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Graduation Day, Part I

Prologue

Xander and Cordelia pick up their gowns for the Graduation ceremonies. Cordelia doesn’t like the colour. She lobbied hard for the teal, but they went with maroon.

Xander just wants to look respectable, since he figures he’s probably going to die in it. “I’ve been lucky too many times. My number’s coming up. And now we’re short! One more rotation and I’m shipping state-side, you know what I mean?”

“Seldom if ever,” says Cordelia.

Willow collects signatures for her yearbook in the hallway. She meets with Harmony by the stairs, and they sign each other’s books.

“You know, I really wish we would’ve got to know each other better,” says Harmony. “I mean, you’re so smart. I always wanted to be like that.”

“Thanks,” says Willow. “You’re so sweet.”

“I hope we won’t lose touch.”

“No, we’ll hang out.”

“Bye!” Harmony walks away down the hall.

“Bye!” calls out Willow after Harmony. Buffy comes down the stairs behind Willow. Willow is still watching Harmony. “Aw, I’m going to miss her.”

“Don’t you hate her?” asks Buffy.

“Yes,” says Willow, “with a fiery vengeance. She picked on me for ten years, the vacuous tramp. It’s like a sickness, Buffy. I’m just missing everything.”

They move off into the student lounge together. Buffy isn’t getting into the spirit of things. “I guess I’ll miss stuff, but I just don’t get the whole Graduation thing. I mean you get a piece of paper and nothing changes. I don’t even think I’m going to go.”

Willow gets a soda from the machine while Buffy grabs a table for them. She pushes the root beer button, and gets a Coke. She’s going to miss that too. She joins Buffy at the table. “What do you mean: ‘Not go?’ Why not?”

“Ascension,” says Buffy. “Mayor becoming a demon. Snacking upon populace. I was planning on fighting him.”

“You can’t do both?” asks Willow.

Xander sits down at the table with them. “Both what?”

“Go to Graduation and fight the Mayor,” says Buffy.

“The Mayor?” asks Xander. “What, you guys didn’t hear?”

“Hear what?” asks Buffy.

“Guess who our commencement speaker is?” asks Xander.

“Siegfried?” asks Willow.

“No.”

“Roy?”

“No.”

“One of the tigers?”

“Come out of the fantasy, Will.”

“I don’t believe this,” says Buffy.

“Lends credence to my whole ‘I’m going to die’ theorem, doesn’t it?” asks Xander.

“The Mayor at Graduation?” asks Buffy. “A hundred helpless kids to feed on. Got any other surprises for us?”

Faith pays a visit to Professor Lester Worth. Mayor Wilkins has sent her. Lester is surprised that a politician is interested in his work, but Faith tells him that the Mayor is a big fan. After making sure that Lester is alone, Faith pulls out a knife, and asks Lester to turn and face the wall.

“What are you doing?” asks Professor Worth.

“I’ll make it quick,” promises Faith.

“Put that away. I’ll scream.”

“Who wouldn’t?” Faith pushes Lester up against the wall.

“Please!” pleads Lester.

“Sorry, friend, Boss wants you dead.”

“Why?”

“You know, I never thought to ask.” Faith sinks her knife into Lester’s belly.

Act I

The Mayor visits Faith in her apartment. He straightens things up while he gets the report on the demise of Professor Worth. Faith is not in the room. “Say, are you ever coming out of there?” he asks.

“I don’t know,” says Faith.

“Aw, come on,” says the Mayor. Faith steps into view. She is bare foot, and wearing a pink dress, with flowers on it.

The Mayor is entranced by Faith’s appearance. “Wow, aren’t you a vision?”

“I feel wicked stupid in this,” says Faith. She looks awkward.

“You look lovely,” says the Mayor. “Perfect for the Ascension. Any boys that manage to survive will be lining up to ask you out.”

“It just isn’t me, though.”

“Not you?” The Mayor walks over to Faith. “Let me tell you something. Nobody knows what you are. Not even you, little Miss Seen-it-all. The Ascension isn’t just my day. It’s yours too. Your day to blossom. To show the world what a powerful girl you are. I think of what you’ve done, what I know you will do.” He pushes some strands of hair away from Faith’s face. “No father could be prouder.”

“I hope I don’t let you down,” says Faith.

“Impossible. Now come on, change back into your street clothes. I’ll buy you an icie!” The Mayor giggles.

Willow arrives at school on her bike. Percy spots her and shows her his final history mark. He’s really thrilled. He got a B-. He thanks her for helping him out, and for not kicking his ass again the way she had in the Bronze.

