* * *

Los Angeles, California

Hemry High School

1995

The sound of a Harley Davidson pulling into the parking lot of the high school was not unusual to most of the students. Many had seen the Soft Tail pull up throughout the year. A few of the more popular students did a double take at the passenger. Elizabeth "Buffy" Anne Summers slid off the bike with ease. Ignoring the looks of her former friends, she leaned against the bike and pulled the tall young man into a light embrace. Pike St.Cross held the slim blonde and gently kissed her. "Lunch?" he asked her in a whisper.

Buffy simply nodded and kissed him on the lips that left little doubt in the onlookers minds how serious they might be. "Lunch, front steps. And remember, no skipping." she said the last in a mock chiding tone. Ever since he saw her defeat Lothos, He had seriously decided that he needed to stick near the blonde Slayer, and that meant returning to school. Pike simply grinned and pulled their knapsacks from the saddle bags. Handing hers to her, he casually turned and headed for his first period class. Buffy smirked and headed to hers, spinning a pencil in her fingers.

Standing near a column of lockers, Lucille Mulholland whispered into Britney Tyler's ear, "God, could that slut have fallen off the social ladder faster?" causing Britney to burst into high pitched, shrieking giggles. "Yeah, what a ho!"

Buffy, having heard the snide remarks in passing glared and snapped her pencil in half, which would not have been nearly as intimidating if it had not been mechanical. The rest of the social sheep averted their eyes and were ushered into their math class by Vice-Principal Graham, who narrowed his eyes at the slim leather clad blonde and made a mental note to bust her for something... Anything...

Buffy breezed through her classes and exited her classroom with a barely suppressed sigh of release before heading for the central courtyard. Usually, after fifth period, one would wait at "their" tree for the other. She grinned when she saw his muscular form leaning against the tree talking with a taller, muscular, young man whom Buffy had noticed leaving Pike's garage a few times. "Hey Pike, who's this?"

Pike grinned at his girlfriend and slipped his arm around her waist. "This is Jack Covington, he's a friend of mine from Brooklyn. He heard I had a "new squeeze", his words not mine, and he's got a gift for you." he finished and began nuzzling her neck.

"Really? For me? gimme...!" she thrust her hand out with a childlike tone in her voice.

Jack grinned a half grin. "I don't know... Have you been a good little slayer?" he asked in a parent's condescending tone.

Buffy's eyes widened then turned to glare at Pike. "Somebody's been blabbing..." she remarked, slapping Pike on the arm.

Pike raised his arms in defense. "Hey, hey, not me, He already knew. He's been pestering me to meet you." Buffy narrowed her eyes and eyed Jack with a defensive glare.

"So what do you want?" She asked in a clipped tone, instantly on guard and appraising Jack for a threat.

"Whoa, calm down B, I simply want to give you this." he said taking a step back and pulling out a small jewelry box. "It's something your... "Predecessor" wanted you to have. She told me to give it to the next slayer called. That means you luv." his Irish accent carried to the nearby table where Lucy and Britney sat gossiping.

"God, that slut gets all the hotties..." Lucy mumbled under her breath taking in the shorter man's tight denim clad ass and swallowed nervously when Jack's eyes glared at her as though he had heard her. Buffy sensed his discomfort and turned her head to see whom he was glaring at.

"Oh, don't mind them, they haven't got a brain stem between them." she said with a smirk and held Pike a little closer. Taking the box, she eyed Jack's toned form, and guessed he'd be capable of defending himself in a fight. With a flip of her fingers, she opened the box and looked down at the wide, thick gold bracelet inside. Etched with tiny runes, and capped with a large sapphire flanked by two smaller gems so blue they almost screamed enchantment. "Whoa... a tad gaudier than I like, but I could get used to gifts like this..." she said nudging Pike in the ribs, who rolled his eyes in reply.

Slipping the bracelet onto her left wrist, she felt an immediate tingle of energy. "Wow, um, what’s this thing do anyway?" Buffy asked, beginning to get worried over the apparent energy now numbing her arm. "Uh, Jack?"

Jack simply scratched his jaw, sunlight glinting off the emerald and gold ring on his right ring finger. "I... well, that is to say, I uh, I seem to have forgotten." he said with an innocent grin.

"You let me put on this... thing and you don't REMEMBER what the hell it does?!" She started as a whisper and grew into a full shout. Which just happened to occur when the Vice Principal walked by.

"Summers! That type of profanity is not tolerated on this campus! You just earned yourself detention. I'll see you in the Library after school." Mr. Graham announced feeling very superior at the now crestfallen young girl.

Pike, seeing his girl in trouble, immediately looked at Buffy with a mock glare. "Damnit Buffy, I told you not to fucking talk like that around this prick!" he winked as he caught the bugged eyes of the Vice-Principal out of the corner of his eye.

"That's two days of detention for you Mr. St. Cross." and with that said, Mr. Graham turned and walked away, oblivious to the now cheered up Slayer.

"My hero. Seriously, thank you Pike, You didn't have to do that for me. Graham's had it in for me since I killed that Succubus that was giving all the men wet dreams and killing the cheerleaders."

Jack hid a smile and apologized. "I'm sorry Buffy, I didn't mean to get you in trouble, the bracelet misdirects bullets and once per day can make your skin harder than stone."

"Cool... Thanks Jack. This may come in handy, but I've yet to meet a vampire with a gun. Which if you think about it, is a bit on the odd side."

Hearing the bell ring, Buffy's head dropped. "Ugh. Math class...Nice meeting you Jack. Thanks for the gift." giving Pike a quick kiss, she headed off to the staircase. Jack and Pike watched her go.

"What really brought you out here today Jack?" Pike asked, not taking his eyes off Buffy's retreating form.

"It's getting time. I told you what will happen. You can avoid it, but then those people I told you about, her future family? They’ll be turned, killed, and tortured beyond all belief. I'm not trying to kill what happiness you have with her now, just expanding your view of the future. Again, I'm sorry." Jack said, turning and heading for his jet black 1973 Olds Cutlass Convertible.

"Yeah... Thanks..." Pike said, contemplating his future.

Stopping, Jack turned back and looked at Pike. Shaking his head, he slipped into the convertible and started the engine. Pulling a fag from his jacket, he slipped it between his lips and snapped his fingers. A small flicker of blue flame licked the tip of his first digit as he touched the end of his cigarette. Jack took a deep inhale and blew the smoke out in a slim stream. "Damn Fate. You are a bitch."

* * *

High above the High School grounds, within the very top of the Bell Tower, a cowled form stood watching the humans below. "They have no idea how long they have left. Do they Lucius?" he whispered to a tall black man behind him.

"No sir, they definitely do not." The man answered.

"As it should be... As it should be." Turning, The tall, hooded man locked eyes with his servant and grinned. Lucius stood emotionless.

"Prepare the Cauldron, Lucius. I shall be in my chambers." he stated as the tall cinnamon skinned man headed for the stairs behind his master.

"Yes Master."

