BloodlinesTeaser

Story by Drew and Zahir al DaoudWritten by Drew and Zahir al Daoud

Produced and Directed by CN Winters and Susan CarrEdited by Susan Carr

Sounds by CSRArt Direction by Robert Kidman

Artists – Robert Kidman, CN Winters, Zahir al Daoud, Isis, Mattxxx, and Humaira

Fade InInt.Watchers Council Hallway – Night

"Me," Tracey was saying, "I'd be thrilled to be making out with Orlando Bloom, even if it was just an actor playing me."

"Even if you were Katie Holmes?" Faith shot back, cocking her head.

"Well, but I'm not. Not really."

"And I'm not making out with Orlando Bloom."

"I guess." Tracey sighed. "Sorry."

"S'alright. I got me a better honey."

The two of them turned a corner and took three steps before Faith stopped. She put out her hand and stopped Tracey. "Listen."

Behind the door to the kitchen, something was growling. And it kept on growling, with a few predatory snarls along with the same and another vocalization that resembled a hiss.

"No, no, no, no…!" young woman's voice could be heard exclaiming.

Faith hurled herself at the door.

Cut to:Int.Watchers Kitchen – Continuous

Faith landed in a controlled roll. Momentum carried her towards the table, where she hopped up into a crouch and grabbed a chair. She'd put it over her shoulder in a smooth motion, ready to use it as a weapon, before she actually looked in the direction of the growling.

On the counter, Marsha the dragon blinked at Faith. She had in her snout a long piece of meat. Holding the other end was Lorinda, who also blinked at Faith.

"What's up?" Lorinda asked after a pair of seconds that seemed to last decades.

Tracey by now had stuck her head into the kitchen. "Marsha lets you feed her dragon treats?"

Faith hadn't moved, but her face was a vision of confusion. "Dragon treats?"

"Yeah," Tracey went on. "Raw beefsteak smeared in wasabi. She loves it."

"But this piece," Lorinda said to the little dragon, "is too big for you." Marsha growled and pulled again at the meat with her mouth. "No!" said Lorinda, holding fast. Marsha growled some more, still tugging. Lorinda reached over with her free hand, pulled out a large knife from a wooden block and then sliced through the beefsteak in one motion.

The dragon lifted her head and gobbled the meat she had. It took her all of three quarters of a second. Then she looked at Lorinda, wagging her tail. A forked tongue licked wasabi from around her snout.

"Here you go, pretty girl," Lorinda held the second piece of meat to Marsha, who snatched it from her hand with a purring snarl.

"Don't give her too much," Tracey warned.

"Andrew told me," Lorinda said. She reached over and stroked Marsha's throat. "Pretty girl – such a pretty girl, aren't you?"

Marsha craned her head forward against Lorinda's fingers. And burped.

"Dragon treats?" repeated Faith, still crouched with a chair in her hand. She put the chair down and shook her head. "I'm late to meet Hadley. The kitchen's your domain Tracey so please…clean up the dragon spit before you guys leave," Faith told them as she left the room.

Fade in:Ext.Cleveland – Street

The young woman stumbled out of the front door of the bar, barely maintaining her balance atop a pair of impossibly tall stiletto heels. Her hands windmilled as she stumbled to a signpost and leaned heavily on it. She gripped it tightly as she took a series of ragged breaths, staring at the concrete sidewalk under her feet.

A second woman stepped out of the bar, her legs wobbling slightly as brushed her straight brown hair away from her eyes. "Jesus, Janna." She walked shakily over to her friend. "You know you need to watch how many margaritas you have. They go down a little too easy for you; and frankly, you go down a little too easy when you've had a few."

"Right, Klara." Janna straightened slightly, still holding onto the signpost for balance. Then she flung herself into Klara's arms, wrapping her own around the brunette's neck. Klara stumbled back from the sudden weight around her neck, barely staying upright. "And who was matching me drink for drink in there?"

"Big difference," Klara told her. "I can hold 'em." Klara stumbled backwards and the two fell to the pavement, giggling childishly.

"Yeah, you can hold 'em alright," Janna told her between fits of giggles.

Two more women stepped out of the bar, slightly steadier on their feet than their companions had been. "Jesus, guys, how much did you have

to drink?" The tall redhead pulled her denim jacket around her barely-there dress.

"'sokay, Tiff," Janna slurred. "I think Klara's done for the night though."

"You're both done for the night," Tiff countered as she helped Janna up off the ground. She turned to their fourth companion; a rail-thin Vietnamese woman. "Kim, can you help Klara?"

"Margaritas again?" Kim asked.

"They're jus' so good," Janna said, her eyes rolling back in her head.

"Okay, next time, no tequila for you guys," Kim said. "This is the third weekend we've been out in the last two months, and I don't think we've been out past midnight yet."

"Hey, nobody says we have to go home." Janna wobbled slightly in Tiff's grip. "You guys just go ahead and as soon as the world stops spinning, I'll catch up," she added.

"Okay, the fact that you're even suggesting that tells me that your judgment isn't exactly up to snuff tonight," Tiff told her, supporting the brunette as they struggled their way down the street. "C'mon, let's get you home."

Faith stepped out of the bar and looked at the quartet with a derisive snort. "Some chicks really can't hold their liquor," she shook her head. The tiniest of smiles graced her lips.

A younger black-haired woman stepped out of the bar behind her. She brushed her wavy dark hair away from her eyes and adjusted the black halter-top she wore.

"Should someone be helping them?" she asked.

"Looks like they've got it handled," Faith replied. She looked over at the younger woman. "The two mostly sober ones balance out the two mostly drunk ones." She smiled. "The night's still young, Hadley, where to?"

"You sure you don't want to head in?" Hadley gestured at the ring on Faith's left hand. "I mean, you sure that Robin doesn't mind you going out with your latest protégé?"

"Nah, Ace's out with the boys. He knows me well enough to know that I'm not gonna sit around all night waitin' for him to come home. And he trusts me enough to know that I'm not gonna go out to bring someone else home. We got a good arrangement goin' on," Faith told her. The two women shared a smile.

"Well, in that case, there's this club that opened up just a few blocks from here, and I've been just waiting to check it out." Hadley bounced in front of the senior slayer and took her right hand, leading her down the street.

As the two slayers disappeared up the street, the four women they had seen earlier struggled in the opposite direction. Their slow progress ground to a halt as Janna jerked in Tiff's hands. She leaned on the wall of the building next to her as her body heaved.

"Oh-kay," Tiff muttered, quickly scanning the street. She ushered Janna into the space between two buildings and the two women knelt in the alleyway as Tiff held the inebriated woman's hair back.

"Jesus, Janna," Kim muttered, watching the woman's body heave. She looked up, scanning her environment, almost as if she were standing guard. She drew back with a start as she saw a young man standing at the entrance to the alleyway. He wore a full-length black coat his blond hair hung slightly messily in front of his eyes, and his hands were casually stuffed in his pockets. "Who are you?" she asked, her voice wavering slightly.

The man held up his hands defensively. "Easy," he reassured her. "I just wanted to see if you needed any help." He nodded at Janna. "She looks pretty sick."

"She'll be fine," Kim said tightly. "We just need to get her home so she can sleep it off."

"Can I get you a cab, or is there someone I can call?" the man persisted.

"We're only a few blocks from home," Kim explained, "and everybody who lives there is, well, here." She told him. "We're roommates," she added. Behind her back, her right hand curled into a fist and her

stance widened slightly. The heels of her shoes lifted a fraction of an inch off of the ground as she shifted her weight onto her toes.

"You sure you're okay?" the man asked again, his gaze again falling on Jenna, kneeling on the rough asphalt.

"Yeah, we're fine," Kim replied, slightly annoyed.

He shrugged. "Suit yourself," he told her. He turned to disappear into the street.

Kim relaxed. The tenseness flowed free of her body and the fist she'd clenched behind her back released.

"Take it easy, Kim," Tiff admonished her. "You know, there is the odd nice guy out there who's just being a nice guy."

"Yeah, well. When you meet one, let me know," Kim countered.

"Honestly, Kim, there are a lot worse things to worry about out there than a guy who, as far as I can tell, was only trying to help," Tiff said. "You've watched the news, right? Creepy-crawlies all over."

"And how do you know he wasn't one of those creepy-crawlies?" Kim asked. "Some of them look pretty normal, or so I hear."

"More normal than you'd think," Janna said, her voice suddenly steady.

"What?" Tiff asked, looking down at the prone woman. "Come on, we need to get you home, Jan."

"No," Janna's voice was soft, like smoke whispering over the surface of a lake. She looked up at them, her eyes suddenly an inhuman yellow. They almost seemed to glow in the darkness formed by the ridges, which had appeared on her brow. "You don't."

Fade Out.

End of Teaser

Act One

Starring:Lacey Chabert as Skye, Gale Harold as Jim Pollan, Caroline Dhavernas as Grace Hatherley, Rachel Hurd-Wood as Lorinda, Robert Picardo as

Dr. Miller, and Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers

Guest Starring:Gary Oldman as Mr. Jason Felix, Elisabeth Sladen as Dianna Earl,

Mandy Musgrave as Hadley, Sasha Alexander as Janna, and Hudson Leick as the Mayor Justine Hegwell

Fade in:Int.Watchers Council – Foyer – Later

Faith and Hadley were laughing as they stepped into the foyer of the council. Faith's right arm was stretched across the younger slayer's shoulders. Hadley's left hand clung to Faith's opposite hip as the duo pranced cheerfully into the council building.

"Faith, thank God," Willow strode up to her, bringing their revelry to a rather prompt halt. Rowena was adjusting her coat as she walked up behind Willow.

"Yeah, what is it?" Faith asked.

"I need you to check out a vampire attack. Three victims, it looks like a new hive is in town," Willow explained.

"Can't someone else cover it?" Faith asked. "I mean, this is the first night I've had off in months, and not to put too fine a point on it, I've had a coupla drinks tonight, I'm not exactly at my best."

"Nobody else is close enough," Rowena told her. "Kennedy and Mia are still…jetlagged from Tokyo. I want someone with some experience on this one. The cops found three bodies in an alley behind Flannery's on Prospect. They think that it's vamps and they want us to check it out."

"Flannery's? But we were –" Hadley's response was abruptly cut off by a quick jab from Faith's elbow to her ribs.

"We'll look into it," Faith told the witch. "Give me five minutes to get ready."

Willow's forehead creased. "That's a bit gear-shift-y," she told Faith. "What changed your mind?"

"Nothing," Faith said quickly. "You just said that we're the only ones who can do it, so we'll do it."

"Uh huh," Rowena said, unconvinced. "Look, Faith…"

"Ro," Faith indicated herself. "Gift horse, mouth. You know what I'm sayin'?"

Rowena held up her hands in supplication. "Okay. Flannery's; corner of Prospect and West Third."

"I can find it," Faith said tightly.

"The cops will be waiting for you when you get there," Rowena yelled at Faith's retreating back.

Cut to:Int.Watchers Council – Faith and Robin's bedroom – Moments later

The door flung opened and Faith strode into the room. She walked to the dresser and slid the top drawer opened. She swept socks and undergarments out of the way, revealing, arrayed in an organized manner, a large variety of deadly, pointy weapons. She dropped the short jacket she was wearing on the bed and slid out of her T-shirt, changing into a tighter, black tank top. She picked a wooden stake from the top drawer and wriggled out of the tight, confining black leather pants she was wearing, choosing a pair of more functional, loose-fitting pants that didn't impede her movement.

"Where's the fire?" a deep voice called from behind her.

Faith jumped, startled, and whirled around, her jeans still hanging around her thighs. "Jesus, Ace!" she yelled. "Give a girl a little warning next time you decide to scare the living daylights out of her."

"What's up?" he asked.

"Nothing big," Faith said. "Just a vampire attack downtown."

"It's your night off, Faith. Why are you getting ready as if you're terrified that someone will walk in here the next five minutes and scoop 'nothing big' out from under you?" Robin asked her.

"I thought you were goin' out tonight," Faith told him.

"We came back early," he dismissed her comment. "Stop changing the subject."

Faith cocked her head slightly. "It's nothin'," she insisted. "The club scene's kinda slow tonight, so I think a good slay would ease the boredom a little." She offered a sultry smile. "I didn't think you'd mind," she added, teasingly.

Robin's jaw tensed. His voice was hard, but quiet when he spoke again. "I'll make you a deal," he said, "I'm going to ask you again when you come back, and next time take a long, hard look at the ring on your finger and then ask yourself if you should be lying to the man who gave it to you."

Faith's expression softened as she watched him turn around to leave. "Ace – Robin…" she said softly.

"I'll see you when you get back," he told her, without turning around. "Be careful," he added.

Faith took a shaky breath than bent over to pull her jeans up around her waist. She slid her jacket on and tucked the stake into the waistband of her pants and stepped into the living room.

Robin was leaning against the kitchen counter, his back to her. Faith opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by a sharp knock at the door.

"Goddammit," she muttered and walked to answer the door.

Hadley stood in the hallway, changed and ready.

"We going?" she asked. She looked more intently into Faith's eyes. "You okay?" She asked, a little more gently.

"Yeah, on both counts," Faith replied. She turned to face Robin's back again. "We'll talk when I get back," she reassured him.

He offered no response before she closed the door behind her.

Cut to:Ext.Cleveland – Prospect Street – Later

"Crap," Faith murmured under her breath. "That didn't take long." Already photographers and news reporters were lining the sidewalk trying to snap a shot of the massacre. "God, I miss the days when nobody knew about us," she added in Hadley's direction. "A year ago, this would barely have got a mention on the six o'clock news."

"Um, yeah, it's after midnight. The six o'clock news has been over for hours," Hadley pointed out.

"Not the point," Faith snapped at her. "A year ago, this woulda been basically a non-story."

"It's a big story now," Hadley replied. "I mean, you got hotties with superpowers, violence, lesbians, even religion all mixed up in one big package." She offered a small smile to the older slayer. "I hear you single-handedly managed to make the Rapture Index triple during last year's apocalypse, and it hasn't stopped climbing since."

Faith rolled her eyes. "Please tell me you don't buy into all that the end is nigh crap. I mean, the end has been nigh every year for the past ten years, and we've managed to un-nigh it every time."

"Nope," Hadley replied, "I don't. But clearly there are lots of people out there who do. At the end of the day, news is just entertainment. Kinda like reality TV, except that it actually is reality."

"It's sensationalism," Faith spat out.

Hadley, looked at her, her eyes widening.

"What? I read a book on the odd occasion, so sue me. The point is that if these people knew what was really huntin' them, what we hold back every single day, they'd never leave the house," Faith told her. "The news is makin' it that much harder for people to go about their normal day-to-day lives." The duo pushed their way through the crowd, which had accumulated at the entrance to the alleyway and ducked under the yellow police tape, which had been strung up. "Not to mention makin' it that much harder for us to do our jobs."

Hadley looked over at her, a slight air of suspicion appearing on her face.

"Speaking of our jobs, when did lying to our boss get added to the job description?"

"You want to tell Ro that we were ten feet away from the most recent vampire massacre?" Faith told her.

Hadley's eyes narrowed slightly. "It's not just that, is it?"

