Love On The Hellmouth

Buffy and the gang are researching the First and getting nowhere when Buffy decides to hit the streets. As she is about to leave Giles shows up on her doorstep. As Buffy goes to hug Giles three teenage girls barge on in. As Molly walks in she says to Buffy, “Nice place. Bit of a mess.” Next through her door is Kennedy. She gives Buffy a once over, thinks she’s cute but find’s it hard to believe that such a lithe person could be the world feared Slayer. “So you’re the Slayer huh. Never would of picked it.” Last is Annabelle who just looks around. The girls blow past her. Buffy looks to Giles, double stunned now. He responds, a tad ironically. “Sorry to barge in. I'm afraid we have a slight apocalypse.”

Buffy takes Giles aside first. “Another apocalypse? Just tell me I won’t die for a fourth time.” “What? Fourth time?” “No one told you? I died again last year. Warren, he was trying to take over Sunnydale and well I kept stopping his plans and he came here and shot me. I flat lined.” “Willow…” “No she didn’t slip. Dr’s brought me back. Although since Tara left her permanently, after the incident with Dawn, Willow stopped using magic altogether. But she has started doing small things again. We’re all watching her very carefully. Tara even talks to her and helps her through e-mails.” “As long as you’re sure.” “Giles, she’s petrified of hurting us. She’s careful. Now lets discuss this apocalypse shall we?”
Everyone gathers in the living room for a debrief including the Potential Slayers. “They're all Slayers?” asks Dawn. “Potential Slayers. Waiting for one to be called. There were many more like them, all over the world. Now there's only a handful…and they're all on their way to Sunnydale,” answers Giles. Buffy realizes that this is what she has been seeing in her dreams. “The others were murdered,” Buffy points out to all. Giles adds, “As well as their Watchers. We all feared this day would come. When there'd be an attack, not just against an individual slayer, but against the whole line...” Buffy realizing what he means says, “The First…that's what it wants.” “Yes. To erase all the Slayers-in-training and their Watchers, along with their methods...” “And then Faith. Then me. And with all the Potentials gone, and no way of making another... It's the end. There's no more Slayer. Ever.” Finally everyone else in the room understands. Willow says to Giles, “We haven't been able to find anything on The First. No documentation.” “That's because it pre-dates written history... And it rarely shows its true face. The only record of it I know was in the library of the Council.” Anya butting in asks, “What about the Council? What do they say about this?” “There gone. Obliterated. They were in session...There was an explosion.” The Scoobies share a stunned look. Buffy laughs, “I’m sorry but that’s really funny to me. The all-powerful Watchers Council gone. I can’t believe how good that makes me feel. Actually I can. What about the records then?” Giles looks to Annabelle. She steps forward bringing some files and books from her backpack and puts them on the coffee table. “That's what's left. The mystic secrets of The Watchers, and whatever I could find on The First. When I learned what was happening, I... stole these.” “And blew the Council up? See, that's
what happens when you're all stuffy and repressed…you over-react.” Anya shouted excited. “Not…I didn't... It must have been
an agent of The First, after my little burglary session. The knowledge in the files had to be protected. There wasn't time for
bureaucracy or debate, but the Council knows no other way.” At this Andrew shouts out, “And it cost them thlivelives!” Buffy fed up with Andrews antics looks to Xander and asks, “Can we gag him?” As Xander does this Buffy continues, “What do the records say about The First?” “Very little. It can change form, but only appears in the guise of people who've passed away. Also, it's not corpl. Il. It can't touch or fight on it's own. It works through the people it manipulates and its followers, The Bringers. The First is unlike anything we've faced before. There's evil, and then e'se's the thing that made evil... The source.” Buffy asks, “And that's what this claims to be?” “That's what it is. It has eternities to act, endless resources. To defeat it... Honestly, I don't know...but we have to find a way. If the Slayer line is eliminated, then the
Hellmouth will have no guardian. The balance will be destroyed... It falls to you, Buffy. We'll do what we can…but only you have the strength to protect these girls…and the world…against what's cominEverEveryone looks to Buffy and she realizes she has a new and an even heavier responsibility on her shoulders. “But no pressure.” Jokes Xander. The Potentials look worried. Kennedy, the only one brave enough to speak up says, “That's it? That's the plan? I don't see how one person, even a Slayer, can protect us. I saw what those Bringer guys could do. They tore my Watcher apart. And if this thing is the root of all Evil, isn't the Hellmouth it's number one vacation spot? Don't you think we should be hiding our asses away on the other side of the globe?” Buffy realizing that Kennedy is right is now even more determined to get Spike back.
