularly want to ponder.


Faith: "Spike and Raven called for some backup."


:: Sheepishly, Xander looked up. Observed the towel for the umpteenth time. Trained his gaze higher. To her face. Where women like for men’s eyes to be when conversing about workplace… workplace violence. ::


Faith: "Might want to save the shower for after, though."

[GATEGOD]

"I'd love to join ya and feel that rush when you see me save your life... haha but I promised Laura I'd train with her in about an hour, just before you got here." She was going to inquire what sort of fight they'd be looking at but Xander kept looking down. "Eyes are still up here." Xander put on a weird grin and she continued.

"Sorry but I have a prior commitment with something hot and and steamy. Why do you need me anyway?" she asked wondering why he would ask her, of all people.

[Spirit_Of_Fred]

Gwen: "I've got this one."

:: Amy nodded toward the second demon. ::

Gwen: "Do whatever you want, Sparky."

:: She finally released the ball of fire she had been holding, and it rocketed toward the second demon. This burst of flame, more powerful than the last, knocked it off its feet. It crashed into a small, wooden table, which cracked under the huge demon weight. Amy pondered for a brief moment, then a grin slowly crept across her lips as she decided on the best way to go about killing him. She formed another ball of flames, only this one had a strange quality to it. It seemed almost....translucent. ::

:: She approached the knocked-down demon, who was beginning to struggle his way up, and she grasped his head in her fire-filled hand. Strangely, rather than cause him to char or catch on fire, the flame seemed to travel inside his body, through the top of his head. The demon screamed as it burned up from the inside, and then was suddenly still. ::

Now that was much less lame than Miss Roast-and-Toast's approach.

:: Speaking of Gwen, she turned to see if and how she had dealt with the final demon. ::

[Lyri]

::Gwen watched as Amy dealt with the demon, a strange bal of light forming in the witch's hand.

::Gwen narrowed her eyes at the girl.::

Show off

::Gwen conjured her owning ball of energy, a sphere of pure electricity forming in the palm of her hand.

::Without taking her eyes off Amy, Gwen threw the ball at the last remaning demon. It hurtled towards the monster, landing squarly in the thing's chest.

::Gwen shielded her eyes as the electricty caused the demon to catch on fire, exploding from within until all that was left was a smoldering husk.

::Gwen smiled smugly.::

"Well, Sabrina, guess that makes two for me, and one for you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I was kinda in the middle of something."

::Gwen turned her back to Amy and returned her attention to the thing that had made her break into this house in the first place...the diamond necklace. She was just about the smash the glass in the display cabinate when a high pitched alarm sreached through the house.::

"You gotta be kidding me! I cut the wires!"

::Somewhere in the rational part of her mind, Gwen knew that the smoke alarms and fire detectors were probably on another system to the security alarms, either that or the house had better security than she was led to believe. But the rational part of her mind wasn't in control right now. She looked around the room, at the corpses of the demons. It probably wan't a good idea to leave them lying around. She locked gazes with Amy.::

"Alright, Miss Magic. You got a way to get us outta this?"

[GATEGOD]

Faith
Xander: "I'd love to join ya and feel that rush when you see me save your life... haha but I promised Laura I'd train with her in about an hour, just before you got here."

She was going to inquire what sort of fight they'd be looking at but Xander kept looking down at his feet.

:: Faith motions toward her eyes. ::

Xander: "Eyes are still up here."


Xander
Save my life? She always could read my mind. But then, the crazies and the demons always can, Xander thought, grinning – and then wiping the grin off his face, because no way in hell did he want to explain his little stray thought to a slayer.

Then he realized that this slayer was obviously hitting on him and who was he to look a gift horse in the mouth?


Faith
Xander: "Sorry but I have a prior commitment with something hot and and steamy. Why do you need me anyway?" she asked wondering why he would ask her, of all people.


Xander
:: Xander dragged his eye to meet one of Faith’s. ::

He hated eye contact. It used to be he could lock eyes with people. It was a gesture of – understanding. Like a handshake, but with eyes. But ever since the cyclopsination, he never knew which eye to lock with, and settling for the bridge of the nose didn’t seem right.

Faith: “You know. Buddy system. Can't find Will. Buffy’s off who-knows-where. You’re stuck in Boredsville with me, so when the call came in, I just figured…”

:: Xander met Faith’s other eye. Self-conscious, he rubbed the back of his neck. ::

Faith: “… you might want in on this one.”

