UC: Sunnydale

I stretched out and opened my eyes. Whoa! Where was I?

The night and day before came back to me and I groaned. Oh right, it's not possible for me to be in my best friends room after a night of hardcore studying for a final or getting help for a paper. It's all demons and death.

Welcome to my life.

I was really hoping I could have a life in College you know? It would be awsome, I could go to class and not have to worry too much about demon's and vampires. It wasn't like I was just going to stop patrolling or something. I was just going to keep it seperate. Buffy's life and the slayer's life. Those two lives are un-mixy, and I don't want them to be mixy. No mixy for good life and suck-life.

This is me though so of course my wish is not anyone's command and my roomate was murdered! Not only that but she was a demon! That I was pretty sure of all along I mean Celine Dion? Please. Anyways, I was hoping that if stuff came up on campus it wouldn't be that close to me, yet hey, in my room there was a demon living with me!

Ok, I'm over it. Well that's not really true but I'm as over it as I'm going to be for a while. Campus has been up in arms all night and I can't help but wonder what's going on. So Will, Xand and I did the research thing all night, I'm betting I crapped out early because I've never really been one for the research, I'm action-gal - so fun. Plus that whole praying it's not hellmouthy because my roomate was just murdered and I had to help with an exorcism, I really need a break. I should have like a time clock or federal regulated break time. Wouldn't that be cool? They can't work me over however many hours without a break. The watcher's council needs dental or something, not that I even work for them anymore. I should write my own slayer handbook.

At least, until they assign me another roomate, I don't have to continually make up excuses as to where i'm going. Kathy probably thought I was a little ho sneaking out to meet some guy. I wish, well if it were a particular guy I'd wish it and damn I really need to not think about him. I've been doing so well with the not thinking about him every second. It's every other second now and I don't need to regress, regression is badness.

Now we've got a whole new issue. I'm really swiming in the land of denial that maybe it's just some stupid pysch experiements and the rat's were just really expensive. God, when did I get so 'gangs on pcp' excusing the hellmouthy rumblings.

Will's still sleeping and I should go back to my room but I don't really want to. I mean Kathy was murdered in there and it was probably suppose to be me. Gee, now that's a thought.

Angel and I are finally getting somewhere.

Okay, so it's not the place I want to be going to, but it's better than no money and an office built for one. Complete with spiders breeding for a million. 'The Magic Box' is a step up for us, even if it's a step back, and I swore I'd never do anything as stupid as showing my face around here ever again. Besides, this could still just be temporary. Visions or not, Angel isn't going to need me forever. Eventually he'll probably tell me to take a hike and get famous already.

Or he and Buffy will have a horizontal reunion and I'll pack up before he gets too psycho.

Either way, as soon as we hire someone and establish ourselves as the local one stop shop for all of Sunnydale's supernatural needs, money will start rolling in. It has to. Everyone in Sunnydale has one magic related issue or another, they'll have to come here and buy frogs legs and other animal parts for their spells. Although it's anyone's guess as to what some of the crap we have in the basement about. More demonic than animalistic.

And it's all staying there. If someone wants a piece of demon, they can come in at night and ask Angel for it. He's useless during the day. And I understand that, but I still can't believe he didn't offer to help me after I told him about that ad in the newspaper. I mean, this is our business. If he's not willing to do any of the work, then that makes it my business. I could change the name to "Cordelia's Magic Box" and it should all be the same thing to him.

Of course it's not. Somewhere, deep down, Angel is desperate for attention. All of this hiding out is really a cry for help.

Well he left me to hire someone on my own. He can cry alone for a while.

((Open to Tara))

I woke up on the floor in Willow's dorm. Not really the best place to wake up. My first sleep over at college I would have thought I would be waking up in the arms of a beautiful co-ed, not of some random stuffed animal. Not that I minded, and I am pretty sure Mr. Fluffers welcomed the company too. I headed out to the bathrooms and did the old brush my teeth with my finger bit, and left a note for the girls that I was 'on the case', then headed out.