“I’m going to go and find Spike. Everyone barring Giles is staying here.” A few grumbles go through the group but no one questions her. Giles and Buffy leave the house and start walking through Sunnydale. They talk about Buffy’s previous experience with the Bringers and The First. “This place, where you last saw The First, you say it was in a Christmas tree lot?” “Under it. There was a hidden cavern, happened to be under a tree lot. Those Bringer guys were doing some kind of ritual. Giles. This is bad, isn't it? I mean, a new kind of bad.” “Just in time for Christmas.” Buffy looks around and it is indeed Christmas. “I didn't even realize it was December. Maybe when we get home we should decorate the rubble. You think you'll ever show up for a real visit? The kind where the world isn't about to end?” “If we survive this, I promise.” Buffy and Giles wander the dirt lot where the Christmas tree lot used to be. “So there was an entrance to the cave above ground here?” “Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was around here somewhere.” As they continue walking Buffy goes crashing through the earth. Giles looks down the hole Buffy has made as she shouts up to him, “Found it.”
Meanwhile back at the Summers residence Willow, Dawn, Anya and Xander are trying to make their guests comfortable. Xander is boarding up the house while Willow is sorting out who sleeps where with Kennedy’s help. “Annabelle can sleepe, Me, Molly can
sleep in Dawn's room…” “Not if Dawn actually wants to sleep. Molly will talk her ear off.” “Okay, then Molly down here, you with Dawn and Annabelle with me.” “Bad idea. Annabelle snores.” “You want to do the sleeping arrangements?” “Sure. Okay so Dawn with you, Molly with Annabelle and me with Buffy.” Willow thinks on this and agrees, “Good that will do. I’m not sure how Buffy will handle sharing but it will be cool.” Dawn coming out of the kitchen asks Kennedy, “Do you wanna eat?” “Not really hungry for food.” Willow stares at Kennedy for a moment before Dawn starts talking again, “Well Annabelle and Molly are starved
and I totally burned the mac and cheese. Ah, I'll add some hot sauce and tell them it's an American thing. Say it's blackened.” As they enter the kitchen they see Anya thng tng the burnt mac and cheese out. Willow suggests ordering a pizza but Molly spots some cookies, “Brill! Biscuits.” She looks at Dawn and asks, “You don't mind? I have a case of the nerves after Mr. Giles' lecture.” Dawn shakes her head and joins her.
Kennedy becoming bored with the younger girls chitchat head to the living room to watch some TV. Willow follows her to the lounge. “So Kennedy your what, interested in Buffy?” “That obvious huh?” “Pretty much. Look, Buffy is pretty much the straight girl. I don’t know what kind of chance you have. And if she really is gay, bi or whatever, she’s holding pretty close to her chest.” “Don’t worry Willow. If she’s not interested I wont push. But you can’t blame me for trying.” “No. I guess not.”
Back at the tree lot Buffy has picked herself up and has started looking around. Giles calls to Buffy, “Good lord, are you alright?” “Peachy. Except my knees bend backwards now. Stay up there, Giles. I'll check it out.” The cave at first glance looks empty. She continues further into the cave and hears something. She turns around to come face to face with an Ubervamp. Buffy starts to fight it but isn’t getting many punches through. The vamp however is, and he is doing some major damage. Buffy is quickly becoming scared of this creature. She bleeds from a few cuts, looking pretty much spent. Buffy finally getting an opening stakes the Ubervamp deep in the heart. The Ubervamp gives a furious roar but not much else. Buffy looks on stunned as he doesn’t dust but pulls the stake out. The Ubervamp attacks again. The fight becomes one-sided and it is the Ubervamp who is doing the trouncing. Buffy decides that it is high time she got out of there, runs for the hole she came down in. As she is climbing out the Ubervamp grabs her ankle. She’s struggling to get out when the sun starts to rise. The Ubervamp is hit by the sunlight he roars in pain and retreats back in the hole.
As Buffy and Giles walk back inside the house Buffy says to Giles, “Don't want to wake the others just yet, give us a chance to...” But the Potentials are eating breakfast. They all smile at Buffy, but then noticing Buffy, Kennedy asks weary, “You all right? You loo” Bu” But she stops, not really wanting to say what Buffy looks like. “I'm fine. Got in a fight, is all,” looking at Giles she continues, “You want to tell me with what?” “Yes. But, Buffy, are you sure we shouldn't discuss this prely?ely?” “You mean not in front of the Next Generation? No time to coddle them, Giles. Welcome to the War Room, guys.” “What you fought was a vampire. But something more as well. It was a Turok-Han. As Neanderthals are to human beings, Turok-Han is to vampires. They're ancient, primordial, ferociously strong killing machines, which live off blood, single-minded as animals. They are the vampire’s vampires fear. And until this morning, I thought they were myth.” The Potentials start to become afraid. Annabelle asks, “Did you slay it?” Buffy sighs and answers her, “No. It's still out there. Somewhere.” Molly asks, “What does it want?” “All of us dead. But for now it looks like sunlight's keeping this Ubervamp away.” They all seem to relax a bit. Giles says to Buffy, “Then until sunset, Buffy, you should rest. A few hours sleep will make a
world of difference.” “No sleep today. Can't.” “But you're exhausted.” “Comes with the gig. I don't thinkingking on pre-historic evil involves nap time.” She starts to head out but stops when she realizes the Potentials are still looking at her, “Sorry, Potential guys. I know you came a long way and you want to get
into t but but for now the best thing you can do is sit tight, wait it out I’ll go to the library, find out what I can, be back before sunset.”