"What do you mean?" Faith asked, her body stiffening.

"You have another reason," Hadley told her, conviction thick in her voice.

"You're a mind reader now?" Faith asked.

"Nope, just a keen observer of you," Hadley told her.

"Hadley, you've been with us, what, six months?" Faith asked.

"Eight," Hadley countered, indignantly.

"Eight, fine. You're not allowed to read my mind until you've known me for at least two years," Faith told her. She turned to one of the police officers standing at the scene. "What happened here?" She asked.

"This conversation isn't over," Hadley muttered from behind her.

"Three victims all female between 20 and 24," the officer told them. "Bitten in the neck and we found almost no blood at the scene. We called you."

"Any ID on the victims?" Hadley asked. At Faith's look she shrugged. "What? That's what they always ask on CSI."

"Tiffany Byrne, Kimberly Noi and Klara Franzik," The police officer listed the names from his notepad. "All of them still had their wallets on them, and combined just shy of three hundred dollars cash. We ruled out a robbery."

Faith visibly stiffened at the names. "How long have they been dead?"

"The medical examiner's still on his way, but they were just off the sidewalk, in plain sight. They can't have been there more than a half-hour before someone noticed them," the officer replied.

Faith looked over the officer's shoulder at the three bodies lying in the alley, covered in white sheets. "I want to see the bodies," she told him.

"Ma'am, I can't let you back there until…" the officer started.

Faith whirled to glare at him. "Do I look even remotely old enough to be called 'ma'am?'" she snapped. She took a calming breath and apologized, her tone significantly calmer. "I'm sorry. I'm not trying to get in the way of the investigation. All I want is to see their faces. It'll take five seconds."

The officer turned and nodded to one of the cops standing beside one of the bodies. Faith strode up beside him and looked down as he pulled the white sheet down enough to uncover the young woman's face. The young Korean woman looked lifelessly up at the night sky her expression her lips drawn from her teeth in an expression of anguish.

"Twenty minutes," Faith said softly.

"What's that?" The officer asked.

"Twenty minutes ago, they were still alive," Faith told him. "There's your timeline. I want these bodies transported to the Watchers Council Morgue within the hour," she said.

"Ma'am," the officer winced at the glare Faith shot him, but he continued anyway. "We can't just sidestep procedure like that. We have reasons for these procedures."

"Yeah, I know," Faith told him. "But whoever did this isn't gonna show up in court, you can't try him for murder, even throwin' him in jail won't do anything 'cause he doesn't care if he spends a hundred years behind bars. This is our turf. Make it happen."

"Faith, ease up, will ya?" Hadley said softly. "The guy's just doing his job."

"I need a minute," Faith said abruptly. She walked down the alleyway and turned the corner, leaving Hadley with a somewhat stunned expression on her face.

Hadley looked at the police officer. "Um, she…gets like this sometimes. Don't take it personal."

Cut to:Ext.Cleveland – Back alley – Moments later

Faith gritted her teeth as the knuckles of her right hand collided with titanic force with the unyielding brick wall. "Dammit, dammit, dammit," she muttered with each impact.

"Are you okay?" a foreign voice echoed in the alleyway.

Faith started slightly, then looked at the wall. Then she looked down at her hand. All the knuckles were burst and bleeding. "I'll be fine in a coupla hours," she said. "I heal quick."

"Bad day at work?" the woman asked.

"You could say that," Faith told her.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm sure it'll work out," the woman told her.

"What are you doing back here?" Faith gestured at the walls around her. "You're not exactly dressed for a soiree with the rats."

"It's not every day that you see a world-famous slayer trying to beat the crap out of a wall," she took a step forward, extending her hand. "My name's Janna," she introduced herself.

"Faith," Faith replied taking the woman's hand. "World famous?" She offered a thin smile.

"'Lazarus in leather?' Yeah, you've got a little press lately. I read the article, very interesting," Janna told her.

"Thanks," Faith said. She looked down at her hand and flexed her fingers a few times. Already the bleeding had stopped. She looked at the woman. "Look, is there somewhere we can take you? I mean, there's a new team of vamps out tonight."

"Me? Nah, I'll be fine," Janna told her. "And for what it's worth, whatever is bothering you, I hope you sort it out okay."

"I'll be fine," Faith echoed her sentiment. "I'll find the vamps that did this. I'll track 'em down, and I'll kill them. That'll make things just fine as far as I'm concerned."

"Well, I hope you find her," Janna replied.

"We will," Faith said. "Nine times out of ten, it's just a rag-tag group of everyday vamps who think they can handle a team of slayers. Ten times out of ten, they're wrong."

"Still, good luck, and be careful," Janna told her.

Faith nodded. "Thanks. You sure you're okay getting home?"

"Yeah. I have a couple of friends just around the corner, we'll stick to well-lit roads," Janna told her.

Faith's eyes quickly scanned the shadows alleyway. "Yeah, there's nothing back here. Stick to high-traffic roads and you'll be fine. Vamps are dumb, but not that dumb."

Faith watched the young woman until she was safely on the well-lit sidewalk, then turned to walk back towards the crime scene.

Cut to:Ext.Cleveland – Street – Same time

Janna stopped just out of view from the alleyway and turned back to look at its entrance for a moment. A thin smile appeared on her face.

"Finally," she whispered to herself, "a slayer worth killing."

Cut to:Int.Watchers Council – Xander's room – Later

Xander opened the door to reveal Kennedy standing in the hallway, her arms crossed defensively across her chest. Large circles hung under her eyes as she looked up at him. A single strand of hair hung down over her forehead.

"Kennedy? Are you okay?" Xander asked.

"It's over," Kennedy said simply. "I –" her words caught in her throat, and she coughed uncomfortably. "Heli's gone. It's over. I just wanted

you to know." Her hands shook slightly as she held a knitted wool hat out to the taller man. She started to back away from the doorway.

"Hey," Xander said softly, grabbing her forearms and gently leading her into the room. "Ken, what did you do to her?"

"Nothing," Kennedy said softly. "Nothing that I haven't dreamed of doing since Halloween."

"Then why are you treating this as if you got your ass kicked?" Xander asked.

"It's nothing. I'm tired, I'm jetlagged, and it's been a long year. I'm sorry to bother you," Kennedy started towards the door again, but Xander kept a firm grip on her forearm.

"Kennedy, I've loved two slayers in my life, so that isolationist slayer crap isn't going to work on me," Xander told her softly. "Tell me what happened."

"We fought, I won, she died," Kennedy snapped. "You want a blow-by-blow, or is that good enough?" she asked sharply. "I'm sure someone's sent you the report by now."

"Kennedy," Xander gently pulled her closer. Kennedy jerked away, but her attempt to free herself was half-hearted at best. The older man drew the slayer into his arms. The dark haired woman resisted at first, then sagged into his embrace, pressing her eyes against his shoulder. She sniffed slightly as her arms snaked up behind him. Her body shook in his arms as she tried to muffle her sobs against his shirt.

"It wasn't self-defense, was it?" Xander asked quietly.

Kennedy shook her head against his shoulder, but did not speak.

Xander released her and gently guided her into a comfortable armchair as he sat on the ottoman across from it. "Talk to me," he said simply.

"We'd fought, and I'd won. I had a gun, and she was kneeling on the floor. And I knew it was over. She wasn't going to make any threatening move, she wasn't going to do anything to make me hurt

her. She was too smart for that. She was just going to wait there and let us cart her off to jail, or wherever they'd throw someone like her." Kennedy stopped, ostensibly to dry the moisture from her cheeks.

"Keep going," Xander prodded her gently.

"An' I could feel myself breathing, and I thought Vi can't feel that anymore. I was angry, and I knew that Vi couldn't feel that either. Neither could Chao-Ahn, or Marly. How could someone like Heli still be sitting in front of me, her heart beating, still breathing when none of them could anymore? What right did she have to be kneeling there, smirking at me when none of them could?" She took a long shaking breath. "I swear, for a second I could see every single molecule of air going in and out of her lungs, and in that second, I swore that not one more molecule would be wasted on that…on her. She didn't deserve to take even one more breath. So I stopped her from taking one."

"Kennedy…"

"And I couldn't just shoot her in the head, could I?" Kennedy said, her voice almost inaudible. "No, I shot her once, then I hesitated; just for a second, though; not because I thought life was sacred or that taking any life was horrible. I hesitated because I wanted Heli to know that she was gonna die, and I wanted her to know that I knew that she was gonna die. I hesitated because I wanted her to get a nice, long look at her life when it flashed before her eyes."

A long silence hung between them before Kennedy spoke again.

"Willow, Mia, Faith; when I found out that they…did what they did, I always comforted myself believing that I could never do something like that. I'd always thought nothing would ever drive me to that point. I was wrong, and Heli knew it." Kennedy paused for a moment. "That's what this was all about from the beginning. Halloween, the terrorist attack, the taunts, the threats, the cat-and-mouse games we've played for the last nine months, Chao-Ahn, those Japanese slayers; all of it was to push me to do something I swore I'd never do." The slayer swallowed hard. "I only hesitated for a second, but in that second, I disgraced everything that Vi, Marly, Chao-Ahn, and all the others believed in. They dedicated their lives to protecting life, and in their memory, I wiped one out, in the most cruel, inhumane and painful way I could think of on the spot."

"But you beat her," Xander said softly.

"Did I? 'Cause this sure doesn't feel like winning," Kennedy said.

"Who knows how many more people Heli would've killed if you hadn't stopped her. She might have gone to prison or mental hospital, but then what? Getting a chance to escape, do more damage, take more lives. And you said it yourself, you're breathing, she's not. I say this one goes in the 'win' column," Xander said optimistically. He smiled kindly, "nobody said that winning was always easy."

Kennedy said nothing at first. Instead she produced Vi's two stakes and held them out to him. "Here, I thought you might want these back."

Xander's hand reached for them, then halted in mid-air and he withdrew it. "Keep them," he said.

Kennedy shook her head. "She'd want you to have them," she insisted.

Xander looked at them for a moment, considering. "She'd want a slayer to have them," he said finally.

Cut to:Ext.Cleveland – Alleyway – Later

Hadley faced the reporters around her and spoke into the microphones. "I want to say to the people of Cleveland, you have nothing to be afraid of. I swear to you that I will hunt down the vampires that did this and take them out. That's our job, and we're very good at it."

She backed away as the reporters began to disperse. Faith was just approaching from behind her, looking decidedly angry.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" Faith demanded.

"Killing two birds with one stone," Hadley countered.

"How do you figure?" Faith's tone was condescending.

"You said it yourself, they're making it hard for us to do a job, so I gave them a sound byte that they can put on the news tonight; and you said that they make the people terrified of going out of the house, so I gave the people a reason not to be scared," Hadley rationalized.

"Yeah, and it sure didn't hurt that you managed to snatch your fifteen minutes in the spotlight, did it?" Faith accused her.

"Hey, look, if you'd been here, I woulda let you get on camera for the record, but you weren't. I made a choice, and honestly, I think it was the right one," Hadley insisted.

"You've been here eight months, and you think you can be the Council's spokesperson already?" Faith scoffed.

"Frankly, sometimes I think you might've been here too long," Hadley snapped.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Faith's jaw clenched and her tone was soft and threatening.

Hadley, to her credit, refused to back off. "Faith, you've done a good job, and I'm impressed, but at some point you're gonna have to accept that you just can't do this job anymore. Slaying isn't about one person, it's about the lineage, or that's what Willow said. Sooner or later, you're gonna have to let the next generation take over, and maybe it's sooner."

"Christ, first you're our spokesperson, next you're plannin' on takin' over? Sure as hell didn't take you long to work your way up the ladder, did it?" Faith demanded.

"Who do you think is gonna carry on the council when you're done?" Hadley demanded. "You plan on slaying until you're old and gray? No, it's people like me, and Casey and Denise who are going to keep this place going, so yeah, I'm learning everything I can. Slaying's a game for the young, you said it yourself; and there are a lot of people younger than you here."

"Yeah, well, we'll see how much youth is helpin' you out when I take out this hive before you do," Faith challenged.

The corners of Hadley's mouth turned upwards. "Bring it on," she said softly.

Fade Out.

 

End of Act One

Act TwoFade in:Int.Watchers Council – Robin and Faith's Bedroom – Later

"Arrogant little…" Faith muttered as she flung the bedroom door opened. "'Oh, I'm just killing two birds with one stone,'" she added in a severely characterized version of Hadley's voice. "Skanky little self-important…"

Her tirade was interrupted by a quiet moan from the bed and she whirled around in time to see Robin roll over and look up at her.

"Faith," he said sleepily, "it's three o'clock. How could it possibly have taken you four hours…" In the dim light he could see the thick layer of dark dust that hung on her shoulders, further darkened her already-dark hair, and coated the front of her jacket. "Oh. I see." He looked at her. "How many was it this time?"

"One," Faith told him.

"Plus…"

"Eleven, but those don't count. They were newbies," Faith insisted.

"Big hive," Robin said as he sat up rubbing his eyes with his right hand.

"Oh, it wasn't a hive," Faith said without thinking and winced.

"So, you, what, got bored on your walk home?" Robin asked incredulously.

"I was just doing a sweep of the cemetery," Faith defended herself.

"How many cemeteries?" Robin asked, deadpan.

"One," Faith told him.

"Plus…"

"Four, but there was only one in each of the last four," Faith insisted.

"Faith, the five nearest cemeteries would require you to drive halfway across town at least twice," Robin pointed out, "and you were walking. How'd you manage to talk Hadley into that?"

"Oh, Hadley had already gone home," Faith spoke again without thinking, and tensed in anticipation of Robin's response.

"Do I even need to tell you how dangerous that is?" Robin asked, his voice surprisingly level.

Faith tentatively opened an eye to look at him. "I kinda thought you'd be madder than that," she said softly.

"Mad? I'm furious, but I know that you only go solo when people have died needlessly. On those nights, you usually go to two or three cemeteries. I figure on nights where you've gone to five, people have died needlessly, and for some reason, you're starting to question your self-worth. Again." Robin said.

"Am I that transparent?" Faith asked.

"Only to people who love you," Robin replied with a slight smile. "You want to talk about it?"

Faith dropped heavily onto the foot of the bed. Her head dropped into her hands for a moment as she took a series of calming breaths. "One thousand, two hundred and thirteen days," she said simply.

"You're…naming prime numbers now?" Robin asked, confused.

A tiny smile appeared on her lips, and she looked at him with a playful frown on her face. "Okay, the fact that you know that one thousand, two hundred and thirteen is a prime number is kinda scary on its own," she said, but her body trembled slightly with a suppressed laugh. "That's how much longer my time as a slayer will last," she explained. "I started counting the day that Lori lost her powers, and it's been like waiting for an execution."

"Faith…"

"And now I'm surrounded by these girls. Take Hadley. She's good. She's real good. She may even be better than I was at that age, but I'll beat you to death with your real leg if you tell her that," Faith added.

Robin smiled at the empty threat, but gestured for her to continue.

"So I've got these girls who are younger than me, some of 'em are faster, maybe even better, and now I gotta train 'em, make 'em good enough to replace me," Faith told him. "It's like my whole life's turned into a reminder that the clock's tickin'."

