New Blood commentary, pt. 6

[mandolin]

Okay, next big chunk. I forgot how long this story was. One more to go!


Friday

Less than a week has passed, and we've already hit the climactic night. I think I did at least succeed in conveying the time frame fairly well. But I HAVE to go fix the dates.

"...and we've continued to break record temperatures for November this week. It's 95 degrees in Monterey right now, even with the low humidity. This heat wave, coupled with the drought, has become fairly serious, even for this region; several area schools have been closed early under pressure from parents, and state and local officials are considering taking action to regulate water usage. Not that anyone's going to obey them, of course..."

I think even for California, 95 degrees in November is a bit much. That last comment about water usage is a jab at some Marylanders who, despite drought conditions, ignored the regulations two years ago...

Giles glanced up from the book and steaming cup of tea in front of him. "Would someone please turn that bloody thing off?"

Note: they're at Giles' place because the library is still bugged.

No one moved for several moments. Finally, Xander got to his feet and obeyed, shutting off the small clock radio sitting on the counter in Giles' kitchen. He flopped back down on the couch beside Willow. "You know what every other senior is probably doing right now?"

"Falling down stairs?" Buffy suggested.

"Wandering the streets like a zombie?" Willow added.

Xander complains, and Buffy and Willow put things into perspective here.

Xander sighed at that. "We're probably the only ones dumb enough to be doing research when school is closed," he grumped. "Everybody else gets to go home and crash."

I think it's the heat getting to Xander that keeps him going here.

"That's right, Xander," Giles replied, not looking up from the text. "The life is being siphoned out of the teenage population of Sunnydale. So while most of them are probably comatose now, you're awake and alert. Such a pity that you just can't fit in."

I love this little outburst. I really do.

Buffy and Willow stared at him. "Okay," Buffy said after a moment. "Sarcasm levels reaching critical. Giles, are you all right?"

"I'm - I'm fine," the Watcher answered. "Everything seems to be piling up, that's all."

A sharp knocking on the door cut any further discussion short. "Stool pigeon's here," Xander announced as Giles got to his feet.

Willow nudged him. "Hush! Don't be rude."

Not everyone's entirely trusting of Frank right now, although Willow's trying to be nice.

Ignoring them, Giles opened the door. Mike, Oz, and Frank were standing there, and Frank was carrying a familiar-looking box in his hands.

I figured that Oz would pretty much get along with Frank.

"Hey," Oz greeted, breaking the silence before it could extend into a long, awkward pause. "We come bearing doughnuts."

Ah, yes, the perfect peace offering.

* * *

"Mmm, sugar," Xander exulted as he finished off the chocolate doughnut. "Can't save the world without it."

Buffy smiled. "You can't function without it."

"Same thing."

Xander and I have this in common, it seems. Although I am not a big doughnut fan.

"Found it," Willow announced suddenly, shoving a book over to Giles. "It's a standard power point formation. You take four people with at least some mild psychic talent, pick one as the focus - that's the little person in the center - and the energy that all four generate is focused through him or her."

Pulled this one right out of my ass, so to speak. More misdirection with Lori being the focus.

"Or in this case, through her voice," Giles said thoughtfully, looking over at Frank. "What else do you know about her?"

She's not human. Frank leaned back in his seat, shaking his head. After a few minutes and a few doughnuts, the Slayerettes had become generally comfortable with his mind-speak. I don't know what she is. Even when she goes to feed, I can't get enough of a glimpse of her real form to tell.

I figured the Scooby Gang would probably get used to Frank's abilities pretty quickly. I cut a bit of this where Xander wanted to know if Frank could read minds, and was relieved when Frank couldn't and never wanted to.

Again with the vagueness of Lori's original form. Frank would even be in the dark regarding her history.

That got Buffy's attention. "Feed?"

Frank nodded. Every night, like clockwork. After the show, we drive down to the lake, she takes a swim, lures some poor sucker in, drags him under and that's it. Best glimpse I've seen of her then is scales and claws.

Giles' eyes lit up. "Scales? The lake? If not for the voice, I'd almost think we have a lamia... but perhaps..."

This was part research, and partly a nod to Pete Milan's fanfic "A Wife Less Ordinary," which I'd just read and enjoyed on the Buffy creative newsgroup.

"Giles?" Buffy asked. "Is that an answer forming?"

For answer, Giles thumbed to the right page, laying the book down on the table. "A siren."

THANK YOU! We have confirmation!

"What, like a mermaid?" Mike asked incredulously. "I don't know about you, but I was kind of expecting something nastier the way she glares at people."

Here I tried to differentiate the Buffyverse version of a siren with the traditional image.

"The popular myths about sirens are generally incorrect," Giles answered. "The most accurate is the myth that a siren could lure sailors to their death with her song - and once the hapless victim leapt into the ocean, the siren would assume her true form and devour him."

In the original myth, the sailor just drowned, so he'd be dead anyway. This is far more economical (and makes more sense than just randomly drowning sailors).

"Kind of puts a damper on a second date, huh?" Xander joked.

Willow was flipping through a stack of printouts. "Wait a minute. I got some responses on the Wicca message boards. There's a German legend about a woman who threw herself into a river because of her despair over a faithless lover. She was turned into a siren."

"Yes, the legend of Lorelei," Giles answered absently. "Rumor has it the faithless lover was drowned as well in the Rhine, which is why she was cursed." He stopped, realizing what he'd just said.

"Lori. Loretta. Lorelei." Oz retrieved a glazed doughnut from the box. "It all fits."

Frank snorted. Figures. I wouldn't be surprised if she did away with the faithless lover herself.

If I ever manage to get future stories done in this series, Anya was DEFINITELY involved.

"Angel said he thought it was the Rhine," Buffy added, all business. "But don't sirens only hypnotize men?"

"Hypnotize, yes," Giles answered. "But this is far more complex than that."

She had it planned out from the beginning, Frank interrupted. First she pulled Molly out of juvie, then ran into Malik. And then Mal suckered me in when I couldn't pay for school.

Note that Frank was the last member to join up - and of course Malik recruited him. To that end, his knowledge of the others' origins is shaky at best.

"Four people, with at least latent psychic ability," Giles finished. "The four elements."

It was Xander who was next to contribute. "That's Fire, Air, Water, and Earth, right?" As Willow nodded, he added, "So who's who?"

Frank shrugged. Never too clear on that. I'd guess Lori's water and Mal's fire. She's a fish, he smokes like a chimney, they never stop bitching at each other. Molly's air, because that's where her head is all the time.

More deliberate screwing-around with established myths here. I could have switched Molly and Frank's elements without much trouble, now that I think of it...

"And you're earth," Oz guessed. Frank shrugged again. "How does that help us?"

"It helps us big time," Willow responded, flipping through the printouts. "There's a woman in Scranton who watched you play and picked up on what was going on. All four elements have to be present for the spell to work, and the Earth aspect is generally the stable one. If you don't contribute, the spell's not going to go anywhere."

