GamesTeaser

Story by Gelfling21Written by Gelfling21 (Additional writing by Robert Kidman, Zahir al

Daoud and DragonWriter17)Directed by Gelfling21 and CN Winters

Produced by CN Winters and Susan CarrEditing by Susan Carr and Lilly

Sound by CN WintersArt Direction by Robert Kidman

Artists - Robert Kidman, Zahir al Daoud, Isis, Mattxxx, and CN WintersCover Art by CN Winters

Fade In:Ext.Manor House, Hungary – Dusk (Hungary, 1945)

The man under escort appeared to be in his twenties. His suit had been tailored and tailored well, fitted to his slender frame in such a way as to maximize an impression of power, of elegance. In his pocket a handkerchief was perfectly placed, while his tie of red and white and black was held in place by a pearl tiepin. His coat was lined with fur. In his hand was a briefcase of the highest quality.

His manner all but ignored the grimy soldiers on either side of him and their machine guns, not quite aimed in his direction. Likewise, he stepped over the debris and occasional corpse, as if this were merely Piccadilly Circus in the afternoon. The mud and often bloody snow hardly seemed to touch his boots.

As the soldiers escorted him inside the building where a large red flag now flew, the various gunshots and explosions became muffled. So too did the screams of women.

Cut to:Int.Dining Room – Continuous

Soldiers clad in green stood at attention outside the door. One opened the dining room door to allow the well-dressed young man to enter. Inside, a huge portrait of Joseph Stalin had been hung on the wall. A middle-aged man in uniform stood staring at it. He didn't have much hair left. Most of what was left had turned gray.

He didn't turn as the young man entered the room.

"Commissar-General Beria, I presume?" His accent was English.

The older man turned around. He wore round glasses. "Ah. You are the one Churchill sends us with warnings of new weapons, yes?"

"Not precisely that, no. Pardon me, but you are Lavrenti Beria? My briefing was for him alone and I wish to be sure…"

Beria nodded. "I am he," he said. "You are fortunate to find me so close by. More usually, I am in Moscow. My duties on behalf of the Soviet People's security rarely allow me to visit the front."

"Yes, I am lucky, I'm sure…"

The Commissar-General interrupted him with a wave of his hand towards the wall, and what lay beyond. "Budapest will fall within days. Poland, Austria, Eastern Prussia – soon Berlin itself. The Soviet People have suffered much in this war. Yet our victory is almost here. And now, the English seek our help? Now?"

"On the contrary, sir, it is we who wish to offer our help."

"Now that the war is nearly done? I can hardly call that the best of timing. Certainly not the most efficient."

"That, sir, depends."

Beria's eyebrows rose a fraction of a millimeter. "Upon what?"

"Upon the war about which one is fighting, of course. I should introduce myself. James Victor Albert Drummond Tyrell, esquire, at your service." He placed his briefcase upon the table and began to unbutton his winter coat. "While the British government sponsored my meeting with you, it is not the organization I have the honor to represent. In some ways, we are the opposite number of what you in the NKVD call…I believe its name is the Directorate of Shadows?"

The Commissar-General looked at Tyrell for a moment and then began to laugh. It wasn't a hearty sound, nor a simple one. Barely audible, in fact. But it did go on and on and on.

"I happen to know you are fully aware of my mission, Commissar-General," Tyrell said after a few moments of this. "It is deathly serious, I assure you. We of the Watchers' Council have long been aware of an unnatural faction within the Third Reich; an undercurrent of events, if you will, that pose a danger quite different from tanks or bullets. Different, but no less deadly. One your organization has encountered before now."

But Beria said nothing to this. He simply watched Tyrell from behind his table, the huge portrait of Stalin behind him. In response, Tyrell began to pace. "For over a decade we've been tracing it," he continued, as if giving a lecture, "a pattern of crimes and events that, while subtle, are incontrovertible. Some of my colleagues believe this pattern goes further, explaining the virtually pathological nature of the Nazi Regime. This pattern is clear; one of particularly cruel and effective corruption, evidence of some malignant force we have yet to identify. We've even sent one of our agents to investigate before now…"

"You employ young girls to do your fighting," said Beria suddenly. "Is that not so?"

"The slayers are repositories of certain occult abilities," Tyrell replied. "As such, they are uniquely qualified."

"And how did this girl fare, eh?"

"She died. We don't know precisely how. Her body has never been recovered."

"How do you know she died then?"

"Because her powers passed on," said Tyrell. "That only happens when a slayer dies."

"So, not so much help, was she?"

"The point," continued Tyrell, "is that we have traced the last area where this force or influence was felt. It is here, in Hungary. Given these facts, it is likely the Red Army will sooner or later encounter it. You needed to be warned."

"Assuming for a moment that what you say is accurate," said Beria. "What will you do? What can you do? Or, what can we do?"

"You must contact us immediately. I've brought a file of things to look for…"

"But," Beria interrupted. "What will you do if I do that? How will you deal with this…this force as you call it?"

"A slayer is ready to come here and act."

Without blinking, Beria stared at Tyrell. "Another slayer. A little girl. That is your solution?"

"I assure you that a slayer's powers are very real…"

"But you've already sent such a child to her death against this thing, yes? And she accomplished, what, precisely?"

Tyrell took a deep breath. "You are in danger. The Red Army is in danger. We are offering help."

"Thank you. How kind of you. The Soviet People offer their thanks to the representative of the fading imperialistic state that has decided for its own ends to do as little as possible to end the threat of Hitler's

Germany. Your efforts, although not all they could have been, are welcome. Is there anything else?" He said this without even looking at Tyrell.

And Tyrell simply turned to leave.

The shutting of the door echoed in the empty room. Beria sank into a chair and began to take gasping breaths. Sweat broke out on his forehead. He blinked, unseeing, over and over again. One hand reached to his chest, clutching.

Another door opened. Varthrim emerged from the next room. "Commissar-General? You show great strength of will. Almost as much as I did. It will, I fear, only cause you to suffer still more."

Beria by now had managed to undo several buttons of his uniform, his fingers moving with spastic shakes. Under the jacket, hanging on a chain around his neck, was a crystal so dark it looked like a shadow given shape. His face turned red and every muscle in his jaw clenched as he tried to grab it, to pull it off. Clenching his teeth, he groaned with the effort.

"Do you know the most effective method of corruption, Commissar-General?" Varthrim's voice was almost gentle. "The worst torture of all? Seeing yourself for what you really are. That is what the Loathestone does, you see. Gives you the heart's desire you insist was never yours. But then, you find you cannot resist. And there is no fleeing from that terrible knowledge. None."

Hand dropping to his lap, Beria shuddered. A small bit of drool fell from his lips. His breath had stopped sounding like gasps, and had become whimpers.

"You already know that of which I speak, Commissar-General. Come with me. Your soldiers have found someone for you. She is quite pretty. Hair like spun and burnished copper. Eyes of hazel. Skin like cream. As it happens, today is her birthday. She's all of eleven years old."

Bulging eyes looked at Varthrim. "Where?" Beria whispered.

"Where else? In your bedroom."

Fade Out

Fade In:Int.Watchers Council Hallway – Early Morning

"Ethan?"

Gwen Raiden watched as Ethan Rayne looked up from the water cooler, where he bent over to get a shot glass full of ice-cold water. She saw him turn his head to her. A smile spread across his face until he grinned broadly and warmly at her.

"Gwen! What on earth are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same of you, Mr. Water-Cooler-Guy."

"I asked first," he teased.

"Always the gentlemen," she grinned. "I've been appointed to the new role as The Watchers Council's freelance security consultant and hired muscle."

"Cushy."

"Kinda. At least I'm not stuck behind a desk. When I'm beckoned I come a-runnin'. Like today, I've been drafted as extra security for the games. And what about you?" She looked him up and down appreciatively. "You're looking well, considering the state you were in when Felix eighty-six'd the magic."

"Yes. Who'd have thought not practicing magic would save my skin, eh?" he chuckled.

"Are you still 'abstaining'?" she asked, looking amusedly at the shot glass full of plain water in his hand.

"From neither, no," he smirked. "But one must toe a line when one is in position of, shall we say, responsibility?"

Gwen made a face. "Responsibility and Ethan Rayne…" she said dubiously.

Ethan chuckled. "The Watchers Council has seen fit to…repay me…for my services to them in the matter of restoring the world's magic – and with it, of course, all whom they hold dear."

"Ah, I see. So what was the price? Are you the resident 'Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher'?" she smirked.

"No…nothing so poetic."

"Hmm…I guess not, since you're not doing magic anymore."

"Actually, I am."

Gwen looked quizzically at him.

"You see, once 'the Missus' –"

"'Missus'?"

Ethan cast his smile to the ground momentarily before looking back up to Gwen. "Yes."

Gwen slowly nodded her head, with a grin. "Oh. Congrats. Should have told me. I'm wicked cool at picking out wedding gifts. I would have got you a toaster."

Ethan reached out and placed a hand on Gwen's PVC-clad arm, a small yet warm smile still on his wizened face. "Thank you."

She returned the smile, her silk-gloved hand resting on top of his. "So…magic again, huh?"

"Umm, yes," Ethan pulled back his hand. "When C.K. saw how important magic is to the world – and to me – she had a bit of a reversal. Told me that if I wanted to take it up again, she was fine with it – so long as I didn't use it for selfish, immoral or illegal gain." He smiled coyly.

"What? You? No, never," Gwen said with mock indignation, smiling through her pout.

Ethan barked a laugh.

"So, you're consulting again?" Gwen asked.

"Oh please, nothing so droll as all that."

"Droll…?" Gwen smiled broadly. "Now I am intrigued. Pray tell."

"Technically, I'm a watcher, but that's only a matter of making me an official employee," he said blithely.

Gwen's smile held but her eyebrows quirked up. "Now who's cushy–"

"Ethan? Ah Ethan, here you are," Cameron Kreswell-Rayne approached from the other side of the water cooler. "I've been looking for you, ducks," she said, smiling. She looked past his shoulder. "Oh! Oh…I…"

"Ah! Yes, uh, C.K., you remember Gwen Raiden, don't you?" Ethan said quickly.

"Yesss," Cameron hissed with a tight smile. "How nice. Welcome." There was moment of tense silence as Cameron, the brittle smile frozen on her face, stared at Gwen. "Well," Cameron said flatly, "here we all are."

Gwen bit her lower lip, but couldn't hide a cocky grin. She batted her eyelids at Ethan. "Well, gotta go!" She began to walk away. "I'll be around the Council today," she called over her shoulder. "We should get together…" she stopped and turned to Ethan and Cameron. "The three of us," she said brightly, then continued on her way again.

Fade Out.

End of Teaser

Act One

Starring:Lacey Chabert as Skye Talisker, Gale Harold as Jim Pollan, Caroline

Dhavernas as Grace Hatherley, Elijah Woods as Jeff Lindquist, Laura Pyper as Casey Pierce, Steffani Brass as Shannon Matthewson, Robin

Sachs as Ethan Rayne, Alexa Davalos as Gwen Raiden, Laura Prepon as Lori Carew, Christine Romano as Hope Lehane and Gary Oldman as Mr.

Jason Felix

Guest Starring:Tracy-Ann Oberman as Cameron Kreswell, Kyle Gallner as Camden

Kreswell, Joe Flanigan as Adrian Smith, Yunjin Kim as Li Heng Fu, Matt Czuchry as Kyle Matthewson, Robert Hoffman as Cody Matthewson, Bob Hoskins as Lavrenti Beria, Harry Lloyd as James Tyrell and Sir

Derek Jacobi as Varthrim

Fade In:Int.Council Conference Room – Same Time

Willow kept shaking her head. Kennedy and Faith exchanged smirks, while Buffy and Xander looked at one another sideways. Robin sat staring blankly, and Rowena, hand over her mouth, blinked at Rupert Giles who sat staring stiffly at a spot on the wall.

"Giles, what were you thinking?" Willow asked incredulously.

He shifted his eyes left to her.

"I was thinking," he cleared his throat and began again. "I was thinking about your life. A-a-and the lives of just about everyone on Earth. I was thinking that if we could find out what was keeping Ethan alive, we could work out how to revive all who had fallen comatose when –."

Willow waved her hands and her tone softened. "I know," she said. "We all get that…but," her voice went strident again, "what were you thinking making Ethan Rayne a – a –," she raised her arms and let them drop. "I can't even say it!"

"Then let me say it for you," Buffy cut in. "A very big thorn in our collective butts!"

"Now, listen…I know that it's unexpected, but –."

"No wonder he likes you so much, Giles," Buffy said lightly. "He can talk you into anything."

"Now that's not fair, Buffy! I admit that Ethan has certain powers of persuasion, but that wasn't what was at play here, and if you'll hear me out, I think you'll all agree that my promise to make him a watcher in return for his help was actually a far better compromise than meeting his original demand."

"Wait a minute," Xander said, suddenly coming alert. "I don't get this...Did I just hear --'original demand'?"

"Look," Giles said, leaning forward and resting his arms on the conference table. "Ethan said that he'd help, but then gave me a list of demands."

"What a surprise," Buffy deadpanned.

Giles ignored her. "Leading that list was that he was to be made a part of the Council and be the head of all the Council's Covens and –."

Faith and Kennedy both snickered loudly.

"I get it," Buffy said. "He played you. He gave you an option he knew you couldn't agree to so that you'd give him the option he really wanted all along."

"Wrong," Giles said smugly. "Right now, he has no interest in being a watcher. Ethan really wants that Covens post."

"Over my dead body," Willow told him.

"Yeah," Buffy countered sarcastically, "Come on gang. Everyone jump on the 'let's trust Ethan' bandwagon. After all, he's such stand-up guy."

"I'll admit his past record isn't stellar to say the least," Giles began.