"So tonight…" Robin gently prodded her on.

"Tonight, we lost three people outside a bar Hadley and I were at," Faith said. "And the ugly thing about it is that I saw them in the bar, an' we walked out less than ten feet behind 'em. I couldn't have been more'n a half-block away when they were killed. The vamps must've been waiting for them in the alleyway, and I didn't even get a twinge. I didn't know they were there, I didn't feel a thing."

"Come on, Faith, you can't save everyone, you know that," Robin told her.

"I don't think I can save everyone, but it'd be nice to know that I can at least save three people standin' ten feet away from me," Faith snapped. "What's worse is Hadley. She knew somethin' was up. Maybe she didn't even know she knew it, but some part of her knew that somethin' was goin' down."

"So, Hadley feels a disturbance in the force, and suddenly, you're questioning your self-worth?" Robin winced. "Could you, maybe, forget that I said that?"

"Andrew'll never hear it from me," Faith assured him. "But it's not just that. She was grandstanding for the press later," she explained.

"And you want to sue her for trademark infringement?" Robin asked.

"Hey!" She gave him a backhanded slap in the shoulder. "I do not grandstand."

"Yeah. Of course. You were saying?" Robin asked.

"I don't!" Faith insisted.

"Back on subject, Faith," Robin prodded.

"Okay, so she was grand-standing for the press, and just for the record I don't –," Faith started.

"Faith," Robin interrupted gently.

"Anyhow, I called her on it. I even put on my best AngryFaith face," Faith told him, "but she just wouldn't back down. She had the nerve, the nerve to tell me that I'm gettin' too old for this job."

"Struck a nerve, did she?" Robin asked innocently.

"What? No!" Faith insisted.

"Would you be this worked up over it if at least part of what she said hadn't rung true?" Robin asked.

Faith opened her mouth to respond. She immediately reconsidered and closed it again. She opened it a second time and spoke: "I'm not too old, I'm only…"

"…One thousand, two hundred and thirteen days away from retirement," Robin finished for her. "And considering that you're keeping count, I'd say that the thought had at least crossed your mind before she said it."

Faith turned to him, annoyed. "Did you miss that this was a 'slayer hate session?' You're supposed to be takin' my side on this."

"Faith, have you taken just a second to consider just how lucky you are?" Robin asked.

"Lucky?"

"Faith, the only constant in life is change, and it's the thing that scares people the most. Did you honestly expect that you were going to be slaying vampires from the nursing home? You think that I'm planning on being the head of security for the Watchers Council when I'm older, but curiously only slightly less pretty than I am now?" Robin asked her with a bit of a smile. "But the one thing you have going for you is that you know down to the minute when your life is gonna change. Do you realize how few people can actually say that?"

Faith looked at him quizzically for a moment. After a long moment, she spoke again. "Slaying is the one thing I've ever been good at. It's the one thing I do better than anyone else, with one possible exception." She said quietly, "Can you imagine finding out that the one thing you got goin' for you is gonna be taken away from you some day?"

"Come on, Faith, there's a lot more to you than what you do for a living. I loved teaching, I love being head of security here. Do I miss going out every night and staking a vamp or two? Sure. But I found a place for myself, somewhere where I don't need two working legs to do it. You will too." He smiled and gestured down at his left leg, indicating where it terminated just below the knee. "If nothing else, you can always moonlight as a surgeon. I don't think there are many out there that can amputate a leg in half a second or less."

Faith's smile mirrored his. "I only do that for special clients," she said wryly. "I've had a rough night," she added. "I had an eighteen-year-old patronizing me, I told her that I was gonna find this hive before she did and kill it; and then, to top it all off, I come home and my boyf – fiancé takes her side."

"I'm not taking –," Robin started.

"I need a hug, Ace. A long, tight one," Faith said.

"What, now? You're covered in vampire dust," Robin said in mock disgust.

"A hug, or no sex for a month," Faith said with a one-sided smile.

"Come here," Robin replied immediately, wrapping the raven-haired slayer in his arms.

Faith cuddled close to him, her head automatically finding a comfortable hollow in the curve of his neck.

"So you called her out, huh?" Robin asked after a moment.

Faith's features scrunched uncomfortably. "Yeah," she said tentatively. "Kinda stupid, huh?"

"You know, I'm not usually keen on these acts of pointless bravado. They're annoying, and distracting, and if you lose, we're facing a major loss of morale in this council; so I'm gonna give you a little advice," Robin told her.

Faith looked up at him, expectantly.

"Kick her skanky, self-righteous ass," he said with a smile.

Cut to:Int.Watchers Council – Mia's room – Same time

"Hey," Mia said softly as she opened the door.

"You couldn't sleep either?" Kennedy asked.

"I'm still on Tokyo time," Mia said wryly. "Jet lag always screws me up."

A long, dense silence settled over the two women, and they both fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Do you want to come in?" Mia finally asked tentatively.

"Yeah," Kennedy replied, a little too quickly.

Mia stood aside to allow the slayer to enter.

If it were even possible, Kennedy seemed even more uncomfortable in Mia's living room than she had in the hallway. She walked over to an arm chair, sat down. Then she fidgeted for a moment as if she were sitting on a tack, jumped up and stood in the center of the living room, wringing her hands.

"Can I get you something?" Mia asked. "Coffee, tea," she smiled slightly, "tranquilizer?"

"Look, I should go. I'm keeping you awake, and…" Kennedy started walking towards the door.

"Kennedy, sit down," Mia interrupted her. "Obviously, you have something on your mind, so sit. I'll make some tea, and we'll talk."

Cut to:Int.Watchers Council – Mia's room – Later

The teapot dipped slightly to pour a small amount of tea into a small, intricately decorated teacup. Mia carefully served Kennedy first, then herself. She then placed the teapot on the table, exactly centered between the two of them, and twisted the handle until the spout was

pointed away from Kennedy. She then held Kennedy's teacup to her, holding it in both hands and gave a brief, respectful nod of the head as Kennedy took it. She then took a seat across from her and took her own cup, holding it in both hands at eye-level as she again nodded respectfully at her guest.

Kennedy watched the ritual in rapt fascination before she finally looked up to meet the Asian slayer's eyes. "I didn't realize that a four o'clock visit required a whole ceremony," she said wryly.

Mia smiled. "My parents were real sticklers for tradition. I think they wanted me to marry well and be a loving, caring wife who knew all the protocols, traditions and etiquette a highly-placed wife should know. Some things stuck, I guess. My mom used to say that you serve wine when you want to know the truth. You serve tea when you want them to offer you the truth."

The two sat in silence for a moment, this time a significantly more comfortable one. Kennedy idly ran her fingers around the rim of the teacup in her hands.

"This is the part where you tell me what's on your mind," Mia told her.

"I wanted to apologize," Kennedy said softly.

"What for?" Mia asked.

"Julia."

Mia looked up to meet her eyes, confused. "Ken, that was two years ago, and you weren't the one who shot her."

"I know, but I said some awful things to you after, and it was horrible of me," the words came out in a rush.

"Ease up a little," Mia said. "Have some tea," she offered.

Kennedy took a deep breath and sipped her tea gingerly. "It took me two years to realize how much you paid for the day that you shot her."

"So you got up at four o'clock in the morning to tell me that you're sorry about something that you did two years ago?" Mia asked.

"Yes." Kennedy paused for a moment, then reconsidered. "No," she added. "A little."

"Well, that certainly narrows it down." Mia smiled.

"It's just that I've had exactly two different reactions since I got back from Tokyo. I've got people slapping me on the back, congratulating me or looking at me as if I've suddenly contracted the plague," Kennedy told her. "And what really sucks is that I'm not sure which reaction is more inappropriate."

"That doesn't really explain what brought you to my doorstep at four in the morning," Mia told her.

"It's just that you're the one person who hasn't done either one. You're the one person who hasn't judged me in some way, or congratulated me for gunning down another slayer in cold blood, and right now, I really need to be with someone like that." She shook her head, frustrated. "I'm not saying this right," she muttered angrily.

"Kennedy," Mia said, "I'm not sure what you want from me."

"I just don't want to be alone tonight, and I want to be with someone who understands," Kennedy said.

Mia chewed uncomfortably on her bottom lip. "I'm not Kadin," she said.

"I know, and I'm not…offering…anything." Kennedy stood up and came around the table to share the couch with Mia. "And I guess when you come down to it, I'm…using you." She pursed her lips for a moment before she continued. "Do you mind?"

Mia looked at the slayer for a moment, considering. "Do you?" she asked finally.

Without a word, Kennedy slid under Mia's arm, resting her head on the Asian slayer's shoulder. In moments, her eyes closed, and she drifted off to sleep, the expression on her face one of peace and serenity.

Cut to:Int.Watchers Council – Briefing Room – Next Day

"Look," Grace said, "maybe Bureau Nine is a bunch of liars and whatnot, I dunno. But Ms. Allister said for me to check the files and I did."

"We both did," added Dawn, seated beside her.

"I mean – slacking off, that I can get why you'd complain. But this time I did what I was told. Kinda weird thing to be complaining about, when you I dunno THINK about it."

Rowena sighed, "You're right, Grace." She turned to the others at the table, "She's doing exactly what she was supposed to do."

"Both of us," said Dawn.

"Still," said Buffy, "I'm not sure just how much we can trust what was in those disks Bureau Nine gave us."

"No offense," offered Jim, "but wasn't that the whole point of the exercise? To find out?"

"Yeah," said Faith, "That's what I thought."

"And," said Willow, "I'm sure they took precautions, right guys?"

"Yes," Grace managed to make the last consonant last longer than was absolutely necessary, "Non-networked drives, Scanned each disk within an inch of its non-existent life, Summers Junior here even put a ward around me while I checked the system."

"Dawn."

"What?"

"My name's Dawn."

Grace stared at her, "I learned Gaelic in a week without really trying. You think I can't remember your name?"

"Hey," began Buffy…

"Sooooooo…" interrupted Xander, "Grace – what did you, and Dawn, find?"

With a small huff, Grace activated the control in front of her. The large screen lit up, showing a map, "Okay, here is the town of Wormwood Acres."

"Wormwood?" asked Buffy, "Really?"

"It makes sense after more than one sentence," said Grace.

"The town was founded in 1869," Dawn said, "by an occult commune that worshipped dragons, hence the name – Worm being an ancient word for dragons."

"Anyway," Grace said with a weary sigh, "check out what is forty miles southwest of the town." She fiddled the controls and the map expanded. Now other towns, roads, even highways were visible. Grace waited and so did Dawn.

"Uh…" Willow began.

"Isn't that," said Robin, "about where you three found Marsha?"

"Oh, of course!" Rowena said.

"Was wondering when you'd remember," muttered Dawn.

"Kennedy would've gotten it right off," said Rowena.

"Yeah," said Willow, "but she's…not back on duty yet."

Jim spoke, "We've never precisely determined Marsha's origins, have we?"

"Nope," said Xander.

"Me, I've always wondered in she had a family," Rowena said, "Or a pack. Or something. The town never had any more reports after we removed her from the area."

"Well, now you've got a clue," offered Grace. "The cult itself evidently used to have some genuine magic users in it, And they have let some fairly unobtrusive demons stay there sometimes. According the Bureau Nine files, anyway. Mostly they just keep to themselves. Their major

industry is dairy, a cow town, literally." She waited. Then her eyes sharpened, "Okay, why is everybody looking at me all of a sudden?

No one said anything for a few moments, then Rowena spoke, "You're the one complaining about getting me coffee and doughnuts and nobody knows these files better than you two."

"I must say," said Jim, "that does seem like a good idea. Genuine field work, but likely to be quite, perhaps even excessively, simple. A good bit of training."

"And if there is trouble," said Willow, "you'll have a trained witch along to help. One who, no matter what happens, can't be killed."

"So you want me and Donna…"

"Dawn!" she said without looking at Grace.

"Whatever," Grace shrugged. "You want us to go check out a dragon-worshipping cult of who-knows-what kinda crazies in the middle of nowhere?"

"You should probably take Marsha with you," said Robin. "If nothing else, her presence ought to impress the locals."

"Good idea!" Grace nodded. "We'll just have to wait for Kennedy to get back, because obviously Marsha's her dragon and besides she's a slayer. Gotta have all three branches for a romp like this, right?"

"You know…" said Faith with a smile. A smile that seemed somehow both innocent and evil. "There is another slayer who gets along really, really well with Marsha. Surprising well. Like, they're pals."

Everyone else in the room looked at Faith. It was Robin who finally asked "Who?"

Cut to:Int.Kennedy's Apartment - Later

Kennedy opened the door of her apartment to see Kadin standing there, hands stuff in her pockets.

"Hey," the hunter said with a slight grin. "Can I come in?"

Kennedy seemed startled by the question but opened the door wider to let Kadin inside. Once in the room, Kennedy closed the door behind them, yet she said nothing. Kadin, also mute, seemed to nervously look at the room. 

"I, uh, I'm not sure what to say here Ken," Kadin finally began. Kennedy still didn't utter a syllable. After a few more silent seconds Kadin began to grin slightly. "Someone recently told me something that I think might fit here."

"What's that?" Kennedy asked, speaking for the first time since Kadin answered.

Kadin grinned for a moment but then turned serious. "I know that I haven't been the best girlfriend at times. and I'm sorry. I should have been there for you, but I want to make up for that now." Kadin began to grin again. "You might not believe it, but there really are times I listen to what you say. Truth is, I listen all the time...even if it might not seem like it."

"You just...left, Kadin."

Kadin took a step closer. "I know and I'm sorry. I just couldn't deal with what I was looking at Ken. I...I had to take a step back, and catch my breath. I didn't want to say something I'd regret later."

"What could you have said?" Kennedy asked.

"I'm not sure," Kadin said honestly. "But I never, not for second, stopped loving you. And like I said, I'm still not sure what to say...Only thing I can tell you, without a doubt, is that I love you and I want to be here for you."

Kennedy hung her head and began to cry softly into her hand.

Kadin looked a bit reluctant at first to move closer but finally she stepped up and slowly and gingerly put her arms around Kennedy. The slayer slipped her arms around the hunter and seemed as if to crumble in the embrace. 

Kadin tightened her hold and closed her eyes as she rested her head on the slayers' shoulder. 

"It'll be okay," Kadin whispered. 

Kennedy continued to cry. 

Cut to:Int.Watchers Council – Morgue – Later

"Okay, Doc," Faith said impatiently as she stood beside one of the covered bodies. "Sorry I'm late but the meeting today ran long. What are we dealing with?"

"Typical vampire attack. Three victims, female, all in their early twenties," the doctor replied.

"How many vampires are we talking about?" Faith asked.

"One," the doctor told her simply.

"One?" Faith demanded.

"One."

"That can't be right," Faith insisted. "To take three victims without any of 'em getting away…"

"It's worse than you think. Kimberly Noi was a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. I called up her record. She was the plaintiff in a rape case seven years ago. The rapist got off on a technicality, and she started training. Fast-forward six and a half years. A little over six months ago, she was a defendant in an assault case. It was a clear-cut case of self-defense, and her would-be attacker spent four months in intensive care. She was acquitted," the doctor rattled off the statistics.