Why Scranton? Beats me. All I know about Scranton is there's a bridge with the world's biggest potholes there. (Of course, by now, with all the hubcaps that wound up along the road there, I think they may have been filled.)

"Okay, okay," Buffy interjected. "Look, this is fascinating and all, but this siren's got my boyfriend hooked. How do we stop that?"

"According to all my sources," Giles answered, "the siren can be killed with an iron blade. In her natural form."

"Simple question, simple answer," Xander said. "I like it."

Frank flinched. Kill her? You ever see how fast her natural form is? As they stared at him, he continued. Two big guys, good swimmers. Fifteen seconds flat, she gets 'em under and drowned.

In short, even the mutated swim team would have trouble with her.

"So I won't get in the water," Buffy countered.

Frank shook his head. She never reverts until she's in deep water. Or unless she's really desperate to feed.

Giles sighed. "Well, then we'll have to take away her dinner."

* * *

Oh, and we're back to feeding Trick and company false information in the library.

"Faith and Giles will take the front door," Buffy announced once they were situated in the library. "Mike, you let me in the back. Will, Oz, as much as I wish you could help--"

"It's, it's okay," Willow cut in. "I mean, Oz can't help it if he's not himself tonight, and I'm not going to leave him alone. I'll stick by him, because that's what I'm supposed to do because he's my boyfriend, and will someone please stop me?"

Oz graced her with the adoring smile he only gave Willow. "Why? I like that."

Willow-babble at its best.

Xander coughed. "Forgetting anyone, Buff?"

"Not at all," Giles replied. "Someone will be needed to keep an eye on Angel. You can use the tranquilizer gun; it's documented that sedatives will work on vampires."

"I get to watch the homicidal maniac," Xander groused. "Yay."

This would be a clue to anyone who knew the gang well enough: Xander would NOT be assigned to watch Angel by his lonesome.

"Assuming we break in there and stop the concert," Mike asked, "what then? What do you need me for?"

"You let me in, then find someplace safe and stay down," Buffy answered. "I don't want you fighting any vampires or anything vaguely supernatural. No buts," she added as Mike opened his mouth. "We don't really know what we're dealing with."

There was a long pause before Willow spoke. "So how long til the Bronze opens?"

Mike checked his watch. "We've got three hours. Should be enough time to stock up on what we need."

"All right, then," Giles said, standing up. "Everyone knows their lists. We'll meet here again in two and a half hours."

On cue, the rest of the group got up as well and started towards the doors, muttering amongst themselves. Once everyone was out in the hall, Giles relaxed visibly. "So..." Xander asked after a moment, "what's the real plan?"

But of course I'm not going to lay that out just yet..

* * *

The now-familiar knock sounded, causing every head in the room to turn towards the locked and bolted door. Humanlike faces shifted into vampiric as the knock repeated. Only Trick, lounging casually in a stolen recliner, remained calm. "Shave and a haircut..." he murmured along with the rhythm of the knock before getting to his feet. "Gotta be more creative than that, my man."

He signalled to the others that it was fine as he moved to the door. "What's the password?"

"Password?" a strident voice snapped from the other side, loud enough to be heard clearly. "There wasn't no damn password yesterday! What you pulling now?"

Trick chuckled at that and opened the door partially, smiling as the vampires immediately scattered to avoid the beam of late afternoon sunlight that spilled through. Sunset was an hour away, but that didn't mean the sunlight was any less dangerous. "Just kidding. Come on in, brother."

Malik was always going to be the contact when it came to dealing with Trick. It worked better than any of the other three.

The dreadlocked man standing in the threshold eyed the vampires crouched in the shadows. "I appreciate the invitation," he said, lighting a cigarette, "but your boys look a little too hungry right now." Twin flames were briefly reflected in his mirrored sunglasses before he extinguished the lighter.

Trick glanced back at the other vampires, and nodded. "You're probably right."

"You got any info for me, man?" Malik asked, stuffing the pack of cigarettes back in his pocket. "If the Slayer's planning an attack, we're gonna need to counter it."

The vampire hesitated at that. He had his suspicions about the recording, but then again... if his sources were right, Relish needed a good screw-up. Maybe if the Slayer went up against the siren, they might do each other in. Save the Mayor the trouble.

Here I point out that while Trick is smart enough to know something's up, he may still pass along the false info.

Either way, it was good business. "Have I ever let you down before?"

There's a first time for everything.

* * *

"There's one thing I don't understand," Giles said after a moment.

Frank turned, surprised at the sudden sound. It was just him and the Watcher in Giles' study; the rest had gone on their respective errands. What?

"You said that Lorelei 'gave' you the gift of telepathy," Giles continued, "but I sincerely don't believe that's so."

Setting up for the ass-kicking Frank finally delivers later.

I couldn't do it before! Frank retorted defensively.

"I don't doubt that," Giles assured him, pulling a book from the top of the shelf. "But from all the reading I've done on this sort of 'psychic vampirism,' there is no possible way you could just have been given this talent. It could have been triggered, of course, assuming you had latent ability."

Stole the term from Mercedes Lackey. And no, it doesn't make sense that Lori "gave" him this ability.

Are you telling me I've been able to do this all along?

Giles flipped through the book idly, only half paying attention to the pages, as he set it on the coffee table with the rest and sat down. Frank, intrigued, took a seat in the nearby chair. "It's very possible that you could, but just didn't know it. They wouldn't have sought you out if you had no potential to begin with."

The bassist did not answer to that comment, but merely stared at Giles, a perplexed look on his face. After a moment or two, a sharp rapping came on the door, followed by muffled shouts of "Giles! Open the door!"

Sighing, Giles stood up. "And they were just berating me about not locking it..." he muttered. Stopping by the chair, he patted Frank on the shoulder. "I could be wrong, but it's food for thought."

And it will become VERY important later.

* * *

"Where the hell have you been?" were the first words out of Lori's mouth as Frank opened the door to the hotel room. She didn't even look up as he entered. Her attention was focused entirely on the mirror as she applied her lipstick carefully. "Mal got back from our informant an hour ago."

Malik was nowhere in sight. Molly was sitting on the bed, or rather lying at the head of the bed with her legs sticking straight up parallel to the wall. It took Frank a moment to chase away the last telling vestiges of fear before he answered. Just out thinking. Enjoying the hundred degree heat.

He was too tired to be jittery, and while she couldn't read his mind, Lori always knew when he was nervous about something. Almost. The few times she hadn't seemed to pick up on his emotions were always when he was tired, usually after loading equipment all day. But all the running around he'd done with the Slayer and her friends was enough to exhaust him. He took a seat on the edge of the bed with a relieved sigh, landing heavily on the mattress.

In one draft, Frank actually tried to wear himself out intentionally by sparring with Faith. But I looked at that scene and went, "Naaah..."

The jolt caused Molly to open her eyes and glare at him. "More like gettin' blasted by the heat," she snapped in a rare moment of sanity. "You're out of your mind."