"Stellar?" Xander, Buffy and Willow all said at once.

"You mean like when he took you out for drinks and you woke up a bit Fyarl-y in the morning," Buffy said.

"Or when he tattooed Buffy so she'd be killed by a demon gunning for him," Xander added.

"Hey!" Buffy said, "And let's not forget the night you and my mother ate some of his chocolate bars and turned back into teenagers so he could kill some babies." Giles looked away.

"Oh!" Willow chimed in, "Don't forget the time we all bought costumes from him for Halloween."

"Or when he showed up with Amy in Cleveland, not to mention the heartache he gave Dawn's slayer," Xander added.

"I understand, believe me. But all that was different," Giles said wearily. "Ethan wants something more. Something in which he can take some measure of pride and accomplishment. And…something with a lot of power and prestige."

"Heavy on the power and prestige," Xander said.

"Why?" Robin asked. "And why now? Just because of opportunity?"

"To some extent, yes," Giles answered. "But also…because Ethan has changed." The group collectively sighed and did a collective eyeroll. "He's still Ethan, of course," Giles continued. "But this Ethan wants something more at the end of the day than having a bit of mischief and getting into his cups."

"A bit of mischief…" Robin said. "Nice euphemism. Not sure it's fitting, but it's certainly creative."

"Ethan wants to play with the big boys," Buffy snapped back.

"Ethan wants to play," Giles said, looking pointedly at her, "with the good guys."

Buffy held Giles's stare and sat back, waiting. When he said nothing, she motioned with her hands for him to continue.

"Some of this has to do with his new wife," Giles obliged her. "Cameron Kreswell is a good woman. That she sees so much good in him, frankly, qualifies her for sainthood, in my opinion. Her influence over him is astounding. And astoundingly positive. But most of it – in fact, nearly all of it, I think – comes from Ethan himself. He's matured. He's mellowed. He's, dare I say, grown up."

"Yeah, and he's practically ninety years old, but hey, it's a process. Better late than never and all that," Buffy said.

"I thought he was Giles' age?" Faith asked.

Buffy grinned and began to respond but Giles looked at her sternly.

"Don't," he told her. "It's so unworthy of you."

A light chuckle drew everyone's attention to Rowena at the head of the table. "All right, so Ethan's had a – a catharsis of some kind. Maybe not completely, maybe still a scoundrel – and I say that with 'love' – but you think he's changed for the…better…"

"Could he get worse?" Kennedy muttered.

"…and you're willing to take a chance on him being in the Council. But a 'watcher?' Will and I have talked about your history with him, Giles. I understand that on some level you do trust him. But I think that in the heat of the moment, you let your friendship and your desire to save us affect your judgment. I understand what you did – and why – but I can't agree to it."

"I never thought I'd hear myself say this," Giles said, looking down at his hands folded on the table. "I want him to have this chance. I want him to be a watcher. If he fails, he fails. And it's done. But if he succeeds you'll not have a sharper, quicker, nor more talented watcher on staff. We weren't mates years ago merely for youthful rebellion, you know…" Something suddenly occurred to him and he looked up sharply. "Nor anything else."

"Quick wits and talent are great," Rowena said. "But what about loyalty, leadership, and compassion?"

"He's more than capable of all three."

"You're staking the Council's reputation on –."

"I'm staking my word on it."

"And if he fails? The impact on the Council –."

"The beauty of it is that now that I'm back I can keep a very close eye on him. But test him if you like."

"How?" Robin asked.

"Give him a simple assignment," Giles said.

"Not with a slayer," Rowena said.

"Yes!" Buffy said, turning to her. "Give him a slayer! He hates slayers, take it from me."

"That's not entirely accurate," Giles said. "I distinctly recall you saying he told you he was rather fond of you," he needled.

"Right, but he liked himself a whole lot more," Buffy added. "Not watcher extraordinaire material, Giles."

"True," Willow added, "it wouldn't be fair to the slayer. Although a part of me does agree with Giles. I've seen Ethan do the right thing on more than one occasion recently."

"See?" Giles pointed.

"But," Willow continued. "It was only when he had something to gain for himself. I'm not saying everyone in this room is a saint. But I can say we do things more often to help others first, and not ourselves."

"Your point, Will?" Buffy asked.

"No point really," she said. "I guess I'm just on the fence when it comes to Ethan. I think Giles might be right when he says Ethan's changed. But I also agree with Ro that it might not be a good idea to give him a slayer of his own. Hence the fence."

"Too bad," Xander muttered. "He deserves a whole roomful of slayers…"

Rowena looked across at Xander. "What?"

"Aw, nothing…"

"No, repeat what you just said."

"He deserves a whole roomful of slayers," Xander shrugged.

Rowena looked at Giles and grinned.

"Giles thinks he's sincere in wanting to be a Council member. Others here, obviously, are disputing that," Rowena began.

"So what's the solution?" Robin asked.

"I retract my earlier comment because I think we've found our test." She smiled.

Cut to:Int.Hallway Outside Conference Room – Continuous

The door to the conference room opened and everyone filed out.

"So," Xander said, "we're set for the big arrival, right?"

"Everyone and everything is in place," Robin answered as they, Kennedy and Faith exited the conference room. "Gwen Raiden's working on the electronic field barrier for Marsha right now. Both teams are arriving within a half hour of each other tomorrow morning. Security is all set and Andrew and the Hospitality Committee have been ready to shower them with all kinds of –"

"Let me guess," Xander said, "hospitality."

"Right," Robin grinned, "since last Tuesday."

Buffy, Willow and Rowena exited a few seconds later, "…can't wait to meet their watchers," Rowena said to Buffy and Willow. "I've heard Li Heng Fu is making incredible strides in Taiwan. And Adrian Smith is being head-hunted by several Councils in Europe."

Giles stepped out last and closed the conference room door behind him, then looked down the hallway toward the three departing women.

"Rowena…?" he called.

They stopped. "Go on ahead and talk to Ethan," Rowena told Willow.

Willow nodded. "Wanna join me?" Willow asked Buffy.

Buffy shot her a look. "Only if I can make snide comments about him."

As Willow and Buffy spoke, Rowena approached Giles, a slight smile on her face.

"Shall we walk?" Giles suggested. She followed him down the hallway as he peered over his shoulder at Buffy and Willow. She followed Giles' gaze and saw Buffy and Willow disappear around the bend in the corridor.

"Okay…" Rowena said. "Out of slayer ear-shot now."

"Why do you look so amused?" Giles asked, defensively.

"Just picturing what it must have been like when she was sixteen and the slayer, and you were…what – Mr. Tweedy Book Guy?"

"I cut a rather dashing father-figure, then," Giles said stiffly.

"Don't worry," Ro chuckled warmly, "you still do."

Giles cleared his throat self-consciously. "Yes. Well, there's something you should know. I felt it was best not to mention it in the meeting."

"You mean in front of Buffy. Okay, let me have it. What else did you promise him?"

"Well…I…"

"Giles…"

"Yes, well, I told Ethan that if he were to become a successful member of the Council – that is to say, quite successful. N-n-not just successful in the sense of doing an adequate job…"

"Giles!"

"I said he might have a-a-a bit of go at…it."

"It?" Rowena asked.

Giles looked back at her without blinking.

"As in The Council Coven," Rowena sighed irritably.

"I didn't say 'the' lead position."

"Thank you for your restraint on that," Rowena said sarcastically and turned to leave.

"Ro. Wait. Ethan is not the man he used to be. Any more than I am Ripper."

"No, Giles. The Ripper is still in there. I got a glimpse of him last May when we were talking to Dianna."

"Yes, it is in me and it is part of who I am. But I don't let that part of me rule me or cloud my judgment. If I did Dianna might still be in a body cast. My point is Ethan is the same. It's someone he can reach back for, if he ever needs to in order to defend, teach, – watch – those he cares for and with whom he's been entrusted."

"Outside of the fact that it's giving all of us the 'willies' – to quote my wife –" Rowena said, "to hear you stand up for him this way, there's one other thing that bothers me about it."

"Yes?"

Rowena looked Giles squarely in the eye. "Giles, you left Ripper behind thirty odd years ago for the most part. Ethan left his dark past behind about thirty days ago! I can't be as sure as you that he won't fall back on old ways; that as much as even he'd like to be different, that he can be this late in his life."

"If anyone can do it –"

"Why are you so convinced he can?"

Giles blinked at her question. "Because I know him," he said matter-of-factly. "And I'm asking you to be my ally and trust my judgment."

Rowena sighed and rubbed a hand down one side of her face. Slowly she began to grin.

"I think I'm ready for maternity leave," she chuckled.

Cut to:Int.Council Apartments – A few minutes later

"Yes! Yes, coming, coming!" Ethan opened the door to the spacious flat he and Cameron had moved into. "Ah! Welcome!" he said brightly when he saw Willow.

"Who is it, love?" Cameron called from the kitchen.

"Hi, C.K.!" Willow called out.

"Oh! Well, it's the 'Little Red Witch'!" Cameron came out, smiling broadly and wiping her hands on a dishtowel.

"Love the new pictures!" Willow said as she took in the modern art hanging on the walls.

"Well, thank you," Cameron replied. "$24.45 for the pair at The Christmas Tree Shop."

Willow grinned. "They're great with the new curtains!"

"Target, $19.95," Cameron grinned.

"Cheap chic. My kind o' decoratin'! Pretty!"

Ethan rolled his eyes at their conversation as he closed the door.

"It needed a bit of a woman's touch, didn't it?" Cameron said.

"And we all thought Ethan had enough for both of you!" Willow grinned, glancing at him.

"Prat," he deadpanned. "To what do we owe this suddenly dubious pleasure?"

"Ethan, we had a meeting just a few moments ago. A meeting about your new role here at the Council."

There was a moment of anticipatory silence in the room. "I'll go put a kettle on…" Cameron said and left Willow and Ethan to talk in private.

Ethan indicated a seat and Willow sat down on the big chair at one end of the sofa. Ethan sat on the sofa and leaned forward, his arms on his legs.

"Well," he began with a self-satisfied smile. "Of course I

have always worked alone – and with staggering success. And I realize I am still not quite as strong, magically, as I need to be."

"Ethan…"

"You know, I never thought I'd ever say this to anyone. And I want you to know how it pleases me to be saying it to you: I think we're going to make a smashing team!" He beamed at her.

Willow sat, a strange smile frozen on her face, and blinked at him.

Inside the kitchen, Cameron absently turned the page of a home decorating magazine and noticed the conversation in the other room had hit a lull. The kettle was about to come to a boil. Suddenly she heard Ethan's voice in short, angry bursts and Willow trying to placate him. Willow's voice rose by degrees until it became as angry as Ethan's.

The whistle of the kettle began to shrill and Cameron sighed. She got up and walked quietly into the living room. Ethan sat, glowering at the fidgeting witch.

"Excuse me," Cameron said hesitantly, "but what would the two of you like in your tea? Lemon or cream?"

"Scotch!" Ethan barked.

Cut to:Int.Watchers Council Hallway – Midday

"Now look Ethan," Giles began, "it's a new program designed to –."

"To make me look like a fool!" Ethan shot back hotly. "Throwing me in with a prattling pack of pre-pubescent progeny –."

Giles mouthed 'prattling-pack-of-pre-pubescent-progeny.' "I've always wondered," he feigned innocence, "how do you do that so quickly? And while you're angry, too…"

"Dammit, Ripper! I'm not a – a – a…"

"Faith calls it a 'den mother'…although I'm not sure I know exactly what that is. But actually, you will fill the role of watcher as you requested –."

"I told you I wanted the Coven!"

"And you also told me you wanted to be a watcher."

"Yes! So that I could be put in charge of the Coven!"

"Ah…well. And so now you are. A watcher. As requested and agreed upon."

"Oh no! You're not getting away on a technicality! You took advantage! You took advantage of me when I was in a weakened and distraught state! I was under duress! I wasn't thinking clearly and you've – you've -–."

"Ah. Be careful what you wish for," Giles said lightly. "I've given you your wish, Ethan. You are now the watcher of a squad of slayers–in-training. There are five of them. The oldest is twelve. Three are eleven. The youngest, ten. You'll be working as their lead watcher and in tandem with a lead slayer – someone with whom I think you'll enjoy working."

"I can't believe you're telling me this with a straight face!"

"I can't either. But there it is."

"So the Council sours a deal you really had no business making, I'm given a post of no consequence, and there's a 'lead slayer' assigned to watch my every move and report back to the Council heads. Correct?"

"Brilliant," Giles said blandly. "And you didn't even have to research to figure it out. You truly are watcher material, Ethan."

"And you truly are a git!"

Giles's expression hardened. "Now see here. You got this position not because you requested it, but because I advocated for you to be given a chance. What you do with it is up to you. My part is finished."

Giles turned on his heel and began to walk away. He got a few yards down the hallway.

"Rip – Rupert…" Ethan called.

Giles slowed, and then stopped. Ethan came up and Giles turned to face him.

"Rupert…" he said softly, "I'm – I'm a mage. I'm a serious and lifelong professional, you know that. I'm past fifty, you know…" he looked searchingly into Giles' eyes. "A man my age with a group of – of little girls…why it's not just demeaning – it looks unseemly on the mere face of it…" Ethan looked imploringly at him.

"Ethan. That act is as old as you are. Try a new one."

Ethan huffed. "All right, Ripper. I am a mage. I said I wanted the watcher's job only because I never expected to be made an actual watcher, but to have my magic abilities and knowledge put to some use. Before I get too old to –," he cut himself off and looked away, blushing.

Giles stared at Ethan, and then slowly smiled. Ethan heard Giles softly laugh. He looked up, his face still red.

"Ah, yes…I see now…" Giles said, "you're quite the old dodger, aren't you?"