"She wasn't a slayer," Faith said. "And she was up against a vamp. No big mystery that she lost."

"No, but she was someone who spent years learning to fight," he told her. "She would've lost, eventually, probably, but she would've been no pushover."

"What are you telling me, exactly?" Faith asked.

"There's very little bruising on her body to indicate she was in a melee. That means she got taken out quickly, probably before she really knew what was happening. The vampire, probably, at the very least, incapacitated two of her friends; and less than five feet from a busy street," he explained.

"So what was he, some kind of supervamp?" Faith asked.

"She, and no. These marks suggest just your everyday vampire, but she was really good at killing people," he added sadly.

"Wait a minute, 'she?'" Faith asked.

The doctor nodded in agreement. "Bite patterns are as distinctive as fingerprints. One attacker, female."

FlashbackExt.Act One – Alleyway.

"Well, I hope you find her," Janna told her.

FlashbackTeaser – Outside the pub

"Jesus, Janna," the woman said holding Janna upright.

FlashbackAct One – Alleyway

"My name's Janna," the woman said holding out her hand.

Cut toInt.Watchers Council – Morgue

"Oh, I don't believe it!" Faith yelled, slamming her fist down on the metal table.

The doctor blinked at her sudden outburst. "Did I say something wrong?" he asked.

"I had her. She was at the crime scene – three feet away from me, and we made small talk," Faith railed.

"Faith, you couldn't have known at the time," Doctor Miller insisted.

"No, I should have known, but now this vamp has gone out of her way to piss me off," Faith hissed through gritted teeth. "Mission accomplished," she added.

"What are you doing?" the doctor asked as Faith made her way to the door.

"I'm goin' huntin'," Faith replied sharply. "I'm gonna show her what a slayer really is."

Cut to:Int.Ohio Interstate – Car – Afternoon

"Are we there yet?" said Lorinda in bored and very, very annoyed voice.

"No," said Grace in a monotone. "Not yet." Her unblinking eyes were on the road, her hands clutching the steering wheel.

"How much longer? I said – how much longer?"

Dawn, in the front seat next to Grace, had her arms crossed, and one eyebrow raised. Her lips were a straight line, "We'll know when we get there."

"You mean you don't know?"

"Not exactly," said Grace.

Lorinda waited a few moments, "I bet Jeff would know if he were here."

Dawn and Grace both twitched. Marsha the dragon, sitting up in Lorinda's lap, stared out the back window. She craned her neck, watching a flock of birds. She even trilled and wagged her tail. Then she looked up hopefully at Lorinda.

"I'm sorry," she said to the dragon, petting her little head, "there aren't any treats left. There are some more in the cooler, but I can't get to that unless they stop the car, and they won't do that. But if they'd take the time to stop somewhere to eat, I'd share my burger." Now she scratched under Marsha's chin, who half-closed her eyes and purred.

"I'm gonna kill Buffy," Dawn muttered under her breath.

"I'm gonna kill Allister," muttered Grace.

Cut to:Ext.Cleveland – Road – Later

The car approached a sign reading "Wormwood Acres, 5 miles."

Lorinda's voice immediately rose, "Look!"

"We see it," snarled Grace and Dawn as one.

Cut to:Ext.Wormwood Acres City Hall – Later

Lorinda bolted out of the car the second it came to a rest. She had Marsha in her arms and let the creature scamper up onto the car's roof. With a crooning cry, she spread her wings and shook, almost exactly like a dog or cat.

"Good girl!" said Lorinda.

Grace and Dawn glared at the both of them.

"Well, well, well!" said an alto voice from behind them, It belonged to a thin woman with short dark hair and bright eyes. Her right hand held a lit cigarette, but her eyes were focused on Marsha. "Now, this is quite an event!" She approached the car, revealing every tooth in a smile that seemed somehow far more predatory than Marsha's snout or fangs.

Marsha looked at her and gave a yelp. The woman stopped her approach and instead looked at Grace and Dawn.

"I know you two, don't I?" She didn't blink. Instead, she actually smiled more. "The Watchers' Council! Am I right?"

"Uh…yeah," Grace said.

"I knew it! Well – who else actually has a dragon?" Now she laughed. It was a deep, throaty sound, very nearly a cackle.

"And who are you?" asked Dawn.

"Justine Hegwell, at your service! I'm the Mayor here!"

"Oh, Hi."

"You're Dawn Summers, right? Right?"

"Uh, yeah."

"There was an article about you in People magazine last month! I must have read it a thousand times!"

"Oh, that. Actually, that wasn't real accurate. For one thing, Willow and me, we were never an item…"

"And this," the Mayor turned to Grace, "must be Kennedy! The Slayer with the Dragon!"

"No." Grace said it firmly, "Me Watcher. That," she pointed to Lorinda, "Slayer."

The Mayor turned to her, "Kennedy!"

"Lorinda," said Lorinda in a cold voice.

"Of course. You know, I always wondered what your first name was…"

"I'm not Kennedy," Lorinda interrupted her. "Truth is I don't even like Kennedy. And she doesn't like me, I'm Lorinda Sheparton. Sheparton, got it? We're not the Kennedies, we're richer. And we've been rich longer." She pointed. "That is Grace, that is Dawn, and this is Marsha." She tilted her head. After a moment she spoke, "Did this town really elect you Mayor?"

"Yes, they did. Three times, so far."

Lorinda took this in for a moment. "So is it inbreeding or what?"

Dawn and Grace cringed. The Mayor waited for a moment, then laughed.

Cut to:Int.Wormwood Acres – Mayor's Office – Later

Mayor Hegwell lit another cigarette, gesturing for Dawn, Grace and Lorinda to have seats. She parked herself behind a huge antique desk.

Dawn waved some smoke away from her face. "You know, the Surgeon General figured out those things give you cancer a long time ago."

"Like that matters to you," muttered Grace.

Not hearing the comment the mayor answered. "I'll take my chances...So," proclaimed Mayor Hegwell, "what can the sleepy little town of Wormwood Acres do for the famous and wonderful Watchers Council?"

The three visitors didn't say anything at first. Lorinda simply petted Marsha, while Dawn and Grace shot a look at each other. Then the latter spoke up, "Research."

"Ah!" The mayor, if anything, smiled even broader.

"Yeah," Grace ploughed on, "we were trying to find out more about Marsha here," she indicated the dragon "and stumbled across the history of your town."

"Oh! You mean that ancient history!"

"Not exactly ancient," said Dawn.

"It is to us, believe me!"

"Whatever," said Grace, "the point is, Marsha wasn't found too far from here. So, town of dragon-worshippers. Real live breathing dragon. Close-by. Kinda a coincidence, don't you think?"

"But that is the only possible answer," said Mayor Hegwell, blinking. "Really, not that the founding fathers and mothers of Wormwood Acres weren't what you say. They were. Of course nobody around these days even remembers what one of them looked like, but there's no denying their religion. And believe me, if they'd had an actual dragon, somebody would have said something."

"Marsha probably wasn't even around then," said Dawn. "If she has anything to do with here, it must be recent."

Mayor Hegwell grinned again. "Why?"

"Because," said Dawn, "Marsha is so young."

"What makes you think that?" Dawn looked at her for a moment, then at Grace. Mayor Hegwell continued. "I don't claim to be an expert, but isn't it at least possible your dragon is an adult? Maybe even elderly? How much do any of us really know about the life cycle of dragons?"

No one said anything for a few moment.

"Don't be stupid." Lorinda's left eyebrow went up half an inch as she said the words. "If Marsha were a cat, she'd be a kitten. Any idiot could see that."

Hegwell fastened another smile on her face. "Such a bright child," she said, eyes alight. "But – hasn't Marsha been with you for something like two years? And if she's still immature, as you say, doesn't that speak for a relatively long life cycle? At least compared to, say, felines. Who knows when she was originally hatched? Or born? Or whatever?" She made a theatrical shrug.

"So," Grace said after a moment, "does the local library have historical records from when the town started up?"

"Of course!" Hegwell said with the slightest hint of a pause.

Cut to:Ext.Cleveland – Alleyway – Same time

The sun had only barely dipped below the horizon. The alleyway was still dimly illuminated by the early fading light of dusk. Faith knelt in the center of the alleyway, tracing with her fingertips the space, which had been occupied by a lifeless body.

"C'mon," Faith muttered under her breath. "Isn't it in the Evil Bitch handbook that you're supposed to return to the scene of the crime?"

She glanced up, her eyes tracing the lines of the alleyway in the fading light, as if searching for some indication that the perpetrator of these atrocities was still there, or would return.

"Come on, you crazy psycho-bitch," Faith continued. "You wanted me to figure this out, now where the hell are you?"

"Talking to yourself, Faith?"

Faith whirled around, her hands up in a guard position.

Janna stood in front of her, her hands clasped casually behind her back, facing the slayer. "'Cause I hear that's a pretty good measure of insanity."

"You wanna talk insane? How's about killing three people just to get my attention?" Faith demanded, refusing to lower her guard.

Janna, for her part, did not even react to Faith's defensive posture. "I had to get you to find me somehow," She replied. "Until last night, I was just one of thousands of vamps living in this town. Now, I'm one you're actually interested in killing personally. I mean, really, Faith, have you ever actively tracked down one vampire before?"

"Yeah," Faith said softly, "but I was a little screwed up at the time. At least this time I got a good excuse. Why me?"

"The hunt just doesn't have much of a thrill anymore," Janna told her. "Four hundred years, there isn't anyone out there worth killing."

"You killed three people because you're bored?" Faith's hand quietly snaked behind her back. Her fingers wrapped around the grip of a wooden stake she had secreted there.

"It sure beats 'I was hungry' as a reason for killing," Janna shrugged.

Fury could practically be seen burning behind Faith's dark eyes as she glared past her own raised hand at the vampire.

"I do believe," she said threateningly, "that I'm gonna have to kick your ass."

Faith's raised left hand darted outwards, her fingers spearing at the vampire's eyes as her right hand, holding a wooden stake, came down at Janna overhand, its point poised to penetrate her breastbone.

Janna ignored the feint from Faith's left hand and sunk into a low, wide stance. Her left hand came up to catch Faith's descending wrist, halting it in mid air. She maintained her grip on the wrist as she stepped forward, driving her right elbow under Faith's armpit. The air in Faith's lungs blew out in a loud whuff and her body instinctively curved away from the blow.

Janna pressed her attack during Faith's momentary distraction. Her right hand snaked up, gripping Faith's right wrist even as her left hand released it, and she dragged the hand downwards, throwing the slayer off-balance. Faith stumbled forward, practically falling into a hard snap-kick that the vampire delivered to her abdomen. Finally, the knife-like edge of the vampire's right hand drove downward at the slayer's elbow, pinning her right arm against the Slayer's own body, leaving her jaw and head undefended against the uppercut that drove upwards, catching Faith under the chin.

Faith stumbled backwards, her left hand rising to the corner of her mouth. The tips of her fingers came away bloody. She looked up at the vampire with an expression, which seemed almost foreign when it appeared on her face: fear.

"Now," Janna said softly, "things get interesting."

Fade Out.

End of Act Two

Act ThreeFade inInt.Wormwood Acres – Motel Room – Later, near Dusk

"What a dump," said Lorinda.

"Can't you just…" growled Dawn.

"She's right," said Grace.

Dawn stared at her.

Grace gestured at the motel room, its unadorned walls and plain furniture as well as the drab, dirty carpet. "It is a dump. Still, what do you expect from a cheap motel? And a cheap motel in the middle of absolutely nowhere?"

"Well, it could be worse," Dawn replied.

"No," said Lorinda, "If there were rats, at least Marsha here could have a fresh snack." The dragon was in Lorinda's arms and gave a purring chirp.

Rolling her eyes, Dawn put her small suitcase on one bed. She looked inside the bathroom, flicking the light 'on' with a switch. A grunt was the only comment she made. Her inspection of the mini-fridge and the one, tiny closet didn't even get that much response.

Meanwhile, Grace was looking at the two beds while Lorinda sat herself down cross-legged and turned on the TV.

"What are we going to do about sleeping arrangements?"

"Um…" said Dawn, "What do you mean?"

"No offense," said Grace, "but you're not my type, and neither is the pint-sized terror," she tilted her head towards Lorinda.

"Marsha and I should get one bed," Lorinda said, "Because we're two."

"But you're also smaller than either one of us," pointed out Dawn.

"Yeah, but you're used to sleeping with someone else."

Grace lifted her hand, "Never mind. We can share a bed or we can order a rollaway. Your call, I'm just tired." She wearily lay down on other bed, the one with Dawn's suitcase.

After a moment, Dawn said, "If that dragon has to take a walk, you're the one doing it."

Lorinda waved an assent, her attention on the huge remote control and the TV screen. She stopped it at a specific channel. "Ew, they're having a marathon of that stupid Battlestar Galactica thing? Gross!"

Grace's head raised up.

"I mean," Lorinda continued, "wasn't it bad enough they made that show to begin with, but then they made it again for some reason? How lame can you get?"

"You…evil…bitch," Grace said, quietly but firmly.

Cut to:Int.Cleveland – Alleyway – Same time

"Four hundred years," Janna let her hands drop to her side as Faith, still stunned, looked at the much older vampire. "Believe it or not, I've learned a thing or two in that time."

Faith still clutched the stake in her right hand, but her stance was suddenly more guarded, her footwork more tentative. She shifted her weight back and forth between her two feet, and turned slightly sideways relative to the vampire before her, presenting the smallest target possible.

"Not as much fun going up against someone you could lose against, is it?" Janna asked playfully. "I bet it's been a long time since you've been in a fight you seriously thought you could lose."

"I don't know if you missed the memo," Faith replied through gritted teeth, "but I managed to get my ass killed in the last apocalypse."

"Big deal, a demon comes up and impales you through the back. You didn't even see it coming," Janna almost looked amused as Faith tentatively inched her way towards the vampire. "A fight against an opponent who's just beating you, not because they're stronger, or faster, or have more friends, but simply because they're better? That's something I imagine you haven't experienced in awhile."

"So you think you're better than me 'cause you got a lucky shot in?" Faith injected as much spite as she could into her voice. "That's a little arrogant, don'tcha think?"

"Arrogant or not," Janna dismissed the comment, "I can't help but notice that you're not attacking."

"Just catchin' my second wind," Faith said tightly.

"Would this help?" Janna deliberately placed her hands behind her back, clasping them.

Faith's eyes narrowed into slits for a brief instant, and she jumped forward, swinging her right leg in an arc at the vampire's head.

Janna's hands never rose to block the kick. Instead she dropped into a low spin, pivoting on her left foot as her right leg swept out at knee height, catching Faith behind her supporting knee. The knee buckled and Faith's full weight dropped on it, slamming it brutally into the asphalt. She looked at the slayer, disappointed. "Faith, I gotta say that I expected a lot more from you."

"Me? I'm just gettin' warmed up." Faith launched herself at the vampire, throwing a flurry of strikes at Janna's ribs. As Janna brought her hands down to counter them, Faith executed a perfect kick at Janna's right hip followed by a punch across her undefended jaw.

Janna stumbled backwards a few steps. She rocked her jaw back and forth a few times, loosening it up.

"Not bad," she said simply.