No, no one suspected. Frank held back any responses and turned to Lori, who was engrossed in applying her makeup. What are you getting all fixed up for?

Lori smirked at her reflection. "I ran into an... old flame a few nights ago," she answered before turning and kicking the bathroom door. "Mal! Did you drown in there? Get your ass in gear! We've been waiting forever!"

Yeah, it's probably a good thing her plans for Angel never came to fruition. And of course, Malik and Lori are fighting again.

That explained why Molly was so crabby. Frank smirked as Mal stuck his head out of the door, his chin half-smeared with shaving cream. "Listen up, Wonder Woman, I've only been in here five minutes! You take half a friggin' hour!"

He just has an endless store of nicknames for her, doesn't he? Although this one fits with the "Amazon" description that's applied to her so often.

As they launched into a full-scale bickering match, Frank lay back on the bed, closing his eyes. He didn't notice the curious look Molly was giving him.

Just a bit more foreshadowing as to what's up with Molly.

* * *

They all seemed to converge on the Bronze at the same time. Fifteen minutes before sunset, the crowds appeared on the streets, obeying a subconscious signal that only they could hear. The teenagers were tired, drained, and easily susceptible to suggestion.

Especially when it was being pitched by a couple of experts.

And we have Cordelia and Xander working the crowd as only they can.

"Aura!" Cordelia practically squealed, pouncing on the girl like they were best friends.

The former Cordette blinked at her. "Cordelia. What do you want?"

"I'm sorry, I had to ask you," Cordelia gushed. "But where did you get that dress?"

Aura smiled.

* * *

He didn't want to talk to her, but maybe that was the point. "Harmony," Xander greeted, trying not to sound too enthusiastic and succeeding. "How's tricks?"

She glared at him through bleary eyes. "Excuse me, loser, I'd like to get to where the party's at."

"Which would be where? The Bronze?"

"Any place away from you is a start," she retorted, trying to brush past him. He was naturally quicker, not having been exposed to the music, and grabbed her arm. "Hey! Get your paws off me!"

"Not til you listen," Xander snapped. "You've been feeling like crap lately, right? Can't stay awake, can't think, can't come up with a good comeback. I bet people are whispering behind your back that you're a stoner by now."

He knows just what buttons to push.

For a moment, her expression didn't change. Then she grabbed him by the collar. "What do you know? Who's talking?"

Heh. No matter how potent the spell, Harmony's terror of being unpopular will snap her out of anything.

"Hey, I don't know if anyone is!" he exclaimed, and she let go. He held up a pack of earplugs. "But I think I know how to stop it."

* * *

Alone on stage, Frank glanced about furtively. The club was only starting to fill up, and no one was really paying attention to the stage just yet. A small crowd was at the bar, trying to get fake IDs past the bartender. Frank caught Mike's eye and grinned, seeing the frustrated expression on the other's face. Some people just couldn't take a hint.

And the running joke keeps going.

The door to the alley closed behind Malik, and Frank stopped tuning his guitar. Now they were all gone. Molly was in the back, Lori was in the bathroom, and Mal was out getting a smoke. It was now or never.

Carefully, he set his guitar down, turning to the empty stool where his spare guitar pick lay. Beside it was Lori's water bottle. Turning so that his back was to the rest of the club, Frank reached into his pocket. He pulled out a tiny packet filled with a brownish powder, and unscrewed the cap on the water bottle. Checking to make sure that no one was looking, he hastily dumped the contents of the packet into the bottle, capping it and shaking it hurriedly. The powder dissolved in a few seconds, much to Frank's relief. He replaced the bottle, grabbed the pick, and snatched up the guitar again.

Figures that there might be something to counter a siren's power, at least temporarily.

* * *

Angel opened bleary eyes to see Buffy kneeling before him again, a steaming mug in her hands. He blinked a few times, trying to make sense of the situation. "What are you doing here? You have to stop--"

"Shh," Buffy interrupted soothingly. "We're going to. Here, drink this."

He made a face at the bitter smell. "What is it?"

Someone cleared their throat, and Angel glanced up to see Giles standing there. "You might call it... er... temporary immunity."

Like I said, a temporary fix.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen," Harry announced, "Relish!"

The usual swell of applause punctuated that statement as the manager stepped off the stage and Lori stepped up to take the microphone. Frank bit his lip as they launched into the first song, a slow number which fortunately had a long instrumental opening. He watched nervously as Lori launched into the first verse, her throaty voice seeming to permeate the entire room like a fog. The water bottle was untouched, but Frank reminded himself that she planned to build up to it before the big one.

He'd finally coaxed the details out of Mal while they were setting up. Tonight was pretty much like the last nights, except on a larger scale. With the excess energy siphoned off the regulars, amplified by the full moon, Lori was going to create a frigging psychic whirlpool strong enough to reach across town... perhaps all the way to the Hellmouth. Frank didn't want to think what she'd do with that kind of juice. Of course, she'd insisted that they would all "reap the benefits" as well. If they did, she would probably get the lion's share.

Which is why Trick decided to let them screw up. The Mayor probably wouldn't appreciate havoc on that level.

Even now, she was tough enough that if she discovered his deception, he'd be a dead man. Worse, he'd probably be dinner, latent psychic talent or not. If she figured it out...

He picked up the bass line hurriedly, trying to steady his nerves. If she pulls this off, she won't need us anymore, he reminded himself. At least this way he had a chance of getting out. Glancing back at the crowd, he frowned. They didn't look as completely drawn in as they had the last few nights, but not completely invulnerable, either. Earplugs or not, Lori could drain as she pleased.

The spell was starting to pick up as they went, gathering power with every moment. Frank could feel it swirling about them, like a whirlpool sucking energy in. He flinched in revulsion as it passed him, passing through all of them. As the verse ended, the funnel of energy began to expand, like a worm with a gaping mouth. It was stretching, reaching towards another part of town, slowly starting to move towards the Hellmouth.

Glancing at the water bottle, Frank silently willed - no, pleaded - that Lori would reach for it. Before it was too late.

* * *

"Hey, gorgeous," the vampire greeted. "Looking for a good time?"

Faith spun to see half a dozen vampires, all wearing their game faces, striding towards her from the end of the alley. She smiled at their momentary surprise; obviously, they were expecting Buffy. "Sorry, the usual girl's sick tonight," she quipped, pulling a stake from her purse.

Notice the change of plans.

Growling, they rushed her. Faith met the first two easily, staking one right off and blocking the attack of the other. The rest surrounded her, and even a Slayer as skilled as she was going to have a hard time fighting her way out of the throng. A lucky swipe, and the stake was knocked from her grip. "We're just going to have to make do," the leader leered, pinning her to the wall.

A dark figure dropped into view behind them, leaping from the roof of the Bronze to land neatly on his feet.

Hi, Angel!

Not even bothering with a quip, Angel grabbed the leader and shoved a stake through him before any of Faith's attackers even had a clue. Between the two of them, the remaining vampires didn't have a chance.