“You know Percy, that was actually…” Willow reconsiders. “…for your own good.”

“I know, I know,” says Percy as Oz joins them.

“History’s important, you know,” says Willow.

“No, I totally get that now,” says Percy. “And I got the grades. I’m graduating tomorrow. I can forget all this crap.” He leaves.

“On the bright side,” says Oz. “After Graduation, he may not have the chance to forget it all.”

“Ha. Ha,” says Willow, with a distinct lack of enthusiasm.

“I was trying to keep things light,” says Oz.

“But things aren’t light,” says Willow. “I mean, it’s bad enough we have to fight the Mayor. I don’t want him eating Percy and the whole class. We have to find a spell or something to stop the Ascension.”

“Then we will,” says Oz.

Xander arrives in history class a little late. Mr. Miller is not pleased. Even though finals are over he expects everyone to participate.

Xander takes a seat beside Anya, and Mr. Miller calls on him to begin.

Xander guesses: “E.”

“No. There is no ‘E.’” Mr. Miller chuckles. “They always go for the ‘E.’” He writes the “E” on the board, and draws the head of his hanging man. “Next! Steven?”

Anya asks Xander for a date that weekend. Xander isn’t thrilled by the prospect of listening to Anya tell him about all the men she has killed one more time. She suggests that maybe they could do some sports thing, or something else guys like.

“Uh, I don’t know,” says Xander.

“Men like sports,” says Anya. “I’m sure of it.”

“Yes. Men like sports,” says Xander. “Men watch the action movie, they eat of the beef, and enjoy to look at the bosoms. A thousand years of avenging our wrongs and that’s all you’ve learned?”

“I’m trying, okay? You don’t need to take my head off.”

“I’m sorry,” says Xander. “Look, I don’t even know if I’m going to make it to the next weekend. I’ll tell you what, I survive the Ascension and maybe you and I can do some sports related…What?”

All of the colour drained from Anya’s face as soon as Xander mentioned the Ascension.

Giles is in the library fencing with Wesley. Buffy comes out of his office, with copy of the Sunnydale Press. She holds it up and shows them the headline: “Professor Found Murdered.”

“Faith,” says Buffy.

“You sure?” asks Wesley.

“One of her pieces,” says Buffy, “I recognise the brush work.”

Giles takes the paper and reads the article, while continuing to fence with Wesley. Nothing in it gives any indication of why Lester was killed.

“Random killing, perhaps?” suggests Wesley. “Fit of rage? Everybody does seem to be going a bit mad, lately. Faith has something of a head start.”

Buffy doesn’t think so. She thinks that the Mayor wanted Professor Worth dead for some reason.

“Tying up loose ends?” suggests Giles. “Lester had something or knew something.”

“Then I want to know too,” says Buffy. “The Mayor’s trying to hide. I say we go seek.”

“Ah.” Wesley flourishes his sword. “By attempting to keep a valuable clue from us, the Mayor may have inadvertently led us right to it.” He stabs at the air.

“What page are you on, Wes?” asks Buffy. “’Cause we already got there.”

“Yes, well.” Wesley recovers his composure. “You will go tonight. Look over his apartment. Anything of note, report back here.”

“I just love it when you take charge, you man, you,” says Buffy.

“Uh…yeah…was that a yes?” asks Wesley. “I have trouble keeping track.”

“I’ll go,” says Buffy.

“Be careful,” warns Giles. “If Faith should show up—”

“I don’t think she’ll show,” says Buffy. “Been there, killed that. She’s not much for follow-up.”

“Nonetheless, keep watch,” says Giles. “Faith has you at a disadvantage, Buffy.”

“’Cause I’m not crazy? Or ’cause I don’t kill people?”

“Both, actually,” says Giles.

Xander comes into the library, dragging Anya with him. Buffy isn’t happy to see her.

“You guys want to know about the Ascension?” asks Xander. “Well meet the only living person who’s ever been to one.”

Anya tells them how she witnessed an Ascension 800 years ago in the Ural Mountains. A sorcerer transformed himself into the demon Lohesh and obliterated an entire village. “I’ve seen some horrible things in my time. I’ve been the cause of most of them, actually, but this…”

Wesley isn’t too worried. He’s heard of Lohesh demons, “I was given to understand that they’re not that fierce. Of all the demons that we’ve faced—”

“You’ve never seen a demon,” says Anya.

Buffy raises her hand. “Excuse me, killing them professionally, four years running.”