* * *

Buffy slammed against the mausoleum wall with a groan. Turning to the one who’d kicked her, she drew a stake from her leather jacket and charged the smirking vampire. Throwing a stake fisted left punch into the vampire's midsection, and followed by a right cross to the jaw, she swiftly spun at the waist and drove the sharpened length of wood into his back. Turning to the girl who was curled up in the fetal position behind the headstone of Thomas Wade, she leaned down and helped the semi catatonic teen to her feet. "There you go... Britney? What the... hell are...you..." was all she got out as Britney Tyler’s eyes rolled in their sockets in stark terror and she bolted between two mausoleums. She watched the ditz run away. "Well, she’s scared snotless."

Pike walked over to Buffy and looked down at the pile of dust. "You make it look soooo easy." Seeing Buffy grin, he slung his arm over her shoulder and kissed her temple.

"I've just got you here to inspire me, that's all." Buffy looked up at Pike and leaned in for a soft kiss. Feeling a soft shuffling beneath them, Buffy winked at Pike. "Hold that thought." She kneeled down and drove her stake deep into the earth. Slipping the stake directly between the newly rising vampire's shoulder blade and his collarbone directly into his no longer beating heart.

"Ok... Now you're starting to scare me." Pike edged away from her in jest as the earth settled into the abruptly vacated space the vampire previously occupied. "I'm not gonna ask how you aimed that..."

"Ancient Slayer training." was all the blonde said. Before she noticed a slight glimmer in the grass. "Whoa..." Kneeling, she picked up a metallic piece of paper and grinned at the writing.

Seeing Buffy smirk, Pike looked at the slip in her hand as she showed it to him. "Caritas? Good for one free Pint, A, B, O+. Is this a joke?" he asked Buffy.

"No... That’s no joke, that's a Demon Karaoke bar. It's also a No Violence Zone. Merrick took me there once. The Host is both cool and pretty flamboyant. Basically, If you sing, the host can give you hints and advice of the future and before you even think of asking no I didn't sing."

"Oh ho, we've SO gotta go there. C’mon, the address isn't far." Pike said, bordering on whining.

"No, it's late, maybe another night, ok?" She said in that No-Chance-In-Hell-Tone. I've gotta get home. Smoochies?" She said, turning her puckered lips up to Pike, which he kissed gladly.

* * *

"2 am and the city’s deserted. Maybe most people aren’t so stupid after all." Pike thought as he parked his Soft Tail across the street from where the card indicated. Pike slipped off the bike and pulled on a black leather trenchcoat he pulled off a vampire he dusted the previous week. Crossing the street, he noticed a stunning raven-haired woman walk in before him and give him an appraising eye. "Buy you a drink? They've got virgin's blood here..." she trailed off in a tempting tone.

"Uh, sure. No blood for me though, I just ate." he replied with a grin filled to the brim with false confidence.

"Suit yourself. Nice Jacket by the way." She said when suddenly she sniffed the air. "Oh." she sniffed again, "Damn. You nearly fooled me mortal." she winked and walked down the staircase into Caritas.

"Right." Stepping down, he entered the doorway and grinned at the Lounge club atmosphere. A tall green skinned man walked up to him in a flashy red suit. "Well.... You're a new one now, aren't you? We don't get many humans down here, but Honey? Your money's as good as anyone’s, as long as it’s as green as me. Now what can I get you sweet cakes? A Vulcan Mind meld, a Daiquiri? Or maybe a Martini?"

"I take it you're the Host right? Buffy was right. This place is..." he started.

"Wait, wait. You're a friend of Buffy's? Short, blonde, powerful right hook?" Seeing his nod, The Host slung a hand over his shoulder and guided him to the bar. "Well, Why didn't you SAY so? You drink on the house. As long as you promise to bring her back here one night, she has a voice like Babs AND Tina. We'd love to have her come back. Rico! Fix this young man a drink." With that, the Host excused himself after seeing a Vulsin Demon slither in.

Pike simply grinned and turned to Rico. "What did Buffy sing when she was here?"

"Henley's Walking in Memphis. What'll you drink?"

"Jack and Coke," he said, flashing his fake ID. The bartender examined the slip of plastic, peeled the corner up, grinned, and proceeded to fix the drink.

After three glasses, he was feeling in a good mood. Pike signaled the Host over. "What's up Tall Dark and Chiseled?"

"Where's your Song List?" he asked softly.

The Host smiled brightly and snapped his fingers. Rico brought over a slim binder for him to flip through, finally choosing one. "Ooh... Good choice. We don't get many calls for those two here."

Standing, he made his way onto the stage and sat on a stool as the Host made the selection in the prompter.

The Vampire who had approached Pike at the entrance met him as he stepped off the stage. "Very good. You’ve got a superb voice." she grinned, shifting out of her game face. Leaning in close, she pressed her body against his. "Let me know if you ever get tired of having a pulse." she winked and sauntered back to her booth in the back. Pike could only shake his head at the sheer incredulity of her offer and looked for the Host.

The Host looked very depressed when he approached Pike. Walking to him, he pulled a bright yellow handkerchief from the breast pocket of his scarlet suit and wiped his eyes. "Oh... What emotion! I love that song. Now, down to business..." he stated as he led Pike to the bar.

* * *

Buffy lay in bed unable to sleep. She had tried counting sheep, drank warm milk, did push-ups and sit-ups till she was exhausted and still she couldn't sleep. "Three a.m. and I can't sleep. It's gonna be a bad day at school tomorrow..." Buffy moaned to herself as she tossed on her bed.

Resigned to her sleepless fate, she stood, pulled on a sports bra, white tank top, and black jeans. "Three Am. and I'm patrolling... God this destiny thing bites." she groaned after slipping a pair of slim, small stakes into the breast pocket of her black bike jacket. "Wonder if Merrick is still up." she said, slipping out her window and dropping to the ground in a run.

Striding down the street at a brisk pace, she noticed someone tailing her. Deciding to lead him on for a while, she took him on the long route to Merrick's. Thinking quickly, she slipped behind an oak growing on the street corner and began to quietly ascend the branches. Looking down, she saw her pursuer stop beneath the branches and look around in bewilderment. "Idiot..." Buffy thought before dropping down on top of the shadowy figure below.

She didn’t count on the figure below hearing her almost silent fall, turn up, catch and swiftly pin her to the ground. Buffy looked up astonished at Jack’s smirking face. "Hello B. Nice night out, Aye?" he said, as he let up off her and helped her up. Buffy backed up a step.

"Who are you? And why are you following me?" she said, turning very subtly into a defensive stance.

"Just keeping an eye on you. I made a promise." he replied, tracing his fingers around his chin as he would had he a goatee.

"What promise?" Buffy asked, crossing her arms in curiosity.

"I’ll tell you about it someday, but not tonight. Besides, I believe it would be beneficial to keep an eye on you. You seem the type to attract trouble."

"Moi?" she said, feigning innocence. "I know not of which you speak."

"Right. And Ringo was a good drummer." he said. Seeing her blank stare, he narrowed his eyes at the slim blonde. "Ringo...? From the Beatles?" he asked. Finally seeing a nod of recognition, he dropped his head. "Now I feel old."

Grinning, she patted Jack on the shoulder. "I’m kidding, my dad has a lot of those old round black things..."

"Records."

"Right. Those."