* * *

"All done," Cordelia announced, plopping the empty bags down on the library table.

"Very good," Giles said absently, still focusing on the book in front of him. Willow was also present, helping him research; set plan or no, if anything went wrong they might need to be prepared for a contingency. From the bookcage, the newly transformed Oz growled.

Cordelia glanced nervously at the circulation desk. "Is that bug doohickey still on?"

"Nope," Willow answered, sitting down. "We unplugged it and took it apart and all that a while ago."

"Oh, yeah." Cordelia reached into her purse, pulling out a small purple notebook. "I picked this up when Xander made me sneak into the Bronze. It kind of looked something like you witchy types would like. Diagrams and stuff."

Naturally, Cordelia would forget about this critical bit of info til now.

"What?" Willow cried, snatching it from Cordelia's fingers and flipping through it. "And you waited until now to mention this?"

"So I forgot," Cordelia snapped. "I mean, I almost got caught by the scary voodoo guy, got my dress messed up, and you yell at me for forgetting something?"

"Well, this - this is a major clue to just how they planned this out," Willow answered, flipping through the pages. "It looks like diagrams of rituals, certain positions..." She trailed off, hesitating on a certain page. "Uh-oh," she said in a small voice. "Uh, this doesn't look good. Not good at all."

Surprised, Giles looked up. "What is it?"

She opened the notebook flat on the table so that they all could see. "Look at the diagrams. They're devised for this type of draining ritual, and the focus is the person in the center."

"Yeah, the siren," Cordelia said. "We've already figured that out."

"She's the focus of power, true, but the person actually weaving the currents is the one standing in the eastern point of the triangle," Willow finished. "Guys, she's not the one actually casting the spell!"

Dun dun dun... You know, it's funny, but someone actually asked me at this point if Frank was the real bad guy. That would have been an interesting twist, but it would contradict everything from his POV up to this point.

* * *

One of the waiters lugged a box over to Mike, saying something to him. The bartender sighed and made a great show of reluctance as he picked it up off the counter and carried it off towards the back exit. Malik smiled expectantly; he'd arranged for security.

But Mike turned left, heading for the back room instead of the exit. Mal's smile faded, and Frank was hard pressed to conceal his own. Weren't expecting that, were you? Frank mused, careful not to broadcast his thoughts.

Lori wasn't paying any attention as she finished the verse, reaching behind her for the water bottle. She took her usual healthy swig, swallowed, and hesitated, a strange expression forming on her face. Frank jerked his gaze back to his fingers, not wanting to make eye contact. The funnel seemed to stop, remaining where it was.

She leaned back into the mic to belt out the chorus, and it came out strong... but there was something missing. The power was absent. Just as Lori seemed to realize this, she launched into a spasmodic fit of coughing, grabbing her throat. For the first time in who knew how long, the siren's voice failed her. The song abruptly stopped, and the spell fizzled out. The shock was so much that Lori stumbled forward, catching herself on the stool to avoid crashing to the floor.

In case anyone had any doubts about whether the concoction would work, I had to make it obvious.

Before any of them could react, the skylight popped open.

Down came Buffy.

Off went the power.

At around that moment, all hell broke loose.

This was originally the end of a chapter when I was posting this to the Buffy creative NG. I still like the end lines here. :)

* * *

About the series of fight scenes that follows - I personally think these are the best string of action scenes I've ever written. They're not without flaws, but given the logistics and the number of antagonists I had to take care of, they flowed surprisingly well.

"Out! Everyone out!" Xander shouted, ushering the stampede of panicked patrons out the back door. He slipped back into military mode, bellowing as loudly as possible. "Move! Move! Move!"

Fortunately, most of the teens were still lucid enough to remember the mantra that had been spreading throughout the crowd: If the power goes out, head for the back exit. Exactly why, no one was sure; some said it was because some of the "gangs" were going to try and start a riot again, others that it was an early Senior Prank. Whatever the reason, though, the stampede was as orderly as a stampede could get, with no strays from the herd.

Xander and Cordelia spread the word pretty well. I figured a senior prank was as good an excuse as any.

Outside, Faith and Angel were handling most of the guards, who weren't exactly expecting him. The mob of somewhat panicked teens were free to flee for the parking lot unmolested for a change as the Slayer and the vampire fended off the undead.

In the back room, Mike stood by the opened fuse box, counting the seconds off as he waited.

From a distance, Trick watched the exodus thoughtfully, then flipped his cellphone open. "Let's just make this a bit more interesting, shall we?" he murmured as he began to dial.

Faith staked the last vamp, unconsciously reaching into her jacket for a new stake before she realized that was all of them. But her expression was not one of triumph. "Uh-oh."

Angel froze. "What?"

For answer, she brought out an old knife, its intricately carved handle and the polished iron blade gleaming in the streetlights. "I think B needed this."

Even the best-laid plans can hit a snag.

* * *

Back at the library, someone's getting a clue or two.

"So what you're saying is," Cordelia said slowly, "that even though the fish girl is the one whose voice is hypnotizing everybody, she's not doing all the witchy stuff?"

Thank you, Cordelia, for letting me phrase this in as simple a way as I could.

Giles nodded, examining the diagrams thoughtfully. "One of the other band members is. I'm afraid I can't say who, since we don't know who's in the eastern position in this formation."

Willow's eyes grew wide. "It's not Frank, is it? He wouldn't be double-crossing us?"

Cordelia frowned. "Who's Frank?"

"The bass player," Giles responded. "The, ah, the mute fellow."

"Oh, he's got to be cool," Cordelia said flippantly, dismissing their speculation with a gesture. "He spotted me when I snuck into the Bronze, and he didn't rat me out or anything."

Which makes Frank even less plausible as a suspect.

Giles and Willow stared at her. "And you were going to mention this when?" Giles asked.

"You didn't ask. Look, Mike got me in, I got out okay, what's the problem?"

Willow glared at her, but Giles hesitated, a faraway expression crossing his face. "Those who are marked are immune to a siren's call..." he murmured, remembering.

And Giles suddenly loads up a bit of text. I figured that they'd stopped researching Mike's immunity in the immediacy of setting up to stop Relish.

"Marked?" Cordelia asked as he grabbed a book off the stack and started leafing through it. "You know, Giles, it's considered rude to completely go off on tangents in the middle of people's conversations..."

Ha! Pot, this is Kettle, you're black!

"I just recalled something when you mentioned Mike," Giles answered. "Those who are marked..." He found the page he was looking for and studied it for a few moments before going pale. "Oh, dear Lord."

I finished this prior to Season Five, yet I got the phrase that usually means Giles found something Very Bad down pat. I am so Joss. :)

Willow moved to look over his shoulder, and Cordelia did the same. "Giles, what is it?"

"It was in the Billings account on sirens," Giles replied shakily. "Among those who are immune to a siren's song are those mortals who have been marked by revenants, powerful spirits, for possession."

"And?" Cordelia pressed.