"I feel that way, yes…"

Giles grinned, kindly. "Take the position, Ethan. Take it, no matter how bad it seems. I guarantee you, before long, you'll feel quite rejuvenated. You may even like it. You've nothing to lose by it – and much to gain."

Giles turned to leave.

"And if I muck it up entirely?" Ethan asked.

Giles turned back and tilted his head, peering at Ethan. Ethan's face was drawn and stern, his eyes staring unfocused at the floor.

"You won't," Giles said, smiling.

Ethan looked up at him questioningly.

"Not entirely," Giles needled. Then he turned and left wordlessly, Ethan staring after him.

Fade Out

Fade In:Int.Felix's Apartment – Evening

Jason Felix hurried from the shower to the phone, dripping water all over the newly installed carpeting on his bedroom floor. He picked up the receiver just before the call could roll into voice mail.

"Yes, hello!"

"Jason?"

"Yes…Cam? Camden! How are you, son?"

Cut to:Int.Camden's Apartment

"Jason, hello! I'm fine! How are you?" Camden Kreswell said over the voice of the classical vocalist on the CD player.

"I'm quite well, thank you," he could hear Felix reply, "although I'm not so used to being in quite so 'chummy' an organization as this…"

Camden Kreswell listened, plugging one finger in his other ear.

Cut to:Int.Felix's apartment

"Cam? Cam are you there?"

"Yes…I'm sorry, I've got the music on a bit loud…just a moment."

Jason could hear the sound of a door closing and the stereo sound dipping.

"Sorry, Jason," Cam's voice said pleasantly into the phone.

"What is it you're listening to…sounds from here like Brahms…"

"The Liebeslieder Waltzes."

Cut to:Int.Camden's apartment

"Of course! The Lupati-Boulanger recording?" Felix's voice replied.

"Is there any other?" Cam asked, grinning.

"No, that's the performance everyone else wishes theirs was!"

The two men chuckled.

"And speaking of performance, how is your new job going?"

"Very well, Jason! I've finished ahead of schedule and been given a bonus."

"Excellent, excellent!"

"So tell me, how is…Mother?" Cam waited but Jason made no reply. "Jason?"

"Yes, well…your mother is just fine. She's got her healthy glow back and seems…at ease."

"So married life agrees with her, then?" Cam waited. Again, Jason said nothing. "I do hope she's happy and doing well," Cam said, gently. "Please do give her my love and my best wishes."

"Anyone…else, you'd like me to…relay a message to?" Jason asked tentatively.

The smile faded only a little from Cam's face. "Ah, well…I suppose it is time to bury the hatchet with Ethan, isn't it?" Cam asked. "How is he, Jason? None the worse for all that happened, is he? I do hope he and Mother are settled and happy."

"He…he's fine…Cam…He's just taken a new position, I'm told. Although I have my misgivings."

"A position? Well, that's wonderful, Jason. Where?"

"Here. At the Council."

"Ah, more consulting."

"No, actually, he's in charge of a slayer squad in training. It's a new program pairing a lead watcher and a lead slayer with a squad of slayers in training. Ethan's been given the squad as a sort of 'testing ground' to see if he's up to snuff."

"Well," Cam said, still smiling, "I'm sure that Ethan can do a good job at anything he puts his mind to."

"When will we see you again, Cam? You'll be stateside for awhile?"

"I'm not certain. There may be another assignment coming up right away – in Greece, I'm told. But I'm here in New York for the time being. I'd love to see you again, Jason. And Jason – thank you. Thank you for helping me get through the most difficult time of my life. I wouldn't be around today if you hadn't been there for me."

"You did it yourself, Cam. You've pulled yourself up by the bootstraps. And now look at you! Successful and happy and ready to meet new challenges. I'm very proud of you, son."

There was a momentary silence and Cam heard something clatter from behind the bedroom door. "Uh, Jason, I'm terribly sorry, but I think someone's at the door. I'll call you again soon. Bye for now, eh?"

Cut to:Int.Felix's Apartment

"Yes, yes, I'll be waiting for a call. Don't make me wait too long, then. Cheers!"

Jason heard the 'click' of the other phone being hung up. Then he slowly laid his own phone back down on its cradle. He stood and frowned uncertainly at it for moment.

Cut to:Int.Camden's Apartment

Cam turned the CD player back up again. The music of Brahms soared loudly to the ceiling rafters. He walked to the front door and checked the lock. Then he walked to the bedroom, opened the door and went in.

There on the bed, a young woman, no more than twenty years old herself, lay bound on the mattress by the wispy green tendrils of mystic energy. The same green tendrils wrapped her neck and each time she moved, they tightened about her throat, creasing and pulling the skin. She stared with wide, terrified eyes at Cam, looming above her, and choked as the tendrils continued to tighten. A luminous mist of green over her mouth dampened any of the sound she made.

"Now look what you've done," Cam said silkily as he looked down at the floor.

The girl had struggled violently enough against the tendrils about her arms that she had managed to hit the nightstand, knocking a glass tumbler full of water off the edge. The water spread out in a large stain on the carpet.

He reached down and picked up the glass, turning it over and over in his hand. The strains of Brahms filled the room.

Cam turned and stared intently at the glass. Suddenly it lifted from his hand and flew violently across the room and shattered against the far wall. The young woman on the bed jumped and struggled fitfully at the sound of the crash.

Cam turned and studied her. "You're going to have to be less clumsy if you are going to work for me," he told her. "But first…" He slowly tugged at the few folds of sheet that covered her until they slipped to the floor. "You are very beautiful," he said distantly as he began to unbuckle his belt. "Now then, let's see what is so special about women that he would choose one over me…"

Fade Out.

End of Act One

Act Two

Fade In.Int.Watchers Council Gym – Next Morning

Shannon punched the bag again, nearly knocking it off its chain.

"You're gettin' a lot stronger, Li'l Sis. But so what?" Skye asked as she walked up and put her arm around the swinging punching bag. "Any slayer can beat up a punching bag." Skye smiled.

Shannon looked sternly at her, jaw set.

"What you need," she took Shannon's wrist and turned her away from the bag until they faced each other, "is a sparring partner. And not some slayer, either. I mean a real sparring partner. One who thinks…" Skye grinned at her and blew her a kiss, "moves…"

Skye was suddenly behind Shannon. Shannon turned quickly to find Skye vamped and Skye's hand clutching her by the throat.

"…and reacts," Skye tightened her hold on Shannon's throat. "…like a vampire."

Shannon stared at the gloating, golden-eyed Skye. Then Shannon frowned and brushed Skye's hand away easily. Skye laughed, her face returning to normal again. "Why are you looking so pained, Shannon?" Skye asked, draping an arm over her shoulders. "Sit on your stake?"

Shannon smirked and let out a little laugh. "No…but something close."

"Well," Skye said, walking her to the bleachers. "Tell Old Mother Vampire what's so bad." They sat down on the bleachers and Skye helped Shannon take her boxing gloves off.

"I don't want the squad, y'know?" Shannon said.

Skye blinked, surprised. "What's the deal? You beat out some pretty stiff competition to get it. Girls giving you a hard time?"

"No. No, we're doing real well together. I like them and they try really hard and they're real good or we wouldn't have made it to the finals."

"So it's the games that have you worried."

"No. I'm not worried about that. We're gonna take the championship – totally. The Taiwanese got all those fancy moves, but that's just a lot of flash. And the Australians…well, what do they even fight in the outback – vampire kangaroos?"

"Demon Dingoes." Skye grinned.

Shannon wiped the sweat from her forehead with her arm and said nothing.

"Li'l Sis, talk to me. What's going on?"

Shannon was quiet for a moment and Skye simply examined her silently, as if noting her body language.

"We're getting a lead watcher for the squad. I knew we were gonna get one and I figured it'd be Dawn or Robin or Jeff…or even one of the new ones that need to be trained up. But Dawn said it's…it's Ethan Rayne!" Shannon pouted and leaned forward, elbows on knees and chin resting on her knuckles.

Skye curled her lip in disbelief. Then she frowned. "I thought you liked him?" she asked carefully.

"I do…kinda," Shannon said. "And don't even ask me why, 'cause I don't know."

"Wait. How'd he get to be a watcher in the first place?"

"Payback for his help, I hear."

"So, the mage is made a watcher as payback. I guess that makes payback a witch." Skye chuckled at her own pun.

Shannon turned her head slowly at the pun and looked balefully at Skye. "You are sooo Dawn's girlfriend," Shannon said. "The thing is, Dawn says the Council's not sure that Ethan's good enough to do the

job. So they want him to work with me and my squad because they think him and me work well together."

"He and I," Skye corrected.

"Him and you what?"

"Forget it. Go on…"

"And Dawn says that I'm supposed to tell her everything he tells us to do. I can't follow any orders, take any directions, make any plans or listen to anything he says unless Dawn or someone else like Ro or Buffy says it's okay first."

"And Ethan's okay with that?"

"He doesn't know! He's comin' in thinkin' he's in charge and working with me as lead slayer. And then I'm supposed to go behind his back and tell everything to Dawn for clearance! She says it's for the good of the squad and for their safety."

"And you don't think that's good."

"How can it be good – or safe – to run and get a second opinion? How can I lead the squad if I'm not supposed to trust the watcher in charge and if I can't be trusted by him?"

"That really is unfair," Skye agreed.

"It's unfair to everyone," Shannon said. "I don't know why Ethan wants to be a watcher. He's a really great sorcerer, y'know?"

"So what do you think you should do about all this?" Skye asked.

"Write a story about it?" Shannon sneered.

Skye stared at her a beat, and then playfully smacked her in the back of the head.

"Heyyyy!"

"Brat…writing what you're feeling won't hurt. Might help you get some perspective on it. But it's not enough." Skye looked at Shannon hard until Shannon met her gaze. "What you do," Skye continued, "and how you handle it from here on out – that's what'll make it work. Or not work."

The gym door clanked open sharply and Bailey, one of Shannon's squad members, stuck her head in. "Hey! Hey, they're here! C'mon, Shannon! We gotta go meet 'em! C'mon!" Bailey was gone, and the door slowly swung shut.

Shannon and Skye looked at each other and both grinned broadly. "Let the games begin, Li'l Sis!" Skye said and high-fived her.

Shannon jumped up and raced out of the gym.

Skye looked down at the abandoned boxing gloves. She slipped one on and walked to the punching bag. She brought her arm back for a punch, then stopped and smirked. She took off the glove, brought her arm back again, and hit the bag with vampire strength. The bag tore from its mooring chain and landed halfway across the gym floor.

"Oh yeah, gonna have a good time!" Skye smiled but then looked down at her hand. "Damn! Broke my nail…"

Cut to:Int.Council Corridor, Outside the Auditorium – A Little While Later

The Taiwanese slayer–in-training squad stood, shoulder-to-shoulder and legs apart, elbows bent and hands behind their backs. Their pony-tailed hair was all cut to the same length and their faces were all scrubbed and fresh and set in the same stern way.

"Ooooooh, look at them, will ya…" one of the tall Australian squad members cooed loudly as she hooked an arm over a teammate. "Ain't they the dangerous lot!"

"Yeah, for a bunch of ankle-biters!" the other girl replied.

"Hey," a third squad member said, "they've got spiffy outfits, all matchin'. Even their hair's lair!"

The Australian team laughed.

The Taiwanese didn't move nor react but one girl, in the lead, shifted her eyes once, left and right.

"Say…where's your baby-sitter – oh, I mean, your watcher, then?" the first girl – Vanessa – asked, grinning. She sauntered up to the girl in the forefront, the Taiwanese lead slayer. Towering above the frail-looking girl, she patted her head with the flat of her hand. "Now there's a good little tyke…" she said. Her teammates snickered and leaned into each other.

"Vanessa!"

Vanessa turned and faced her watcher.

"Last I checked," Adrian Smith said, "our squad was over here. Shouldn't you be with them?" Vanessa sighed.

"Sorry, Ad," she said, smiling apologetically at him. The rest of the squad formed a straight line beside the watcher.

"Let's go then, Vanessa," he called. "The meeting hall is this way…"

Without further orders, the Australian team turned and marched in a straight line, behind their watcher, down the long corridor toward the Council auditorium.

Vanessa turned quickly around and smiled at the leader of the Taiwanese team. "G'day, mate," she winked at the girl and patted her cheek. She headed down the hall after her teammates and began to sing:

"Once a jolly swagman camped by a billabong, under the shade of a coolibah tree…"

The rest of the Australian team picked up the song as they stepped down the hall.

"And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled, you’ll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?

"Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda, who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me? And he sang as he watched and waited 'til his billy boiled, who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda, with me."

The Taiwanese lead slayer shifted her eyes left and right again. Her team remained motionless but they all looked sideways at her, waiting.

Their own watcher appeared, looking quizzically down the hall at the singing Australians. "Jiao, has anything happened that I should know about?" she asked in almost perfect English.

"No," the lead slayer replied, her own English uncertain. "The…Australian team…they are…high spirits."

"Well then, how shall we answer such spirit?" Li Heng Fu asked, staring hard at her slayer.

Jiao turned sharply to her squad and sang a first line:

"San min chu I, our aim shall be…"

As one, the Taiwanese girls joined her with strong, young voices and they marched sharply down the hall singing:

"To found a free land, world peace be our stand. Lead on comrades, vanguards ye are…"

Cut to:Int.Watchers Council Auditorium

A reporter waved her cameraman toward her as she moved along to catch up to someone who had entered the auditorium and been handed a program. The woman began to look at the paper when suddenly the reporter was next to her.

"Congresswoman O'Mara," the reporter began. "I see you've made it to the first official Slayer Games. It's nice to see."

"I wouldn't miss it, Suzanne," Autumn answered with a grin, already familiar with the reporter.