"Scared now?" Faith asked, still in a defensive posture.

"Nope," a thin smile appeared on Janna's lips. "But at least I'm not bored." In a motion that almost seemed casual in its smoothness, Janna lifted her right hand into a high guard, inviting Faith to come closer.

Faith shifted the stake in her right hand to her left and took a step forward, resting the back of her right wrist against the vampire's. Almost in unison, the pair each took a step to their right, slowly circling an invisible point in between them, as if their wrists had been bound to a metal pole. For a moment, neither woman attacked. They circled each other like gladiators at the Coliseum, their eyes locked on each other, scanning each other's bodies for the tiny, subconscious signals that telegraphed an attack.

Only a very slight shift in her gaze projected Janna's first strike, but it was enough. Faith's hands were raised to block the first punch, and she ducked to avoid the second. Her fist drove into the vampire's midsection, and would have knocked the wind out of the vampire, had she any wind to be knocked out. She followed with a high kick at the vampire's head.

Janna ducked under the kick, dropping to one knee, and driving her right fist into the slayer's inner thigh, near the groin. Faith's knee buckled as if paralyzed, and she barely managed to catch herself

before she hit the ground. She was only barely able to bring her forearms up to guard her face against a low kick aimed at the bridge of her nose.

Faith had the edge on raw strength and speed, but Janna's technique was a fraction better. Realistically, that was the difference between them: fractions. Each woman almost seemed to sense the other's attack before it was launched and had a defense prepared.

Faith cleared a knife-hand strike aimed at her throat and grappled with the vampire, she heaved against the much older woman, slamming her generously against the brick wall behind her, as the duo, locked together slammed to a brutal halt, Faith's fist was already drawn back to deliver a punch whose force was sufficient to crush the vampire's head against the unyielding wall behind her.

However, her fist whistled through empty space, slamming into the hard brick when Janna dropped into a low stance. As Faith instinctively recoiled from the painful impact, Janna's powerful legs drove her upwards, generating an enormous amount of force, which she focused into the edge of her right hand, aimed with pinpoint accuracy at the curve of Faith's jaw.

Faith's head snapped backwards and stumbled away from the vampire shaking her head as if trying to wake herself up. Her knees suddenly seemed to wobble under her weight.

For a moment, Faith's guard was not only down, it was nonexistent; and she wasn't allowed the luxury of time to recover. Janna charged at the slayer, and the point of her right elbow slammed across the Faith's cheekbone, twisting her head to the right.

The stake, still clenched in Faith's left hand came around to try to stab the vampire in the back, but the strike was clumsy and uncoordinated. Faith blinked, trying to force her eyes to focus.

Janna twisted around, catching the stake in her left hand, while simultaneously driving her right elbow backwards into the bridge of Faith's nose. Faith's head snapped backwards again, then almost lazily rolled forward. Her legs buckled under her and she dropped to the ground. Her hand opened and the stake rolled away from her nerveless fingers.

Faith's head rolled back and forth, her eyes rolled around in their sockets, trying to focus on something, anything. Casually, Janna bent over to pick the wooden stake up from its place a few inches from

Faith's slightly-curled fingers. She then walked back around to Faith's side, dropping to one knee next to the slayer. She crossed her arms and rested them on her raised knee, looking almost quizzically into Faith's dark eyes. Faith tried to push the vampire away, but her arms flopped uselessly against the vampire's torso.

"Down, girl," Janna said, smoothly pushing Faith's arms away from herself. "Relax, I'm not gonna kill you. Not yet." Blood was pouring liberally from Faith's nose. Janna produced a tissue, and carefully dabbed at the blood. Then, in almost a motherly fashion, she reached up to brush a stray strand of hair away from Faith's eyes. "You're good," she told the slayer with a tone in her voice which could nearly be mistaken for affection. "You're very good. More of a challenge than I've had in years. Centuries, maybe."

"What say you meet me halfway, beat yourself up a little, make this a fair fight," Faith's words slurred together.

Janna shook her head. "You're not ready for a fair fight. Yet. You're good, but you're not that good." She gently laid the wooden stake in her hand on Faith's abdomen and stood up. "Don't worry," she added. "You'll see me around plenty in the next little while." She cocked her head slightly as she looked down at the barely-conscious woman. "Toodles," she said playfully. She made a show of dusting off her jacket and calmly walked out of the alleyway.

Cut to:Int.Wormwood Acres – Old Church Basement – Later That Evening

The basement door opened, and Mayor Hegwell – cigarette in hand – swept inside.

"How's it going?"

In the far side of basement, several persons in long robes continued chanting. One of them turned; then approached Hegwell. He pushed the cowl of his robe back, revealing a narrow face with big eyes and a straggly beard.

"Mayor," he said respectfully.

"How is it going?" she repeated.

"Fine, fine. Another day or so at the latest." He smiled.

"Damn."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"There are visitors."

"Visitors?"

"Yep."

"Here?"

"Of course 'here'! If they were in Paris, I wouldn't give a rodent's posterior!"

"Well, it isn't like visitors per se make much of a difference…"

She interrupted. "Members of the Watchers' Council."

He took a beat. "Uh-oh."

"One little piece of work is almost certainly a slayer. And get this – she has a dragon."

Now he blinked several times. "A dragon? There's a real live dragon in town? Right now?"

Mayor Hegwell nodded. "Not much of a dragon, but still."

"Not much? Why? What's wrong with it?"

She snorted. "It's only about the size of a big house cat."

The man in the robe and cowl grinned. "Really?" He started to giggle. After a few moments it graduated into a full sized laugh. She joined him, smiling even more intensely than she had with her visitors.

Wiping tears from his eyes, he said, "A house cat, huh?" And began to laugh again.

Cut to:Ext.Wormwood Acres – Motel Parking Lot – Night

Dawn and Grace each had a cell phone. They stood on either side of their car, talking.

"All I want to know," Grace said, "is how do you keep from killing her?"

"Well," said Jeff's voice in her cell phone. "You might begin by remembering you're the adult."

"Yeah, but she's a hellspawn."

"No she isn't."

"Is too!"

"Grace, by now you've actually met some actual hellspawn, Dawn's girlfriend, for example."

"No, Skye's just a bitch."

"She can be, yeah. Me, I like Skye. Call me evil too, but I think she did the world a favor by offing Bonnie. But she's a demon, Lorinda is not."

"Maybe, but maybe we should double-check that premise. Isn't there something weird about Lorinda's family?"

"They've had almost a half a dozen slayers over the years. No one knows why."

"Anyway," Grace sighed, "we met the Mayor and she comes across as a big liar even for a politician, like Baltar."

"Baltar?" asked Jeff after a moment. "Is he a member of Congress?"

At this, Grace just shook her head, "You are so ignorant."

"Uh, okay."

"We're gonna hang out another day or so, poke around."

"You do that."

"And we'll check in again at six in the morning. Or Dawn will. Me, I hope I'm still asleep then."

"Okay, and if you don't mind…"

"What?"

"Please tell Lorinda I said to do well."

She sighed, "Whatever." She pressed the button to hang up.

On the other side of the car, Dawn leaned against the door, cell phone to her ear and eyes totally unfocussed on her environment. Grace approached her quietly.

"You know I do," Dawn said with a mildest of wicked smiles. She continued in a teasing tone, "Like I told you before – only where no one can see. That's why I got those big full skirts in the first place. I know they heal almost instantly now, but I got used to…" She noticed Grace beside her and saw the look on Grace's face. Dawn coughed, "Okaygottagonowbye." She hung up and put her cell phone away.

Grace looked at her. "Never," she said after a moment, "never let me hear any of those details ever again."

"Stop eavesdropping, then." She headed away from the car.

Cut toInt.Watchers Council – Infirmary – Same time

With a single, wild convulsion, Faith jerked awake, instinctively pushing Dr. Miller's hands away from her.

"Well, she's awake," the doctor said, pointlessly.

Faith's left eye was swollen almost shut, and a bruise occupied a sizeable portion of her left cheek. Dried blood caked her upper lip and stained the front of her pale green shirt.

"Faith! It's alright," Buffy ran forward to gently restrain the wildly flailing slayer

as Robin tried from the other side. "You're okay," she added. "You're safe. You got her."

"Didn't…didn't get her," Faith said weakly. She tried to sit up in the bed.

"Easy," the doctor cautioned. "You've had a concussion. A pretty bad one, too. Don't try to move too fast."

"Gotta get up, she's still out there," Faith moaned at the doctor.

"She's not out there now," Dr. Miller countered. "The sun's been up for hours."

"Hours? Do you have any idea how many people she could've…" Faith sat bolt upright and groaned, bringing her hand to her forehead. She fell back onto the pillow.

"See what I mean?" The doctor asked. "Even slayers need an hour or two to recover from a beating like this."

"Faith, relax. She must've put up a hell of a fight, but you won," Robin said quietly. "Get some rest."

"I didn't win," Faith said, her voice starting to develop a little more coherence.

"Look, she played basketball with your head, it's okay if some of the details are foggy," Buffy told her.

"She beat me," Faith said. She squinted, trying to block out the room's harsh fluorescent lights.

"Come on, Faith, you're saying that she beat you senseless, then, what, just left you lying there?" Robin asked.

"That's exac'ly what I'm saying," Faith said.

"Why?" Buffy and Robin both asked in unison.

"'Cause she thinks she can get me any time she wants to," Faith replied. "An' for the first time in my life, I'm not sure that she's wrong."

"C'mon, Faith, you've lost one fight in your life," Buffy said, "and that was against me."

"Thanks for the reminder…but she was good," Faith offered as an explanation. "And I think she's fought slayers before. Maybe even killed a few." She let out a sigh as she looked around the room to a number of skeptical looks. "Look," she said with a sudden flash of anger. She gestured at the bruises on her face. "Does this look like someone who's kiddin' around? I'm tellin' you, she's out there, and she's a serious threat."

Buffy looked at Faith for a moment. She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"Can I talk with Faith privately, please?" she finally asked.

Faith's eyes darted around the room as everybody except Buffy silently, but quickly, filed out of the room.

"B, I think she's going to try to track me down again. She's fast and she knows slayer fighting styles pretty well, but she's not that strong, so…"

"Faith, just what the hell do you think you were doing going after her alone?" Buffy's expression hardened as she leaned on Faith's bedside.

"My job," Faith snapped back. "Killin' vamps is still what we do here, isn't it?"

"Damnit, Faith, now is not a good time to be glib with me. We lost two slayers at this branch alone this year," Buffy countered, "One of them didn't have enough left of her to bury…"

"I know. I was there. Remember? You were coolin' your heels in the Caribbean while we were bein' cut up, burned and exploded," Faith retorted.

"Well I'll be damned if I'm gonna bury you alongside Marly and Vi," Buffy told her.

"B, what's the point in havin' all these powers if we're not gonna use 'em?" Faith demanded. "That's the whole reason we have them. At least for now."

"I'm not telling you to stop using them, but use them in a way that makes sense," Buffy said. "You damn near broke the first rule of slaying tonight."

Faith locked eyes with the blonde. "Stay alive," she muttered softly. "She wasn't gonna kill me." Faith told her. "If she were, I'd be dead.

She coulda done it too. Bitch didn't even bother putting on her game face."

"You had no way of knowing that," Buffy replied. "You took an unnecessary risk, and you could've been killed for it."

"But I wasn't, so quit worryin' about it," Faith told her.

"I'm not the only one that's worrying," Buffy said softly. When Faith didn't respond she went on. "Robin says you went on a solo patrol the other night. You sent Hadley home, he said."

"So?" Faith crossed her arms in front of her, looking defiantly at Buffy.

"So, you're acting reckless, Faith," Buffy said, her tone softening slightly. "Faith, this isn't like you, not anymore. What's happening?" She reached out to take Faith's hand, offering it a gentle squeeze. "Talk to me." Faith's jaw clenched for a moment and her body tensed. "Ease up a little, F," Buffy said with a slight smile. "I just want to know what's going through your head."

"I needed to know that…I could still do it," Faith said slowly.

"Do…what? Slay?" Buffy looked at her, confused. "Is there really any doubt on that account?"

"Look this is all gonna end soon, and sometimes I wonder what place there'll be for me," Faith said softly.

"Come on, Faith, you know there'll always be a place for you here," Buffy said.

"We said the same thing to Lori," Faith pointed out. She looked down at her left hand where the small diamond on her ring finger caught the light. "I mean, I turn thirty, then what? I turn into Ace's little wife?"

"So you go rogue because you're getting cold feet?" Buffy said. "Faith, come on, powers or not you'll still head of the slayer division. And if you don't want to do that we'll find something for you." Her expression suddenly brightened. "Oh! You could teach."

"Oh yeah, I really see that happening. Faith Lehane, schoolmarm," Faith rolled her eyes. "I mean, you handled it when it was still that whole one girl in all the world thing. I needed to know that I could take care of one vampire, on my own."

"But you're not on your own anymore. And if teaching's not your thing, you'll find something else," Buffy said. "Back when it was one girl in all the world, do you have the faintest idea how gladly I would've given my left kidney to just be able to walk away from it someday? I had to deal with the fact that the only way I was gonna step down was in a body bag."

"B, I'm not gonna pretend I understand what those years were like, but I need to know that I can still do this," Faith said.

Buffy looked at her sister slayer for a long time before she spoke. "No more stupid risks, Faith. You hear me?"

Faith nodded. "When you get the chance, could you send Hadley in? I need to talk to her."

"Will do. Get better."

Cut to:Int.Wormwood Acres – Motel Room – Moments later

The TV was on when Grace and Dawn opened the door and returned to the room. "Jeff said hi," came out of Grace's mouth almost instantly, Then she did a take.

Lorinda sat on the floor, the dragon curled up in her lap, On the TV screen several people in uniform were talking and with them was a young man in what looked vaguely like a lab jacket.

"I thought you didn't like Battlestar Galactica?"

Shrugging, Lorinda said, "Better than anything else on. Besides, this Baltar guy is kinda cute. Who's the invisible blonde?"

"That's Six. She's not really there, or maybe she is. They've never completely explained that. Anyway, she's a Cylon and Baltar fell in love with her."

"I thought Cylons are robots?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, but there are also these human-style Cylons." On screen, a buxom blonde whispered in the young man's ear. "That's her. She helped kill practically the entire human race."

Dawn watched for a moment. "Not my type, but I can see how he could fall for her." She watched for another few moments, "Or her for him."

"Oh, yeah," muttered Lorinda.

"You're both nuts," said Grace. And sighed, "I'm going for a walk."

Cut to:Ext.Wormwood Acres – Downtown – Later

The streets were empty and dark. Street lamps gave a periodic glow along the sidewalk where Grace walked.

Grace talked to herself, wandering suburbia.

"Baltar? Or Six?" She shook her head. "C'mon – Adama I could understand, maybe even Apollo. He's cute, whines a bit, though. Okay, whines a lot, sometimes. But Baltar and Six are villains! Come to think of it, maybe that explains it. Look at who Dawn with! And the little Slayerette Bitch – she's just looking for her own kind." All this came out as something of a mumble.

She looked up and saw the town square. Plenty of moonlight flooded the area, and a fair number of street lamps were in place. She had no trouble at all seeing three figures in full robes and hoods headed for the church.