Giles slammed the book shut. "Mike is immune. And he's had an apparition following him around all week. Think about it, won't you?"

I made this up completely.

It took Cordelia a moment, but horrified understanding flashed in her eyes. "You mean - he's--"

Willow nodded. "Relish isn't our only problem now."

Oh, of course not! Things just have to get progressively worse!

* * *

Buffy dropped down to the dance floor right in front of the stage, landing nimbly on her feet. As the last of the stampede hurried out, the lights suddenly flickered back on in the now-deserted club.

Nice timing, Mike.

Hunched over the stool, still clutching her throat, Lori glared at the newcomer. A haggard expression had come over her features, making her look twenty years older. "You..." she snarled, venom dripping from even the harsh whisper of her voice. "Little Slayer bitch..."

"Oh, look. I'm famous," Buffy shot back, keeping her gaze locked with Lori's. She didn't even look at Frank for fear it would give him away. Besides, this was one ticked-off siren. If one looked closely enough, the faintest glimmer of red was flickering in her eyes. All she needed was a little push.

Ladies and gentlemen, Lorelei is about to snap.

Malik was sensing it as well. "Lori..." he cautioned worriedly.

Buffy cocked her head, studying the exhausted woman's appearance, especially the creases in her skin that were appearing suddenly. "You know, they have wrinkle creams today that would do wonders for you."

That did it. Lori's head snapped up, her eyes glowing with crimson fire. With a hoarse screech, she launched herself at Buffy like a wild animal. "Lorelei!" Molly screamed, suddenly gifted with a noticeable Irish accent. "No!"

First hint as to what Molly's supposed to be.

But the siren ignored her in her bloodlust, seeming to grow claws as she lunged. Buffy easily sidestepped the pounce, but Lorelei was undeterred, landing lightly on all fours with catlike grace before leaping into an upright position. Slayer and siren circled each other for a few seconds before Lori lunged again, this time with a right hook to the midsection. Mid-swing, her fingers changed, elongating and stretching into scaly claws. Buffy dodged, but just barely, as something sliced through her blouse. She glanced down to see five parallel gashes in the fabric.

"Hey! I liked that shirt!" Buffy cried, slamming a fist into Lori's face. The siren's head snapped back only briefly before she delivered a side kick to Buffy's gut. The Slayer fell back, rolled, and jumped to her feet again, just as Lori lunged a second time.

Both combatants tumbled to the ground, Buffy struggling to break Lori's grip. "What the hell kind of mermaid are you?" Buffy gasped.

"Let's just say I got tired of singing to sailors," Lori snarled, just as the bar stool smashed across her back.

Somewhat cornball? Yes, but I like the line.

* * *

"We'll have to get it to her," Angel insisted as Xander approached them.

"I'll go," Faith volunteered. "It's not like there's any more vamps to fight out here."

As soon as she said it, movement sprung from the shadows. Faith and Angel turned to see half a dozen vampires emerge from the darkness, game faces on and definitely in search of some fun.

Guess what? Trick sent a committee. Why? Just for the hell of it.

Angel sighed. "You had to say it, didn't you?"

Way to jinx it, Faith!

Inside the club, crashing sounds could be heard. Despite himself, Angel stole a worried glance at the Bronze. Faith smirked, handing him the knife. "Go get 'em, Tiger," she said, whipping out a stake. "I can handle this."

This was a blatant excuse to have Buffy and Angel take on Lori together.

* * *

Having a heavy bar stool broken across one's spine would have seriously hurt a normal human being. In Lori's case, it was enough for her to loosen her grip. Buffy kneed her in the stomach, shoving her to the side and flipping so that she had Lori pinned to the ground for a moment, shoving the siren's head into the floor.

Notice that Mike hasn't left the building yet.

Molly, Malik, and Frank remained on the stage, seemingly transfixed by the battle going on right in front of them. Molly snapped out of it, whirling on the other two. "We've got to do something!"

"You want to fight a Slayer, be my guest," Mal retorted, tossing the drum sticks to the floor. "I'm gonna go start the car."

Ever the realist.

With a snarl, Lori literally bucked Buffy off, leaping to her feet. Buffy did the same, getting a better look at the halfway transformed siren. From the elbows down, the skin of her arms blended into scales and clawed hands, a grotesque pair of gauntlets. Her eyes were glowing like twin Christmas lights, the flaming red irises shining from beneath her wild mane of orange hair. "YOU!" she cried, enraged.

Not exactly an appealing makeover, is it?

Buffy prepared to dodge the next lunge, and was surprised when it wasn't even aimed at her. Lori flew by her in a blur of orange and green, intent on harming the wielder of the bar stool. Mike was barely able to dodge, and she caught him in the shoulder, sending them both flying over the bar.

Like she was going to let Mike off easy for that one.

Several glasses fell, and Mike shielded his eyes against the storm of shattered glass. Lori took most of the brunt of the glass on her back, only somewhat fazed by the onslaught as Mike took the opportunity to try to pull himself up. He wasn't entirely unscathed; there was a nasty-looking gash on his forehead, but he was still conscious.

And Mike scores another head injury!

Something snared his ankle as Lori made a grab for him, trying to pull him down. "Do you have any idea," she snapped as he kicked against her grip, "how long it's been since I've eaten?"

Her claws tore easily through his pant leg, cutting into his flesh. Mike winced, but somehow the pain seemed to give him an extra surge of adrenaline. "No," he answered curtly, twisting in order to shove his free foot into her face. Surprised, she let go, and Mike pushed himself up...

...and without knowing how, managed to backflip over the bar, landing on his feet.

Slight hint here to the transfer that was going on before Mike got sucked into Sunnydale.

It wasn't a perfect landing by any means; his knees seemed to give out, and he had to grab on to one of the stools to keep from toppling over entirely. As he slumped over the stool, trying to regain his equilibrium, Lori practically flew over the counter, leaping clear over his head. She landed gracefully in front of the Slayer.

"Get out of here, Mike," Buffy ordered before she and Lori traded blows again with a flurry of punches, blocks and kicks. Having no better option, Mike stumbled towards the front door, a broken stool leg in one hand.

He should have run earlier, but oh well.

For several moments, neither Buffy nor Lori seemed to get the upper hand, until Buffy pulled something from her shirt and stabbed Lori with it. The siren staggered back, stunned but otherwise unharmed. She looked down to see a wooden stake protruding from her chest, and suddenly began to laugh, a harsh, rasping sound. "Oh, please," Lori cackled, pulling the stake out easily and tossing it away. "Wood is for vampires, little girl. Don't they teach you anything in school?"

Oops. Where's that damn knife?

With that, she lashed out, her claws raking Buffy's cheek. Buffy managed to dodge slightly, and the cuts were as minor as cat scratches. But it was enough of a distraction for Lori to punch Buffy, hard, sending the Slayer reeling back a step. Dazed, Buffy couldn't block in time as Lori hit her again, knocking her to the floor. Her vision blurred as she looked up to see the siren standing over her, extending a gleaming claw. Mike was still slumped over the stool, conscious but not aware enough to be much help.