"So, care to tell us what team you'll be rooting for?" the reporter asked in a knowing fashion.

Autumn rewarded her with a light chuckle and a winning smile. "All the slayers of the world – and everyone at the various councils – they all do an extraordinary job day-in and day-out, keeping our world safe. But I must admit, being a Cleveland gal myself, I'm biased, so I'm pulling for the home team today."

"Will you be staying for the entire games?" the reporter asked.

"I'd love to stay and offer my support, but duty does call and I'll be flying back to Washington tonight. I wasn't elected to watch sporting events," she said, her smile still in place. "But I do feel it's important to come out today because this helps bring the entire Cleveland community together and it shows the world why the Council calls Cleveland 'home'."

"Speaking of work, how go your duties as the chairwoman on the Subcommittee on Supernatural Affairs?" she asked.

"Excellent! The Watchers Council has been incredibly helpful; not just within the subcommittee, but within every branch. We couldn't be happier with all they've done."

An elderly woman to Autumn's right tugged on her blouse sleeve. "I think we should sit down soon, Dear," she said.

"Of course," Autumn answered. "Forgive me for not introducing you, Suzanne. This is my mother, Agnes. I think she's getting a bit tired of being on her feet, so I'll have to cut this short."

"Of course," Suzanne said, "Thanks for taking a few moments and I hope you both enjoy the games, Congresswoman."

"You too, Suzanne," Autumn said sincerely before she led her mother toward the private box that was set aside for them. The reporter walked in the opposite direction and Agnes and Autumn both watched her leave.

"I don't know why you do that," Agnes muttered as they walked along.

"It's all part of the job, Mother," Autumn said in a frustrated tone. On her face, however, she wore a smile as she waved to a few spectators who were acknowledging her arrival.

"I'm sure it would be a different story if they knew the truth," her mother replied.

Autumn helped her mother up the small steps to their spectator box and helped her to their chair.

"I'm doing good work, Mom," she insisted. "It's vital for humans and demonkind to live together in peace."

"It wasn't back in my day," her mother replied.

"Well, things are different now," Autumn told her. "I've got the chance to make more of a difference."

"Why don't you start by telling the truth then?" Agnes asked. "Oh, I forgot. You're a politician now."

"That's a cheap shot," Autumn replied, avoiding the question and handing her mother a program. "Just have fun today, okay?"

Reluctantly, Agnes took it.

Cut toInt.Watchers Council Auditorium – Moments Later

The Australians smiled as they marched into the auditorium, waving at the assembly of watchers, slayers, parents, and guests. They marched down the aisle and up onto the stage, where three sections of chairs had been set up. The Cleveland Council's slayers already sat in the center, beneath a banner of red, white and blue. A set of chairs to their right, beneath a banner of green and gold, was waiting for the Australians.

The Australians had hardly reached their seats when fresh, strong voices drowned them out, as the Taiwanese team marched in time, feet slapping rhythmically on the tiled floor, and arms swinging in unison, back and forth. They stared straight ahead with heads held high.

"…Hold fast your aim, by sun and star. Be earnest and brave, your country to save. One heart, one soul, one mind, one goal!"

They sang as they climbed the steps onto the stage and stood before the chairs set for them to the left of the Cleveland squad, and beneath the red, green and blue banner.

When they stopped singing, Jiao gave a quick one-syllable order and the girls stomped their feet twice in unison, setting their legs set apart

and snappily putting their hands behind their backs, elbows bent, eyes sharp, and standing at attention.

Silence filled the auditorium.

"Woooooooo!" some slayer cried from the audience. "Taiwan rocks!"

The crowd laughed, then began applauding with cries of welcome and admiration for all three teams.

"Thank you, yes, thank you!" Rowena said as she walked from the wings, applauding as well. "Thank you, Taiwan. Thank you, Australia. Thank you, Cleveland. And thank you all for coming to the first of what we hope will be many Slayer–in-Training World Games!"

The applause died down. "As you know," Rowena said, "these squads have been competing in elimination trials with others in their countries or regions to make it to the finals of the World Games. Only three squads can make it to the finals. And one of them will be the World Champions. But let there be no mistake. There is not one slayer on this stage who is not already a champion in her own right and by her own display of courage, resourcefulness, forthrightness, and skill."

In the audience, Willow stood beside Jim Pollan and leaned toward him as they joined the applause for Rowena's introduction. "Nice speech," she told him.

"Can't take the credit this time. It's all her."

"Really?"

Jim nodded, making Willow smile proudly and applaud harder.

"I'm very honored to introduce the two watchers of our guest squads," Rowena continued. "They are Adrian Smith of Australia and Li Heng Fu of Taiwan."

The two watchers stood and nodded politely at the crowd, then at one another. Adrian Smith continued to stare, smiling, at the attractive Li Heng as she sat back down. He held his gaze until he realized there were some twitters coming from the audience. He blushed bright red and quickly took his seat.

"I am sorry to say that our Cleveland squad has been without a permanent watcher. That is about to change. But, it is a very great pleasure for me to say that they not only have made it to the finals but have done so largely on the leadership of their lead slayer and the teamwork they've exhibited in the short time they've been together. Well done, Cleveland. Well done!"

The crowd burst into raucous cheers and applause.

"Of course," Ethan muttered as he puffed on a cigarette in the wings. "I get the Amazon squad!"

"Mr. Rayne," the Council's English teacher, doubling as stage manager, said from behind him, "Please, put out your cigarette! No smoking backstage!"

Ethan turned and quirked his mouth at the man, then tossed his cigarette on the floor and crushed it beneath his foot. He walked past the curtain pulls and the lighting booth and opened the exterior door, exiting with hands in pockets and a grimace on his face.

Cut to:Ext.Center of Council Athletic Field – Late Afternoon

"All right, all right, everybody shut up!" Shannon growled. The training squad all settled and sat down on the grass, looking attentively at her.

"Okay," she said. "So what have we got?"

"Those Aussie's think they're hot stuff," said ten year-old Cindy Loomis.

"Cindy Loo-Who's right," said Jennifer. "They got a real case of the 'we're greats'."

"Don't call me that!" Cindy said.

"Okay," Shannon said. "What else?"

"The Taiwanese are even more stuck up than them," said Tyeesha. "That Jiao girl's lookin' for trouble."

"So's that Vanessa on the Aussie team," Jennifer said. "They're ready for a fight. Let's give 'em one!"

The girls all cheered.

"Yeah, great. That's already the plan! But how can we use their stuck-up-iness to our advantage?" Shannon asked.

The girls looked at her expectantly. Shannon put her hand into her jacket pocket and pulled out a baseball. She looked at it and gripped it across the seams. Then she backed up and pitched it at Bailey. Bailey almost caught it, but at the last moment, it arced around her hand and smacked her in the ribs.

"Ow! Hey!"

"We throw 'em a curve," Shannon said. "If I want to get the other baseball team out, I get 'em to swing at the wrong pitch. Instead of a fastball – which they're looking for – I throw 'em a curveball. If going into the competition and meeting them head-on is our fastball, what's our curve gonna be?"

The girls sat at a total loss. Shannon gave a short laugh and shook her head at them. "Okay," she said, grinning, "how about this…if it was Lorinda in charge of you guys instead of me, what do you think she'd do?"

Madison laughed. "I know. She'd bat her eyelashes and swing her hips at that Aussie Watcher and make him forfeit."

"You mean make him faint," Jennifer smirked.

The other girls giggled. "So," Madison asked, "we're gonna ask Lorinda to –."

"We're not asking 'Rinda to do anything!" Shannon said, "But did you guys see who he had goo-goo eyes for on stage?"

Bailey grinned. "Yeah, everyone did!" The girls laughed again.

"Right, Shannon said. "If we get those two distracted by each other, they might not be so focused on the games."

"Yeah," Jennifer said dramatically. "True amour saves the day for the Cleveland Council.

Shannon smirked. "But is that it? Is that all we can do?"

Tyeesha frowned. "Well, if Lorinda was in charge – and I'm glad she's not – she'd have everybody mad at everybody else and we'd get nowhere."

Ten year-old Cindy raised her hand. "I think Tyeesha's right – Lorinda would make us all mad at each other." She absently smoothed down the stray lock of strawberry blonde hair that stood up in the middle of her head. "But…" she hesitated, "the other two teams are already like, fighting each other sort of…That's, like, good for us, isn't it?"

Shannon spun, grinning. "Cindy Loo-Who just earned her pay!" she said.

"But Shannon," Cindy said, "we don't get paid for this."

Four sets of hands smacked Cindy lightly in the head and shoulders and the lock of hair popped up again.

"We get the other two teams focused on their own rivalry," Shannon continued, "They'll be so hung up on one-upping each other that they'll screw up and fall behind us. All right!" Shannon said. "Now, what else we got?"

"Ethan Rayne," Madison groused. "Whatta we gotta have him around for?"

"I heard they gave us to him because they don't trust him with real slayers," Jennifer said.

"Hold it!" Shannon said. "Don't ever say that again! We are real slayers! Only real slayers make it to the finals of the World Games and only real slayers'll win the title. And that's us! I don't like having Ethan, either. But not because we can't trust him."

"No, 'cause he's a drunk," Jennifer said.

"He's not a drunk. He just kinda drinks…a lot…is all," Shannon shrugged.

Jennifer spread her hands in exasperation.

"But not when he's working," Shannon continued. "And right now, he's working for –."

"I'm working for me!"

The slayers all looked around. Out of thin air, a vague and wavering form emerged that took shape as Ethan Rayne. He stepped up alongside Shannon.

"Thanks for eaves-dropping in," Shannon said, chagrined, "but this is a private meeting."

"Then it's a good thing I'm alone, eh?"

"We're discussing some important stuff here, Ethan, so –."

"Yes. How to get the better of your foe without lifting a finger. Subterfuge. Intellectual warfare. Dominance by means of distraction, misdirection, and obfuscating the purpose of the competition. And at such a tender age! Impressive."

"He ain't no watcher, but he sure talks like one…"

Shannon shot Bailey a warning glance.

"Might I suggest," Ethan said, smoothly, "that your tactics may backfire on you if you rely on them and not on your own strengths? You are setting yourselves up for a fall."

"Says who?" Jennifer asked.

Ethan looked coolly at Shannon, smirking at her.

"Okay," Shannon told the girls. "That's it. We'll meet tonight after supper. I gotta talk to Ethan right now."

The girls all stood and waited. Ethan watched as Shannon stepped forward and the group gathered around her.

Shannon put her hand out in the center of the group and everyone piled their hands atop hers. She looked at each of them, smiling, then lifted the tower of hands upward on her own and brought it back down again swiftly. Ethan saw the form break on an unmistakable cry of unity. Then the girls made their way across the field toward headquarters, talking excitedly.

"Quite a team you've got there," Ethan said, glancing down at Shannon. "Shame if they were to be led down a garden path because someone is insecure about her own abilities to lead them."

Shannon turned to him angrily. "Yeah? If I'm so insecure, why would they follow me in the first place?"

"They follow you because they believe in you. They trust you. They rely on you to help them see the big picture and to do what's effective, but also what is right." Ethan took a long look at Shannon, who still followed the retreating squad with her eyes. "Quite a responsibility to have to drag around with you, isn't it?"

"What do you know about it?" Shannon shot back defensively, glaring at him.

"Why do you think I never took Mr. Giles' offer of watcher training back in the day?"

" 'Cause you're an evil lay-around?"

"Lay-about," Ethan corrected. "Yes, well, that too. Let me ask you something…What did you do to become this squad's lead slayer?"

Shannon blinked at the question. "Well…there were tests of strength and agility…speed…ability to follow directions…" Shannon's voice trailed off.

"But what did you do? What was it, besides your innate slayer skills, that made you the lucky girl chosen for this assignment?"

"I'm not lucky. I didn't even want it! And now I'm responsible for them as well as me!"

"Then why on earth did you take the post?"

"Because they were gonna give it to Lorinda if I didn't!"

"Well now, that's admirable."

"I don't need your sarcasm, Ethan!"

"Admirable that you should actually be so forthcoming with such an unbecoming truth. But then, that's why you're the leader of this team. Because you can come forward that way. And yet you

abdicate your leadership by asking those girls not to listen to you but to consider what someone else would do in your place…"

Ethan let his words hang on the air as he lit a cigarette. He looked out over the empty field. "You've already lost the competition, Shannon. You've already failed your post. You can go on to supper now…"

Shannon's face fell and her eyes clouded. She looked at Ethan contemptuously. "I don't need this!"

Ethan exhaled a long stream of smoke. "What you need, my Little Blue Slayer, is a second chance. A chance to set things back on track." He turned and looked at her, smirking. "As your lead watcher in this, I'll give you that chance. If – you give me one."

Shannon huffed. "Just don't get in my way," she said, averting her eyes uncomfortably. She walked away along the same path as the squad.

Cut to:Int.Shannon's Dorm Room – Dusk

"I wish I could be there!" Norman Hansen's voice crackled disappointedly over the phone. "Why couldn't they have it when school's on break?"

"I dunno," Shannon said. "I'll send you pictures. They said ESPN might broadcast it. You could watch it on T.V.," she said unenthusiastically.

"Hey, what's wrong? You sound like you don't care."

"It's not that. It's just…I gotta figure out a way for our squad to win, Norm. The Australian girls are like twice as tall as us, and they're strong. And I saw vids of the Taiwanese. They're like all with the gymnastics moves."

"Like Chinese acrobats," Norman suggested.

"They're Taiwanese…"

"Fine. Taiwanese acrobats. So, what are you gonna do?"

"I dunno. I thought we could mess with their heads, you know? Make 'em so involved with trying to one-up each other that they'd lose concentration or just get worn out from it."

"That doesn't sound like much of a plan. Besides, what's that got to do with being a slayer squad?"