“All the demons that walk the earth are tainted,” says Anya. “Or human hybrids like vampires. The Ascension means that a human becomes pure demon. They’re different.”

“Different?” asks Giles.

“How?” asks Buffy.

“Well, for one thing, they’re bigger,” says Anya.

Mayor Wilkins checks out preparations for the Graduation ceremonies with Principal Snyder in the school courtyard. “It all looks wonderful.”

“As long as nobody makes any trouble,” says Snyder.

“Oh, stop worrying. You just make sure the kids show up. Anybody who doesn’t feel like coming to Graduation, well…” The Mayor smiles. “…they’ll just have to live without a diploma.”

“They’ll be here, sir,” says Snyder.

“Call me Richard. You’ve done a great job here. I know things are, well, different here in Sunnydale. We’ve both seen all sorts of things. What’s important is that we keep it under control, and that’s what you’ve done.”

“I believe in order,” says Snyder.

“Sunnydale owes you a debt,” says the Mayor. “It will be repaid. Yes sir, we’ll mark that invoice ‘Paid in full.’”

The Mayor walks off, leaving Snyder looking worried.

Willow and Oz come into the library. Willow isn’t pleased that “evil girl” is there. She accepts Anya’s presence when she learns that she witnessed an Ascension. Anya’s experience doesn’t seem to be much help to them though. None of rituals she knows of leading up to Lohesh’s Ascension seem to match what the Mayor is doing.

The Mayor enters the library. Oz and Willow back around the table, putting some space between him and themselves.

“So, this is the inner sanctum,” says Wilkins. Buffy slides the newspaper containing the story of Lester’s death out of sight beneath some books. “Faith tells me this is where you folks like to hang out. Concoct your little schemes. I tell you, it’s just nice to see that some young people are still interested in reading in this modern era. So, what are kids reading nowadays?”

Mayor Wilkins picks up a book off the table and reads from it. “‘The Beast will walk upon the Earth and darkness will follow. The several races of man will be as one in their terror and destruction.’ Aw, that’s kind of sweet. Different races coming together.”

Buffy isn’t happy to see the Mayor. “You never get even a little bit tired of hearing yourself speak, do you?”

“That’s one spunky little girl, you’ve raised,” the Mayor tells Giles. “I’m going to eat her!”

Giles grabs one of the fencing foils off the table and plunges it into the Mayor’s heart.

Wilkins staggers back. “Whoa! Well now, that was a little thoughtless!” The Mayor pulls the sword out of his chest. “Violent outbursts like that, in front of the children? You know, Mr. Giles, they look to you to see how to behave.”

“Get out,” says Buffy.

Wilkins pulls out his handkerchief and uses it to wipe off the blade. “I smell fear. That’s smart. Some of your deaths will be quick, if that’s worth anything. Well, see you all at Graduation.” He tosses the sword back to Giles. “You don’t want to miss my commencement address.” He turns and walks away toward the library doors. “It’s going to be one heck of a speech!”

Act II

Xander catches up with Anya in the hallway. “Where are you going?”

“Anywhere,” says Anya. “If there’s a lunar shuttle going up anytime soon, I’m on it!”

“We need you here,” says Xander. “You might be able to help.”

“Or I might be able to live. You can’t stop the Ascension, Xander. You were right the first time. The only thing any sane person can do now is run.” Anya leaves. She passes Cordelia in the hall.

“What’s her saga?” asks Cordy.

“She’s freaking,” says Xander.

“About what?”

“The Mayor is going to kill us all during Graduation,” says Xander.

“Oh. Are you going to go to fifth period?” asks Cordy.

“I’m thinking I might skip it.”

“Me too.” They walk off together.

Joyce comes home and finds Buffy in the bathroom packing stuff. “What are you doing? You’re running away again?” She follows Buffy out of the bathroom into her own bedroom, where there’s an open suitcase on the bed. “And you’re taking my clothes.”

Buffy pulls some more clothes out of Joyce’s wardrobe and puts them into the suitcase. “Mom, I need you to leave town. Tonight.”

“Buffy, I’d miss your Graduation.”

“Yeah, that’s sort of the idea.”

“There’s no way,” says Joyce. “I wouldn’t dream—”

“Mom, Graduation is a pointless ceremony where you sit around and listen to a bunch of boring speeches till someone hands you a piece of paper that says you graduated which you already know and maroon does nothing for my complexion, so don’t argue, okay?”

“What? Is some terrible demon going to attack the school?” asks Joyce.

Buffy just looks at her mother for a moment, then and resumes packing.