* * *

Lucius was a loyal servant. He had always done as his master bid and never questioned his orders. So when Master Ordniconii commanded the Cauldron prepared, he set out at once to summon the Master’s vampire minions. Earlier, he had bid them to find a Virgin who was as pure as driven snow, a flawless ruby to be ground into fine powder, and Aqua Terra. The first basement level was a room roughly the size of a baketball court. One corner formed by an old fountain filled with a rich black soil. Near the southern wall stood an anvil the size of a coffee table, while the western wall was made primarily of a thick solid steel grate that could be lowered into the floor. So there he stood, in the Tower’s basement, a former meeting chamber for the Illuminati, looking at the ingredients with a gourmand’s eye. A justifiably terrified young brunette, a flawless ruby the size of his eye, set attractively on a silk draped tripod, and a case of Perrier. Lucius nodded, and gestured with his hand. From the round earth filled fountain-like space, an earth Elemental the size of a bear rose. Shuffling slowly to Lucius, the mindless mountain of soil awaited a command.

Lucius deftly slipped the ruby into a doeskin bag, and placed it atop the Anvil of a darkish metal. Nodding to a massive Maul in the corner, the Earth Elemental shuffled over and extended a large hand onto the hammer’s grip. Lifting it with ease, the shuffling mass moved back to the tall dark man by the anvil. Lucius merely pointed to the leather shrouded Ruby and said, "Powder that."

Stepping a bit back, Lucius watched as the shuffling earth lifted the maul and slammed it unerringly down onto the ruby. The hammer rose again, and again until The Master’s chosen servant was certain the gemstone was reduced to a very fine powder. Opening the unusually undamaged bag, he was pleased to note that the jewel had in fact been shattered into the grade the Master needed. He looked at the mammoth soil-man and gestured back to the earth filled fountain. "Return." he intoned as the Elemental returned the maul to it’s resting place, stepped into the tiled basin and sank with what sounded like a sigh of comfort.

Lucius tucked the bag into his vest pocket and rang a small gong on a table near the anvil. The ebony skinned man waited as the shadows in the one unlit portion of the room coalesced into a somewhat humanoid form and stepped up to him. "Yesss, Chosssen of the Massster..." the shadow’s voiced seemed to sound from every shadow in the room, creating a rather disturbing echo effect. The bald man merely looked into the twin pits of green hellish light that served as the shadow’s eyes. "Drain the girl, bring the blood to the cauldron, and bring up that case." he finished, ponting his manicured finger to the crate of spring water.

Halfway to the stair he stopped and turned back to the shadow, which had been advancing on the nearly catatonically frightened young girl. "Bring every drop to the cauldron and you may have the rest." If the shadow could have smiled, it would have.

Britney Tyler’s last conscious thought, how she would never see the spring Versace line, passed through her mind as the thick cloying smell of decay engulfed her senses and she was swallowed up by supernaturally thick darkness.

* * *

Merrick rubbed his eyes and opened the door. Clutching his smoking robe closer around him, his eyes widened at the sight of his Slayer charge at his door with a muscular young man who constantly looked back towards the mansion’s courtyard. Merrick looked the young man up from head to toe before laying a quizzical look to Buffy. "Merrick, this is Jack, he’s a friend of Pike’s, and now mine from New York. He already knows about our nightly exercises. Can we come in?"

Merrick mumbled for them to enter and they both walked in, Jack made sure the door was secured and shrugged off his leather coat. Merrick wordlessly held up the British tradition of hospitality and placed the coat on the coat rack before offering Buffy and Jack tea.

"None for me thanks." Buffy declined.

"Earl Grey if you’ve got it." Jack said with an easy grin.

"I’m British, of course I’ve got Earl Grey." Merrick mumbled indignantly as he headed into the rather spacious kitchen, followed by his two visitors. Jack leaned against the refrigerator as Buffy hopped atop the butcher’s black and Merrick settled onto a barstool. "So what brings you and a visitor to the Manor at..." Checking the oak panel clock on the wall, "Three Am?"

"Insomnia." Buffy said.

"I’ve already seen all of the Infomercials." Came Jack’s answer.

"Ah... yes, the bane of midnight television. Well, Elizabeth, you can join me in the Gymnasium. Jack, you can watch, or well, watch actually. There’s not much else to do here at 3 Am.," he said, glaring at Buffy. "Save sleep..."

Jack watched Buffy run through various katas, aerobics sets, then work on a set of varying dummies. All through her training session, Jack kept up a running commentary with Merrick. Continually surprised by the accuracy and technical knowledge of Buffy’s new friend, Merrick contemplated then proceeded to ask Jack to teach Buffy some new techniques.

"Sure. Hey, Buffy, come here." he said, walking over to the Slayer.

* * *

Lucius carried the powdered ruby to the lowest level of the bell tower. Feeling a cold draft on the back of his neck, he knew that the wraith had fully drained the young girl and was now bringing the vital fluid down behind him. Stepping out of the stairwell, Lucius saw his master standing behind a podium intently studying a large book. "Place the ingredients on the altar Lucius, then you may have the night off."

The handsome, bald black man bowed at the waist to the darkly cloaked vampire and set the opened pouch on the altar, arranging the powder neatly in the middle of the round leather.

Turning slightly, the Wraith placed a silver basin next to the powdered gemstone and swiftly dissipated. Lucius watched the phantom flow back into the shadows, presumably back into the upper basement.

Master Ordniconii turned and saw his servant watching the Wraith dissipate. "That IS a tad disturbing, isn’t it?"

* * *

Lucius stepped onto the school grounds and looked up at the night sky. He wondered how long until he would see the stars the way his Master did. When he could cast off his mortal eyes and join his Master as a Vampire. Maybe after this ritual, after Master Ordniconii summoned forth whomever he had chosen, maybe he would be given the gift. It had been nearly a decade since the Master had found him, wasting his life on the streets as a gangbanger. About nine years since literally bumping into the Master after having broken into the bell tower to hide from other gang members who had wanted him dead.

Walking down the street, Lucius was struck with an odd idea. Walking slowly, the bald black man walked in the direction of the nearest coffee shop and smiled, intending to spend the rest of the night among others of his "kind". His blinding smile stood out against his ebony skin. The woman at the counter smiled back, entranced.

* * *

Buffy landed on the floor with an exhale of breath. "Exactly whose side are you on, Jack?" She moaned as Jack pulled her bruised and exhausted body to her feet.

"If you receive a bruise while training, and that training enables you to save a single life, then that bruise is well earned. Remember that my young Paduwan." He said with his half grin.

Buffy looked at him with narrowed eyes, "Paduwhat? Is that Greek?"

"No... It’s something else." Jack said as he moved hesitantly to a couple of water bottles that Merrick had brought in before retiring for the morning.

Buffy was still looking at him funny before shaking her head slightly and nodding her head to one of the bottles. Jack grinned and lobbed the bottle to her, before drinking a full quarter from his own. Buffy caught and opened her bottle, drinking a fifth and eyeing Jack carefully.

"Your moves are amazing for a normal human. Where did you learn to fight like that?" Buffy asked, walking over and leaning against a stack of blue and white floor mats.

Jack grinned and thought for a moment. "In New York, which is where I normally live, there’s an old man in Chinatown, the perfect stereotype of an ancient martial arts master, only this old man is a lewd pervert and a firm believer of herbal refreshment."

Buffy’s eyes widened, "you mean..." she ended with a smoking pantomime.

He nodded and continued. "Well, this old dirty man is also a very powerful Taoist Alchemean Sorcerer." Seeing her blank stare, "Ever see "Big Trouble in Little China"?"