Faith did not look convinced.


Faith
Xander: "So you want me to break a promise to one of the girls so I can help you do what? Prove yourself to a vampire you hate? Am I getting this right or have I missed something? My shower scenario sounds more exciting."


Xander
This time, Xander flashed on that other time with Faith. That other, not so deadly time with the curves and the guiding and the whole preparing him for… Anya. It always came back to Anya. He wanted Faith, sure, but there was still this little part of him that was afraid that he’d do this moving on thing once and for all and then – bam! – literal intestines all knotted up and exploding. Because there could be some loophole, right? Some ex-demon thing. And she wasn’t really dead at all, not for real dead. Just dead like Buffy and Angel and Spike. And then he would have hurt her… terribly… again.

Or, worse, there would be no exploding guts and Anya would really be gone.


Faith
Faith smiled and moved in closer.


Xander
:: Xander sighed. ::

One way to find out.

Faith: “Sure. “

:: He stepped into the room and closed the door behind him. Put his arms around her.::

Faith: “Why not? What do I care if Spike gets dusted?”

:: Xander kept his eye open when he kissed her. ::


Faith
Xander: "Haha damn boy you sure got that fire back in you don't ya."

::She pushed back her hair and caressed his face with her hand as she thrusted him into the wall::

She was up for it, even though she had only awoken a few minutes ago, but she never thought he'd say yes. She new he'd never stop talking about if it happened again or he'd make it into something it wasn't. Plus the last time didn't really rock the world so to speak and they'd never be done in time for her training session, or at least she wouldn't be. As those thoughts passed through her mind she grabbed on for one more kiss then pulled away.

Xander: "Well, I'm good." she added as she pushed him aside and pulled open the door. "As I said, I have a prior commitment with a hot shower and wannabe slayer. I'm sure Spike would love your help, and I'm sure you can charm someone else into going with you. Catch ya later." She turned with a wave, smiling as his confused face brightened the fading room behind her.


Xander

:: Xander slumped against the wall. ::

Well, that's a relief, he thought.

He could hold onto hope for a while longer.

[Wanabee-slayer]

:: Dawn sat in her bedroom at the compound staring at the ceiling absent mindedly. Buffy had of course banned her from patrolling as per usual, and Dawn had taken refuge in her room. Ever since her thing with Connor things had been different, he said he just wanted to be friends, boys, and maybe for now that would be okay. I mean how weird would it be dating Angel’s kid? The room was suffocating, the walls bearing down as Dawn tried to fight off her boredom. Sighing, Dawn rolled out of bed and headed to the door. Buffy banned me from patrolling; she didn’t say that I couldn’t go out. Plus I might as well go armed, I mean I could run into something and then Buffy would want me to defend myself. Grinning Dawn grabbed a stake and shoved into her jeans pocket as she made her way down the hall hoping for any kind of excitement. Rounding a corner, Dawn spotted Xander and Faith as her heart dropped to her stomach. She’d always had a crush on Xander and that had never changed. Why did he have to pick Faith? Why can’t anybody ever notice me? Fighting away her own grief, Dawn moved down the hall to Xander, wiping away her tears and thanking God that Faith was no longer in the hall. Praying that her face didn’t reveal her emotions and looming over Xander. ::

Xander: “Hey Xand, everything okay?”

:: Forcing a smile onto her face Dawn slumped down the wall and positioned herself next to Xander. ::

[Black Eye Guy]

Willow jumped up, literally out of her chair, as the sound of her cell phone smashed the silence of the computer room. She rushed to grab the phone from the desk, where she had been engrossed in the book she was reading. "Hello?" Willow listened as one of the workers from the compound explained why he had called.

"Uh, huh...ok. Have they been identified?...

Oh! Yes they can land no problem. Thanks"

She hung up the phone and looked up to the computer and looked back at her email.

"Crap"

She got up from the desk and walked out of the room, leaving everything she had been studying open on the desk, she closed the door behind her, and waved her hand over the handle of the door, as she did the handle disappeared, making it impossible for anyone to enter the room.

She took the elevator back up to the main floor and walked out to the courtyard of the compound, the small helicopter had just landed.

Everybodys so fancy now-a-days. She walked towards the helicopter as the door opened and Riley Finn and his wife Sam jumped from the aircraft and made their way towards Willow.

Willow waved at the two as they got closer, "Hey welcome to the Brushfire!" She hugged Riley and Sam and directed them towards the entrance.