“Oh. I see.” Joyce sits on her bed. “You know, Buffy, looking back on everything that’s happened, maybe I should have sent you to a different school.”

“Just promise me that you’ll be far away from here,” says Buffy.

“I’m not leaving you to face an awful monster. If I go anywhere, you’re going with me.”

“You know that I can’t.”

“Well then I can’t either,” says Joyce.

“Mom, I know that sometimes you wish I were different.”

“Buffy, no!”

“I wish I could be a lot of things for you,” says Buffy. “A great student, a star athlete, remotely normal. I’m not. But there is something I do that I can do better than anybody else in the world. I’m going to fight this thing, but I can’t do it and worry about you.”

“Buffy, I just can’t—”

“You stay, you’ll get me killed,” says Buffy. “You have to trust me on this. Can you do that?”

Willow and Oz are together in her room. She’s searching her magic books for something to use against the Mayor. She hasn’t found anything useful and she doesn’t think much of her prospects. She isn’t even enough of a witch to change Amy back into a person. Oz tries to reassure her, but Willow isn’t in the mood for his “ironic detachment guy” routine. Oz asks if she would prefer if he panicked.

“Yes!” says Willow. “It would be swell. Panic is a thing people can share in times of crisis. And everything’s really scary now, you know, and I don’t know what’s going to happen. And there’s all sorts of things that you’re supposed to get to do after high school, and I was really looking forward to doing them, and now we’re probably just going to die and I would like to feel that maybe you would—”

Oz cuts Willow’s babble off with a kiss. “What are you doing?” she asks.

“Panicking.” Oz kisses Willow again, and they lie back together on her bed.

Buffy checks out Dr. Worth’s apartment. Angel finds her sorting through his papers. Giles asked him to back her up, in case Faith shows.

Buffy tells Angel she’s learned that Dr. Worth was a volcanologist, but not much more. She can’t really understand anything she’s read. She is packing it up to take back to Giles.

Buffy and Angel leave Dr. Worth’s apartment, and walk out into Sunnydale’s main street. He’s carrying the box that Buffy loaded all of Professor Worth’s notes into. Buffy tells Angel that she doesn’t really need his help. She can handle it alone. She doesn’t need Angel crowding her.

“I didn’t think I was,” says Angel.

Buffy is confused by Angel’s behaviour. First he tells her he’s leaving, then he shows up for the Prom. He disappears again, and now he’s back. She is having trouble dealing with it. She just wants to get it over with.

“I’ll get out of your face.” Angel drops the box at Buffy’s feet, and starts to walk away.

“Isn’t it even a little hard for you?” asks Buffy.

Angel turns back. “How can you ask me that? Just because I’m not acting like a brat doesn’t mean I don’t feel—”

“It’s nice to know what you thing of me!” says Buffy.

“What do you expect me to say when you just attack?”

“I just can’t do this anymore,” says Buffy. “I can’t have you in my life when I’m trying to move on.”

Angel gets hit in the back by an arrow. He collapses in the street.

“Angel!” cries Buffy.

Faith is standing on the roof of the Sun Cinema, across the street, with her bow. “You missed the heart” says the vampire with her.

“Meant to,” says Faith.

Act III

Angel sits in a chair in the library while Buffy pulls the arrow out of his shoulder. Angel doesn’t expect the wound to take long to heal. Buffy’s just glad Faith is a bad shot.

“Are you sure it was her?” asks Giles.

“Well, I’ve narrowed down my list of one suspect,” says Buffy.

Wesley has been reading Professor Worth’s notes. He’d found a very large carcass buried under a lava flow in Hawaii. Lester thought it was some sort of unknown dinosaur. Giles suspects that it may be the sort of demon that the Mayor is going to turn into, and if it’s dead, that means that the Mayor will be vulnerable after the transformation.

“Great!” says Buffy, “So all we need is a million tons of burning lava. We’re saved!”

Angel gets to his feet, and then stumbles. Buffy tries to grab him, but he collapses to the floor.

Buffy helps Angel get back into a chair. He reports that his shoulder has gone completely numb. The arrow must have been poisoned. Wesley promises to contact the Council to get all the information they have on vampire poisons while Buffy and Giles move Angel back to his place before sunrise.

Willow and Oz are cuddling in her bed together, enjoying the afterglow.

“I feel different, you know,” says Willow. “I guess that makes sense. Do you feel different? Oh, no, you’ve already— probably no big change for you. It was nice. Was it nice? Should this be a quiet moment?”