Oops. He should be out the door by now. My bad.

An enraged roar split the air, and a dark shape suddenly plowed into Lori like a freight train, knocking both siren and savior to the floor. Buffy stumbled to her feet, shaking her head to clear it. Her surroundings finally came into focus enough to see that Angel was grappling with Lori a few feet away, and neither seemed to be getting the upper hand. Her foot nudged something, and she looked down to see the iron knife lying on the floor where Angel had dropped it.

Nice timing, Angel!

She glanced up again in time to see Lori flip Angel onto his back and lift a clawed hand. In her grasp was the discarded stake. "You really should have taken me up on my offer," she snarled. "More's the pity."

"No!" Buffy and Molly shrieked in unison. The keyboard player made a lunge to stop Buffy, but Frank grabbed Molly from behind, trying to restrain her. In a single motion, Buffy snatched up the knife, leapt behind Lori, and stabbed the siren in the back. Lori let out a strangled gasp, loosening her grip on Angel.

Unfortunately, Lori hasn't fully transformed yet, so that won't be enough to kill her.

As the vampire stood up, an unearthly scream of rage tore through the air. The sound made both Buffy and Angel cover their ears in pain, and there was a crash as Frank reared back, landing on the drum set.

Lori's not the only one with a set of pipes.

When the ringing in her ears had sufficiently died down, Buffy looked up to see something she hadn't quite expected. Molly had Frank in a headlock, pressing a knife to his throat. But that wasn't what surprised Buffy. The faint nimbus of eerie blue light playing around the girl did. "Enough!" she screamed.

Angel looked, and his eyes widened in recognition. "Oh, God," he murmured. "Sidhe. Bean sidhe."

Okay, before I get shot: I intentionally screwed with the legend on this one. Big time. I know that the bean sidhe (banshee) was not technically an evil spirit, and I know they were considered earth spirits. (Which is why I should have switched her element with Frank, now that I think of it.) It does make sense that Angel would be the one to figure out what she was. And Molly's first name is a blatant reference to Disney's Gargoyles - the Banshee took the name Molly when she disguised herself as human in Ireland.

"A what?" Buffy asked, wincing as Molly screamed again, the sound not half as intense but definitely devastating.

Lori began to stagger to her feet, pulling the blade from her back with a howl of pain. It hadn't been a killing blow, but from the greenish blood trickling from her mouth, it was apparent that Buffy had done some serious damage to the siren. "We're leaving now, dears," Molly continued, her thick Irish accent now harshly apparent. "Anyone tries to stop us, and the wee traitor here dies." As if to punctuate the statement, Lori cast the knife away, sending it skittering across the floor. "Go, Lorelei."

Really stupid of Lorelei to toss the knife aside, but I don't think she's thinking straight here.

Sparing them one last baleful look, Lori staggered towards the back door. Angel snarled, stepping towards her. "Stop where you are!" Molly cried. She pressed the knife against the skin, and a small trickle of blood appeared on Frank's neck. The bassist flinched in pain.

Helplessly, Angel and Buffy could only watch as the sidhe backed out as well, dragging their friend along.

Frank is just having one hell of a bad day.

* * *

Another scene I had planned from the beginning; Faith and Mike confronting the Defender's spirit and Faith getting her ass handed to her.

Mike burst out of the front door only to be confronted with a hungry vampire, who immediately whirled at the smell of blood. Before Mike could even block, Faith had already staked his would-be attacker. Xander was hastily reloading a crossbow, and Mike lunged for the nearest vamp with the stool leg, giving the other boy a reprieve to load and fire.

His head had cleared, and he found himself fighting back to back with Faith for a moment. "Did B get the knife or what?" Faith shouted as she sucker-punched a vamp.

Pretty much all the chit-chat they could afford. And Faith would want to know.

"Yep," was all Mike had time to say as he ducked a punch, lashed out with a side kick, and clumsily staked the overconfident vampire who had rounded on him. Fortunately, there were only a few left, and in a few minutes the number of vampires had dwindled to zero.

Xander lowered the crossbow. "That's got to be all of them."

"It had better be," Mike added, wiping at his temple and pulling his hand away to see his fingers stained with blood. The gash on his forehead was still bleeding, and would be likely to attract local vamps without a mission.

Faith whistled, walking over to him and getting a good look at the cut. "Damn! What happened to you?"

"Broken bottle, I think," Mike replied, wincing at her touch. "Looks that bad?"

"It'll heal," Faith observed. "Gotta clean it up, though."

"Giles has a first-aid kit in the library," Xander began as a frigid gust of air suddenly blew past, the chill a surprise in the muggy heat of the evening. "What the--"

However, I think Mike is going to beat Frank out for Worst Day Ever.

Mike turned towards the source of the cold air and stopped short. Faith and Xander followed his gaze to see a glowing shape moving towards them, an ethereal form surrounded by a pearly haze of light. Its feet barely touched the ground as it moved towards them, picking up speed as it came. Faith took Mike's arm, but he was rooted to the spot, unable to move. "Corbett?" She waved a hand in front of his face. "Corbett?"

Second night of the full moon, and the Defender's at full power. Which means that Mike is toast.

At this point, I have to stop and explain something for non-PR fans. In the Lost Galaxy pilot, Mike presumably fell to his death in a chasm. What they found out at the end of the first season was that coincidentally, the dying Magna Defender had been imprisoned there for years, and when Mike fell through, he saved him - by "exchanging his lifeforce" with Mike's and essentially possessing Mike to give himself the power to return to the surface. Typically unsatisfying and vague explanation, so I decided to have a little fun with it, making the Magna Defender a ghost who still had all the Defender powers - and he'd already started to possess Mike a bit, so he had to see the job done.

Then the moon passed behind a cloud, and Mike was suddenly jolted out of his trance as the apparition hesitated just a moment, pointing at him. "Run, guys," Mike advised, suddenly afraid. "It wants me."

Yay for cloud cover!

"Hell no!" Faith retorted, stepping between Mike and the advancing spirit. "You think you can take me?"

At this moment, Faith, yes he can.

The spirit waved a hand - at least, it looked like a hand - and Faith was suddenly lifted off her feet, sailing into the air. She crashed into the wall of the Bronze and slid to the ground, unconscious. "Was that a yes?" Xander gulped.

That was one hell of an affirmative.

Mike hesitated a moment, looking worriedly at Faith's prone form, but the specter continued its advance. Stealing a final worried glance at the unconscious Slayer, Mike took off at a dead run down the street, the spirit in hot pursuit.

Xander stood there for a few moments, staring openmouthed at the scene. Finally, he snapped out of it, rushing to Faith's side. "Faith! Come on, wake up!"

She stirred, groaning in pain, then suddenly snapped back to attention, stumbling to her feet. "Where'd it go?"

"Just took off," Xander began, helping her stand. The squeal of tires interrupted any further conversation, and the two teenagers looked up to see a black van speeding around the corner, peeling rubber as it disappeared into the night. "Was that who I think that was?"