"Robes and hoods," she sighed. "Such a dead giveaway."

All three figures went to the side of the church and headed to the back. Grace followed, sticking to the shadows of trees. The three robed figures went all the way to the back of the church. Grace managed to just barely arrive in time to see them close the cellar door behind them. She flitted into the shadow of a tree closer to that cellar door. Watching it for several moments, she said nothing.

"Local Knights of Columbus? I don't think so." She spent a few more seconds watching the cellar door while no one and nothing either entered or exited. "Okay, this is kinda stupid," she muttered to herself. Her hand went into a coat pocket and brought out her cell phone.

The hand that reached around from behind her pressed a cloth to her mouth and nose, She struggled all of three seconds.

Her cell phone fell to the ground.

As Grace collapsed back, the hood of the person behind her fell back. Mayor Hegwell caught her, or tried to.

"Oh hell," the Mayor grunted, trying to hold up the girl and failing, "I could use some help here!"

Cut toInt.Watchers Council – Infirmary – Later

"What's the other guy look like?" Hadley asked as she stepped through the large double doors. Faith's bruises had faded significantly, but it was still pretty clear that she'd taken a beating.

"It looks worse than it is," Faith dismissed the comment. "I'm just waitin' for the doc to let me leave."

"What happened?" Hadley asked.

"I found her," Faith said. "She hit me. A lot."

"With what, a Volkswagen?" Hadley asked, incredulously.

"No, I'm pretty sure she used her fists. At least for the blows I was conscious for," Faith sat up on the bed and turned to allow her feet to drop to the floor. "Look, Hadley, I need you to back off on this one. Leave it to more experienced slayers."

"You're benching me?" Hadley's voice rose in volume. "You're the one that gets beat up and you're benching me?"

"Just for this one," Faith emphasized. "Look at me. This is me after two hours of slayer fixer-upper-ness." She gestured at her still-visible bruises and injuries. "She did this to me, and she didn't even break a sweat doin' it."

"So you get your ass kicked and you're sending me to the sidelines? Yeah, that makes a lot of sense," Hadley's voice practically dripped with sarcasm.

"Look," Faith said firmly. "You're good. She's better. You can't beat her. I'm not even sure that I can beat her."

"So what?"

"'So what?'" Faith asked. "Hadley, I'm trying to protect you here."

"Protect me? Faith, you're training me to fight vampires. Undead critters that like nothing more than to kill people and eat them for lunch. Exactly how do you plan on protecting me?" Hadley pointed out. "This job is dangerous, Faith. I'm gonna get hurt. I might get killed. If you can't deal with that reality, then you should find yourself another job, or hand me off to someone else."

"Hey, I can deal, okay?" Faith snapped. "But I'm not gonna send one of our most promising students into the field where she's gonna get slaughtered!"

"I hate to tell you this, Faith, but if we only fight the fights we know we can win, we're gonna get our asses kicked by something huge while we're taking care of a piddly Burel Demon," Hadley countered. "That's why we're here. We fight the fights that nobody else can. Sometimes that means we win. Sometimes it means we die." The two women glared at each other in silence. It was Hadley who spoke first. "Look, I know what Vi meant to you, personally," she said softly.

"Don't you dare make this about…" Faith hissed.

"But she won't be the last girl you helped train that we lose. If you can't deal with the fact that you're gonna lose slayers on your watch, then maybe it's time for you to step down and let someone who can deal with that take over." Hadley told her. She turned to leave the room. "I'll be in the training room if you need me," she called over her shoulder.

Cut to:Int.Watchers Council – Robin and Faith's bedroom – Later

Faith looked at the small notebook in her hand. On the page in front of her was a five-year calendar with all the days up to the current one crossed off in red. She idly flipped through the pages, finally arriving at

the only other page, which had anything written on it. On July 10th, 2010 she'd written in red, "Last day, 2:07 pm." She flipped back to the current month, and sadly crossed another day off on her calendar.

"Hey," she looked up to see Robin leaning against the doorframe.

"Hey," she replied softly.

"Feeling better?" He asked.

"Yeah, physically," Faith answered.

"Otherwise?"

"Let's just say that gettin' chastised by a seventeen-year-old slayer-in-training ain't much fun," Faith said wryly.

"Faith, come on, she was just trying to get a rise out of you," Robin said.

"I lost to a vampire, Ace. And not some kind of super-vamp, either. Just a normal, run-of the mill vampire," Faith told him.

"Yeah, the average one that's not just decades old but centuries old, right?" he retorted. When Faith didn't reply he continued. "So you had an off night. It's like when Rocky fought Mr. T in the movie. He didn't even bother blocking for the longest time until he was almost unconscious. Then his instincts took over and he kicked butt."

"That's the plot of every Rocky movie," Faith replied.

Robin ignored the comment. "The point is you just need to get back in touch with your instincts." he told her. "And it probably doesn't help that you have a slayer-in-training pushing your buttons."

"No, she was right. I've been so terrified of losing my job, I haven't been doing my job," Faith said. "I've been too careful, too cautious."

"Those aren't bad things, Faith," Robin told her. "Actually, I'd kinda hope that my fiancée would be a little careful out there."

"That's not the way you fight a war," Faith said. "You fight it tooth and nail. Literally. If we wanna beat them, we need to be ready to risk everything, put everything on the line. The life, the glory of the slayer lineage, all this." She gestured around the room. "We need to be ready

to give all this up if we have to. I haven't been willing to do that since…Vi. And now I'm trying to show up a seventeen-year-old."

"Faith, what are you saying?" Robin asked.

"I'm goin' after Janna," Faith said. "And one of us is gonna die."

"Faith…"

"I need you to hold something for me," she said softly.

"What?" Robin asked.

She walked up to him and took his hand, and held it flat in front of her. Then, her hand shaking slightly, she dropped the diamond engagement ring into his palm.

"Faith, what are you…"

"I'm not – I'm not givin' it back," Faith told him quickly. "I just…want you to hold on to it for me. When I think I deserve it, I'll take it back."

"Isn't that my call to make, Faith?" Robin asked.

"Half of it is. You think I deserve to have this, and I can't tell you how much that means to me. But I'm not sure I deserve to take it from you. Not yet," Faith told him. "I'm askin' for time. That's all."

"You're asking for a lot more than that, whether you realize it or not," Robin said softly.

"I know," Faith said softly. She closed his hand around the ring. She looked up at him, her eyes glistening in the dim light. "I gotta go to work," she said softly as she stepped away from him.

"You'll be back, right?" Robin asked from the bedroom as she walked towards the living room door.

"If I can," Faith answered as she stepped into the hallway, closing the door behind her.

Fade Out.

End of Act Three

Act FourFade In:Int.Wormwood Acres – Motel Room – Morning

Dawn tried her cell phone yet again. She held it to her ear and then sighed. "Still nothing."

From the bathroom, Lorinda's voice called out. "I suppose it is too much to hope for that she got lucky?"

"Well, we can hope, but…nah."

Lorinda emerged, still brushing her hair. "Okay," she said, "you're a witch, right? And I know there are such things as tracking spells."

"Yeah, there are but…"

"So use one."

"It isn't that easy."

Now Lorinda just raised an eyebrow. "If they don't work, what's the point of having the stupid things?"

"They work, just not all the time."

"So now what?"

"Now we go looking for her the hard way." Dawn snapped her cell phone shut and put it in her pocket. Then she looked around.

"Where's Marsha?"

Lorinda gave a quick whistle. The little dragon's head popped up from beneath one the double beds. She crawled out and made a trilling noise.

"You don't suppose she did her business under there do you?" asked Dawn.

"You gonna clean it up if she did?"

After a moment, Dawn shrugged. "Good point."

Cut to:Int.Wormwood Acres – Church Basement – Same

Grace squirmed against the pillar to which she was tied.

"Hey!" she called out. None of the robed, hooded figures at the opposite end of the room reacted. They continued to chant. "Just so you know – I'm not really a virgin so if that's what this is all about, the whatever-it-is won't work. Okay, maybe it's only a technicality, but still…" They continued to chant, voices low.

Grace waited. "I've got an idea! Look, if you're gonna kidnap someone you might as well do it for profit, right? There's this girl with me – Lorinda Sheparton. Her parents are rich enough to buy Delaware. I looked it up – they tried to, once."

The robed figures continued to chant.

"You could at least talk to me, you losers!" Grace made as much noise as she could. "Talk about rude! Bad enough you hold me here against my will…"

That got a reaction. One of the robed figures went to the side and picked something up. Now the robed figure approached Grace. In his hands was a duct tape.

"Hey! What are you doing with…" She didn't get any farther as he slapped a large piece of the tape over her mouth. Then he put another piece on top of that and another.

Grace tried to continue complaining, but the sounds no longer resembled words. Not discernable ones, anyway.

"Thank you!" called out one of the other robed figures.

Cut to:Int.Wormwood Acres – Mayor's Office – Later That Day

Mayor Hegwell smiled and dictated into her tiny portable tape recorder.

"Remember to double-check next week's supply of beef and other meats. Odds are, what we've got won't be enough. Not in the long run…" She turned to look at the door to her outer office. Voices spoke on the other side of the door. The Mayor continued her recording. "No need to spend money on steaks and things. Carnivores prefer things like kidneys, livers, that kind of thing. See how much of a break we can get on organs, and so on." She stopped again as the voices outside became louder, more shrill. With a single press of her finger, she turned the mini-recorder off.

"You can't…!"

"Watch me."

Another sound answered the voices, something that resembled the scream of a cat and in some ways the screech of a bird. Almost immediately a sound eclipsed that – the sound of pounding on wood. Two good hard blows was all it took to break the lock and open the door. Mayor Hegwell's eyes went huge and her smile froze.

Lorinda straightened herself from the kick she'd used to open the door. Marsha the Dragon soared over her head and came to rest on the Mayor's desk. She looked up at the woman and made a growling trill.

"Okay, where's Grace?" Lorinda strode over to the desk while asking.

"Uh…who?"

Dawn entered the office. "Lorinda!"

"Grace," Lorinda snapped, "the geeky watcher who was with us. She went for a walk last night. Never came back."

"Young lady," Mayor Hegwell tried to smile again, "there's really no reason…"

"Stuff it," Lorinda snapped. The dragon made an answering growl.

The Mayor swallowed. "You're upset," she said. "If your friend is missing, we need to get the police involved, make a search, go through official channels…OW!" In one smooth movement Lorinda had moved to her side and grabbed the Mayor's hair, giving it a sharp tug.

Dawn watched slack-jawed.

"Cut the sugary sweet act. You are the worst liar I've ever seen."

"Wait!" Dawn almost-yelled.

The mayor and the slayer looked at Dawn. After a moment, so did Marsha. "There's something going on…"

"Well, duh," said Lorinda.

"And," continued Dawn with an edge in her voice, "it has something to do with dragons."

The mayor blinked and stopped smiling. Lorinda noticed. "Okay, how do you figure that?" the slayer asked, not taking her eyes off the mayor.

"We drove up here and she recognized us instantly. She knew about Marsha. She knew about Kennedy. And this whole town was founded by dragon-worshippers, right?"

"I explained about that…" the mayor started.

"Yeah, but she's right – you're a terrible liar. In fact, you're so bad at it I wonder how you got elected."

"Everybody here is probably just a moron," said Lorinda.

"No," said Dawn, "my guess is you don't have to lie. Not to anyone here…they're all in on it. Whatever 'it'is. The whole town."

The mayor's face no longer had anything like a smile on it. "There are only two of you," she said in a deadpan voice. "You're outnumbered like two thousand to one. I don't care how special and powerful either one of you might be, you haven't got a chance." She grinned. Then, cried out as Lorinda gave her hair a yank.

"Yeah, well," she said, "right here, right now you're outnumbered three to one. And guess what, we do have powers, like super strength." She gave another yank.

"And magic," said Dawn. She held her hands about a foot apart, palms facing. Then whispered a certain word. Multi-colored lightning arched between her hands, crackling the air, illuminating her face with flashing yellow, violet and blue. The mayor watched all this with alarm, and then noticed Marsha had stepped closer to her. The little dragon snarled like a pit bull.

"Okay," she said, voice low. "You win."

Cut to:Int.Wormwood Acres – Church Basement – Same

Grace was still tied to a pillar. Now, however, copious amounts of duct tape had been fixed to her mouth. Indignation shone forth in her eyes but that emotion gave way to curiosity.

The robed figures were now kneeling. As they did so, the other side of the room became visible. Paintings of dragons – dragons in flight, dragons breathing fire, dragons devouring innocents – adorned one whole wall. But Grace's attention was on the brazier between the robed ones and the wall. It was large, over a yard in width, but in the center of its glowing coals was an oval object. It glowed slightly…it was an egg.

Cut to:Int.Wormwood Acres – Mayor's Office – Same

Dawn shook her head in disbelief. Lorinda had a matching expression on her face as they both stared at Mayor Hegwell.

"You bought a dragon egg off of eBay?" Dawn had already said this several times.

"Well," said the mayor, "I'm sure it'd make a better movie if we'd hired out a bunch of archeologists to find it some obscure Viking burial grounds, but that wasn't what happened."

"But…eBay?"

"And you believed them?" Lorinda sounded outraged.

The mayor looked at her. "Why not?"

"But…eBay?" Dawn repeated.

"Look, it matched the descriptions of our sacred texts, that's why!" The mayor almost whined her answer. "Plus the rituals and spells are working. The egg is alive now, thank you very much. It will hatch, and a new dragon will emerge into the world." She eyed Marsha. "Bigger than your midget, I can tell you that."

Dawn just stared at her. "I don't know whether to be more afraid if you're right or if you're wrong. If it isn't a dragon in that egg, God only knows what you might be waking up!"

Cut to:Int.Wormwood Acres – Church Basement – Short time later

Grace's eyes fixed on the egg. Robed figures around pointed to where cracks had appeared in the egg's surface.

"Glory!" chirped one of the robed folk.

"Our dreams!" said another.

Behind the duct tape, Grace tried to say something that sounded not unlike an expletive, probably a significantly obscene one. Of course, because of the tape it also resembled a muffled gargle.

The cracks in the egg expanded as it began to sway back and forth. Little curled claws picked away at the shell. More and more of the egg itself began to break apart – accompanied by 'ooh's'and 'ah's'from the robed ones. Finally, a reptilian head emerged, wearing a piece of egg like a helmet. A quick movement shook the fragment loose and a faltering step brought the rest of the creature out of its shattered encasing.

Wet scales glistened. Tiny eyes looked out and a tongue flicked past an array of very sharp teeth. Its tail whipped back and forth. The mouth opened and a trilling sound emerged.

"Uh…Sid?" said one of the robed figures. "Where're its wings?"

"Maybe it'll grow them?"

"Could be," someone offered.

"According to the book," said another, "the spell help a dragon mature faster."

"You sure?"

"The book said so?"

"But is that really a dragon?"

"Looks like one."

"But its got no wings," he repeated.

Grace tried to say something at this point. It came out something like "rrrsssgg rrrgg!" One or two robed figures looked at her in response, whereupon she repeated herself, twice, each time with more fervor. Unfortunately, she didn't become any clearer and so her captors simply shrugged, looking back towards the green scaly creature before them.