“I know exactly what you mean,” says Oz. “Everything feels different.” He kisses her.

Willow’s phone rings and she answers it. She listens for a few seconds, and then hangs up. She tells Oz they have to go.

Faith reports to the Mayor’s office on her successful mission. Mayor Wilkins is preparing for the ritual of Gavrok. He has to eat several of the bugs out of his box.

“You’re wicked gross!” says Faith.

The Mayor tells Faith she doesn’t have to watch. He tells her to go home and get some sleep. Prepare for the big day.

Faith is too psyched. She wants something to do. “Don’t you need anyone dead? Or maimed? I can settle for maimed.”

“You little firecracker!” says Mayor Wilkins.

“My mom used to call me that when I was little,” says Faith. “I was always running around.” She falls silent for a while. The Mayor just watches her. “Tomorrow, at the Ascension and all that, am I going to get to fight?”

“If everything goes smoothly, you won’t have to,” says the Mayor. “But how often do things go smoothly?”

“So you’ll still need me in there?”

“Always,” says the Mayor.

Faith sits in a chair facing the Mayor’s desk. “When I was a kid, a couple of miles outside of Boston there was this quarry. And all the kids used to swim there and jump off the rocks. And there was this one rock like forty feet up. I was the only one that would jump off it. All the older kids were too scared.”

“Not you though,” says the Mayor.

“Nyah. I could do it easy.”

The Mayor smiles at Faith, and tells her to go get some rest.

Faith gets up out of her chair. “Good luck with your spiders there.” She leaves the office.

Willow sends Xander to the magic shop to pick up some supplies she needs to identify the poison. He runs into Anya on his way out of the school. He expected her to be in Aruba by now.

“Hey, I’m packed,” says Anya. “My car’s right outside. I just, um, I had to, uh…”

“What?” asks Xander.

“You could come with me.”

“Come with you?” asks Xander. “You mean that?”

Anya suggests that if Xander came with her they could take turns driving, keep each other awake. If he stays he’ll get killed. “When I think that something could happen to you, it feels bad inside, like I might vomit.”

“Welcome to the world of romance,” says Xander.

“It’s horrible.” says Anya. “No wonder I used to get so much work.” She still wants Xander to come with her.

Xander steps back away from Anya. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“I got friends on the line.”

“So?”

“That humanity thing’s still a work in progress, isn’t it?” asks Xander.

“Are you really going to be that much help to them?” asks Anya. “I mean, you’ll probably just get in the way.”

“Your stock is plummeting here, sweetheart.”

“Fine!” says Anya. “You know what? I hope you die.” Xander starts to leave.

“Aren’t we going to kiss?” asks Anya.

Angel is growing feverish from the poison. He lies sweating in his bed while Buffy tries to cool him off with a wet cloth. She tells him he’ll be okay. She hears the sound of Angel’s door opening.

Wesley finds Giles waiting in Angel’s living room. Buffy comes out to hear his news from the Council. It isn’t good. They have refused to help Angel in any way. It’s against their policy to cure vampires. They also have orders for Buffy: she should forget about Angel and concentrate on stopping the Mayor.

That isn’t an order Buffy has any intention of obeying. “I don’t think I’m going to be taking any more orders.” Buffy tells Wesley. “Not from you, not from them.”

“You can’t turn your back on the Council!” says Wesley.

“They’re in England.” Buffy shrugs. “I don’t think they can tell which way my back is facing.”

Wesley appeals to Giles for support, but he doesn’t get any. Giles walks over and sits beside Buffy. “I have nothing to say right now.”

“Wesley, go back to your Council and tell them, until the next Slayer comes along, they can close up shop,” says Buffy. “I’m not working for them anymore.”

“This is mutiny!” Wesley tells her.

Buffy thinks about that for a moment. “I like to think of it as…Graduation.” She is going to see if she can help Willow. Giles promises to keep watch an Angel, and call if there is any change.

“Buffy! You don’t know what you’re doing,” says Wesley.

Buffy looks at Wesley. “Get a job!”

Buffy joins the others in the school lab. Willow has identified the poison. It’s a mystical compound called “Killer of the Dead.” There aren’t a whole lot of known cases of a vampire surviving it, but there are some. The accounts are pretty vague.

Oz finds an account of a survival. He starts reading it, then stops. “Damn!”

Willow starts reading over his shoulder “Wait!” She starts to read aloud. “‘…completely reversed the effects…’ Oh.” She stops.

Xander and Buffy don’t like being left hanging. They insist that they tell them what they’ve learned. Oz reluctantly tells Buffy that the cure is for the vampire to drain the blood of a Slayer.