"Yep," Faith replied, brushing her hair out of her face. "There goes Relish."

"Oh, this just gets better and better."

* * *

Buffy and Angel burst out into the alley just in time to hear the squeal of tires and see the van speeding off. "Great," Buffy groaned. "And we have no clue where they're headed."

"Probably the lake," Angel guessed. "If she wants to heal, she'll have to transform and feed."

"And Frank's going to be the main course," Buffy realized. "You wouldn't know how to hotwire a car, by any chance?"

Before Angel could respond, headlights appeared at the nearest end of the alley, and a familiar vehicle pulled up with a screech of tires. "Cordelia!" Buffy shouted, running out of the alley as Giles' car pulled up behind the convertible.

Cordelia would refuse to ride in the Citroen when she's got her own wheels. Which makes it easier on me.

Faith and Xander came running down to meet them. Both were covered in dust, but both looked to be in good shape, although Xander seemed to be developing a bit of a black eye. "What's the sitch?" Faith asked, seeing the panic in Buffy's eyes and the grim worry in Giles'.

"Reader's Digest version," Buffy gasped. "Lori drank the stuff, choked, we evacuated, I fought her, I stabbed her, Molly put a knife to Frank's throat and they all just took off a minute ago."

"She was a sidhe," Angel put in.

Cordelia coughed. "Um, excuse me? Didn't you just say the same thing?"

Cordelia would get confused on the pronunciation there.

"No, a sidhe," Angel corrected. "You'd know her kind as a banshee. I should have seen it coming."

I had to explain for people who had no clue about mythology.

"She must be the caster, then," Giles realized, shaking the notebook. "These diagrams indicated that while Lorelei was the focus of power, someone else was actually weaving the spell."

"Oh, it gets better," Xander added. "Some ghost just showed up and took off after Mike." He hesitated, glancing at Faith, unsure whether or not he should go into all the details.

Does he want to tell everyone how easily Faith was beaten? No.

Faith sighed. "One nasty sucker, too. Knocked me on my ass."

But she's more concerned with keeping it away from Mike to care.

"Well, considering it intends to possess him," Giles said, "I'd say that a certain amount of nastiness could be expected."

"Possess him?" Buffy echoed. "Giles, instant replay."

Giles sighed. "According to a text on the subject, mortals who are marked for spirit possession are often immune to a siren's spell. Now since Mike is immune, and since there's been a ghost following him about, it made sense. I may know a ritual that may prevent it, but--"

"Then let's motorvate," Faith interrupted, stepping towards Giles' car. "That dead bastard's not getting away with this."

Xander caught her arm. "Wait a minute! Relish got away! For all we know, they could be headed for the border."

Considering that Sunnydale is supposed to be located near Monterey, California, that's going to be a bit of a haul.

"No, they wouldn't," Angel said suddenly. "At least, not yet. The siren's wounded. She'll have to feed. They'll stop by the closest and cleanest body of water before they do anything."

"And Frank's probably going to be the main course," Buffy finished, sagging a bit. "Okay, here's what we do. Faith, Xander, you go with Giles to stop that thing."

"Great, I get to go stop Casper," Xander groused.

Buffy continued, ignoring him. "Angel, Cordy and I are going to hit the beach."

"What?" Cordelia exclaimed. "You are NOT going to drag me along on another ick-fest Slaying!"

"Fine, then we'll just take your car ourselves," Angel said casually. "Buffy will drive."

She immediately made a break for the convertible. "I know a shortcut!"

Hee. Love this reaction. By now, Buffy's driving skills are notorious.

The two groups split off, leaving Xander standing alone for a moment. He glanced over to Cordelia's convertible, then over to Giles' car. Sighing, he squared his shoulders and followed Giles. "Hey, you really need my help?"

"Definitely," Giles answered as he unlocked the car, allowing Faith and Xander to scramble in. "This is no ordinary spirit, I'm afraid. We may need all the help we can get."

At a look from the Watcher, Faith sighed and reluctantly buckled her seatbelt. "Ordinary? Nothing on the Hellmouth is ordinary, G."

Giles started the engine, peeling rubber with a surprising burst of speed. "I'll explain on the way!"

* * *

The van swerved wildly as it flew around the corner, jolting Frank awake from his semi-daze. He was lying on his side on the floor of the van, with both his wrists and ankles tied. Gingerly, he tested his bonds, and was not surprised to find that they were tight. Escape was probably a bad idea right now.

Cautiously, he peered around him, trying not to give any indication that he was awake. Lori was sprawled across the back seat, her breath coming in hoarse, wheezing gasps as she stared at the ceiling, unaware that he was awake. Up front, he could hear Malik loudly protesting over something, followed by a quiet but sharp retort from Molly. He craned his neck, twisting to see what they'd used to bind his hands behind his back. Duct tape. It figured.

I am a firm proponent of the use of duct tape to fix anything.

He looked back at Lori. She looked like hell, but that was no guarantee he'd be any match for her - especially if he was tossed in like a sack of potatoes. If he could just get his hands and feet free, he might have a small chance. Rolling over, he was gratified to feel a lump in his jeans pocket. They hadn't taken his pocketknife.

It was a bit of a strain, but with a little work he could reach it...

Slightly contrived, but Frank had to get his hands free somehow.

* * *

Mike ran blindly through the streets of Sunnydale, ducking into a crowd of shoppers to evade the spirit that was following him. Whenever he passed through a crowd, it slowed down, uncertain which human in the sea of bodies was his. But he was running out of crowds fast, and he wasn't going to be able to run forever. He needed help. He needed Giles.

The library. That was where Giles and Willow were stationed. They were on Oz watch, so they couldn't leave. Of course. If anyone could help, the Watcher was his best bet.

Mike doesn't know that Giles already left.

He picked up speed, heading for Sunnydale High.

* * *

"Brakes! Brakes!"

The van screeched to an abrupt stop just at the edge of the asphalt, inches from the wooden fence surrounding the dunes. Unable to check her motion, Lori rolled off the back seat, landing on the floor with a thud. As Malik hopped out of the cab to slide the van door open, Lori glared at him venomously. "Dammit, Mal, where the hell did you learn to drive?"

Lori is in VERY bad shape at this point.

He helped her stagger out, unfazed by her anger. "New York."

Remember the driver's license? Hee.

"Figures," she gasped, leaning against the van for support. "Stop staring at me and get the little weasel out of there."

Frank cursed mentally; he'd only sawed halfway through the tape. As Mal grabbed him by the shoulders, dragging him out, the pocketknife slipped from his grasp. Chicken shit, he thought as he was hauled out onto the asphalt. Won't even try for a fair fight.

Thinking, of course, that his abilities are gone and no one can hear him. But...