"Hey! It's starting to grow!"

"The book said that would happen."

"But so fast?"

A pause before anyone answered. "Sure."

Grace began to tug at her bonds.

"Wow," said one of the robed, "it sure is growing fast."

"It's beautiful!"

"Yeah, but still…"

"What?"

"No wings."

The creature was now the size of a large dog. Its scales glittered dozens of different shades of green. Its eyes were red. The legs looked strong, with fierce spikes on what in a human being would be its knees. Both forelegs were much, much smaller but ended in talons.

With a bang, the door to church cellar burst open and Lorinda rushed in.

"The door was unlocked!" Mayor Hegwell whined from behind her. Dawn was behind the mayor as they entered the room. Marsha swept in and perched on box. She hissed. Grace tried to yell through the duct tape over her mouth.

"Okay," yelled Lorinda, "everybody stay where they are and I don't break kneecaps!" Grace rolled her eyes.

Dawn ran over to untie Grace, but did a take at the scaly green creature staring at her. "Oh my goddess," she squeaked.

"What is that?" asked Lorinda.

"Our dragon!" exulted Mayor Hegwell. "Alive!" The creature looked at her. It was now nearly the size of a pony.

"That isn't a dragon!" wailed Dawn.

"Of course not," snorted Lorinda. "No wings."

Grace tried to scream through the duct tape. It sounded like "uhtmmmrddduhrrrrrr!" Dawn untied her.

"Of course it's a dragon," Hegwell insisted, eyes alight. "Just look at it!" Her smile seemed totally genuine this time, and again showed more teeth than any human mouth could contain.

By now Grace's bonds were undone and she didn't even try to get the tape off her mouth. She just ran for the exit without stopping.

"You idiots!" Dawn breathed. "Don't you watch the Discovery Channel? Or go to the movies?"

By now the creature was nearing six feet tall. Lorinda's eyes popped in horrified recognition. "Oh hell!" She headed for the exit and did Dawn.

"That," was Dawn's parting shot, "is a velociraptor!"

Marsha took wing, following Dawn, Lorinda and Grace out of the basement. Mayor Hegwell watched them go.

"A veloci-what?" Then she was distracted by screams behind her.

Cut to:Ext.Wormwood Acres – Town Square – Later

Grace leaned against a tree, breathing hard. Above her, in the branches, Marsha perched and looked around. Lorinda kept reaching for the tape on Grace's mouth, and Grace kept slapping her hand away.

"Look, the easiest thing is to just pull it off."

Grace slapped her hand. She tried to take the tape off her face herself, and whimpered. Dawn, standing a few feet away, stared at the church across the street.

"Okay," she said to herself, almost succeeding in sounding calm, "I don't really have anything to be afraid of. It can't kill me. It can't. I know that."

"It could still eat you, though," offered Lorinda. "Do you think it would digest you before or after you resurrected?"

"Shut up! I just need to figure out the right kind of spell. Something simple, but powerful."

Grace screamed. Lorinda proudly held aloft a mass of duct tape. "Done!"

"You enjoyed that, you little bitch!"

"Can you please stop whining for ten whole seconds? I'm trying to concentrate here!" yelled Dawn.

From the church, the sounds of screaming suddenly increased, coupled by a roar. All three of them went silent at the sound. After another moment or two, the mayor emerged from the church, with remarkable speed, especially given her high heels. She raced past Dawn, Lorinda and Grace. Marsha watched her go, her head pivoting on her serpentine neck – then turning again to the church at another roaring sound, louder this time.

"A spell" muttered Dawn to herself, "Dinosaurs are just big lizards. They won't like fire any more than…" she searched for an example, "Elephants! Or horses. Yeah, that'll work." She took a deep breath.

"Uh, Summers?" Grace said as she pointed.

That was when the Velociraptor appeared. Now over six feet tall, it ran like a racehorse but gave off the air of a rabid tiger. It looked around and gave another roar. The few people on the streets ran. But the raptor fixed its eyes on Dawn. Marsha in the tree gave a warning chirp.

"I see it," said Dawn. As the raptor began to run towards her, Dawn quickly traced a symbol in the air with her left hand. The symbol itself seemed to hover in the air for a moment. "Incendiaria" she said and held her right palm forward. A ball of flame emerged from her palm and shot forward. All three young women flinched as the flamed erupted – an animalistic scream echoing as a tiny pillar of fire swirled where the raptor had stood moments before. And, as the flames subsided, the raptor still stood, looking startled but not at all hurt.

"Oh hell," said Dawn.

"Run away?" suggested Lorinda.

"Yep," said Grace.

Watching them, the Raptor blinked for a moment. Then, with a bellow, ran after their retreating forms.

Cut to:Int.Cleveland – Warehouse – Same time

Faith looked around the vast, abandoned room, littered with shipping palettes, machinery and heavy equipment, which had long since started to rust or rot. The moonlight shafted in through the dusty air, bathing the room in a pale blue light. She nodded, satisfied, as she allowed her eyes to adjust to the dim light.

"This is the place," she whispered softly. "Now I let her find me."

Cut to:Int.Watchers Council – Faith and Robin's bedroom – Same time

Robin sat on the bed, looking at the small diamond ring in the palm of his hand. He closed his hand into a fist and brought it to his lips, wrapping his free left hand around it.

"God, if you're out there, I know we don't talk much," he whispered, although nobody was close enough to hear it, "but I guess that means I haven't ever asked you for much either. But I'm asking now. If you have a miracle handy, I could really use one right now."

Cut to:Ext.Wormwood Acres – Downtown – Moments Later

Mayor Hegwell could not run terribly fast in high heels. She ran faster than one might suppose, but not faster than Lorinda, Dawn or Grace. Overhead, Marsha had no trouble catching up with her either. The little dragon swept in front of the mayor with a hiss. As a result Hegwell cried out and nearly collided with the three members of the Watchers'Council behind her. Lorinda grabbed her by the wrists.

"Let go of me!" she shrieked. "You're gonna get us killed!"

Grace looked around, pointed to a house under construction. It looked mostly finished but no one was working on it now. The roof was unfinished, as were the upstairs windows. "C'mon!"

They dragged Hegwell with them. All four, dragon hovering above, headed inside the half-finished house. "Are you crazy? The walls aren't even done yet!"

"So we can get inside without arguing," snapped Grace. "And there'll be power tools for weapons."

Getting through the front door proved easiness itself. The interior of the first floor was dark, save for a few working lights. As they heard the roar of the raptor, they took cover away from the windows. Grace peaked out through the tiny window on the front door.

The raptor came into view. It walked in a surprisingly smooth flow, like a bipedal cat, head swinging from side to side. On the street, inches from where Hegwell had been caught, the creature paused before omitting a growling sound that seemed to go on forever. It then turned and headed away from the house under construction.

Grace breathed again. "Just a little bit of research," she whispered, "Some field work. Simple, she said…I'm gonna kill that woman."

Cut to:Int.Cleveland – Warehouse – Same time

Faith heaved her body onto a stack of shipping palettes and closed her eyes. She reached into the inside breast pocket of her jacket, producing a wooden stake and she gently lay it on the rotting wood next to her. Her breathing slowed and she gently rested her hands on her knees.

"Into a soul without thought or emotion, even a tiger finds no room to insert its fierce claws," she whispered. "One and the same breeze passes over the pines in the mountains and the oak trees in the valleys, yet why do they make different notes…No thinking, no reflecting, perfect emptiness, yet therein something moves…The eye sees it, but no hands can take hold of it…The moon in the streams, clouds and mists, they are midair transformations."

Her dictation halted abruptly and her head, eyes still closed, cocked slightly to the left. With a sharp intake of breath, she rolled backwards as a leg swept through the space the bridge of her nose had occupied only a moment earlier. She continued her roll backwards coming to a stop a few feet behind her, kneeling on the edge of the stack of shipping palettes.

"Impressive," Janna said, from her position on the opposite edge. "How'd you know I was there? It's these pants isn't it? I've been trying to get my hands on a pair that makes a little less noise, but a girl's gotta keep up with modern fashion."

"Naah," Faith shrugged. "Your breath stinks." She threw herself at the vampire, trying to drive her back with a series of punches at her

midsection. Janna's stomach curled around the impact, and had she had any breath to be knocked out of her, it would have been. Instead, she barely reacted, swinging around in a backhanded strike at the slayer's right temple.

Faith deflected the strike, and tried to respond with an uppercut under the vampire's chin. Janna twisted, away from the punch and stepped forward, locking her right knee behind Faith's, and drove her forearm into the center of Faith's chest.

Faith tripped backwards and fell flat. The edge of the pile of shipping palettes the duo was dueling upon struck her in the small of her back. Her entire upper body hung, suspended in space for the briefest of moments before, like a book that had been pushed too close to the edge of a table, she flipped backwards and fell to the concrete floor below, landing face down.

Janna jumped down from her perch to land next to the slayer's prone body. She shook her head disapprovingly.

"I don't know about you, but from my vantage, it doesn't look like this fight is going much better than the last one," she said, her tone patronizing.

Cut to:Int.Watchers Council – Hallway – Same time

"You did what!?" Buffy was livid as she stood facing Robin from the hallway. "How in hell could you let her go after that woman alone again?"

"Do you honestly think I could've stopped her?" Robin asked.

"Yes!" Buffy snapped. "Actually, I'd say that you're the one person who can stop her. Isn't it kinda part of your job description to stop her from, oh, I don't know, killing herself?"

"No," Robin said simply.

"No!?"

"No," Robin's voice was calm. "It's my job to trust her. I believe…I have to believe that she can do this."

"Where did she go?" Buffy demanded. "I'm sending a team of slayers after her."

"I don't know," Robin told her.

"You're lying," Buffy accused him.

"On any other day, you'd be 100% right. If I knew, I wouldn't tell you," Robin said softly.

"Why the hell not!?"

"She needs this fight," Robin said. "I can't explain it better than that."

Cut to:Int.Cleveland – Warehouse – Same time

"Four hundred years looking for a slayer who can match me, and look at you," Janna taunted, watching Faith rise shakily to her feet. "You can barely stand." She shook her head. "I gotta say, Faith, this is damned disappointing."

Faith brought her arms up to a defense, adopting a perfect stance as Janna advanced on her. Her stance was relaxed, but the expression on her face betrayed the intense level of concentration and focus inherent to every action, every motion.

Janna advanced with a feint and followed with a kick to Faith's floating rib. Faith cleared both attacks and darted inwards, driving her elbow into the vampire's abdomen and following it with a backhanded strike at the bridge of her nose.

Janna jerked her head to the side and the blow aimed at her nose instead collided to minimal effect with the vampire's collarbone. She gripped Faith's wrist firmly and twisted it in a single, brutal motion.

Faith grunted in pain as her whole body bent over reflexively to alleviate the torque applied to her shoulder. She wasn't able to mount any defense when she received Janna's foot applied generously to her stomach. Janna released her wrist, allowing Faith to drop to an undignified position on her hands and knees. Faith's whole body

heaved as she tried to force air into a pair of lungs that seemed reluctant to expand.

"Face it, Faith, you're just outclassed this time," Janna said. "I'm willing to let you walk away. Just turn and walk away."

Faith finally managed to take a full breath before she used a piece of machinery next to her to pull herself to her feet. She leaned heavily on it for support as she looked defiantly at the ancient vampire.

"If you think I'm going to take you up on that," she said, "you really don't know me at all, do you?"

Janna shrugged. "Suit yourself," she said softly.

Faith looked at her for a moment, her expression almost one of curiosity, as if she were looking at a demon she'd never seen before. She smiled slightly, and slowly allowed her hands to drop to her sides.

Cut to:Int.Watchers Council – Robin and Faith's living room – Same time

Robin looked out at the full moon, shining down like a spotlight on lake Erie. He leaned heavily on the window's ledge, watching the small waves push in against the coastline.

"How long has she been gone?" Buffy's voice sounded softly from behind him.

"Three hours," he replied without turning around.

"Robin, we need to find her," Buffy said softly.

Robin shook his head slowly. "Not yet."

"I understand that you have to trust her, but you're taking this well past insane," Buffy told him.

"She can do this," he said.

Cut to:Int.Cleveland – Warehouse – Same time

Blood sprayed from between Faith's lips as a completely undefended strike slammed across her jaw, followed by a second delivered from the opposite direction. She still hadn't raised her hands in defense when a third strike, a jab, drove straight into her nose.

Janna had abandoned her previously impeccable style for hard, brutal strikes at the slayer's face and jaw.

Faith dropped to one knee momentarily, but recovered almost immediately and rose again to face the vampire. Her hands remained down at her sides. Blood flowed freely from a large cut over her right eyebrow, and a trickle of blood dripped from the corner of her mouth.

"Faith, come on," Janna gripped Faith's head behind the neck and slammed it downwards into her knee. Faith again dropped to one knee, dazed before she pushed herself up again, her legs barely supporting her. "Dodge, hit back, do something," Janna said as she drove another punch across the black-haired slayer's jaw. Faith's head snapped to the right with the blow, and as she looked back at the vampire, her eyes were barely half-opened. Her breaths were ragged and slow. "God, don't just give up," Janna added, delivering another punch to Faith's cheekbone.

Cut to:Int.Watchers Council – Faith and Robin's bedroom – Same time

Robin did not turn away from the window. "She can do this," he whispered.

Cut to:Int.Cleveland – Warehouse – Same time

Faith's half-closed eyes suddenly snapped opened a fraction of a second before another of countless blows made contact with her right cheek, and she simply ducked. The fist whistled mere millimeters above her head, striking nothing more substantial than the air. She stepped towards the overbalanced vampire, and drove her forehead into the vampire's. The vampire dropped with the force of the impact,

leaving the side of her head opened for a hard snap-kick. Faith followed the kick with a pair of punches, one delivered to each side of the vampire's face, which finally dropped her to the ground.

For a moment, Faith looked down at her hands in shock; almost as though a pair of foreign objects had been attached to her wrists.

She looked up at the slowly-recovering vampire and a wide smile spread across her face. "Aaaall riiiiiiiight," she said slowly.

Janna's brow furrowed, her eyes darkened and her canine teeth extended. An almost-feral growl freed itself from her throat as she threw herself at the slayer, forcing Faith backwards into a large metal device.

Faith brought her right elbow up across her body, then brought it down across both of Janna's wrists, ripping them free of her throat. She then slid her elbow along the vampire's outstretched arms, using them to guide a strike directly to Janna's throat.

"Not as much fun when they hit back, is it?" Faith asked as Janna stumbled away from her.

Janna threw a punch across Faith's jaw, which she did not attempt to redirect. Instead, she twisted with the force of the blow, causing it to glance off her jaw. She continued the twisting motion, and brought the back of her right fist across Janna's temple.

The two locked together as Faith was again forced against a wall. Faith brought her arm up under Janna's chin, holding her back. It was only because she had a position of slightly greater leverage that she was able to slow the vampire's fangs inching towards her jugular vein.

"You can't beat me," the vampire hissed as she closed in on Faith's throat.

"Maybe I can't," Faith's voice hid none of the strain she felt as she tried to hold the vampire at bay, "but we can."