[GATEGOD]

Faith walked down the hall praying the bathroom wasn't being used. She had tried to take a shower hours ago, before she fell asleep but to her dismay two girls were waiting outside. 'Waiting to use it' she suspected, she didn't ask. As always the wannabe slayers were acting like wannabe slayers. This time she turned the corner, almost with her eyes closed hoping that the bathroom was free. When she opened them she saw one of the slayers leaving it and no one else in site. She sighed in relief and walked in, locking the door behind her. She new someone would try to squeeze there way in and she didn't want to here them so she flipped on the stereo and turned it up. There were two wet towels on the floor which she stepped over, 'yea.. I'll be picking those up, not' she thought to herself.

After stepping over the towels she turned the knobs on the shower and steam started to fill the room. She dropped her towel and placed it on the counter. It was quite cold for some reason in the room even with the hot water running and steam filling the room so she quickly stepped in and closed the curtains behind her. The water was soothing and killed the coldness around her. "Perfection" she said as she drifted away in her thoughts as the next song started on the stereo.

[palabravampiress]

Xander: “Hey Xand, everything okay?”

:: Forcing a smile onto her face Dawn slumped down the wall and positioned herself next to Xander. ::

:: Xander frowned and looked at Dawn, who had just slumped down next to him. The looking at her part made him smile. ::

She was alive and here and growing up so fast, especially for someone who was technically a toddler. She was so tall and pretty and well, teenagery. Almost all grown-up like. And here in the thick of it, just like he had been…. It made him think back to when she was just a kid who made him easy bake cookies and friendship bracelets. Also, she made him listen to Hanson.

How did some mystical chanting monk guys know about friendship bracelets and Mmm Bop, anyway?

It was strange. He knew those things never really actually happened, but he couldn’t imagine his life without Dawn in it.

Afraid of where those thoughts might lead – like to people who were no longer in his life – Xander shook his head and pondered Dawnie’s question. No good having a Dawn-related head-trip wiggins right in front of her.

Dawn: “Funny you should ask. I think the answer might be of the “no” variety. First, I was so bored that I actually wanted to go save the platinum wonder just so I could hit something with my axe – and maybe nick him by accident.”

:: Here, Xander straightened in order to draw air quotes with his fingers. ::

Dawn: “Then, I kissed a lady who, well let’s just say last time we did that, she didn’t exactly let me up for air. Definite air stoppage was involved –“

:: Xander adopted a serious expression and pointed for emphasis and dramatic effect. ::

Dawn: “… of the intentional kind.”

:: He sighed and slumped again. ::

Dawn: “And have I mentioned for like the ten zillionth time how much I miss Anya?”

:: Xander shrugged. Then he snapped out of it for long enough to stop being a complete ass and realize that those big brown eyes of Dawn’s were all red and tear-filled.

Right, he thought. The crush. Hey – the crush! The crush is back! Eat your heart out, guy-with-the-magic-jacket and vampire son guy! I should be gentle with her tender little feelings…

:: Xander visibly deflated as the next thought crossed his mind. ::

… and not kiss slayers in public hallways, he thought. Great. I really am a putz.

:: He forced eye contact with one of Dawn’s eyes and plastered a smile onto his face. ::

Dawn: “But hey, look at me bein’ all down-in-the-dumps guy… like a guy who’s… down-in-the-dumps.”

:: He thought he saw Dawn kind of smile at that, which made Xander’s smile that much more genuine. He pushed away from the wall and turned to her. Lightly, playfully, he punched her in the shoulder. ::

Dawn: “But who am I to complain about a little boredom when I’ve got my favorite ball of energy girl right here?”

:: Still grinning, he made his hands into fists and waved them in a mock fighting motion. ::

Dawn: “What’da’ya say, Dawnie? Wanna go to the training room and make with the sparring? Think you could take the amazing one-eyed wonder? We could practice those new moves Buffy taught you.”

[Wanabee-slayer]

:: It hurt Dawn to listen to Xander's tale. So he really did kiss Faith. Great. And not to mention he totally loves Anya. As Xander entered into his usual banter and jokes Dawn couldn't help but smile at the man she had loved for so long. Laughing at Xander's poor excuse for a fighting stance Dawn rose from her spot on the ground and turned to Xander grinning. ::

Xander: "Gee Xander, are you sure you wanna fight? I mean it's got to be embarrasing getting beaten by a girl."