"Oh yeah, that was a cool movie."

"Well, that Egg Shen bloke? That’s a Taoist Alchemean Sorcerer. He also teaches some of the more obscure fighting styles."

Buffy’s eyes widened. "I’m SO jealous. I’d love to learn stuff like that." she said in her best hinting tone.

"Well, It’s up to Merrick. But remember, even for a Slayer, it takes years to learn, and several lifetimes to master." Jack said, smiling wider at the eager look in her eyes. Hearing soft steps, they both turned to see Merrick coming into the room.

"I hope you’re not being too easy on her Jack. She needs to learn to take blows." he said, ignoring Buffy’s laser beam-like glare. Merrick walked to the window and stood there staring. Buffy moved closer to Jack and stage whispered, "When he gets like this it’s generally a bad thing." Jack nodded and walked over to Merrick, taking a moment to bask in the dawn sunlight.

"Do you plan on letting us in on whatever bad news you’re privy to Merrick?" Jack said, not taking his eyes off the sunrise. The elderly Watcher turned to the younger Irishman and chuckled softly.

"I might as well. Buffy, I‘ve consulted some of my colleagues and they all agree, something..."

"Something dark/ powerful/ ominous/ Evil is coming... and soon." The young Slayer finished dramatically for him. "Am I close?"

"Annoyingly enough, yes. You are correct. We have consulted the texts, and a prophecy states, and I quote, ‘The Dark One will bring forth a warrior spirit, and that spirit may herald the Twilight of Man’. I trust I don’t need to explain that any further." Merrick said turning to Buffy. Seeing her hardened eyes, he nodded. "Good."

"Are you sure it’s the Dark One again?" Buffy asked.

"Very certain." Merrick returned.

Jack looked thoughtful throughout Merrick’s quote. "If he’s summoning the Spirit, then he must have a vessel chosen. So if we find the vessel, we can prevent him from completing the rite...Urk!" He was interrupted by Buffy slamming him against the wall and Merrick deftly pulling a revolver from his pocket.

"What do you know that you aren’t telling us?" Buffy said in a deathly calm voice. A sudden feeling overtook Buffy at her contact with Jack. An intense feeling she’d never felt before. Shaking the very disturbing thoughts from her mind she renewed her grip on Jack’s throat. "Speak or I’ll crush your windpipe like a fortune cookie."

"What... do you ... mean...B?" he choked out.

Merrick drew a bead on his forehead with the snub nosed .38 "How did you know the Dark One’s gender?"

Jack winced at his carelessness. "Bugger... Look, Let me down and I’ll tell you what I know. Deal?" Jack coughed as he looked down at the clear foot of space between his feet and the hardwood floor of the Mansion’s Ballroom. Buffy narrowed her eyes and lowered him slowly, Merrick’s aim never wavering.

Jack rubbed the white handprint on his throat. "Now, I came from New York, I told you that, and I told you about Master Po. But I didn’t tell you about his daughter, Lin. She has the Sight." Merrick’s eyes widened and he hastily holstered the .38.

Buffy turned to her Watcher with an obvious question in her eyes.

"She can see the future Elizabeth." He stated then turned back to Jack, who was now popping his neck, which caused even Buffy to wince at the snapping sounds. "You said Master Po?"

Jack nodded "Yes, Master Po Tian Chi, Master of the Seven House, Teacher of four arts, Brewer of a mean Lap Sang. His daughter is one of the most talented seers alive. You’ve probably heard about her." seeing the Watcher’s nod, he continued. "She gave me a few ideas about what’s happening."

Buffy narrowed her eyes. "He’s hiding something, I know it." She thought as she put on a calm smile and slapped Jack none too gently on the back. "Thanks for the help."

Jack coughed softly and smiled.

* * *

Lucius walked out of the coffee shop with a cappuccino, almond biscotti, and the waitress’ phone number on a napkin. Smirking, he crumbled the napkin and tossed into the garbage bin outside the door. "Now for breakfast." Walking down the street, Lucius felt sudden warmth in his coat breast pocket. He balanced the biscotti atop the Styrofoam cup, slipped his hand in and pulled out a jacinth the size of a cell phone. Walking into an alley between a cell phone shop and a bakery, he closed his eyes and established a mental link with his Master.

<You summoned, Master?>

<The ritual will start tonight. Return to the tower by sundown.>

<Yes, my Master... Have you need of anything while I’m out?>

<Black candles, powdered infant bones, and a quart of O+>

<As you desire.>

Lucius waited obediently until the Master severed the link then replaced the stone in his coat pocket. The servant of Ordniconii The Black Blooded walked from the alley and wondered if Harry’s Magic Shop was open this early.

* * *

Buffy and Jack walked out of the Mansion’s courtyard and headed in the direction of Hemry High school. They talked about little things, New York, Music, various demons they’d fought, When Jack asked out of the blue, "So Buffy, How long’ve you known you were Bisexual?"

Buffy, surprised beyond belief, spun to face the young Irishman so fast she lost her balance and tumbled into the street; directly into the path of an oncoming Ford Escort. Jack cursed and swooped in, pulling the blonde slayer out of the way and rolling them both away form the rapidly braking automobile. The driver side door opened and a harried Vice Principal Graham ran around the compact. "Oh my god. Are you... alright...Miss... Summers...? Well, I didn’t realize that playing chicken with traffic was your new hobby." he stated, shifting from horrified to condescendingly indignant.

Buffy brushed the dirt from her leather jacket and looked at Jack. Jack scowled to cover his grin and turned to Mr. Graham. "Sir, could you please tell me how fast you were going?"

Mr. Graham sized jack up and down then crossed his arms. "I was going the limit, forty five. Not that I can see how much business it is of yours. Mr.?

Jack pulled out his billfold, and opened it to show the smirking authority figure a badge. "Detective Jack Covington, NYPD." Jack couldn’t tell who was more surprised, Mr. Graham, or Buffy. "Sir, this young woman is assisting in a joint police investigation between the DEA, LAPD and NYPD. I would appreciate your cooperation as well."

Mr. Graham was slowly having a panic attack. "Of… Of course, Detective, anything myself or this administration can do, just name it."

Jack slipped his badge into his back pocket, absently flashing his sidearm in its holster at his waist. "Everything is under control sir, the only assistance we’ll need from you is to make that detention for Miss Summers and Mr. St. Cross disappear. Their assistance will be required immediately after school."

"Absolutely officer. Um, I’ll see you on campus Monday at seven Miss Summers?" The dejected vice principal didn’t notice Buffy’s nod as he backed toward his car and drove off. Buffy turned to Jack. "When were you going to tell me about your day job, Mr. Mysterious.?"

Jack held up his arms in defense. "The badge? Huh, let’s just say it’s amazing what you can find on Ebay."

"On what?" she raised an eyebrow. "Who is this guy?" she thought.

"On the internet. I uh, found a little website that deals in things like this." He said with his best disarming grin.

"Jack, There’s something about you that just doesn’t feel right. We ARE going to have a little chat after this ritual thing you got me? And I don’t want to hear any cryptic remarks, and don’t turn around, because the Dark One’s right hand vamp is down the street behind you." Buffy said, never showing her surprise.