"Well, yeah. That's kinda what Ethan was saying."

"I still can't believe he's in charge of you guys."

"That's not important. Right now I gotta figure out what to do, or our squad doesn't stand a chance."

There was a moment of silence as Shannon picked at the peeling pink toenail polish on her big toe.

"Hey Shannie, you know what?"

"What?"

"When I went to McDermott – you remember, to look for you and Dawn and Skye…?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, I was there with Lupo Orongo. And we couldn't stay together. And he told me that I had to rely on my own strength. I thought he meant my muscle strength, cause I'm Faith's son and all – you know, maybe I got some of her slayer strength in me. But that wasn't what he meant. He meant that my brains were my strength and that I had to really rely on them if things got bad."

"I gotta rely on my brains?" Shannon said. "We are soooooo dead."

"Well, don't take this the wrong way, Shannie, but I don't think that's where your strength lies."

"No kidding. So I rely on my slayer strength, then. Norm? Norm I can hear you frowning."

"I – I don't think it's slayer strength either, Shan…"

"What is it then?"

"I think it's something else. I think it's – it's the same thing as when we became friends when I first came to the Council. Everyone was making fun of me and saying things to Faith…You were the only one that made friends with me. And then you got everyone else to think I was okay."

"You did that, Norm."

"Not without your help, I didn't."

Shannon stopped picking at the peeling toenail polish and thought hard about Norman's words.

"Hey, Shannie…I guess I never said thanks. So, um…thanks."

"Yeah…no problem…" she answered distantly. Her eyes wandered and settled on her alarm clock. "Damn! Hey, Norm, I gotta go. The dinner's started – I'm late!"

"Okay, but don't forget what I sa –."

Shannon hung up the phone. Without changing out of her sweats, she stuck her bare feet into her running shoes and bounded down the hallway at a dead run to the cafeteria.

Cut to:Int.Council Cafeteria – A Few Minutes Later

The cafeteria was filled to capacity. Many parents and guests sat at hastily set up folding tables and chairs mixed in amongst the regular dining tables. Slayers, families and friends were all were crowded into the cafeteria.

Shannon squeezed her way through the seated crowd to the table where the Cleveland squad sat. She tried not to look at their smiling faces as they sat with their family members. She slowly approached the table amid the noisy, crowded room.

"Hey, Li'l Sis…" a gentle voice called out to her. Shannon stopped and blinked at the sound, without raising her head. "What are you wearing, Shannie?" another voice floated to her. "You're dressed like a guy! Well, a real pretty one…"

Her head shot up so fast she startled a couple of her own squad members. "K-Kyle…? Cody!" She looked at two handsome young men, one twenty-three and the other barely twenty, both with the same color hair as she. "What – what are you doing here?" she asked incredulously.

"They said they're you're brothers," Bailey said doubtfully.

"Wh-what are you here for?" Shannon asked again.

"Dork!" twenty year-old Cody said, bringing his closed fist down like a hammer on top of Shannon's head. "What do you think we're here for?"

"Came to see our Li'l Sis mop the floor with the competition," Kyle said, smiling.

"Mom sends her – warmest regards…" Cody coughed.

"Cody," Kyle admonished.

Cody's smirk faded as he saw Shannon's sad expression. "Hey!" he said brightly, "C'mere, punk-cat!" He quickly grabbed Shannon in a bear hug and began digging his knuckles into her head.

"Owwwwww! Co-dyyyyyyy…" Shannon whined. Kyle watched his two younger siblings wrestle and then saw Shannon give up and hug Cody.

A sudden commotion near the buffet line caught everyone's attention. Vanessa Taylor and Jiao Cheng, the lead slayers of the two guest squads, were scuffling and tussling with each other. Vanessa got a good handful of Jiao's jet black hair and pulled ferociously. Jiao let out a howl and raked her fingernails across the side of Vanessa's neck.

"Cat fight! Cat fight!" Cody cried, grinning, as Shannon disengaged from his hug. She, along with the Australian and Taiwanese watchers and several more from the Council, ran to the pair.

Shannon could see that Jiao and Vanessa were not using slayer strength on each other, but Adrian Smith was forcefully pushed away by Vanessa with slayer might, falling on his backside and sliding on the floor.

Dawn Summers was nearing the fray, but Shannon was already there and yanked Vanessa off Jiao. She placed her hand on Vanessa's jaw and shoved her hard, then stepped heavily upon, and leaned on, Jiao's foot.

"Knock it off!" Shannon told the two girls.

Dawn stepped forward but a hand on her arm stopped her. She turned to see Ethan. "Wait," he said to her. She scowled at him and turned her attention back to the three lead slayers.

"Look, I don't care if you two go at each other 'til – 'til vampires' fangs fall out! But not before we have a chance at you! We've been working hard for this competition. And so have you! I don't know about you two, but I want to win this thing because we beat the best there is. Not because the two other teams were too tired out from smackin' each other around in the lunch room!"

"Ooooooooooh and ain't she the bossy thing…" one of the Australian girls said. Vanessa turned and gave her a look and the girl shrugged.

"Now listen, we have a long week ahead of us. I say we save the fight for the games. After the games," Shannon looked at Vanessa, then Jiao sharply, "it's every slayer for herself. Deal?"

She held her hand out before her and waited. Vanessa huffed out a laugh and took Shannon's hand first, shaking it. "Deal, mate."

Jiao stared hard at the two slayers and then reached her hand forward and shook Shannon's hand, too. "We agree," Jiao said. "It is a…dee-arrr."

The girls on the Australian squad snickered at the mispronounced word, but Vanessa shot them a hard look and they went still.

Then Vanessa and Jiao turned to walk back to their tables.

"Hold it, hold it!" Shannon said. They turned back around and looked at her. "You two forgot to shake."

Vanessa stared back coldly at Shannon, but Jiao regarded her thoughtfully for a moment. Suddenly, the Taiwanese girl stepped up and held her hand out steadily, waiting for Vanessa to take it. Vanessa continued to stare at Shannon. A slow, smug smile spread across Vanessa's face. "You're a regular Mahatma Gandhi, ain't cha…" she said. She looked at Jiao, took her hand, and the two feuding slayers shook.

Shannon stood and watched as the two slayers and their squads took their seats. She looked over at her brothers. Kyle and Cody were both grinning broadly at her. Kyle winked at her and Cody gave her a thumbs-up.

"Nice going, squad leader," Dawn said over Shannon's shoulder.

Shannon smiled. "C'mon, Dawn! I want you to meet my brothers," she said. They began to walk to the table and Shannon stopped. "Hey, Dawn…who's that slayer she was talkin' about?"

"What slayer?" Dawn asked.

"Hot Momma Gandy."

Dawn chuckled and put her arm around Shannon.

"Mahatma Gandhi – a man who made the impossible possible," she explained. Shannon still looked confused. "Just Google him tonight," she said with a chuckle.

Shannon gave her a shrug as they walked back to the table.

Fade Out.

End of Act Two

Act ThreeFade In:Ext.Council Athletics Field – Next Afternoon

"And that's some bad luck for the Aussies as Slayer #7," the microphone fed back shrilly as Faith turned and asked, "what the heck's her name again? Huh? This thing on? Oh, Victoria. James. Victoria James falls to K'mnta demon #3, S'shntaa…hehe, tough luck Australia."

"We've got 'em now, huh, Shannon?" Jennifer asked from where she sat on the bench.

"Get ready, Tye," Shannon said to Tyeesha as Bailey struggled to 'finish' her demon with her quarterstaff.

"Okay, okay…the Taiwanese team just won it!" Faith's voice came over the loudspeaker.

Shannon and the team all turned their heads to the leftmost part of the field where a small, dark-haired slayer stood over the 'body' of her K'mnta demon, her quarterstaff and one foot planted squarely on its back. The tiny girl put one hand behind her back, elbow bent, and held her head high.

"So now it's a contest for second place," Faith's disappointed voice boomed.

Rowena turned to Jim Pollan. "Are you sure it was a good idea to give her the announcer job?"

Pollan smirked. "Best idea I've had in weeks! ESPN's reporting record ratings just having Faith announce the competitions! You should see blogs on the net."

Willow quirked her mouth in an awkward smile. "Think I'll pass…" she said.

Down on the field, Bailey continued to fight her K'mnta demon with all her might. "Damn it! C'mon, Bay…" Shannon called out. "Finish him off fast! We're losing points!"

Bailey worked faster – too fast. The demon took advantage of her sloppy form, finding an opening and catching her just behind her right knee with one tentacle. Suddenly, she was on the ground with tentacles wrapped tightly about her throat, her leg, and her spear-tipped quarterstaff. With all her might, she pulled the staff loose, but the crowd already groaned in disappointment to see that the K'mnta's capped spike was poised at her eye.

"Oh, man. Did you see that?" Faith's voice boomed unintentionally over the field. "That should be a do-over! Cleveland should have a – what? Oh yeah…tough break, Cleveland!" Faith said into the microphone. "That'll do it for the Americans as K'mnta #2 takes down Slayer #7, Bailey Masters. Our judges will have the second place results in just a moment…"

The K'mnta released Bailey, and then reached out one tentacle in an offer to help her up. Bailey graciously accepted and put her hand atop the slimy appendage. The K'mnta changed color and what was generally considered its face changed shape somewhat. Bailey understood it to be a polite smile. She nodded to it. "Thanks," she told it.

The K'mnta changed position, giving her a bow.

"Let's have a hand for our demons – The K'mnta. And here's the judges' results. In first place – again – Taiwan with 95 points. Australia in second place with 80 points for technique and speed. Cleveland in third place with 70 points for strength and agility."

"Great…" Shannon said as Bailey approached.

"I'm sorry, Shannon. Sorry guys…" Bailey said.

"Huh? Oh…no, it's…forget it," Shannon said. "It's not like we fight K'mnta demons every day! What good is it judging us against friendly demons?"

"Isn't it more about being prepared for the unexpected?"

The girls all turned their heads to the right at the sound of the voice.

"Think of it…a mad sorcerer – or just a slightly mischievous one – puts a spell on a normally docile, but potentially deadly, demon. It is suddenly on a path of wanton destruction. You're called upon to rid the world of this terrible menace. I doubt you'd curtsey and ask it to tea…"

"Ethan, this is the bench for competing teams," Shannon said.

"And their watchers," he smiled dryly at her. "Sorry I'm late…"

Shannon sighed. "Hit the showers, you guys. Hey…Bailey…" Bailey turned, dejected. "Good job out there. You were really holding him."

"I think it was a she…"

"Oh…anyway, you woulda had him – her – if I'd just kept my mouth shut and let you do what you had to."

Bailey smiled at Shannon. "You were right – I was taking a long time…Hey, it's early in the fight, right?"

Shannon grinned back at her. "Yup! We'll take 'em all the way on the rest!"

They high-fived each other and Bailey went to the showers with her teammates.

"Ethan…look," Shannon turned to him. "I know you're trying to help; you're taking your new job, like, seriously."

"Like, yes…" Ethan smirked, lighting a cigarette.

"But I got a team to manage here. We're in a serious competition. Our rep's on the line – and I don't mean just the Cleveland Council. I mean the whole reputation of the American Councils!"

"Hmmm…is that what's at stake when you're on patrol? Reputation?"

"Yes! I mean, of course it is – who wants a bad rep?"

"Who indeed?" Ethan said.

"Shannon…" Dawn Summers walked over, put a hand on Shannon's shoulder and smiled at her.

"Guess we didn't do so well."

"You'll do better tomorrow," Dawn said.

"Is that what you tell the slayers who fail in the field? The one's that survive their failure, that is…that they'll do better tomorrow?" Ethan, no longer smirking, stared narrowly at Dawn.

"This is a competition, Ethan. It's not a patrol, or a fight, or an apocalypse. This is to judge skills and strengths."

"Do you think the Taiwanese and Aussies see it that way?"

"Just what are you driving at?" Dawn said angrily.

"There was a big point spread," Shannon said sourly.

"No one's interested in the points," Ethan said. "Is that what you think about when you're staking vampires in the field? Has anyone ever said to you, 'that was an adequate job, Shannon. We rate that dusting an eighty-five?' Don't be so wrapped up in points and winning that you lose sight of the real test."

"Are you finished?" Dawn asked.

"I'm guessing 'yes'."

Dawn said nothing more, but began to walk toward the locker room. Shannon followed her, looking back at Ethan as she and Dawn departed.

Ethan heard a small sound behind him. He let out a puff of smoke and smiled wanly. "How am I doing, professor?" he asked.

Rupert Giles huffed a laugh and came out of the shadows. "A bit pompous and overbearing – perfect!" he said, looking over Ethan's shoulder at Dawn and Shannon walking into the shadows beneath the stands. He reached up and pulled the cigarette from Ethan's lips. "No smoking on school grounds."

"Oh come on! I already stopped drinking during daylight hours…now I have to give up my smokes as well? This is a bloody morose gig."

"It's time you looked at the big picture...Aside from your favorite pastimes being against state regulations, these are impressionable girls, Ethan."

"Someone should tell them that."

Giles looked at him. "They're hard to reach; they're slayers," Giles said. "Took me ages with Buffy and even now I'm not so sure she didn't finally get through to me instead. But it's worth every ounce of frustration and worry and –." Giles cut himself off. Ethan was staring at him, annoyed.

"I'm not in it for frustration and worry," the mage said. "I'm in it to get the Coven position."

"I see…" Giles said, absently taking a drag from the cigarette. "Is that all you think about whenever you help us?"

Ethan looked sharply at Giles.

"Git…" Ethan smirked, taking the cigarette back from him.

"The other watchers are sitting with their teams during the competition."