Janna's eyes widened. "Wha –?" She looked down just in time to see two inches of very pointy wood punch its way outwards through her sternum. A stunned look of shock froze itself on her face in the instant before she disintegrated in front of her. As the vampire vanished, she revealed the shape of Hadley standing behind her, stake at the ready. She cringed when she saw the elder slayer.

"Jesus, Faith," she said, suppressing a shudder as she surveyed Faith's very obvious injuries.

"Watch your mouth kid," Faith corrected her.

"Sorry, but you scared the…heck outta me…You said you were going to keep her busy, not become a piñata."

"Worked, di'n it?" Faith said dopily.

"Here, lemme help you," Hadley rushed forward and tried to drape one of Faith's arms across her shoulders.

"Na'ah, I got it," Faith pulled her arm away and started to step away from the wall she was leaning against. Almost immediately, her legs collapsed under her. "Okay, I was wrong," she amended.

Hadley chuckled slightly and bent down to help Faith stand.

"Just for the record, I coulda taken her," Faith said as the duo struggled towards the door at the far end of the warehouse.

"If you think that, she must've hit you harder than I thought," Hadley said with a smile.

"Heck, I'll take you right now," Faith insisted.

"A lot harder," Hadley added.

"Hey, you li'l pipsqueak," Faith muttered playfully, "I'll have you know that I've been slaying since you were in diapers." She paused. "Okay, maybe not diapers, but at least fuzzy, footed pajamas."

"So do you want me to have you fitted with a walker?" Hadley asked her. "Does Robin know he's robbing the Craftmatic adjustable bed?"

Faith looked down at Hadley for a moment and smiled. "Hadley, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."

Cut to:Int.Wormwood Acres – Half-built House – Later

Crouching in the darkness, Mayor Hegwell sucked on her lit cigarette.

"Okay," Lorinda was saying, "how come magic didn't work?"

"Maybe dinosaurs are immune," Dawn suggested.

"You've got to be kidding."

"Could be. I mean, how would anyone know?" Dawn replied.

"I think its because they hatched the damn thing with magic," said Grace. "Think about it. A velociraptor egg? Must be millions of years old. How much magic would it take to bring something like that back to life? Or for that matter, how long have they been doing this? Hey, you, Lipstick-for-Brains, when did you and your stupid group of Jawa wannabes get the egg?"

Hegwell glared. "I don't see any reason to be insulting."

Grace looked at Lorinda. "Do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Break her fingers for me?"

Lorinda looked at the mayor. "Yeah, okay."

"Five years ago! Jeez!" She went back to sucking on her cigarette.

"You know," Dawn said, "those things do cause cancer."

"Thank you so much for telling me. And of course that is so very high on my list of worries right this second."

"Right," continued Grace, "they've been pouring magic into that egg for years. So it isn't like your powers aren't cool and everything, but its kinda like throwing a bucket of water at a tidal wave."

"We've got to kill it," said Lorinda.

"No kidding, Sherlock," muttered the mayor.

The slayer looked at her. "Hey, I've got an idea. How about some bait?" She smiled.

"That is a good idea," Grace commended.

"Hey!" the mayor exclaimed.

"No, not you. Something a carnivorous dinosaur would find more tempting." Grace concentrated. "Let's face it, you're mostly skin and bones…What were you planning on feeding your dragon?"

"Meat of course. We stocked up at the local grocery store. Their big freezer is full of it."

"Big freezer? How big is your big freezer?"

"Bigger than my office."

"Where?"

"The grocery store. But it's frozen. We didn't know exactly when the egg would hatch."

Now Grace looked at Dawn. "You can throw fireballs. Can you thaw meat?"

She thought about it. "Yeah. It would take a little longer, but it's really just the same principle, sort of. Basically, anyway. But that still leaves the problem of getting the dinosaur to come and get it. And the even bigger problem of what to do when he…she…it does."

"What to do with it is obvious," said Lorinda. They all looked at her. "Well, it is."

Cut to:Ext.Wormwood Acres – Later

The raptor strode along a neighborhood that was by now deserted. Neat, even picturesque homes lined both sides of a street that was also dotted with trees and a smattering of parked cars. Even the squirrels, however, were hiding.

So the raptor continued along. It listened and sniffed the air. The cry that got its attention sounded something like that of a hawk. It looked up and around. From atop one house Marsha dove and swerved in the air several yards in front of the raptor. She even hissed in defiance.

The raptor began to chase the little morsel. It was as swift as a cheetah, able to run faster than Marsha could fly. The little dragon barely avoided its fanged snout, heading into the air out of range. Then heading away, but not so high as to make the raptor give up. But she also kept moving.

And the raptor followed, hungry.

Cut to:Ext.Wormwood Acres Grocer Store – Later

Marsha soared as fast as she could, reaching the roof of the grocery store actually panting. Behind her, the raptor turned a corner and looked around. It sniffed the air.

The raptor immediately looked at the far end of the parking lot. A raw steak lay on the ground. A quick sprint and the ravenous dinosaur was on it. The steak was small enough it simply picked up the meat with its jaws, leaned its head back and swallowed. It then did the same to another steak lying nearby – closer to the back door of the store. A third steak was at the door entrance.

When the third steak was swallowed, the raptor saw the inside of the store, and the trail of roasts and hamburger leading to a big door that was currently wide open. Still hungry, the raptor wasted little time in its quest for food. The roasts and hamburger were soon torn by its fangs and in the creature's gullet. A little less hungry now, it hesitated before entering the into the room marked 'refrigeration unit.'From the

far corner, peaking out over the top of desk, Grace and Dawn and Lorinda watched what happened.

After a few seconds the raptor stepped inside the freezer. The pile of raw meat just inside the door was just too tempting a target. Wet tearing sounds began, with a snarling like that of cats when they eat birds. Dawn uttered a word, and made a hand gesture. The door of the freezer swung shut.

Almost instantly, the raptor reacted with a roar. Just as quickly, Lorinda was running to the freezer door. She slipped the lock into place, not a moment too soon. The full force of a dinosaur began pounding at the door. It quaked under the blows. Lorinda pushed against it, holding it closed.

"Hurry," she yelled, making it sound very much like an order. She was already straining against the blows on the door.

Grace had already reached the controls and turned freezer's temperature all the way down. Dawn, meanwhile, had risen and was pointing at the freezer with her thumb and pinky. The other hand traced a symbol in the air. "I call on the lords of Jotunheim," she said, "I invoke Mim and the hosts of the north, the masters of frost and endless winter. Claim this space as thy domain. Let thy presence be felt. Breathe here and let the ice hold reign."

"How long is this going to take?" asked Grace.

"Faster if you don't distract me," was Dawn's answer. "I call on the lords of Jotunheim," she repeated. "I invoke Fafnir and the hosts of the north…"

A talon the size of a small crossbar pierced the freezer door from the inside. "Oh, hell," muttered Lorinda. The talon began to tear at the door material, then pulled back inside. Another couple of blows, and its talons pierced the door a few inches from the first hole.

"Let thy presence be felt. Breathe here and let the ice hold reign." Dawn repeated.

Another blow sent Lorinda to the floor.

Dawn's voice rose. "I invoke Fasolt! And the hosts of the north! The masters of frost and endless winter. Claim this space as thy domain! Let thy presence be felt! Breathe here and let the ice hold reign!" Her

hands had begun to glow. Lorinda, gasping from being thrown to the floor, noticed her breath was visible.

"Let the ice hold reign!"

Frost gathered on the wall and door of the freezer. It began to fall off as the hinges of the door weakened. A fanged snout poked through a hole in the door. It snarled, and its breath was a long wisp of mist.

"Let the ice hold reign!"

Now frost was on the raptor's hide as it grabbed the door and pushed, pulled, yanked. The hinges were almost out of the wall by now. But the raptor's movement were slower…

"Let the ice hold reign!"

The raptor was barely moving. Its talons, holding onto the freezer door through the holes they'd created, were white. Covered with a layer of fine ice. A pathetic mewling growl came from the other side of the door. As the three of them watched, the talons slid back into the freezer. A large thump from inside it followed.

Dawn, no longer chanting, looked at Grace. Grace looked back at her. Dawn looked at Lorinda, who matched her look, then aimed it at Grace, who looked at her then at Dawn again.

"Let's get out of here," said Grace at last. "I'm freezing."

Cut to:Int.Watchers Council – Briefing Room – Next Day

Marsha the dragon was pacing up and down the table, under the slightly stunned eyes of Rowena and Willow.

"Of course, later I realized what we should have done," Lorinda was saying, seated across from them. "We should have gone to a vet's office and laced all that meat with sedatives." She nodded,

oblivious to the stares aimed at her by Dawn and Grace, seated on either side of her. "I'll bet Jeff would have thought of that."

"Well," said Willow. "Maybe."

"But the important thing is," said Dawn, "invoking the spirits of the frost giants worked. I know some dinosaurs were warm-blooded and all, but still that much cold took the creature out. And it being inside a refrigerated room helped. Some."

"So much for simple, quiet bit of field research," muttered Grace.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," said Rowena.

"Good!"

"But look on the bright side," Rowena told them, "the three of you did a good deed, and even without any real preparation you managed to negate a serious menace!"

"I've been preparing," objected Dawn. "I've been studying magic for how long now?"

"Oh, sweetie," said Willow, "she just means…"

"I know what she means, Willow."

"You two were so lucky," said Lorinda.

"What?" said Dawn.

"If I hadn't have been there, you'd've both been raptor lunch!"

"Hey! It was my magic that took that damn thing down!"

"After we followed my plan!" Shannon remarked.

"Your plan?" Grace's eyebrows almost hit her hairline. "Your plan? I'm the one who came up with…"

"The only reason you're even alive is because I beat the information out of the mayor! And Dawn here tried to stop me!"

"You are such a liar!"

Rowena and Willow looked at each other while Dawn, Lorinda and Grace bickered. Willow tried to smile. "We should have practice in dealing with teenagers, huh?" she said, voice low.

"…got yourself kidnapped wandering off alone…"

"…took forever to find me…"

"…Jeff would never have let that happen…"

Rowena sighed. "I guess," she said. "Still, we will have help."

"…didn't even issue us any weapons…"

"…what do you call Marsha…"

"…and I'm the one who killed the beastie…"

"At least," said Rowena, "we won't have to worry about our own for at least a decade."

Cut to:Int.Bureau Nine – Mr. Felix's Office – Same Time

"Jason! Jason! I've got it! I've got it!" Dianna burst into the office with a plastic folder in her hand, catching Felix off guard with no regard for what he was doing.

"Sir, I'll call you back," Felix said and then pressed his earpiece. "Are you okay?" he stood up.

Dianna snorted a laugh as she rushed over to his desk. "Okay? I've left okay behind. I'm – I'm…better than okay."

Felix raised his hands. "Good. I'm glad. Just…sit," he gestured to the seat before him.

She batted away his kindness as she sat down. "I'm just…Jason I've done it," she breathed.

He frowned for a moment and then looked serious. "And by it, you mean?"

She nodded. "The sphere. I've cracked it."

His face lit up. He pursed his lips, trying to form words but they were lost. He blinked. "…Dianna…"

Dianna's smile brightened. "Yes Jason, it's done. After weeks of staring at that sodding thing, I've finally solved it!"

"I…I don't know what to say. Honestly, I'm lost for words."

"Well, I'm not, just...just listen." Dianna tried to bottle her glee. Felix agreed with a nod. "I tried just about everything I could to decipher the sphere. Nothing worked. Light, heat, cold, sound, you name it. But what I didn't try was touch. A week ago Lori had commented on my jewelry box – it was a gift Grace bought me long ago. You know how everyone litters their desks with bits and bobs to make the office more home-like." She glanced at Felix's desk. It was sterile, void of anything bar a single photo frame that was turned towards him. She shook her head. "Perhaps not everyone...Anyway, I was winding the jewelry box up. I was sitting there entranced by this beautiful, lonely thing, and I stared at the music reel and then it came to me. The indentations on the sphere aren't a language or a map. They're musical scores."

"Come again?"

"I had nothing else to lose, so I rigged up a set of spikes to strike the sphere as it rotated," Dianna reached into her jacket pocket and produced a digital microphone. "Of course I had to experiment with various speeds of rotation and the thickness of the spikes, but then I got this." She pressed the play button and a high pitched crackling and scratching sound reverberated around the acoustics of the office. She turned the recording off. "What does that sound like to you?"

"White noise. Very loud, very clear white noise," Felix twisted his little finger in his left ear.

Dianna shook her head. "That's why you hired me, my dear friend. It's the sound of radiation as detected and measured through a Geiger counter."

"Of course, I should have recognized it." A worried look crossed his face and he sat forward. "Oh my god, are you okay?"

"Yes I'm fine. The sphere doesn't emit any radiation; no one's in any danger."

"But you…"

"It doesn't emit radiation, but it plays the sound profile of a certain type of radiation. So I started looking for where one would find said radiation on Earth."

Felix grinned. "Dianna this is incredible…"

"It gets a whole lot more credible believe me. I piggybacked off of numerous satellites positioned around the globe; scanning certain regions at a time," she slid Felix the plastic folder across the table.

His eyes widened and he grabbed for the folder and opened it. Inside was an aerial image of a forest.

"The Himalayas. The final stage of The Project begins in the Himalayas." She leaned over and pointed to a small area encased in a red box. "Precisely in this secluded monastery." Dianna smiled. It was either bright or chilling, depending on your perspective.

Cut to:Int.Watchers Council – Hallway – next day

Faith stood facing the doorway. Her hands were clenched into fists as they hung by her side.

"You're five minutes late," Buffy whispered from beside her.

"I know!" Faith hissed.

"You've been standing here for ten minutes," Buffy added.

"I know," Faith replied quietly.

"It's a door, Faith, it can't hurt you," Buffy said.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that," Faith said, "I've met some pretty nasty doors in my life."

"They're gonna think you bailed," Buffy pointed out.

"And this is a bad thing because…"

Buffy looked at her with an exasperated sigh. "You'll thank me for this later."

Cut to:Int.Watchers Council – Classroom – Continuous

Sixteen heads turned in unison as the classroom door swung open, shattering the glass of the window. Next, Faith stumbled inside in undignified manner, as if thrown. She landed on the ground in front of the group but quickly picked herself up off the floor. She turned around to face Buffy, who's diminutive shape still occupied the frame of the door, offering a venomous glare.

"You're welcome," Buffy silently mouthed at her before she vanished.

Faith turned to look at the classroom. Thirty-two eyes bored into her, waiting for her to speak. She took a deep breath. "What you just saw was a demonstration of one of the basic rules of combat. Never turn your back on anyone, even if you think you can trust them." She yelled the last few words on the off chance that Buffy was still within earshot.

She stopped for a moment, looking at the classroom, she looked down at the engagement ring on her left ring finger, and allowed herself to smile. 

"They've asked me to talk to you today about small-unit tactics," she began. "The great advantage that you, as slayers have, is that for the first time in the history of the slayer line, there are more of you. Thousands of you. And you have to rely on each other. You have to trust each other, and you have to trust yourselves."

Fade to Black

End of Bloodlines