"B, if this guy is His closest servant, and a vampire, then why is he outside, during the day?" Jack said, casually turning to see the tall black man walk from an alley and tuck a small object into his coat pocket.

Buffy narrowed her eyes and turned her head in thought. "Why would that blood sucking bastard keep him? Why hasn’t he turned him yet?"

"He needs him alive. Why?" Jack said, his voice taking a prompting tone.

"Because he’s the Vessel. Whoever or whatever the Master is summoning will be placed into our new friend." She turned to Jack with sudden understanding. "You knew." she said, pounding her finger into his chest. "You knew all along." She pushed harder, forcing him against the wall of a deli with the force of her finger. "When were you going to tell Merrick and me?"

"Like I told you last night. Lin told me some things. You wouldn’t feel like you accomplished anything if I did everything for you, now would you? And you’re welcome."

"Welcome? For what? Holding out on us?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, getting you and Pike out of detention for one, and for pointing out that our new friend is now heading towards the school." he said, nodding his head to the casually strolling, sharply dressed, servant of evil.

"Oh... Right. Thanks. C’mon." she said, turning and following Lucius from a safe distance.

* * *

Pike left the club around four. After fending off the female vampire’s advances time and again, Pike slipped a leg over the seat of his Soft Tail and started the bike. He pulled the bike into traffic and headed back to his apartment over the garage he worked in. "Buffy sings... Man, that is something I’ve just GOTTA hear." He grinned to himself and walked upstairs to his flat. Opening his door, his eyes shot to the digital clock over his TV. "Three hours till school...." He moaned to himself before seeing the Stanley Tool Calendar on his kitchen wall. "If this were a Friday... Which it isn’t? Thank you God for Saturdays..." he mumbled before collapsing on his bed, fully dressed and out cold.

* * *

Buffy and Jack crouched behind one of the larger willow trees. She turned to Jack, "You know, Someday, I’m going to have house with a big Willow tree in the yard."

Jack looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "You are a very odd girl. You know this, right?" He said, setting his hand on her shoulder.

Her eyes closing at the contact, she thought about something that had been bothering her. "What is this? Where is this coming from? This is nothing like Pike’s touch. Man... I’m losing it."

Jack squeezed her shoulder slightly. Her eyes shot open. "There he is, he’s heading for the bell tower. Is it just me or is that rather ironic?"

"All this time, Merrick, Pike, and Myself have been hunting this whacko, and he’s been on the school grounds all this time!?" Man, I feel like an idiot." She said, banging her head against the willow tree.

"Don’t feel bad, this would be a predictable plot twist, if this were a TV show." He said, grinning slightly."

"Yeah, But this isn’t a TV show. You’re loving this aren’t you?" she said, glaring at him.

"Uh... Yeah. Hey, I’m not the one with an ancient vampire hiding out right under my nose." He said, smiling widely.

"Rub it in." came the sarcastic reply. "Come on, let’s grab him before he gets in."

* * *

Lucius was still human. He had a human’s senses, particularly a human’s sense of hearing. Had he been turned, he wouldn’t have missed the Slayer creeping up on him, nor would he have been knocked unconscious and dragged into the bushes.

Jack looked down at the downed bald black man. "You hang onto Uncle Tom here, I’m going to get me car, then I’ll swing around and grab Merrick and Pike. I’ll be back in twenty." He said before turning away and braking into a sprint in the direction of the mansion.

Buffy watched him go. "The odd thing is, I don’t feel a thing for him, but any sort of contact, and I feel like a million bucks. Know what I mean?" she said turning to the hog-tied servant. "Never mind." Buffy sat crouched in the bushes as the overcast sky began to rain.

* * *

Master Vampire Ordniconii stood at a small window on the third floor of the bell tower. He looked down at the Small blonde who sat near his most trusted servant. "Well this isn’t what I had planned, but still." He turned and began making his way down the nearby staircase into the basement. Walking before the earth filled fountain, he gestured in a raising motion. The shambling earth being rose swiftly heeding the powerful summons. The Master looked into the twin garnets that served as eyes for the Elemental. "There is a small blonde detaining Lucius outside the tower. Bring them both here, alive." The shambling form grunted and headed for the large grate on the southern wall. Walking through the grate, as though it weren’t there, the walking mound of earth headed up the 5’ by 5’ tunnel with ease.

* * *

While Jack never stopped sprinting the mile to Merrick’s mansion, the sky overhead started to cloud over, slowly at first as a light rain began to fall. Sliding over the hood of his car, he ran to the mansions front entrance. Knocking on the door, he waited for it to open before he started breathing heavily. Merrick was about to gesture him in, when Jack waved him off. "Buffy... needs help... she’s found... the Master’s... lair. She has the Vessel. We need Pike." catching his breath, he watched Merrick gather weapons. A crossbow, a set of stakes, and a double-edged broadsword slid into a "Good taste." Jack said, nodding at the blade.

"Thank you. Shall we?"

* * *

Buffy crouched behind the bushes, in the softly falling rain, bored out of her mind. Having already gone through Lucius’ pockets, looked at her Minnie mouse watch a dozen times, and whistled her favorite songs; the Slayer was currently leaning back against the wall, popping her knuckles over and over again. Her Slayer hearing heard the clang of a grate opening in the ditch twenty yards away. Looking down at the still comatose servant, she headed over to the sound she heard, obliviously walking over a patch of rich soil. The rainfall began to grow, as did the thickness of clouds, darkening the sky.

Her attention focused solely on the now open grating, she was taken by complete surprise when the very earth beneath her Nikes rose up and engulfed her up to her waist. A very solid fist slammed into her temple and all she knew was darkness.

From his window, Ordniconii saw every moment, seeing the Slayer blunder over his Earth Elemental forced a deep laugh from his chest, his laughter rumbling throughout the tower.

* * *

Merrick and Jack coasted in the convertible across town to Pike’s garage apartment. "So Lucius is mortal and has been the whole time?" Seeing Jack’s nod, Merrick rubbed his eyes. "I knew there was something off about him. He never actually fought Elizabeth. Most vampire’s test their skills out on her."

Breaking every traffic law in the state of California, they made it to Pike’s very quickly. Jack leapt out of the car and was in front of Pike’s door before Merrick exited the vehicle himself. Pike groggily answered the door. Jack looked straight in Pike’s eyes, "It’s Time." he said, before turning and heading back to the car, leaving a visibly shaken young man behind.

Five minutes later, all three men were speeding in the direction of the High school, each sporting equal faces of fear mixed with dread. Jack sported a pair of throwing knives strapped to his waist, Pike sat in the backseat checking and rechecking the repeating crossbow. Merrick bowed his head, held the broadsword blade down with the hilt against his forehead, and began praying. Outside, the rain thickened, big angry drops slamming against the glass of the windshield, as the sky turned to night.

* * *

Master Ordniconii looked at the trapped slayer, who was pounding at the soil holding her from the waist down. After sending the Earth elemental back to its fountain cradle, the master paced slowly before the angry Slayer, stroking his beard in thought. "My dear, dear Slayer. Have I not told you time and again, that I would kill you with my own hands?" he said, turning away and heading towards the staircase. "However your appointment with the reaper will have to wait until after Tonight’s ritual. Now, if you’ll excuse me." Buffy watched the Master vampire ascend the stairs and held her head in her hands.