:: Laughing Dawn raced off down the hallway, as she reached the corner she spun to face Xander who was still staring at her. Smiking she addressed him. Hoping to keep a smile on his face. She loved it when he smiled. He hardly ever did that anymore. Not since Anya anyway. ::

Xander: "You coming?"

:: Turning back around Dawn went in the direction of the training room, this time at a slower pace hoping that Xander would follow. See, we can still have fun. It doesn't matter that my heart feels like it being stabbed repeatedly::

[palabravampiress]

With a spring in his still slightly limpy gait, Xander jogged after Dawnie.

Dawn: “Watch out there, kiddo. You don’t know who you’re dealing with. I’ll have you know that I am a master at being beaten up by girls.”

:: Xander caught up with her and then easily matched her stride for stride, surprising even himself. The leg was healing nicely. ::

Dawn: “I had a whole mob after me once. True story. Never ever do a love spell. They don’t turn out as well as you might think.”

:: So saying, he entered the training room. Xander eyed the assembled weapons and training materials like they were candy – but not band candy. Some other, less creepifying kind of candy. ::

:: He looked at Dawnie and again adopted the fighting stance that had made her giggle. He liked it when she giggled. ::

It was hard on her, being tag-along girl to her big sis. He knew how that felt. And the Connor thing, that couldn’t have been easy, either. That kid is evil, he thought. Hellspawn of dead boy and dead girl? Evil. He didn’t know all of the details, but he knew that the kid had made Dawnie cry. That was enough. Even more evil. So in Xander’s book, whatever it took to make Dawn smile was definitely of the good.

:: Xander bounced on his toes and then adopted a more serious fighting pose. ::

Dawnie: “Come on, girly. Give me your best shot.”

[Wanabee-slayer]

:: Giggling once more at Xander’s fighting position; Dawn recalled the day Xander had performed the love spell. She had luckily avoided being in the mob of angry girls, mostly because her little legs wouldn’t carry her as fast as the other’s had gone. By the time she reached Xander the spell had finished and she got to pretend that she’d escaped the spell. As Xander got into a more serious fighting stance Dawn did the same mirroring him perfectly. Faking a punch with her right arm, Dawn quickly spun out of Xander's grasp as she kicked his legs out from under him making sure to avoid damaging his sore leg. Looming over him Dawn let a girlish laugh escape her lips as she took in the sight of him sprawled out on the ground. ::

Xander: “Well that wasn’t hard. Ready to give up?”

:: Smiling down at Xander she laughed more as she watched his thoughts flow over his extremely attractive features. Moving in closer Dawn stood over Xander looking down at his face, a grin still firmly planted on her own. He's so cute. Okay Dawn pull yourself together. I hope I didn't hurt him.::

[palabravampiress]

:: Xander waited until Dawn gave up the advantage. She did so almost immediately, leaning down to see if he was all right. ::

He kind of felt bad for her, actually. She looked all concerned. She thought she’d hurt him. And yeah – ow – his back was a little tweaked – but he hadn’t clocked so many years of field time for nothing.

:: Quick as a flash, Xander kicked, taking her down at the knees. She fell, but he made sure to cushion her landing with his own body. Hurting Dawn was not in the lesson plan. ::

:: But the lesson wasn’t over. Before she could react, he rolled them over so that he had her pinned to the ground. He had no weapon, but to prove the point, he kept her pinned with one hand and raised the other as if to come down for the kill. All jokes aside, it was a move he knew well. It was why he, the guy without the super powers, was still alive. It was important that Dawn learn it, too. ::

:: He locked one of his eyes with one of hers. And, for once, he wasn’t self-conscious about it at all. His tone and expression became all serious and watcher-like. The G-man, wherever he went off to, would be proud. ::

Dawn: “Don’t be overconfident, Dawnie. Never give up the advantage – even when you think you’re winning.”

:: He shook off the seriousness, then, and stood up. He extended his hand to help her up. ::

Dawn: “That first move, though; it was pretty smooth. You almost had me.”

:: Again, he smiled. That was easier with Dawn than with the others, too. ::

Dawn: “Now let’s try that one more time. I’ll have you make me look like a sissy before you know it.”

[Wanabee-slayer]

:: Dawn's breath caught as Xander rolled them over, his body pinning her to the ground. There was an intensity to his gaze that made her breath hitch in her throat as she fought against the urge to plant a kiss on his lips. As he rose, Dawn finally remembered to breathe and took the hand that he offered he smiling sheepishly. As he brought her to her feet Dawn kept his hand in hers as he spoke and blushed when she realised she was still holding his hand. Dropping his hand, Dawn smiled sheepishly and looked to Xander. ::

Xander: "I don't think you need my help to look like a sissy Xander."