It was definitely a different scene on the campus. That slight military presence we had seen in the back, had been shoved front and center at full attention. I milled about hands in my pockets doing the random smile and nod to someone thinking I was watching a bit too carefully. It wasn't hard to pick things out though. I just had to follow the ant trail back to the hill.

Most the activity was coming out of Greek Row. Which might have made sense if this school had a stronger ROTC program. Instead the vehicles pouring out of the campus just seemed a bit too 'ask no questions' to me. So I followed the campus path back to the fathead society of drunkards and morons begging for acceptence. Seemed pretty normal. The girls wearing the matching colors, the guys trying to hit on the girls in the matching colors, all normal.

Except that?

It looked like the biggest house on Greek Row, but it also looked empty. Who leaves their Frat House in the middle of the semester? Especially a big one like that? I stopped one of the color cooridinated girls to ask her a question.

"Excuse me, but I was told to meet someone outside that house, but it looks empty? Some prank on me or something you think?"

She looked behind me at the building and shook her head, "Oh no, ya know I think that house got shut down. Probably date rape or drinking, cause there was all sorts of people in there this morning taking everything outta there. Shame too, they had the hottest guys. All buff? Kinda like you..."

Woah Trouble. I smiled politely, and took her hand off my shoulder. "Sorry, not interested, but thanks for the information."

She pouted and then skipped off to join her friends. At least I knew I still had it. So big presence in the empty house this morning, and the militia vehicles leaving in a hurry? Looks like I found where all the funding was really going. Social Clubs? I think not.

I headed toward the back yard of the place and peeked in the windows. Come night time? We had a starting off point. Until then? I was going to go home and change, because I smell like dorm room floor, which isn't the best scent.

So as usual, the day had been just so weird. And not just any kind of weird, this was like, small town weird. The only normal thing that had happened to me all week had been when I accidentally bumped into one of the students as I was headed to class, and then helped her pick up the books that went flying off of her hands as I clumsily ran into her. She seemed really nice, kinda quiet, but really nice and it was about time that I bumped into someone who was nice. Not that students here weren’t, and- well, neither was I during my strange trip to the twilight zone. I was still trying to get my head around that one. And I was planning on doing my own little research on possessions and the magicks and all of that stuff. I needed to understand what had happened to me, and- well, also needed to thank Willow again for helping me out on that one.

Yeah, and the week only got better. Not only had I been possessed, and... de-possessed, Wesley had left too, my fault apparently, I knew it had to be, since the last time we were together... yeah... wasn't even gonna reminisce at how awful I had been with him. And then, the thing that had caught my attention the most had been the Newspaper article that talked about the school losing its government funding. That was a major blow, to the science department, and I had to think about how it was going to affect my own studies. Things didn't begin to click right away in my head. I had just seen it as a series of unfortunate events that happened from time to time, but as I read the article in depth, I realized that it was a little more complicated than that.

I had been looking forward all semester to Professor Walsh's Science Outreach Program. And most of the students here knew that she was one of its biggest supporters. And yeah, sometime these things happen, programs get cut down, there's less funding that goes into the program, or it gets cut down all together, like it did here. But that was not the thing that struck me as odd, what piqued my interest was the fact that Professor Walsh decided to leave U.C. Sunnydale right after they cut the funds. To my knowledge, she wasn't disliked or anything like that. Yeah, she was tough, but she was also one of the top professors in the school... so why the sudden rush?

You'd think I'd leave that alone right there. Just one thought out of the pool of many that fill my head from hour to hour. But as I walked to one of my classes, I couldn't help but notice the overwhelming army presence around the school. And to me, it just seemed a little more than just coincidence. I still had about forty minutes before class started, so I decided to take a little detour and make my way towards the library, where I could dig up some more stuff about the different programs that were funded by the government here in school. The other thing that hovered in my mind like an electron was the death of another student. I hated to think that things were connected, but I couldn't help but notice how these army guys always seemed to be around every time there was a death in the school. I mean, police? Yeah, they had a reason to be involved, but the army? Things were just too weird, and too interesting to just sit back and let things unfold on their own. If I wanted to find answers, than I was gonna have to look for them on my own.