"The other watchers are welcome. Besides, I had nothing to do with this team's arrival at this juncture. They did this on their own with the part-time help of Dawn and Jeff. In case you hadn't noticed, neither of them sits with the squad, either."

"Perhaps it's because they expect it of you. I think Shannon might actually like it. It can be very lonely, you know…trying to do the right thing…keeping everyone happy."

"Please tell me you realize how obvious you're being."

Giles bit down on a smile. "There you go again," he deadpanned, "instinctively seeing through my words. I say, mate, you're rather a natural at this!"

Giles turned and walked back under the bleachers. Ethan frowned and stared straight ahead, thinking. A moment later, he took the cigarette from his lips and tossed it down, crushing it beneath his foot.

Fade In:Int.Watchers Council – Library – Around Midnight

Just off patrol, Kennedy dragged into the library and flicked on the lights. "Just what we need," she grumbled to herself, "a freakin' new kind of demon."

She dropped a yellow legal pad on one of the long tables and walked over to the stacks. "Got a Council full of VIPs and foreign guests and a schedule packed so tight I have to make time to pee. Yep, this is juuuust what I need."

Kennedy went to one shelf and pulled out a few volumes. She trudged back to her table and dumped the books beside her legal pad. She plopped into her chair, sighing heavily.

After a moment of unenthused frowning at the task before her, she unclipped her pen from her legal pad, pulled a book from the pile, and began to skim its contents.

Fade To:Int.Watchers Council – Library – Later

A layer of open books now covered the long table. Kennedy's legal pad, unfortunately, had precious little information written on it. With a bulky volume in front of her, Kennedy shook her head and then blinked her eyes several times, as

if forcing herself to stay awake and focused. She sat back in her chair and rubbed her eyes.

When she opened her eyes and looked up, she saw a familiar figure standing at the back of the room. It was Heli, just staring at her with an enigmatic smile.

"Damn!" Kennedy exclaimed in alarm, shoving her chair back.

As she tried to rush in Heli's direction, Kennedy got tangled up in the legs of her pushed-over chair. When she finally scrambled to her feet, she saw Heli turn and enter the stacks.

Kennedy dashed over but saw no sign of the blonde slayer. She rapidly searched among the bookshelves but still found nothing. When Kennedy came out of the stacks, she was panting for air, a confused look on her face.

"What the– ?" Kennedy said, running her hands nervously through her hair. She stopped, gripped her hair with both fists and closed her eyes. "Hell." Her voice was small and unsteady.

She swallowed hard and uncurled her fingers, opening her eyes again. As she brought her hands back down, she paused and held them out in front of her. They were noticeably shaking. She instantly made tight fists and dropped them to her sides.

She turned back to where she had been sitting, letting her gaze rest on the piles of books. After a moment of staring, she let out a long exhale and pulled her cell phone from her pocket. She flipped it open and made a call.

Cut To:Int.Willow and Rowena's Apartment – Bedroom – Same Time

At the sound of the phone ringing, both Willow and Rowena let out an annoyed groan. In the semi-darkness, Willow blindly reached out from under the blanket and pulled the device from its cradle, thankfully ending the incessant ringing. Slowly, she brought the receiver to her ear.

"Hello?" she croaked groggily.

"Will? You up?" she heard Kennedy say.

"Does it sound like I'm up?"

"Sorry," Kennedy backpedaled. "I-I-I shouldn't have called this late. I'll just –"

"No, no," Willow said, waving her hand. "Go ahead and tell me. If you don't, I'll start wondering what you wanted, and then I'll never get any sleep."

"Well, it's just that…tonight I saw…" A distinct pause. "I saw a demon – one I've never seen before. I'm hittin' the library, but I could use your help."

Willow sighed. "Ohhh-kaaay, I'll be right there."

"Thanks."

Willow hung up the phone and let out another unhappy groan.

Rowena snuggled up next to Willow. "Who was that and why are they disrupting our much-needed sleep?" she complained.

"It was Kennedy. She needs my help with some demon research."

When Willow went to lean up in the bed, Rowena snagged her and pulled her back down until they were nose to nose. "You tell Kennedy I don't like to share. 'Specially not during bed time."

"Oooo, jealous, huh?" Willow said with a grin.

"That's right," Rowena confirmed with a determined pout. "And if she knows what's good for her, she won't upset me. Hell hath no fury like a pissed-off pregnant woman."

Willow chuckled. "I'll be sure to pass that on," she said before giving her grumpy wife a sound kiss.

Cut To:Int.Watchers Council – Library – A Short Time Later

With her book bag propped against the leg of her chair, Willow now sat beside Kennedy, her attention focused on the book in her hands.

"So, no luck with the Compendium?" she inquired, flipping pages rapidly as she scanned.

"Nope."

"Huh." Willow set aside that book and picked up another.

Kennedy looked over at Willow for a moment, and then quickly turned back toward her own book. After a few seconds, she repeated the process. Willow didn't notice, however. Kennedy repositioned herself in her chair and looked at her book again. Finally, she spoke up.

"Can I ask you something?" Kennedy said.

"Sure," Willow answered, still leafing through her book.

Kennedy paused and took a breath. "After you killed Warren, did anything weird happen?"

Willow froze for a long second and then lowered her book to her lap. She slowly turned to Kennedy. "Where the heck did that come from?"

Kennedy faltered. "Uhhh…my brain?"

Willow turned in her chair and placed a concerned hand on the slayer's arm. "Ken, what's going on?"

Kennedy sighed and dropped her gaze for a bit. Then she turned to face Willow. "I've been seeing things," she told her. "Since…" She paused and then went on. "Since Tokyo."

"What have you been seeing?"

"It's not a what exactly. It's more like a who," Kennedy replied. "I've been seeing Heli."

"Heli?" Willow answered. "Y-Y-You mean, like a ghost or something?"

Kennedy leaned back and crossed her arms. "Well, it better be a ghost 'cause I sure don't like the alternate theory." When Willow gave her a confused look, Kennedy twirled her index finger at her temple.

Willow smiled compassionately. "Well, we have two things we can do," she said, leaning over to rummage for something in her book bag. "First, we can do a spell to see if you're being haunted."

"Good, that sounds good," Kennedy replied, nodding eagerly and leaning forward in her chair.

"And second, you can go see Dr. Millenti." Willow handed over a business card.

Kennedy's shoulders slumped, and she reluctantly took the card. "Great."

"He's really good," Willow promised.

"I know," Kennedy said. "He cleared me after Tokyo, remember?"

"Yeah, but you quit going the second he cleared you," Willow pointed out. "Look, he's helped me a lot, and Goddess knows, I've got enough emotional issues for four or five people at least."

Kennedy gave a small smile at that. She tucked the card in her pocket. "I'll think about it," she said. "In the meantime, let's see if we can track down this demon."

Though she clearly wanted to discuss the matter further, Willow followed Kennedy's example and turned back to her research.

Fade Out.

Fade In:Int.Council Conference Room – Next Morning

"Is this all we've got?" Buffy asked.

"So far," Robin replied. "I know it's not much to go on, but it didn't leave much of a trace. In fact, if Ken hadn't seen it, we wouldn't have known it was there."

"But it didn't attack."

"It didn't have anything to attack, except us," Kennedy said. "At first I thought it didn't see us, but then it turned its head and looked straight at us. It opened its…mouth. It was pretty high on the 'ick' scale. I thought it was getting ready to spit poison or something. Then it

turned its head away, like it heard something and ran out of the alley and towards the sidewalk and the pedestrian traffic. Moved so fast we couldn't catch it. By the time we rounded the corner and got onto the sidewalk, it was gone. It vanished – there one second, gone the next. I've been lookin' in the books all night – can't find it. It doesn't match anything I've seen."

"Well, they're not all bad," Robin said. "Maybe this one is new in this dimension or maybe it's just…"

"What?" Buffy shot back. "Sightseeing? We don't need any new demons in this world – friendly or otherwise," she said irritably. "And we don't need them snooping around dark alleys at night. And we really don't need them disappearing into thin air when they see a slayer."

"So they should just stand there and wait for a beating, is that it?" Robin snapped back. "Look, nothing happened. Until something does or until Ken can identify just what it was, we can't assume the thing is out for trouble. For all we know, it's someone's brother-in-law."

"I'm putting a separate detail on it," Kennedy told Buffy. "We'll take it down."

Robin shot her a look.

"If we have to," Kennedy amended. "Otherwise, we'll just bring it here," she said as she opened the door.

"In one piece…" Robin called after her.

"You got it."

"Great. A new demon," Buffy groused. "This is all we need with these stupid games going on."

"You don't like the Slayer Games, do you?" Robin asked. "Why?"

"Being a slayer's not a game. We're all Harry Potter-ing around with these dumb games while there's real work that has to be done."

"It's only among the slayers in training…and it's only one squad," Robin said. "It's good publicity; it makes us more –"

"What – marketable?" Buffy asked. "You're sooo starting to sound like Jim Pollan…besides, you heard what Will and Ro are planning. This year – slayer tournament. Next year, magic tournament…"

"Well, that is a bit Tri-Wizard-y," Robin said chuckling. "But this competition is fostering –."

"Slayer envy."

"– camaraderie and understanding."

"We are talking about slayers," Buffy said.

"We're also talking about kids."

"You never stop being a school principal, do you?"

"You ever stop being a slayer?"

Buffy sighed.

Cut to:Ext.Council Athletic Field – That Afternoon

"Okay, okay, so she's Taiwanese," Faith's voice boomed over the roaring crowd. "Of course she's gonna somersault over the top of the dragon's head! Whoa! She just cleared the flame by inches! Here's the thrust and – oh man, tough luck, Taiwan! Marsha the Dragon has ended this test for the Taiwanese as she pins #9, Liu Chen, to the ground with her tail.

"I've been asked to remind everyone not to be alarmed. Marsha is a friendly and gentle dragon who has been spelled to make her much larger than her actual size of two feet from tip of nose to tip of tail. And the slayers have all had magical protections put on them to safeguard them from being singed by the dragon's breath, not to mention the electrical force field generated by Miss Gwen Raiden and held in place high above us to keep Marsha within the stadium. Now, let's have a hand for Liu Chen…"

Ethan sat at the far end of the Cleveland bench and watched as the little strawberry blonde slayer, Cindy Loomis, absently ran her hand over the stray lock of hair that kept sticking up atop her head. Her eyes were wide and her mouth slightly open as she breathed heavily in the muggy heat.

"Now here comes #4, Molly Hodges, of the Australian squad. Hodges was ranked number one in the world against earthbound, quadruped demons…"

"Got yer bag of marshmallows?" Jennifer nudged ten year-old Cindy as Marsha the Dragon, spelled by Willow to be as large as an elephant, playfully breathed a plume of fire over her shoulder at the Aussie Slayer.

Cindy looked up at Jennifer with wide eyes. "She's so big," Cindy said quietly. "And – and I think she's having fun!"

"Looks to me like she's gonna keel over from heat stroke," Jennifer said.

"I mean Marsha," Cindy said. "She's really big and she's just playing out there!"

Shannon looked from the other end of the bench to Cindy. The girls shifted uncomfortably. "Hey," she called. "If Marsha's playing, you play, too."

Ethan looked at Shannon and smiled slightly. She caught his gaze and returned the small smile.

"Oh yeah! Australia's in trouble as Molly Hodges struggles with the dragon's tail. Oh! Watch out! That was one hot flame! Marsha's really having a blast out there today, folks!"

Cindy caught her breath as another flame issued from the dragon, along with a thunderous roar.

"I – I can't. Shannon, I can't! Please. Send Bailey."

"Bailey's not my choice, Cindy," Shannon said calmly. "You are."

"But I can't! She's so big! I'm a vampire slayer, not a dragon slayer! I–I –."

"If I may –."

"No, you may not, Ethan," Shannon said sharply.

"I was only going to say –."

"We're in a competition here!"

"That the little girl is right."

"Ethan, please stay out of –."

"That dragon is the size of a mastodon," Ethan continued. "Two mastodons. And here she is," he indicated Cindy, "just as tiny as a little mouse. Funny. Rather puts me in mind of the old saying…that elephants are afraid of mice. Can't see them so well, I suppose. Makes them nervous to have one dancing about underfoot…"

Cindy looked down the bench at Ethan, blinking her wide eyes at him.

He reached down and picked up a thermos, unscrewed the lid and took a swig from it. He sighed in satisfaction, watching as Marsha the Dragon dispatched the Aussie slayer with a quick flick of her tail. The slayer went sailing towards the boards at breakneck speed, only to be stopped gently by an invisible magical buffer zone around the perimeter of the field.

"And that's the end of the line for Australia as Marsha the Dragon has tossed this slayer aside…"

Molly dropped easily to her feet, but went to one knee, exhausted from the fight. Marsha thumped quickly to her and stopped before her. Molly stood quickly in defensive posture, but Marsha extended her neck and brought her nose to within an inch of Molly's. Suddenly the dragon's tongue shot out and licked the girl under the chin.

The crowd roared with laughter and then applauded the young slayer and the tail-wagging dragon.

"I'd say that dragon is a mite too playful for her own good…" Ethan mused aloud. He turned his head slightly and looked sideways at Cindy, who still stared at him. She quickly turned her head away and blushed, not hearing the announcer call her name.

"Cindy! Cindy, c'mon, you're up!" Shannon said.

Cindy stood, and several pairs of hands slipped her asbestos vest on her. They tugged the flame-resistant gloves onto her tiny hands and gave her the long, wooden spear with the blunted tip. The spear was twice as tall as she.

"And there seems to be a slight delay," Faith said, "as #1, little Cindy Loomis, is fitted for battle. In the meantime, the Cleveland Council would like me to tell you that…"

Somewhere in the stands, someone began a rhythmic stomp-stomp-clap-clap. Another picked it up and another until the announcer's voice was drowned out by a chant coming loud and clear from the Cleveland Council section of the stands.