Buffy stops to think for a few seconds. “Good.”

“Good?” asks Xander. “What did I miss?”

“No, it’s perfect,” says Buffy. “Angel needs to drain a Slayer, then I’ll bring him one.”

“Buffy, if Angel drains Faith’s blood, it’ll kill her,” says Willow.

“Not if she’s already dead,” says Buffy.

Act IV

Willow and Oz search the computer records looking for Faith’s address while Buffy goes into the library cage to arm herself.

Xander follows Buffy into the cage. “I don’t mean to play devil’s advocate here, but are you sure you’re up to this?”

“It’s time,” says Buffy.

“We’re talking to the death!”

“I can’t play kid games anymore.” Buffy opens the weapons cabinet. “This is how she wants it.”

“I just don’t want to lose you.”

“I won’t get hurt,” says Buffy.

“That’s not what I mean,” says Xander.

Buffy pulls out the knife that the Mayor had given to Faith which got left behind when they exchanged Willow for the Box of Gavrok. “Just get me an address.”

Faith works out in her apartment, beating the stuffing out of a punching bag.

Willow finds the address.

Faith is in her apartment, lying on her stomach on her bed, listening to music and reading a magazine.

Buffy turns off the music. “I thought I’d stop by.”

Faith rolls over and sits up on her bed. “Is he dead yet?”

“He’s not going to die,” says Buffy. “It was a good try, though. Your plan?”

Faith stands up. “Uh-huh. The Mayor got me the poison. Said it was wicked painful.”

“There’s a cure.”

“Damn! What is it?” asks Faith.

“Your blood.” Buffy gives Faith a moment to realize what that means. “As justice goes, it’s not un-poetic, don’t you think?”

Faith steps toward Buffy. “Come to get me? You going to feed me to Angel? You know you’re not going to take me alive.”

“Not a problem,” says Buffy.

“Well, look at you,” says Faith. “All dressed up in big sister’s clothes.”

Buffy walks toward Faith. “You told me I was just like you. That I was holding it in.”

“Ready to cut loose?” asks Faith.

“Try me.”

“Okay then,” says Faith. “Give us a kiss.”

Buffy punches Faith. Faith spins around and punches back. They both stop and stand staring at one another for a second. Then Buffy attacks with a quick series of kicks and punches.

Buffy and Faith fight in the apartment. They are pretty evenly matched, neither has a clear advantage. They smash through the window, out onto the roof of a lower story. Buffy doesn’t want Faith getting away, so she handcuffs herself to Faith while Faith is picking herself up from the fall.

Willow and Oz watch over a delirious Angel.

Xander and Giles research in the library. Giles has finally found a reference to the demon that Mayor is going to become, based on legends surrounding the carcass Professor Worth found. It leads him to a picture of the demon Olvikan in a book. The picture doesn’t fit on one page. It folds out. Again. And again.

“We’re going to need a bigger boat!” says Xander.

The Mayor dines on some of the bugs from the Box of Gavrok. One of his vampire minions watches, looking a little nauseous.

The Mayor can feel the bugs doing their work. His internal organs are starting to rearrange themselves in preparation for the Ascension. “Plus these babies are high in fiber. And what’s the fun in becoming an immortal demon if you’re not regular, am I right?”

A second vampire bursts into the office.

“We don’t knock during dark rituals?” asks the Mayor.

“Sir!” reports the vampire. “There may be trouble. At Faith’s.”

Buffy and Faith continue to fight while handcuffed together. Faith manages to pull apart the handcuffs, and grabs a piece of pipe as a weapon. Buffy pulls out the knife.

“That’s mine!” says Faith.

“You’re about to get it back,” says Buffy.

They resume the fight, and end up together by the roof’s parapet. Faith holds Buffy’s knife hand away from her by the wrist, and has her other hand around Buffy’s throat. She pushes Buffy toward the edge. “Man, I’m going to miss this!”

Buffy twists her knife hand free, and stabs Faith in the gut.

Buffy pulls the knife free. They’re both stunned by what just happened.

“You did it,” says Faith. With her last bit of strength she punches Buffy away. Faith climbs up onto the parapet. “You killed me.”

Faith looks down from the rooftop. She sees a truck approaching. “Still won’t help your boy, though. Should have been there, B. Quite a ride.” She falls off the parapet, and lands in the back of the truck.

Buffy reaches the roof’s edge just in time to see the truck disappear into the night.

To Be Continued

Death Toll