:: Sticking out her tongue, Dawn winked at Xander as she punched him playfully on the arm. I like it when he smiles. Why can't anybody ever notice me? Blinking at of her sorrowful thoughts, Dawn smiled up at Xander again.::

Xander: "Okay, Mr Tough Guy, let's see what else you've got."

:: Getting into another fighting stance, Dawn waited for Xander to say something, anything that would give her hope. He wont', no-one ever does. ::

[Slayergal]

Everybodys so fancy now-a-days. She walked towards the helicopter as the door opened and Riley Finn and his wife Sam jumped from the aircraft and made their way towards Willow.

Willow waved at the two as they got closer, "Hey welcome to the Brushfire!" She hugged Riley and Sam and directed them towards the entrance.

::Sam hugged Willow::

Willow: "Hi Willow. It's good to see you again."

::Sam tried to keep her voice calm as she spoke. Part of her was pensive as she recalled the last time she met Willow. She had same as offended her not meaning to. She hadn't know that Willow had an addiction to the black arts was trying quit. In learning that she had a great respect for Willow. Not many wiccas that got addicted to the black arts could quit or overcome their powers like her.::

::Sam followed Riley as they headed towards the entrance of the compound. Where ever they were going she hoped it would eventually lead to a room with a bed. It was a long flight from Nepal. She didn't know about Riley but she could use some sleep.::

[GATEGOD]

As the hot water ran down Faith's back and the sixth song on the stereo started she heard a knock at the door. It was followed by a not so untrue "You've been in there forever hurry up!!" She new she had been in for quite a while but not that long, only twenty minutes or so judging on the music she had been listening to.

Faith waited for the girl to knock again but she never did. A few minutes afterwards she got out of the shower and turned the water off. The steam still filled the room and fogged the mirror. The stereo itself even began to start chopping up the music so she lowered it, and wiped away part of the mirror with her hand.

She loved looking at the goddess that was her, but sadly the mirror just fogged right back up and she got tired of trying to wipe it off. After she dried off, head to toe, she wrapped the towel back around herself and left the bathroom. She looked around for the person who had knocked only to find five slayers standing there looking as if they were dieing or something.

"Sorry Girls... I couldn't here you with the stereo pumping and all..." trying to contain a smile she walked by as one of them brushed by her and ran into the bathroom. "Hey watch it Blondie." she got out as the door closed behind her. 'how rude' she couldn't help but think as she walked back down the hall to her room to get changed. When she got there she shut the door behind her and threw the towel on the bed. She had lots to choose from, mostly black shirts and jeans but she decided to go with a white tank and some gray sweats. Also she still had at least twenty minutes to kill before she was going to meet Laura for some training so she brushed back her hair and headed to the kitchen to get something to eat.

[palabravampiress]

Xander: "Okay, Mr Tough Guy, let's see what else you've got."

:: Getting into another fighting stance, Dawn waited for Xander to say something, anything that would give her hope. He wont', no-one ever does. ::

:: Xander crossed the room and looked around for a weapon. He found a prop stake – a soft plastic one with a retractable tip. Fang boy’s idea. Xander wished they’d stuck with the real deal. ::

Dawn: “Think fast!”

:: He threw the stake across the mat for Dawn to catch, and then he faced her. He tried to make himself look all cool and menacing – like back when he was hyena boy or soldier man or even that Mr. Confidence side of him. Because that was what it was all about – all that latent power and sexiness, just confidence and aggression. So he loosened up, slouched down, and made his face an impassive mask of manliness. Basically, he threw on hyena boy’s attitude and gave Dawn his best Bad Xander look. ::

Granted, he was pretty sure it only turned out like the Robin next to the Batman he’d envisioned, but it was the best he could do without the tights.

Dawn: "I hear I was a damn smooth – evil, I mean damn evil and bad – vampire in some reality or another. And that’s the thing. You never know."

:: He looked over at the mirror and noticed his reflection. Hey! I do look evil! Go me! he thought, pleased with the rugged baddie that he saw in the mirror. Then, realizing he still had a reflection, he shrugged. ::

Dawn: “Ok. So not a stellar point with the mirror right there. Ignore that. Sure, I have a reflection now, but tomorrow could be different.”