This was just insane. I mean how can they possibly expect me to keep up with a schedule like this? I mean three classes a day? Filled with all of those whiny little girls in each one? If I didn't have to worry about all of their problems with the loser that ditched them maybe I wouldn't be failing half my classes!! I mean really it is just unreasonable.

D'Hoffryn isn't making things any easier either. He is bumping my quota up again, which should be an easy target to hit in this environment but I am pretty sure my roommate is starting to catch on to something. Or at least she thinks she is.

Plus right now I am sitting in this Economics lecture and I should be concentrating on whatever this blubbery mass of a human is talking about but all I can focus on is the girl four seats over. She is minutes from tears. Shame really. Poor thing didn't know what hit her. All those sorority girls telling her that the boy really liked her. Oh but it was just all part of the initiation and now she is just a little wreck of a girl. Getting more and more upset the more she thinks about it all.

I shift my focus back to the lecture, I should really be trying to pass my classes. Afterall without these classes I am not going to have any chance at making my quotas. It really is a viscious cycle.

Crap. I think he said something that might be on the final. Stupid overly emotional girl distracting me, wait.. what time is it? Glancing at the clock I almost kick myself. The class only has another four minutes and I am not any closer to understanding whatever he has been explaining for the past forty minutes.

I might have to actually study for this now. Great.

“You've got me and my women hiding in the luxury of a mine shaft, all because William the Bloody likes the attention. This is not a reputation we need.”

”Oh, I'm sorry. Did I sully our good name? We're vampires.”

”All the more reason to use a certain amount of finesse.”

”Bollocks! That stuff's for the frilly cuffs-and-collars crowd. I'll take a good brawl any day."

“And every time you do, we become the hunted.”

“I think our boys are going to fight.”

“The King of Cups expects a picnic!” Yes, her William, her sweet Orpheus, did hunger so for Daddy’s approval…but it wouldn’t be his, oh no, at least not today. “But this is not his birthday.”

“No, it isn’t is it? And neither is it yours Precious,” Angelus said, turning from Spike to face her. Ooh, and how upset he looked…she’d have to see that her little William…

“So I think it’d be best if you stayed here. Alone.”

He turned and stalked towards the exit and her William followed. A cold clinging fog wrapped around her at his words. Why? What had she done to anger him so? Hadn’t she been good? Her William was the one that hadn’t played Daddy’s game properly…

“But Daddy…” She began, slinking after him and running her hands down his back. The soft, cigar scented material of his coat wriggled and writhed under her fingers and she pulled them back...oh…oh dear…

“You’ve been naughty,” He said turning to face her. A shiny scarab beetle crawled from beneath his collar and sat happily on his cheek, while more wriggled out from under his cuffs and dropped to the ground, scuttling towards Spike and Grandmum. She clapped her hands over her gasping mouth and moaned, the coldness in her belly writhing and twisting.

“William thinks so too, don’t you boy?”

“Very naughty,” William agreed, grinning, but as he did his flesh began to flake off. It turned to ash as it floated to the ground and she backed away from them both as nasty sprites started spiraling dizzyingly in her head, whispering that something wasn’t right.

No, not right. Not right at all. Princess is locked in the tower and can’t get out…

“I'm done being your lapdog,” He carried on, his skin flaking, dusting downwards until he was nothing but bone. “Done jumping through sodding hoops to convince you that I'm worthy of your affections.”

“But please...Grandmum!” She cried, turning to Darla. But when her eyes trailed to her, she had no face and crumbled to dust as well.

She screamed.

* * * * *

Suddenly they were all gone and all my eyes could see was darkness.

They did leave you there! my mind whispered frantically, but then the stars reminded me of the end of that story. How we all walked free the next night and laid waste to that small village. My William found me two sweet twin boys for dinner...and he and Daddy made up in the hayshed.

They never did know I watched.

Rolling over onto my back in the darkness, I swam along in the memory a moment longer before realizing something was askew…where was I? I sat up, my long dress tangling around my legs in such and undignified manner. What would mummy say if she could see?