"Dah Hoo Doh Ray! Dah Hoo Doh Ray!"

The Australian and Taiwanese teams looked up at the crowd. Adrian Smith quirked an eye at his squad. "Strange chant," he said. "Yanks…"

Marsha, picking up on the excitement, jumped and gamboled about the field.

"They're playin' your song," Shannon smiled at Cindy, who stood under uncomfortable layers of protection. "Cin! Go…" she gave Cindy a gentle push. The girl stood transfixed at the sight of the leaping, snorting dragon.

Shannon looked at the rest of the team. They all gave a shove and Cindy stumbled out into the bright light of day. The crowd cheered and Cindy turned to see her teammates standing and clapping in time as they, too, chanted, "Dah Hoo Doh Ray!"

She gulped, turning her head away. Suddenly, she caught sight of Ethan, standing just below the awning. She saw him look out and up-up-up at the oversized Marsha the Dragon. Then with deliberate slowness he looked all the way back down at her. The little girl and Ethan locked eyes for a moment.

Shannon saw the exchange and came to stand beside Ethan. "No spells, Ethan!" she warned.

"Not a one," he said, smiling.

"Hey! What the hell!" Tyeesha said as Cindy shook off her fire-resistant gloves. The little slayer took off the asbestos vest as well.

"Just a minute folks…" Faith said, "it seems like Cindy Loomis is removing her protective gear. It's optional so the choice is hers. Remember, they're already under magical protection from the flames…"

Marsha the Dragon saw the tiny girl from the far end of the field and roared in delight. She leapt high in the air and flew almost straight up, until her nose hit the nearly transparent bubble of electricity that canopied the field. Marsha got a little shock and swooped down and away from the force field. She flew straight towards Cindy, landing heavily on the ground about twenty yards away.

"And here's the face-off, folks, as – wait a minute! Cindy Loomis is crouching down in the grass…."

"There's the girl," Ethan said quietly.

"Cindy, get ready!" Bailey cried out.

Cindy remained crouched, the long spear in her hand, hidden in the neatly cropped grass.

Marsha the Dragon tilted her head at the tiny girl. She half-hopped towards her, stopping a little way from her. Cindy remained motionless.

"What is she doing?" Jennifer said. "Cindy! For crying out loud, you can't hide!"

"What is she doing?" Shannon asked, as the dragon edged closer to the slayer.

"She's learning," Ethan replied.

"Huh?" Shannon said, but Ethan was focused on Cindy, who held her position quietly until the dragon's body blocked out the sun, casting Cindy in shadow.

The crowd hushed. Marsha lowered her long neck and brought her snout down to the top of Cindy's head, sniffing the errant shock of strawberry blonde hair that stood up on top of Cindy's head. Marsha wagged the tip of her tail.

Then she lowered her snout and turned her head until she was eye to face with Cindy. Cindy did not look into the dragon's eye, but kept her gaze averted and remained still.

Marsha nudged the slayer a little with her massive, leather-scaled forehead. Cindy gave a little with the nudge, but didn't move.

Marsha gave a puzzled whimper and lifted her long neck and head. As she did so, Cindy scooted under her, poking at the dragon's ankles with quick, sharp prods of her blunted spear.

Marsha's head turned this way and that, as she tried to find the source of the irritating poking. She couldn't see what it was that was vexing her, and began to alternately lift her legs in a jittery dance.

Shannon grinned. "Go, Cindy!" she said.

Confused, the dragon began to nervously nip at the air, little bursts of flame shooting from her nostrils.

The crowd began to come alive as they watched the little slayer below the dragon's belly zig and zag as she jabbed the creature's ankles harder.

"She's going to lose," Ethan said.

Shannon shot him an angry glare. "Whatta ya mean?"

"She's gotten lost in the moment, feeling the power of her own mind over the dragon's."

"You're right…" Shannon agreed. "She's gotta get onto its back if she's gonna strike the back of the head. She'll never score if –"

"She'll never get that far," Ethan said. "She's forgetting – that dragon can fly."

As if on cue, Marsha's wings spread out wide. Cindy saw the shadow on the ground and ran out from under the dragon. With slayer strength, she jumped and grabbed the leading edge of one of Marsha's wings and jabbed the soft underlying tissue hard with the spear.

Marsha roared at the sharp pain and raised her wing high. Cindy let go and dropped to her feet on the ground as Marsha lost her balance and fell away to the right. The dragon rolled on her side, unhurt, but completely confused.

Cindy charged it with a primal cry and scaled it as it rolled to right itself. She almost slipped on the leathery scales, but clung on and reached the dragon's spine just below its shoulders.

Finished with the annoying game, Marsha spread her wings again, and began to ascend. Willow stood, ready with a spell should something bad happen, but Cindy scrambled on hands and knees up the dragon's spiked spine and, straddling the neck like a bucking bronco's, brought the blunt end of the spear down with two hands against the back of the dragon's head.

Marsha, wings flapping, held her position about fifty feet above the field.

"Oh my – Cindy Loomis has just scored! She wins! She wins the dragon trial for Cleveland! Little Cindy Loomis has done it for the United States, proving you can't judge a book by its cover!"

The crowd roared with delight.

Marsha the Dragon, still in flight, reflexively raised her wing, dipped her head, and brushed the tiny annoyance quickly from her neck.

"Cindyyyyyy!" Bailey cried, realizing the peril.

The cheer turned into a gasp as the crowd watched the tiny girl tumble head over heels from the dragon's neck.

Willow, caught up in the excitement, had raised her hand too late to stop the girl's awkward fall.

Cindy came to dead stop, head first – five inches above the ground. She hovered, as her body righted until she was face up, then she floated gently to the soft grass below.

Medics, watchers, and the Cleveland team rushed the field as Cindy sat up in the grass, unharmed, her lock of red hair at an almost perfect ninety-degree angle atop her head.

Marsha landed heavily in front of her and lowered her head down to Cindy's. Then she nudged the slayer with her snout and Cindy looked

into one of the beautiful golden eyes. Cindy smiled and hugged the dragon about the face, her short arms not quite reaching around the dragon's long jaw.

Cut to:Int.Coven Room – Early Evening

"I don't care who it was," Willow said. "In fact, I'd like to give whoever it was a medal for their quick-thinking. Not to mention it was a beautiful levitation."

The Coven sat and stood in various places about the room, staring blankly at her.

"C'mon," she grinned. "Don't be modest. You saved a slayer from a real disaster out there. Which one of you was it? Jeff?"

"Not my thing, you know that."

"Andrew!"

Andrew shrugged and smiled. "I wish," he said.

"Guys!" Willow said in exasperation, though still smiling. "Dawnie."

"Will, I can float things, but not like that. That was like air-ballet."

"Excuse me."

All heads turned toward the doorway. Shannon stood, half inside the Coven room. "I don't mean to interrupt."

"Hey, Shannon! Way to go!" The Coven greeted her. "Great job! You guys are the best!"

Shannon smiled and nodded at the Coven. "Uh…guys…I think I know who caught Cindy when she fell."

They all looked expectantly at her.

"I mean, I didn't actually see him do it, but I saw Ethan lower his hand and put it in his pocket just after Cindy touched down."

Dawn and Willow exchanged a look. Willow smiled. "Thanks, Shannon," she said. Shannon nodded and began to leave the Coven room. "Hey,

Shannon," she called. The lead slayer turned back around. "Tell Ethan thanks."

Shannon looked at Willow for a moment, and then smiled. "No," she said. "I don't think he'd really like that. I don't think he wants a big deal made about it." Shannon smiled a little wider, and left the Coven room.

Dawn walked up to Willow. "Y'know, Dawnie," Willow said, "Giles may be right about him."

Dawn smiled dubiously. "He's still Ethan, Will. Saving a little girl from crashing to the ground in an organized sporting event isn't asking much from him. But when this is over, he's gonna be the squad's lead watcher. I'm still not comfortable with that. And I don't think Ethan is, either."

Cut to:Int.Watchers Guest Dormitory – 'Australian Wing' – Same Night

"Are you sure about this, Ness?" Tory, the Aussie slayer who lost against the K'mnta demon, asked.

"Course I am!" Vanessa said haughtily. "Are you with me or not?"

"But shouldn't we be resting up for the next test?"

"There's time. Besides, we're not going to fight or anything. We're just going to follow along behind and see what they do…I'd like to get a look-see at one o' their vamps."

"I've heard they wear bonzer clothes!" Tory said.

"Oh, you and clothes! Give me your lippy, dearie!"

Tory handed a glitter lipgloss stick to Vanessa. "Wait – what about Adrian?" Tory asked.

"He can find his own lippy!" Vanessa said.

The girls laughed.

"He's probably rootin' that Taiwan watcher.'' The girls stopped laughing and began to twitter at the remark. "He won't know we're gone. All right then, let's go…"

Vanessa poked her head out of the dormitory door and looked both ways down the hall. No one was in sight and the place was quiet. She motioned for the girls to follow her and she led them down the corridor.

"Are you sure it's this way?" Tory asked.

"Down these stairs, to the right, and back the way we just came. They meet there before they go on patrol. That's what that Robin bloke was tellin' me…" She opened the door to the far stairwell and led them down the staircase. The door closed slowly and quietly behind them.

"Vanessa."

The girls all stopped in place, halfway down the stairs. "Taking the team for laps at this hour?"

The girls turned. Adrian Smith, their watcher, stood looking knowingly at them from the top of the stairs. "You really are a determined bunch," he said. "But it's lights out time for all good little slayers and their lead slayer," he said, looking pointedly at Vanessa.

"Right!" Vanessa said. "C'mon then, you heard him, we need our rest!"

The girls moaned and walked back up the stairs, past Adrian and through the doorway at the top of the steps. Adrian stopped Vanessa. "I know you want to see a real American slayer squad in action, Vanessa. But let's set our minds to the task, eh? Once the games are over, I'll ask Ms. Allister if perhaps you can't join one of their patrols. Fair enough?"

Vanessa smiled at Adrian. "Thanks, Adrian. I'd like that, I really would. But what about the others? They need to see what a slayer squad like these Yanks can do. They need to see what other places –."

"Vanessa…you're as good as any of them. Better, I think. Our girls will learn more from watching you, as their leader, than they will watching some American team go through the motions of a nightly fight they're probably weary of waging. You've great spirit, Vanessa! And you're the brightest we've got."

"But not ace."

"Who says you need to be ace? You're steady and sure. And these girls rely on and respect you for it. They look up to you. And that, my girl, is a far greater talent than being the best at dusting vampires. Let's use it wisely, then, eh?"

Vanessa sighed and smiled at him. "Right, right…" and she too climbed the stairs and went up through the door, the watcher following behind.

They came out on their floor and walked down to the bend in the hallway. They turned and the sounds of their feet died away.

Two heads poked out from around the other side of the turn. "Shannon was right!" Tyeesha said to Madison. "We can't let those Aussies outta our sight."

"Yeah," Madison agreed as they walked quietly back to their dorm and the rest of the waiting Cleveland squad.

They had just rounded the corner. The corridor was silent except for the uneven hum of a fluorescent light. Out from a shadowed corner stepped a petite Taiwanese slayer. She looked down the hall after the two Cleveland slayers, and then swiftly and silently ran back to her squad.

Cut to:Int.Council Security Center – Next Morning

"So you see why we're concerned," Robin said as the lights came on and the little Taiwanese slayer's image faded on the wall. Robin stopped the LCD projector.

Adrian Smith sat, red-faced and silent, beside Li Heng Fu, the Taiwanese watcher, who stared straight ahead, with chin held high.

"Of course," Robin chuckled, "slayers will be slayers. But we want to be sure that they don't get out and into harm's way…"

"If they're slayers," Ethan said, lowering the cold thermos from his lips, "in harm's way is exactly the place they should be."

All eyes, even Li's, turned and looked at him.

"Ethan!" Rowena said, "that's not funny."

"Lucky I'm not joking then," he said. "Look, these girls' natural inclination is to be 'on' at all times. They don't want to dance around on the green grass with Puff the Magic Dragon!"

"Hey!" Kennedy shot him a contemptuous look.

Ethan ignored her. "This competition," he continued, "is whipping them into a frenzy for which they have no outlet. Rather like vampires surrounded by the smell of blood but with no prey in sight…" he smirked.

"I apologize." Li's stone-cold voice cut through the room. "I apologize to our hosts and to our co-competitors," she turned and looked deliberately at Adrian, "for the shameful activity of my slayer in the hallway last night. She will be removed from the competition and the team will be put on probation when we return to Taiwan."

"Whoa, whoa, just a minute…" Kennedy said.

"Ms. Fu," Rowena smiled gently, "your girls are no more in the wrong than Mr. Smith's or Mr. Rayne's. The only reason we brought you in here was to make you aware that they are up and about at night, as Mr. Smith himself found out. They perhaps need to be more closely chaperoned so that they don't wind up outside the grounds or get into any other mischief."

"Look, even if they didn't get into trouble," Robin said, "there's always a bunch of reporters hanging around just waiting to snap a picture or get a statement."

"Y'know," Kennedy smirked, "the paparazzi are probably a bigger threat than the vampires."

Rowena looked at the three watchers. "How about this…let them complete the competition. If there are no more infractions of the rules and the codes, we'll forget it happened and no harm done."

"Why don't we take 'em along on a little 'patrol' after it's all over?" Kennedy suggested. "I think we can probably convince a couple of the squads to take 'em around after the competition. Y'know, tour 'em around the places we go…"

"That's an idea," Rowena said. "They'd be with seasoned slayers who could show them around and tell them all kinds of stories…it might help keep them in at night to know that's the reward for following the rules for lights out." Rowena grinned.

Adrian smiled and nodded his head. "That is very gracious! Thank you."