"Well... things can’t get any worse." Behind her, twin garnets surfaced.

"I... disagree..."

Slowly a mound of earth rose bearing the gems upwards. Buffy froze at the soft sound of earth shuffling. Turning at the waist, her jaw dropped slowly as the mound split at her head’s height showing two rows of razor sharp granite shards.

"Uh... I thought Wookie Chin said HE was going to kill Me.," she mumbled to herself.

A deep gravely voice sounded from deep in the earthen maw, "Ordniconii... promised... me... your... death..."

"This sucks..."

* * *

Merrick opened the passenger door and stepped out, keeping an eye on the tower’s entrance. "All this time... Well, Fate always did have a sense of whimsy." shouldering his broadsword, he looked upwards through the rain to the peak of the tower. Pike walked over to stand next to Merrick.

"Tonight it ends. Either we win and avert an Apocalypse, or we die and the Earth is doomed." Merrick said turning to Pike. "You two can still leave."

Pike turned to the elder watcher. "Why is it every time we do something like this you say that? I’m not backing off."

Jack stepped to the right of Merrick. "Don’t look at me, I’ve been doing this for a good long while now. Shall we? Or should we stand here like ponces in the rain while our Slayer has all the fun?"

* * *

Buffy braced her hands against the earth elemental as it shuffled over to the staircase. "Let me get this straight, Tall, Dark, and Ugly summoned you with an amulet, then trapped you here?"

"Correct... Slayer..."

"Ok, so how would you get home?" she asked, an idea coming to her mind.

"If... the... amulet... were... destroyed... The... Summoning... would... end..."

"So if I were to find and put the smashy on this amulet thingy, would you consider doing me a small favor?"

"To... go... Home...? Anything..." the Barry White-like voice took on a pleading tone.

Buffy grinned and leaned down to whisper near the left garnet.

* * *

Reaching the door first, Jack tried the handle. "Of course it’s locked..." The Irishman kneeled before the knob and reached into his black leather vest for a small roll of suede leather. Pausing, he looked over his shoulder and watcher both Pike and Merrick return their own lock picks to their respective pockets.

"I don’t think Master Ordniconii would appreciate visitors tonight." Sounded a voice form behind them. Jack opened the roll, pulled out assorted lockpicks and began working on the lock. Merrick and Pike turned and brought their weapons to bear against five vampires. Two charged Merrick while three others advanced on Pike, who was shifting the crossbow from target to target. Merrick slashed one in the gut from the right and moved the blade up to slice the other’s eyes out. The first recoiled from the attack and bumped into the now blinded vampire. They both fell to the ground as Merrick rushed in to finish them off. Meanwhile, Pike shot one of the advancing vamps directly in the heart; the other two vampires saw their comrade combust and grinned devilishly.

"You’ve got it cocked, have you got enough time to reload, lunch?" The lead vamp said sauntering forward. Pike grinned and fired a bolt square into the smirking vampire’s chest, the third vamp looked in shock.

"You never reloaded!" The undead minion whined, as Pike pulled the string back and fired again. "It’s not fair..." were his final words.

Merrick had sliced the head off one vampire while the blind vampire crawled off in a random direction. Merrick walked slowly behind him and pulled a stake from his tweed coat. The vampire knew his end was coming. Determined to keep his dignity, he stood, brushed his sleeves off and opened his coat and shirt to bare his chest. "Go ahead, Watcher."

"Thank you." Merrick replied before stabbing his stake into the vampire’s heart. "Finally, a Vampire with dignity." he said, looking down at the rapidly dampening ashes.

Jack coughed subtly to get their attention and gestured to the now open door.

"Where exactly did you learn that?" Merrick asked as the trio descended the staircase within.

"Trust me Merrick, you’d never believe me if I told you." Pike simply grinned and turned to Merrick. "How’d he know you were a Watcher? " he asked before following behind.

Jack stopped abruptly and turned to Pike, "An elderly man wearing tweed fighting vampires beside a Slayer? What do you want, a tattoo on the inside of his wrist?" he said this last bit with a wink to Merrick, who chuckled softly.

"Wrong branch of the family I’m afraid." Merrick whispered with a wry grin before following suit. Pike rolled his eyes and motioned for Jack to continue inward.

* * *

In the bottom level of the bell tower, Master Ordniconii added the final ingredient into the Cauldron of Ages. As the blood and powdered ruby mixed with the other components, he chanted the final verses.

< Spirit of War, summon the soul I call. Heed my tribute, send forth the warrior spirit, I invoke thee. >

Lucius held a shrouded object in his hands while the Earth Elemental shuffled forth bringing the Slayer closer to the Master. Lucius’ eyes widened as the grayish mist flowing from the cauldron thickened and coursed along the floor. "Truly my Master is incredibly powerful," he thought as the green flickering gray mist accursed along the floor and his Master’s face split into a wide smile, baring his demonic visage to rune inscribed ceiling. Extending a hand to his servant, Lucius unwrapped the bundle and held an ancient Sumerian broadsword, handle first, to his master. The Master took the blade and stabbed it down into the thick reddish mixture. The mist grew thicker and coiled around the ancient blade, before tendrils of it coursed along ground like writhing snakes.

Ordniconii began chuckling devilishly and cast his hand in Lucius’ direction. The mist instantly shot in Lucius’ direction as the bald ebony skinned man recoiled in horror. Three sets of eyes watched from the stairwell as the mist flowed over the vessel.

"Should we help him?" Pike asked in a dead whisper to the older British man beside him.

Jack looked at him like he grew a third arm off his forehead. "I don’t think it’s going to kill him. Besides, one less person to fight."

Merrick nodded absently, listening intently as the Master began chanting again.

< Summoned soul I guide thee into thy vessel. Empower him. Enthrall him with your energy. Take his flesh and make it thine! > He ended in a cry.

Buffy watched enthralled as the mist seeped into Lucius’ flesh. With a cry, the sharply tailored man fell to his knees. His screams echoed around the room as his coat and shirt ripped, his muscles enlarging to an inhuman girth. The muscles of his legs swelled and tightened, stretching his deep skin and reducing his trousers to shreds while his shoes nearly exploded from his feet. The now heavily muscled being ceased his screams and stood, long black hair cascaded down his back as he turned to face his Master. "You have summoned me Ordniconii. I, Gilgamesh, have answered."

Merrick’s eyes widened. "Holy Mary Mother of God."

Pike resolved to ask Merrick about this Gilgamesh guy afterward.

Jack nodded. "Get ready."

Buffy tapped the elemental. The earthen being shuffled and its grip on the blonde loosened enough for to pull herself loose. The master approached his hulking servant feeling absolutely giddy. "Kneel."

Merrick watched with awe. "He’s going to turn him. A Vampiric Incarnation of War, a virtual Super vampire. That’s damned clever."

Jack whispered to the other two, "Wait until Ord lets Lucius feed. They’ll both be disoriented." Seeing their confused nods, he drew both long daggers, made eye contact with Buffy, and winked.

Buffy nodded and watched tensely as Lucius knelt before his master. Slowly she crept off the mound and used every stealth skill she’d learned to slink over to the staircase. Leaning close, she kissed Pike deeply. "It’s about time you guys showed up. Can we attack now?" she said, tuning to Merrick with her question. Jack handed her one of his long daggers.