The air was cold and silent and my head swam and throbbed. A sweet singsong of pain. I lifted my fingers to my temple, the tips doing a little dance and exploring the surface of my skin, sensing bone and dead blood and…

I snatched my fingers away….

Something…something wasn’t right…

Gingerly, I touched them to my head again and then it came, like a violent, prickling-cold tidal wave, pouring into my brain, sheathing me in the terrible memory…

*FLASH*

Me. Playing with a sweet little girl…

*FLASH*

Shouting. Pain. Bang, bang, bang…

*FLASH*

Sharp cold metal. Blue spark-firing tinker toys and princess is turned inside-out…

*FLASH*

NonononoNO! They were inside! Inside my head! Crawling…scuttling…forcing my black soul to glow sweet gold again and oooh, it stung!

I felt the cold tiles move beneath me and a hard wall meet my shoulder. Pretty pain lanced through my body but it didn’t make me feel better in the least and I curled in a ball, fingers scratching, clawing and ripping for purchase…

“Get out, get out, GET OUT!!!” I cried. Sobbing, spilling salt and iron and turning white red…

“Go marching home again…pleeeease…”

Ripping. Scratching. Get it out. Get it out. Getitoutgetitout…

* * * * *
And she remembers that he tastes the same. Like salt and iron and he’s inside her head too.

”You’re mine now. Now and always. I’ll never. Let. You. Go.”

And she can’t get him…out…
* * * * *

Then…

…after a while the grey numbness came, sister to the throbbing, prickling ache beneath my hair…but what was it doing on the floor…? I wondered as my fingers tangled in long strands. I laid my cheek down on the cool floor.

“When the bow breaks…” I heard. Singing. How nice of them to sing for me. Little spiders and undiscovered monsters made of love and pieces…

“The baby will fall…”

I giggled at the thought of it. Raining babies and…where was I again…?

No matter. My William would be here soon and we’d dance. Dance in the rain and the…

It’s in your head. Hiding there. Tucked away until you’re a bad girl and then…

NO! He’d come.

“When the bow…breaks…”

"Hey. Did either of you get that newsletter thing? I saw it tacked up on a wall on the way in here, but I thought I saw..."

We were on our way back to my room when Xander suddenly became idea-man, his eyes sparking in a way that made me remember all over again how much I missed him being around every day. "You know Xander," I tried brightly ,"you could just enroll and then..." Okay, so I wanted everyone to enjoy the continuing educational goodness I was currently enjoying. And having Xander here would be more than just an added benefit. I was also thinking it just might be right. I expected him to disagree of course, he never had seen how smart he could be, but that wasn't going to stop me from trying.

The torn newsletter kept me from going on and on, though.

"Willow? Can you get information on how much government funding the school was getting?"

We pushed into my room as a group, Buffy leading and then Xander and I right behind. The movement was quick and practiced, the result of spending so much time together. And not even a hiccup of awkwardness from the summer break.

"I don't see why not," I considered quickly. "The school's finiancial history can't possibly be more encrypted than the Mayor's, so I have had a lot of practice. I'll go ahead and give it a shot."

Plugging up my laptop once more,I finally noticed that Amy wasn't in the room. Agaian. It would probally be time to reach worry status soon. As the computer turned on, I looked over my shoulder to Xander and Buffy.

"Am I looking for anything special?"


((Open to Xander and Buffy))

continued from here.

---

I smiled at Willow and waited as she dispensed what sounded like a weeks worth of troubles into one concise paragraph. Made me realize I really did miss the whole gang, even the trouble.

"More like problems, first of all Amy brought home her new boyfriend the other night, and you will never guess who it was. Tucker. Demon raising, prom hating Tucker, and if possible I think he is even more 'off' than before. Not that I usually like to be sweeping-judgement girl or anything, but there it was. Or he was, with Amy. And I tried to warn her, after all she wasn't exactly around senior year. Tucker had obviously been messing with magic that he shouldn't, and he looked awful. Amy helped him though, and then off they went to do things I really don't want to think about. Right after that was when Buffy and Anya showed up. Turns out there is a succubus loose on campus, and I have a really good idea who to point a--all my fingers at. We researched everything for a while, and then called it a night."