:: He evilled up again. Made his voice all low and gravelly-like.

Anya always said his evil voice was sex –…. No. No. Don’t think about that!

:: He distracted himself by goading Dawn. ::

Dawn: “The thing is, vampires can look like friends. I could be one. You could be one. If that happens, I’m trusting you to dust me. So show me you can do it.”

[Wanabee-slayer]

:: Dawn stood there, circling Xander as she let his voice wash over her. The low, bass, was enough to send shivers down her spine as she continued to circle him noting how sexy his voice was. Staring at his face and taking in his new attitude Dawn's whole body erupted in goosebumps. He's hot when he's evil. What?! Focus Dawn. Trying to remain calm, Dawn focused on what Xander was saying instead of the hot, steady voice he was using to goad her. The thought of ever having to even hurt Xander horrified her. How could she...? Not even if he was evil, which he never would be. She couldn't kill him, she loved him too much. And yet, it meant so much to him. He wanted to know that she would protect herself, and she didn't want to let him down. Sighing Dawn nodded her head to let Xander know that she could do it. And with fierce determination Dawn played along with the game. If she was gonna do this she could at least have a little fun, she thought. Grinning to herself, Dawn clutched the stake in one hanf and used the other to pull her shirt down, exposing a long line of neck.::

Xander: "Come and get it, if you can."

:: Dawn stalked towards Xander careful to stay at a reasonable distance as she circled him. She could do this. She would make Xander proud of her. And then maybe he'll notice me for once. An abrupt laugh came from her lips but as soon as it begun it was gone, like a ghost on the wind.::

Xander: "Come on big, bad vampire man. What are you waiting for? THe blood isn't gonna get any warmer."

[palabravampiress]

Xander: "Come and get it, if you can."

:: Dawn stalked towards Xander careful to stay at a reasonable distance as she circled him. She could do this. She would make Xander proud of her. And then maybe he'll notice me for once. An abrupt laugh came from her lips but as soon as it begun it was gone, like a ghost on the wind.::

Xander: "Come on big, bad vampire man. What are you waiting for? THe blood isn't gonna get any warmer."

She laughed, and Xander almost did, too. The neck thing really made him want to break character. This was… well, this was fun. They were training, yeah. And it was important, no question. But there was definitely a playing part to this whole… umm, role playing thing. Plus, hey, he got to be the attackee instead of the attacker for once. Always of the good.

He circled her. And he did look at her neck. It was, well, long. And thin. Fragile looking, but graceful. He didn’t even drink blood and he could see how a vampire could be enticed. No wonder Spike calls her Niblet, Xander thought.

:: He pounced. Moving fast, – well, as fast as he could – he took a risk and approached her from the side. He attacked from his blind side, actually. It was a harder staking angle for her. Plus, she wouldn’t expect that, and vampires were tricky little fellas. ::

:: He came up next to her instead of head on, reflexively moving his arm to block the stake that he knew would fall. Then, unsure of how she’d counter, he pivoted on his heel and reached for her other shoulder. He was now behind her. Her neck was within striking distance. Xander was surprised. He honestly hadn’t thought he was that agile yet. ::

Huh. I did it. Look at me, all not-handicapped-guy, he thought.

:: Xander grabbed Dawn by the shoulders and yanked her close – he pulled her hard, but not too hard. ::

Definitely within striking range now. He could even smell her. She smelled like popcorn and chocolate… and a hint of shampoo.

Let’s see her try to get out of this! Xander thought.

[Wanabee-slayer]

:: Dawn watched as Xander came to her, surprised by his speed and the angle at which he charged. Before she knew it he was behind her arms pinned as he reared back, perfect postion for a strike. Grinning to herself, Dawn immediatley knew what her next move would be. She would prove once and for all she wasn't just some innocent kid after all Buffy and Co. were only 5 or so years older than her. Letting Xander think he had the upper hand, Dawn tried to fight the smile playing on her lips, as she pretended to struggle against his vice-like grip on her. And that's when she made her move. Lolling her head forwards Dawn groaned a little pretending that her head hurt. ::

Xander: "Oh, was the room always spinning?!"

:: Before Xander could reply Dawn threw her head backwards, firmly headbutting him and sending them both crashing to the ground. On their way down, Dawn made sure to position herself properly as she secured the stake in her hand. When they finally reached the floor Dawn was on top of Xander, stradling him. Smile playing across her lips Dawn held the stake above Xander's heart, her face uncomfortably close to his own. Leaning over to whisper in his ear Dawn smirked to herself as she put on her own version of a deep sexy voice that had many guys drooling over her. ::

Xander: "I guess I win."