The Watcher shook his head. "We have to wait until he turns Lucius. How on Earth did you escape the elemental? It looked like it just let you go."

"That’s because it did just let me go. How’d you know he’s going to turn him?" she asked. Merrick nodded his head at Jack.

Ordniconii looked at the incarnation of War kneeling at his feet. He gently guided his servant’s head to the side, being at a slightly lower level then his own head; The Master didn’t have to kneel. Smiling devilishly, He looked into his servant’s eyes. "Prepare, my loyal servant, to receive the immortal gift." he leaned forward and sank his fangs deep into Lucius’ thickly muscled throat.

"Now, we wait until he’s finished, the new blood has made him too aware of his surroundings. If we attack now, he’ll be ready." Jack informed the others, they nodded and collectively renewed their grip on their weapons.

A minute passed as a tiny spark of fear kindled within the Slayer. "Uh, Guys, what if he’s not turning Lucius, but feeding off the super blood?"

Three sets of eyes widened in sheer horror at the thought of a Master Vampire with the blood of a War Spirit filling its veins.

"Oh... Bloody Hell..." Jack cursed then leapt to his feet. "Well? Who wants to live forever?" he called as he turned and charged the feeding vampire. Buffy and Merrick followed as Pike turned his head to a sound that caught his ear.

The Master dropped the nearly desiccated husk that used to be his servant and turned with glowing eyes at the three charging hunters. Jack leapt for the left arm and plunged his dagger into the Master’s back as Buffy leapt for his right and mirrored Jack’s actions. Meanwhile, Merrick slashed at his left leg. Ordniconii roared at the attacks and threw both teens across the room. Merrick scored another hit to the Master’s left knee before being backhanded to the far corner. Stumbling to one knee, the Master screamed his anger. "I will grind your bones to paste!"

Buffy recovered and helped the Irishman to his feet. "C’mon. We’re missing the fight."

* * *

Pike turned to the sound and saw Britney Tyler coming down the stairs. "What the hell are you doing here? Run girl!" Britney stepped down another step and yet another, when he noticed her eyes. He brought the crossbow up to bear as Britney came within ten feet. Her eyes were twin pits of absolute oblivion. Firing a bolt, his eyes widened as the bottle blonde caught the bolt in front of her chest. "The Master said we could have her when he was done..." A rasping voice came from the possessed teen.

* * *

Buffy and Jack exchanged blows with the Master as Merrick stood up and looked into twin glowing garnets. "Need... Help...?" asked the Elemental. Seeing the Englishman’s feeble nod, the Elemental turned and rapidly slid across the floor like quicksand. Almost completely engulfing the Master’s left side. Buffy grinned and nodded to Jack before pulling a stake from her jacket. He grinned and stepped slightly behind the master and lunged. The Master shifted and caught the blade in his grip, leaving him wide open. The Slayer rushed in and stabbed the stake into Ordniconii chest. The Master laughed as he shot his hand through the elemental and caught the Slayer’s hand in mid thrust. "That was a feeble attempt Slayer." As his hand took on a green aura, Buffy felt a sudden weakening feeling, as her very life force began seeping from her into the Master Vampires hand.

Jack’s eyes narrowed and he ripped his blade up through the vampire’s fingers severing the four digits cleanly. One of Buffy’s favorite memories from her time in L.A. occurred then, The Master’s face contorting in a mixture of agonizing pain, incredulity, and bewilderment. Pulling his mangled hand to his chest, The Master lashed out with his rapidly regenerating leg at the Irishman, catching him in the stomach. Buffy’s field of vision was dimming when suddenly it cleared and she heard the Master roar in pain again. Looking down, she saw Ord’s severed arm on the ground and Merrick in a down-slash directed at the vampire’s chest.

Still weakened, Buffy fell to her knees. Jack saw her fall and tumbled over to her. As he grabbed her arm to steady her fall, the feeling came to Buffy again. Fleeting images flashed through her mind. A tall dark man with an aura of danger, an older man in tweed, who filled her mind with trust and support, a man with a perpetual smile, and finally a flash of ruby red hair and emerald green eyes. This last image brought a feeling of hope and an overwhelming desire to protect, almost a taste of things to come. The taste fueled Buffy, snapping her awake from the drain the Master put her through.

Her senses focused and she saw everything in slow motion, the gaping wound Merrick inflicted on the master’s chest. Acting on pure instinct, Buffy shot her hand into the Ordniconiis chest and grabbed his blackened withered heart. With a loud snarl, the Slayer ripped the atrophied organ from his chest cavity causing Master Ordniconii to roar in unquestionable anguish. His eyes locked with Buffy’s. "You... Bitch..." Were his final words before he crumbled to dust, a small granite orb falling from the remains of his robes.

* * *

Britney’s corpse reached a rapidly withering hand out to Pike, each finger swiftly growing a blackened talon. "Her" skin turned a grayish pallor and her hair faded almost instantly to a harsh off white. "I will feast on your soul, Man-Child." It moaned as the Wraith glided closer to the revolted teen. He defiantly grinned and fired the crossbow; his grin dropped as the bolt passed harmlessly through the Wraith’s throat and sank into the cinderblock wall behind it.

Pike pulled his gold cross necklace from his white button up and brandished it before the undead. The Wraith backpedaled from the holy symbol and hissed. The hiss was cut short as a pale hand gripping a glimmering sickle cut through her neck, a black shadowy substance coursing from the wound. Clutching the throat wound, the Wraith slowly liquefied into a black, brackish puddle, revealing the Vampire from Caritas standing further up the stairs. "I was right to keep an eye on you." she whispered. "You can put that away now luv." Pike slipped the cross beneath his shirt as she stepped slowly down the stairs; she sauntered closer to Pike and draped her arms over his shoulders. Pike took a long moment contemplating his future, his close call, and grinned. He slipped his arm around her waist and brushed an arrant lock of hair back behind her ear.

"I’m gonna need two things."

"Name it handsome."

"First, some time. Which I know you have in abundance."

She nodded. "As long as I have some help avoiding the Slayer. What’s the second?"

"Your name."

She leaned forward and kissed him. "Deanna."

He kissed her, "Pike."

* * *

Jack helped Merrick to his feet and grinned his half grin. The watcher’s brow furrowed in thought. "How odd..." Buffy froze.

"Merrick, when you say that, I have a massive case of the wiggins."

Jack stage whispered to the elder Watcher, "What’s a Wiggin?"

Merrick returned the stage whisper, "No earthly idea."

Buffy glared at them both with crossed arms. "Well Buffy, If Ordniconii was a Master vampire, then why is there no skeleton?" Merrick asked, looking in frustration at the slight scattering of ash on the floor.

The Slayer’s eyebrows rose nearly into her hairline, "Do I have to ask you for more information?"

"No. Master Vampires are old enough that they leave behind their bones. It’s theorized that this is so their minions may reanimate and possibly restore the Master from death."

"Then he wasn’t the Master? There’s another Vampire around here? Oh, that’s just Fucking wonderful." Buffy cursed then started to look around the room for possible hiding places.

"Buffy that language was uncalled for. However, we should begin to search the tower for the Master." Merrick said shouldering his broadsword.

"Sorry Merrick." Buffy ducked her head in apology.