Eyebrow raised as suddenly the whole events at The Bronze clicked into place. Everything was pretty well connected all things considered. Which begged the question, just what was going on at this school. I figured that the easiest way to start figuring it out, was to get the gang back together. After all we did better as a team. It was proven. Well sort of proven, either way it was something that we needed to have all three of us together to sort it out.

"See? That made perfect sense to me. Crazy right? But the other night... when I left you the message about Bronzin' we all were witness to quite a scene, Anya appearance included. I think we should head over to Buffy's and see if we can connect these dots and sort out just what is going on in this town."

I glanced around, and realized I pretty much was once again clueless as to where I was going. This place was like a maze I swear, and is it me or do all the buildings look alike?

"Okay, lead the way Wills, cause I am clueless here."

She laughed and hooking elbows we were off to meet up with Buffy. Of course there were already things going on here that needed her attention, but it seemed that there wasn't a slow period. There was Faith, and Anya, well okay not Anya, but Faith and a Succubus and Tucker and Amy with magic. It was a lot. Plus if I remember correctly, some army outfit as well. Yes this is starting to sound like Sunnydale alright.

We headed up the stairs toward Buffy's room and Willow started to slow up when she noticed the small gathering of authorities and what looked like a Paramedic of sorts. My mind raced as I thought the worst. Buffy. Willow and I cut through the crowd fearing that Buffy would be at the middle of it, instead it was a girl lying on the floor. Her face was... well sort of missing, but more on the demon level. The paramedic was zipping the body bag up as Willow and I exchanged a glance. The dorm room was a mess, and we were both relieved that it hadn't been Buffy.

The authorities pushed us back from the door and we stumbled out of the back of the crowd and heard Buffy calling out to us.

"Hey! Please tell me they found the girl that stole my cardigan?"

I dropped Willow's hand, that I hadn't been aware I had been holding and ran to Buffy pulling her into a big hug. Soon Willow was added to it, and I was positive that we were more relieved than she realized.

((Open to Buffy and Willow))

I was glad to be home. The days at the gallery were tending to spread right into the night and just leaving there a few hours early was like a nice break. Of course the mail was left in the mailbox, so I grabbed that before heading into the house. Tossing my keys on the side table, and hanging my coat up I called up the stairs to see if Dawn was home yet.

"Anyone home?"

I sighed and moved to the kitchen rifling through the mail. Bill, bill, junk, bill, junk... this was rather depressing. Finally I glanced at the return address of one of the envelopes, it was from the High School, and I was immediately preparing for the worst. Far too many times these letters fell into my hands and the letters inside usually beginning with the sentence, "We see Buffy has a lot of potential...'. If they had only known.

Instead this one wasn't about my daughter at all. In fact it was about Taylor. I glanced through the letter actually impressed with Taylor. I suppose I hadn't really thought much about her since she moved in. She was Dawn's friend and it was her Senior Year, there wasn't that much to think about.

Dear Mrs. Summers,

First we would like to extend our thanks in opening your home to one of our finer students. Education has always been our priority, and Taylor happens to be one of our brightest minds. That being said, all the Seniors had been taking placement tests this week, and Taylor has been selected to partake in a College Prep Course Study in Phoenix Arizona.

She has been selected to not only participate in this study but also has an opportunity to gain employment for her stay within the University Bookstore. Most of her required courses for High School Graduation have already been credited from previous semesters, and the school is willing to overlook her missing credit for Physical Education in order to help her fill some General Education requirements ahead of time. This would allow her to focus her actual College Path to her Major, or whatever other path she would like to follow.

Please discuss this option with Taylor and notify us of your decision at the number listed on the packet included.

Thank you,
Marleen Atke

Guidance Counselor
Jane Addams High School


That seemed like good news for Taylor, however I wondered how Dawn would feel with another person in her life going to college without her. I suppose I should see if anyone is home, although the thudding of the bass from Dawn's room I at least knew that she was home.

Heading upstairs I knocked on the door, lightly but loud enough to cut through the music.

"Dawn?"

((open to Dawn [npc taylor]))