:: I'm not just some little kid anymore.

[palabravampiress]

Dawn was positioned above him, stake poised to strike, and all Xander could think about was that his forehead hurt. A lot. Gadzooks, Batman.

Will is never gonna let me hear the end of this, he thought with a grimace.

Dawn bore down on him so that her face was close to his. The stake was between them, tip firmly retracted. She said she won, and he couldn’t argue the point.

:: He brought one hand to his forehead. No blood. That was good. ::

Wait. Why isn’t she moving? he wondered.

She was too close. Uncomfortably close. Stradlingly close. She was breathing all funny. And staring all intently. And – oh God! She was doing that on purpose! And the voice. That was her sexy voice! No! No! No! This was a spell. It had to be. Willow had done some wonky magic again, and that was why women – no, not women, girls; Buffy’s sister girl, he reminded himself – were throwing themselves at him every time he proposed a little innocent staking. It was a love spell!

:: He looked at Dawn, trying to play it cool, like he had absolutely no idea what she was thinking. Like this was just a little innocent practice with a… very phallic object. ::

Unbidden, a memory struck him. Daddy like, he thought, recalling that night at the Bronze when she had dressed to entice.

:: Xander backed up against the wall, gently putting distance between himself and Buffy’s little sister. Her not-so-little-anymore sister. Her off limits little sister. ::

Unsexy thoughts. Unsexy thoughts. Miss Kitty Fantastico. Tara’s funeral. Spike. Dead Anya. That was the one that did it. Anya would be.... She would be beyond furious with him. She would turn him into a bunny and feed him his own rabbit ears for breakfast.

:: He jumped to his feet. ::

Dawn: “Way to go, Dawnie! You got me! I – uh, knew you could do it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, there’s something I, uhh, I have to solve a… we’ll do this ag –”

He chanced a glance at her, hoping she wasn’t too upset. Not that he knew what a desirable outcome would be in this scenario. Either way: bad. She feels rejected and cries. Definitely not of the good. Or, instead, she realizes that she had an… effect… on him, and then she keeps on with the Lolita routine. That one was of the worse.

He stared at her for a long, awkward moment. Her expression was unreadable, at least to Xander.

Dawn: “Well, my head hurts. I’m gonna go do my patented Xander Harris run and hide thing, now. Great staking. If I ever turn evil, well, I know who to call.”



Without looking back, Xander left the training room and made a beeline for Willow’s room.

Willow’s Door: “Willow!” he yelled.

He pounded on Willow’s door.

Willow’s Door: “Willow! Open up! What did you do?!”

[Wanabee-slayer]

:: Dawn watched as Xander backed away from her. She could see the desire in his eyes and the panic that soon replaced it. Doing her best to keep a blank face Dawn remained where she was as he exited the room muttering on about his sore head and whatever else, she couldn't understand. As the door closed behind him Dawn let a triumphant smile slide across her face. She'd had an affect on him. She wasn't blind, she could see it in his eyes and maybe he tried to fight it but at least she had a shot now. A shot to be happy, to drive him slowly insane and pretend to be oblivious to the fact that he found her attractive. Smiling Dawn stood up, pulling her hair out of the hair-tie and letting it fall around her face, untamed and incredibly attractive. Examining herself in the mirror Dawn made a few adjustments to her make-up and wardrobe and headed out, pulling her cell out and putting it on silent Dawn pretended she was talking to Connor as she rounded the Connor and spotted Xander outside Willow's room. See not a kid at all. ::

"Really you think I'm hot? Connor that's really sweet. But you just want to be friends remember?"

:: Sending Xander one of her most stunning smiles, Dawn bit her lip coyly and continued down the hallway having 'hung up' on an imaginary Connor.::

[wiccianslayer]

Riley smiled at willow "it's good to see you willow"

[Black Eye Guy]

Willow walked through the building with Riley and Sam, giving them the grand tour and main points of their new operation. She could tell this would surprise them, this was more like they way they were used to fighting demons, in big groups that train together, nothing like their "little" operation back in Sunnydale.

"This isn't really a training camp, It's more like a storage facility. We keep the records of all the slayers and Missions down on our Databases. Basically it's our information hub, although we do have slayers on site training. Here why don't I show you were you'll be staying and then we can discuss what needs to be disscu...."