Jack, having noticed that the Elemental was standing behind Buffy, he tapped the blonde on the shoulder and nodded to it. Then it spoke. "Slayer... Our...deal..." it’s deep voice echoed from the shard filled maw.

"Oh... right. Sorry." She bent down and picked up the small orb. "This it?" When the earthen being grumbled in an affirmative tone, she made to shatter the talisman then stopped, causing the soil mass to growl. "One question, then you’re free. Where’s the Master Vampire?"

The Earthen Elemental shuffled over to the Slayer and the twin garnets glittered in the candlelight. "You... just... killed... him... He... called... himself... Master..."

Buffy laughed and patted the elemental roughly on the shoulder. With every ounce of her Slayer strength, she threw the orb at the wall, and grinned as the talisman shattered to a very fine dust.

The Earth Elemental slowly began to collapse and fall to a pile on the ground.

"Ok, THAT was cool." Buffy remarked to the suddenly quiet room.

Jack grinned and began looking around. "Where’s Pike?"

Buffy suddenly remembered she had a boyfriend. "Yeah, uh, where is he?"

"Over here." Came the reply from the crossbow wielding teen. "There was a ghost thing coming downstairs. It left a big puddle of Casper goo."

Merrick, intrigued, headed up the stairs to investigate its remains.

Jack followed and peaked over the elder Brit’s shoulder. "Wight?"

Merrick shook his head. "No, Wights don’t leave um... goo. They leave a web like mist. This is or rather was, a Wraith."

"And Pike killed it with a crossbow... with steel tipped quarrels?" he thought, a measure of suspicion creeping into his mind.

"I agree. How could Pike have killed this beast without an ounce of silver though is beyond me." Merrick mumbled to himself before stepping back down the stairs. "Oh well, now for my favorite part of a nest cleaning. Looting."

Jack grinned at the nearly giddy Brit and walked up to the exit, pulling a cigar and his Zippo from his black leather vest. Stepping into the doorway, Jack looked up through swiftly clearing skies into a full moon. "That was fun." inhaling sharply on his cigar, he blew a large smoke ring then quickly inhaled again, blowing a thin stream through his nose that slid right through the smoke ring.

In time, Buffy and the others strolled up the stairs laughing. Pike and Merrick carrying a box or two of books, Magic paraphernalia, and miscellaneous herbs, while Buffy clutched an armload of weaponry.

Jack took Merrick’s box, and headed for his convertible, Buffy hurried up alongside him and strolled in companionable silence. "I have to ask. During the fight, you grabbed my arm to steady my fall."

"Yes. I remember that," he said.

"Did you feel anything odd?"

"Aye, I felt a little weary from whatever energy drain the Master used on you. Why? What did you feel?"

Buffy shrugged, feeling a little foolish, "Just a few hallucinations."

"Oh...? Like what?" he asked, his lips twitched as he brushed his bare forearm against her bare shoulder.

"Well one was... Damn... I forgot." her eyes narrowed in concentration.

* * *

Jack leaned against the hood of his jet-black Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible and grinned. He watched as the Mansion door opened and Buffy walked out in a sheen of sweat. "You coming in? We can train some more," she hinted, making soft jabs at his abdomen.

"I would B. Really, I would. But I’ve got to get going. My crew is waiting for me to come back and it’s a long drive."

"Why not fly?" she asked, leaning against the hood beside the sharply dressed young man.

"I don’t like to fly. I prefer to drive." Jack said. "Or ride, when I have my bike."

Buffy grinned. "I can easily picture you on a bike."

"You know B, you never answered my question. When did you realize?"

"I know. I’ll tell you the next time you’re here."

"Deal... I’ve gotta go B. I’ll see you around." Smiling softly, he removed his left black leather glove and touched Buffy’s bare shoulder. Turning he slipped his glove back on, climbed into his auto and started the perfectly tuned engine. Buffy stood at the Mansion gate as he drove away, a mental flash of ruby red hair and emerald eyes running through her mind.

* * *

Sunnydale, California

Rosenberg Residence

1983

Ira Rosenberg watched his daughter play with her dolly on the porch of their home and smiled as he thought about her future. "She’ll graduate high school, marry, and give Sheila and I beautiful grandchildren. A beautiful house, and a doctor or lawyer for a husband." His ruminations were interrupted by a subtle cough. He looked up at his visitor, a muscular young man in a very expensive suit. "Mr. Rosenberg?"

"Yes? Can I help you Mr.?"

"Covington. Matthias Covington." he said, grinning a simple half grin. He pulled a card from a silver card case from his breast pocket.

Mr. Rosenberg examined the card as Mr. Covington returned the case into his pocket.

Covington, Lafeyette, & Warriner.

Law Firm

1020 7th avenue, Manhattan, New York.

10010-5424

"Yes Mr. Covington, is there something you needed?" Mr. Rosenberg asked.

"Actually Mr. Rosenberg, I am the executor of your Aunt Alexandrea Ravencroft’s Estate."

"Aunt Alexandrea? When did that old heathen croak? Unnatural godless woman." he thought as he struggled to keep a properly mournful face. "I didn’t know she had died." He stated with a suitable amount of sadness. "Wonder what the old bat left me," His thoughts decidedly unmournful.

Matthias raised an eyebrow subtly. "The terms of your Aunt’s will were both simple and crystal clear." He turned slightly and smiled sweetly at the two year old. He winked and turned back to Ira. Matthias pulled a bundle of papers from his briefcase. "They basically name your daughter as the sole beneficiary of a considerable estate. At the age of twenty, she’ll be notified of her inheritance, on the strict stipulation that until that date, she be kept completely oblivious of this matter. It was her Great Aunt’s desire that she have a childhood free from the "problems that money is prone to cause." quote/unquote."

Hearing a tiny sneeze, he looked down at a small auburn headed cupid who was wiping her button nose on the back of her tiny hand. Crouching down, Matthias pulled a monogrammed handkerchief from the pocket of his suit and gently wiped Willow’s cute little nose. After losing a tug-of-war match with the little girl over the hankie, He grinned a half grin and stood, turning back to the cherub’s father, who was engrossed in the Will of his late Aunt Alexandrea. "That is your copy of the will, Mr. Rosenberg. Feel free to have your lawyer go over them, explain anything you might have trouble with. If you have any questions, my office number is on the card. Again, I’d like to extend my deepest condolences, I happened to take over for my Father as Lexie’s Lawyer and I enjoyed working with her immensely." The young man said with genuine regret in his voice while mentally wincing at the slip of using her nickname. Turning away from the nearly catatonic adult, he turned and looked down at the red headed toddler.

"Hello there Willow." he said as he crouched down in front of her.

"Huwwo. Who aw you?" she said in an innocent child’s voice.

"I’m a friend, someone who’ll protect you forever and ever. That sound ok to you?" He asked, pushing a red curl behind her tiny ear.

"Yeah. This is Betty," she said, holding out her dolly, a blonde cowboy doll with pale blue eyes.

"Is Betty short for Elizabeth?" he said, straightening the dolly’s hair.

"Uh huh. It’s short for Elizzybit" she said, struggling with the word.

"Unbelievable..." he said and nodded to Mr. Rosenberg who absently nodded to the departing young man, Slipping on a fedora, he slipped back into his black convertible and drove away, an image of a cute little redhead child fresh in his mind.

:: Next Part ::