He was surprised when Lori kicked him, not as forcefully as she would have liked, but enough to knock the wind out of him. "You're calling me a chicken shit? You bastard!" She knelt down and grabbed him by the hair, pulling his face up to meet hers. "I've planned this for years now, years. What did you expect to gain out of double-crossing us? Did you think the Slayer would protect you?" She hesitated, coughing, as more blood trickled from her mouth. Hastily, Molly helped her stand again, supporting her partner in crime. Lori turned bloodshot eyes to Malik. "Dump him in."

As Mal hauled him up again, Frank didn't bother to struggle, mainly out of shock. She had heard him. They all had. But wouldn't his gift have been taken away by now? Unless... unless the Watcher had been right. He began to work at the tape on his wrists again.

A note about duct tape: If you can cut a big enough gash in it, you can usually rip it apart on your own.

Mal was too busy dragging him across the sand to notice that Frank was straining against the tape, and slowly, ever so slowly, the tear he'd cut was growing larger and larger. Lori and Molly were a few paces ahead of them, wading out into the water. As she waded in deeper, Lori suddenly gained a tranquil expression, the harsh lines fading from her face.

One thing I SHOULD have pointed out was that Lori could do both fresh water and salt water in a pinch; she simply preferred fresh water. But I wanted the beach for the setting of this battle.

Just as Malik reached the surf, the tape broke.

Great timing, that.

Frank flung his arms out as he tore the tape off, grabbing Malik by the forearms and flipping the drummer clear over him. Malik landed face first, his surprised yell cut off by a mouthful of sand. Lori whirled to see Frank tearing frantically at the tape wrapped around his ankles, and her features twisted into a snarl. By now, her legs had fused into a tail, and the scales traveled across her arms, as her hands elongated into webbed claws. "No you don't!" Lori hissed, her eyes glowing.

The action here wasn't too clear; Frank is partly in the water at this point.

Suddenly, a figure jumped up from the surf, and a pair of arms wrapped around the siren's neck as Angel leapt on her from behind. "Yes he does," Buffy snapped, standing up as well. In her hand was the iron blade.

Cordelia knows ALL the best shortcuts, doesn't she? I love this entrance, I really do.

Molly opened her mouth to let out another ear-splitting scream, but she was too late. The rather heavy piece of driftwood Frank had discovered collided squarely with the back of her head. No sound issued from her open mouth as she collapsed to the sand.

Notice I don't mention HOW he got it to collide with her head.

"NO!" Lori shrieked, bucking backwards and dunking Angel beneath the surf. She lashed out with her tail, sweeping Buffy's legs out from under her. The three combatants vanished beneath the waves in a swirl of limbs and scales.

At this point, she has totally forgotten about Frank. Molly's unconscious, and Mal... well, I deliberately ignore Malik here.

As Buffy struggled to regain her equilibrium, the siren's tail smacked her full in the face, sending her spinning. The knife slipped from her grip, landing in the soft sand below. She tried to feel around for it, but Lori whacked her again, missing her head and pummeling Buffy in the shoulderblades instead. Desperately holding her breath, Buffy steeled herself for a third strike.

It never came. Lori surfaced again with a strangled shriek. By now, the potion had worn off, and her voice was regaining a bit of its power. But she was still weak, and the fact that Angel's arms were still wrapped around her neck made it difficult to actually use her voice to its full potential. Lungs burning, Buffy briefly surfaced to see what was going on. Apparently, Lori had forgotten one tiny detail in her fighting strategy; vampires didn't need to breathe. Temporarily forgetting about the Slayer, Lori reared back again, clawing at the arms that were wrapped around her windpipe like an iron vice.

Drowning Angel is not going to work here, a fact I realized while writing this. I put that to good use here.

"Hurry!" Angel gasped, and Buffy suddenly realized that the antidote Giles had whipped up was starting to wear off as well.

She dived under again, frantically feeling around in the sand for the cold of the blade's hilt. It was too dark to see, and Lori's tail was still thrashing about, and Buffy surfaced again, just barely dodging a slap. "I'm looking!" she cried, still feeling blindly.

Angel was gritting his teeth, the last vestiges of his strength giving way. "I can't... hold on... much longer..."

Something smooth and cold brushed against her fingers, and Buffy grabbed madly, wincing as her fingers closed around the blade instead of the hilt. But it was just what she was looking for. She switched hands, jumping to her feet. With her good hand, Buffy aimed and threw the knife.

Lori finally shrugged Angel off, gasping with relief as the vampire was flung into the waves. "Can't you do any better than--"

She stopped abruptly, jerking in pain as something thunked into her torso. Looking down, the siren stared numbly at the iron hilt protruding from her chest. "But that's... that's..."

"Yep," Buffy said. "Wood. Iron. They're different. You told me."

Cookie to anyone who remembers which Buffy trade paperback I lifted that line from.

Lori wavered, turning to look at the Slayer with a curious expression. "So many centuries..." she croaked. The lines returned to her face, and she seemed to be withering, shrinking inward. The red glow faded from her eyes, replaced with what looked almost like respect. "Nice shot."

With that, she let out her last breath in a sigh, sinking into the water with a moan as she continued to dissipate. In a moment, all that was left was dust and bones and shredded clothing. Nothing moved for several seconds as Angel and Buffy stared at the spot where Lori had been.

Buffy finally stepped forward, wading over to Angel. She stooped to retrieve the knife, then helped Angel stand. He had to lean on her, again fatigued and drained. But the addicted, crazed look was gone. "Are you all right?"

"I will be," he answered as they stumbled out of the water like a pair of drunken buddies. "Forget the shot; that was great timing."

"Well, we aim to please." She sighed. "Got to hand it to Cordelia, though, she knows her shortcuts."

Angel cracked a smile at that, but his mirth faded quickly. The vampire's knees buckled, and he fell to the sand with a moan of agony. Buffy knelt by his side immediately. "Angel? What's--"

She stopped as she realized what was going on, turning to see the source. Molly was getting to her feet, the same pale nimbus of blue light surrounding her. "Oh, dear, did you forget me so quickly?" The sidhe clucked her tongue reproachfully. "I suppose I'll just have to kill you."

Well, really, it was going to require more than a blow to the head to take HER out!


Last part will be TOMORROW. I need to get dressed and pick up one or two things. (I hate to go out in the Maryland snow panic, but it can't be helped.)

Edit: To those of you writing commentaries and wondering at the lack of responses, I just realized something. No one's responding because they're too busy writing their own commentaries! :)

Comments

[athersgeo.livejournal.com]

OK. Can I kill you for leaving us hanging here????!

Thanks for explaining the deal with the Magna Defender (I haven't seen PRLG, so that was something I'd vaguely wondered).

And...
"Fine, then we'll just take your car ourselves," Angel said casually. "Buffy will drive."

She immediately made a break for the convertible. "I know a shortcut!"
This just made me laugh hysterically. Very, very good :)

[bktheirregular]

It's funny, but I think I only ever read the first half of this on your web site ... it's quite cool, even though the Power Rangers references keep slipping past me. It just works really well on its own.

And thanks for finding time to comment when everybody else has been buried in their own DVD work. ;)