She stopped as they entered the sleeping quarters, they were around the corner from her room and they could hear pounding, and Xander yelling her name. As they moved to the corner, they almost walked into Dawn who had just closed her cell phone and had a big smile across her face, "Hey Dawnie..."
She said it half distracted, moving on to get to Xander.

"What do you mean what did I do, What did I do? What did you do, that your trying to blame me for doing?

[Angels baby101]

:: Illyria was bored and roaming the halls of the small camp... she had returned a few hours before after destroying some small surely newly turned half breeds outside of town... which was again boring... she was a god and desired something challenging and new being stuck in this body with really no power at all thanks to Wesley and the rest of his little insignificant halfbreeds and humans... but truth was the way they had taken her down showed power and she could not deny that, she still was confused on how exactly it all happened... For now she was stuck, and alone.. she didn't fit in and she didn't pretend to.. she was higher then the rest..Better. Illyria finally made it back to her room which she hated and laid on the small bed ... the walls seemed to want to close in on her all the time... it made her feel even more trapped.. How did her shell survive happily in this small, cramped world. ::

Wesley...

:: She thought to herself and she supposed the others. Thats why she stayed with them. They had fought hard in the alleyway... they saved her life and she saved theirs and even if she didn't like it she felt connected to them some how...suddenly down the hall she heard yelling.. confused she got to her feet and looked out the door to see the witch and the weak one yelling.. looking the other way she saw the blonde strong ones sister... she stood at the door watching what was happening wanting to see the witch maybe cast a spell on the weaker one yelling to her::

[palabravampiress]

:: Startled, Xander turned. ::

There, between (thank God!) he and Dawnie, stood Willow – with Sam and Riley, who had apparently arrived just in time for the fun.

Great. Witnesses.

:: Willow looked confused. And so did the Finns. ::

:: Nervously, Xander rubbed the back of his neck and then extended his hand to greet the newbies. They looked good. Still had all their eyes and other body parts, at least as far as he could tell. ::

The Finns: “Hey, there's the terrible demon fighting twosome – Captain and Mr. Commando themselves. Nice to have you. Try to get out of here before we find out what other kind of “ploding” a base can do. We’ve tried imploding and exploding. Can’t wait to see what’s next!”

:: Without waiting for a response, Xander looked to Willow and tried the door handle – which, curiously enough, wasn’t there. His hand grabbed air. ::

:: He shot Will a suspicious look. ::

Something was definitely up – something of the Willow doesn’t want them in her room variety.

Willow: “Hate to cut this little reunion short, but Will, can I talk to you in private – maybe in my room, so as not to interfere with the creepy and suspicious secret keeping?”

[wiccianslayer]

riley raised an eyebrow

"what the hell is going on?"

[Black Eye Guy]

Willow look at Xander with suspicion, as he tried to grasp the non existent handle to her door, she had cast the same spell here as she had on the door to the computer room, It was just handy as it mean she didn't have to put things away securely.

She turned back away from Xander and looked at the others. "Dawn" she yelled down the hall to the human shaped ball of energy, "Can you show Riley and Sam to one of the guest rooms and get them settled in?" She smiled at the pair, "sorry, we will get to talk in a little while, we can call a meeting and all catch up!"

She turned back to Xander and waved her hand over the door so the handle re-appeared, she pushed through the door dragging Xander with her and closed it behind the two.

She cold guess this wasn't going to be as important as what she had been just looking into down in the lab, but she wasn't gonna be able to get back to that for a little while, what with their new guests.

"Ok, so what did I do, that I didn't do, that you think that I did?"

[palabravampiress]

:: Having lost some of his righteous indignation and – ok, abject terror – to the much more familiar rush of embarrassment that now sort of pervaded his entire being, Xander stuck his hands in his pockets and bounced nervously on his feet. ::

Willow: “You didn’t by chance put the witchy whammy on me, did you Will?”

:: Realizing how that sounded, he put his hands up defensively. ::

Willow: “Cuz if you did, it’s okay. Whose judging? This is a judge free zone, cuz [i]man, was that guy creepy. I’m sure there were nothing but good get-over-Anya intentions. Just undo it, and we’ll be all peachy keen.”

:: He looked over at Willow and raised his eyebrow. ::

Willow: “And if you would consider taking Dawnie for a girl’s night out and possibly turning her gay – only with some other girl, not with you – that might help, too.”