"We are grateful for your kindness," Li said with a modest nod.

"Oh goody," Ethan said, "we're going on a school outing."

The two other watchers exchanged uneasy looks at Ethan's sarcastic remark.

"Do you really think that's going to placate them?" Ethan asked.

Rowena huffed. "No. So just in case, I'll have Willow put a –."

"I say, let them go out," Ethan cut her off. "Let them sneak out and see what they do. That'd be a real test, wouldn't it? To see how each group works as a team in a real-world situation? Whether or not they find trouble is immaterial. We could have a squad or two on hand to jump in and 'save the day' if they do run up against something."

"Aside from the gross irresponsibility of it," Robin said, "and the fact that these are very young slayers with –."

"With superhuman strength and exceptional drive and spirit," Ethan countered.

"Yes." Everyone turned and looked at Li. "I like what Mr. Rayne has said. He is right. I would like us to let them go, but not to tell them. To see who it is that shows the spirit to leave the dormitory and to seek out the streets of an unknown Hellmouth. To see which team works cleanly and co-operatively –."

"I agree!" Adrian said suddenly. "Let's let them have a fair go at it. If you don't mind providing the protection of Ms. Rosenberg's Coven and, of course, your own senior slayers, Ms. Allister. But not so the squads would know…let them think they're on their own, away from the eyes of family and friends and –."

"And watchers," Ethan said quietly.

"This is totally out of the question," Rowena said. "There are liabilities to consider."

"Everyone in the competition signed a waiver, did they not?" Ethan asked.

From a corner of the room, a blonde head lifted from its bowed position. Buffy looked across the room at Rowena. Rowena looked back at her for a long moment. "Yes, so I'll defer," Rowena said, splaying her hands. "It's your call."

Buffy continued to look at Rowena.

"Cut 'em loose."

Fade Out.

End of Act Three

Act FourFade In:Ext.Watchers Athletic Field – That Evening

Skye faked right, and then swiftly turned left. Jennifer had just enough time to utter a surprised gasp as Skye's hand shot out and yanked the slayer backwards and against her. Skye easily wrapped her right arm around Jennifer and laid her fangs against the girl's bare neck.

The crowd let out a surprised cry.

"Oh…sorry Cleveland," Faith's voice said. "And that concludes the vampire staking competition for this evening. The judges will give their scores in just a moment…"

Skye let Jennifer go and immediately morphed back into her human face. Jennifer bowed her head and let the rubber stake she was holding drop to the grass as she walked dejectedly off the field.

No one on the Cleveland bench said anything as the slayer walked under the stands and sat down at the far end, not looking at anyone.

"And the scores are in at ninety-eight points Australia, eighty points Taiwan, and fifty points Cleveland. Let's give all our slayers, our friends from Vampires Anonymous, and the Council's Skye Talisker a hand for their good sportsmanship and a very – very – exciting competition tonight."

The Cleveland team sat glumly on the bench, no one moving or speaking as the crowd applauded.

"Hey," Shannon said, "You guys did your best. That's all that counts."

No one replied. The girls looked down at the ground.

Ethan stood up suddenly. "All right!" he said sharply, as he lifted his thermos off the bench. The Cleveland team looked at him, waiting.

"Ethan, please…" Shannon said quietly. "If you're gonna tell us that work like that out in the field'll get us and everyone around us killed, we already get that. Just…don't tell us anything. Okay?"

"Here," Ethan said, handing the thermos to Bailey. She took it from him. "Take one swallow and pass it along. Do as I say!"

Bailey unscrewed the top of the thermos and took a delicate sip. To her surprise, the liquid inside was warm and sweet and spiced just right.

"Hot cider!" she exclaimed and took another big swallow.

"Here now! I said one swallow – and I mean it!"

Bailey passed the thermos along and each girl in turn took a swig from it.

"This is not how my mom makes it," Jennifer said.

"How unfortunate for her…" Ethan muttered.

"What's in here?" Jennifer asked.

"Gimme that," Shannon said, before it reached little Cindy. She sniffed at it. "I don't smell anything," she said. She hesitantly took a sip, then looked at Ethan. "What is in this?" she demanded. "It's really good."

Ethan shrugged. "Apple cider…spices…that sort of thing…"

A couple of the girls giggled. "Can I have some more?" one of them asked.

"Absolutely not!" Ethan said. Tyeesha took the thermos, bypassing Cindy.

"Hey, I want some, too!" Cindy said.

Shannon poured a small amount into the cup and held it out to her. "This is enough."

"But that's not anything."

"It's enough for now…" Ethan said, taking the thermos back. "Now then, tomorrow's the last test. Speed and agility. It won't be easy. You're all tired. So you all need a good night's rest."

"C'mon, guys," Shannon said. "Let's hit the showers and say goodnight to your families."

The slayers got up and walked toward the locker room.

"Hey!" A man's voice called from under the stands.

"Go on ahead," Shannon told the girls. "Bailey's in charge." Shannon waited and her brother Kyle emerged from the shadows. "You'll get 'em tomorrow night," he said, smiling gently at her.

Shannon sighed. "We've already lost the tournament, Kyle. There's no way to make up the points at this rate."

"You can still win it," he said, smiling. "But the other two teams have to really suck. A lot," he needled. "Maybe forfeit…"

Shannon frowned sourly at him. "Where's Cody?" she asked irritably.

"Chattin' up some pretty girl in the stands."

"Oh. And no pretty girl for you? Or did they all run when they saw you?" she taunted.

Kyle looked narrowly at his baby sister, but a smile played on his lips. "I'm already chattin' up a pretty girl. Prettiest, bravest…I'm real proud of you, Shannon." The smile faded from his lips. "Cody is, too. And so's Dad. And Mom –."

"Mom'd rather be home sewing lacy dresses for cousin Aileen."

Kyle stopped and shot a questioning glance at Ethan. Ethan shrugged.

"Yeah…yeah, you're right…but it's not because she doesn't care. It's cause she's – you scare her, Shannie. She doesn't get what you are. She knows – she understands – that you're a slayer. She just doesn't connect. Someday she will. Until she does, Cody and I are here. And even after she does…" He smiled.

Shannon grinned back him. "I gotta join the team, Kyle."

"I know. Go 'head."

Shannon nodded and started to jog toward the locker room. She stopped after a few strides, turned and dashed up to Kyle, then hugged him. "Thanks, Kyle. Thanks for being here."

Kyle grinned, and then flicked his finger sharply against Shannon's head. "Go…" he said. She grinned back at him, turned, and jogged off to the locker room.

Kyle's eyes shifted to the stands where Cody was busy with a very pretty girl about his age. His eyes fell on the vampires in front of the stands below them. "That's the vampire Shannon's told us about, right?" Kyle asked Ethan. "Skye?"

"Yes," Ethan said.

"I'd like to meet her," Kyle said, "but Shannon's been careful not to introduce us. I think she's a little worried that either Cody or I'll get…'smitten' with her."

"I can introduce you if you like," Ethan offered.

"Yeah. Yeah I would. This Skye's been real good to Shannon – even if she is a vampire."

"Come on, then," Ethan said. He held out the thermos to Kyle. "You might do well with a bit of this first, though."

Kyle took a healthy swig of the 'hot cider.' He blinked in surprise at Ethan, then smiled and chuckled. "Kyle Matthewson, by the way" he said, holding his hand out in a formal self-introduction. "Shannon's brother."

"Ethan Rayne," Ethan grinned back and shook his hand. The two walked out from under the stands to the area where the vampires stood, talking and joking amongst themselves.

Neither of them noticed the quiet man standing under the stands and watching as they walked past.

Cut to:Int.Washington Office – Same Time

Autumn turned off the television set that showed a closing shot going into a commercial of the Cleveland team looking glum on the bench.

"Your girls aren't doing too well," Agnes's voice said from the sofa where she was sitting, apparently knitting something.

"No," Autumn agreed. "It's a pity. The town could use the moral boast that a win would bring…the entire country actually."

"I just don't understand," Agnes said, not bothering to look up from her task.

"What don't you understand?" Autumn asked, as if already knowing where the conversation was going.

"Helping them. Do you think if they knew the truth about you that they would help you?"

Autumn said nothing at first. "It's just…too soon," she finally answered.

"You're right it's too soon. It wouldn't be far fetched to say 'never'. Look at all the speculation they give Muslims and Mormons who run for office. When it comes to you? A demon? Forget it." She continued to knit, not looking up.

"Not all demons are evil," Autumn told her. "We're not evil."

"I know that. You know that. But the majority of people sitting around watching these games, those people at that council…they don't. And many of them would just as well kill you than give you the time of day. But you…" Agnes shook her head. "…for some crazy reason, you believe in them."

"I do," Autumn replied as she looked out over the lights of D.C. "For better or for worse, I have the power to make people change. Maybe not tomorrow and maybe not during my term, but definitely within my life time."

"You truly believe that?"

Autumn had a melancholy grin on her face. "I have to."

Cut to:Int.Guest Dormitory – 'Australian Wing' Corridor – Late, Same Night

"Look," Vanessa said, "I don't care what Adrian said! He's not a slayer, he's a watcher. They're trained to be too careful!"

Tory grabbed Vanessa by the arm. "You can't go by yourself! What if you get lost? What if you get attacked by a vampire or –."

"Scared I can't handle myself?" Vanessa threw back hotly.

"Ness, it's not that. We don't know our way around here. And I don't know about you, mate, but I can understand only about half the things these Americans say! What if you have to talk to one of them?"

"Tory! I am going out! I'm going to catch up to their patrol and see what they do and where they go. This is my one chance. I'm takin' it."

"But Adrian said they'll take us along for –."

"For a little 'tour' of the Hellmouth. Tor – Everyone knows I got this lead slayer gig because Adrian pushed for it. Because he feels sorry for me! I'm not a crackerjack slayer and that's all there is. I'm off patrol when we get back home. I'll never be sent out again. So I'm going out to see these slayers in action. They're the best there is. If I can't be best, I at least want to have a look at it. Before I go back home to sit and knit…"

"I'm going with you, Ness."

"Yeah, me too," another voice came from behind them.

"Molly! What are you doing out of bed?"

"Followin' you two."

"No. You are staying right here. Stay with the younger ones and keep an eye on 'em."

"Not fair! I want to go –."

"You'll have plenty of chances to go on patrols at home. This is my last chance to be near the action. But I'm not going to get the lot of you in trouble doing it! Tory, you're in charge of the squad while I'm gone."

"No…" Molly said. "Tory should go with you, just in case. I'll keep an eye on the others."

Tory stood, arms crossed and looking Vanessa in the eye.

"If they find out, Tor, you'll be in as much trouble as me," Vanessa said.

"I'll risk it."

Vanessa huffed. "All right then. Let's be off!"

Cut to:Int.Security Center – Same Time

"Well, she's thinking about her team, that's for sure," Robin said to Adrian Smith.

"She always does," he said proudly. "She's going to make a fine watcher some day. If only she'd open her mind to the idea…"

"One down…" Robin said as the two Australian girls skittered through the halls of the Watchers Council. "…and here comes the second."

They watched as the tiny Taiwanese slayer from the night before bounded back down the hallway and out of sight. Within moments, the little girl returned, Jiao right behind her.

They reached the stairwell and Jiao stopped the girl in her tracks. She held the little girl by the shoulders and spoke seriously to her.

"She is telling Mai to return to the dormitory," Li Fu translated. The girl looked about to cry. Then she pursed her lips together and gave a quick nod to Jiao.

"That didn't take much," Robin said.

"They are trained to respect their leaders," Li said with a quick glance at Adrian, Ethan and Rowena.

"Don't look now, mate, but I think we've just been insulted," Adrian said.

"Oh, I'm certain of it," Ethan replied.

Cut to:Ext.Council Grounds – Continuous

"I got 'em at twelve o'clock!" Madison's voice came over the two-way.

"Twelve o' – Maddy, what the hell are you talkin' about?" Shannon snapped at her. "Are you still at the south exit?"

"Yeah. I mean, roger that!"

"Maddy, shut up with the radio-talk! Take your two and meet us by the gate – and stay in the shadows! Robin's got this place wired with cameras you don't even see."

"Ten-four, Team Leader!"

Shannon rolled her eyes at the 'ten-four' and Bailey snickered beside her. "C'mon, Bay, let's go…"

The two girls trotted along the building, in the shadows below the security cameras so that they wouldn't be seen.

Cut to:Int.Security Center – Continuous

"Where's Cleveland?" Robin wondered aloud as he and the three watchers continued to stare at the empty hall in the security cameras.

"Robin, you there?" Kennedy's voice crackled over the radio.

"Yeah. Whatcha got?"

"Something you don't, I'll bet…five little slayers in a row heading out the front gate."

"What!" Robin hit a couple of buttons, switching from the interior security cameras to the exterior ones. "Are you…sure?" his voice tapered off as he saw the short shadows moving along and exiting the Council grounds. "How the hell did they get past the security cam –" he stopped himself and he and the two other watchers turned and looked accusingly at Ethan.

"What?" Ethan asked. "You don't think I had something to do with it?"

"Hmph!" Li said. "If you have performed no magic, then perhaps your slayers are accustomed to sneaking away."

"That all of 'em?" Kennedy's voice crackled again.

"Yeah…" Robin said. "Stay close on them, okay?"

"We're on it, chief. We got Casey and her partner on the Dingo Dames and Hadley and her partner on 'Maiden Taiwan.' Buffy and Faith are farther down the line," Kennedy said. She hooked her two-way back onto her belt and turned to the two slayers with her. "Okay, let's move before they give us the slip, too."

The slayers headed off, following the Cleveland squad.

Cut to:Ext.Cleveland City Streets – A short time later

Vanessa and Tory stopped and scooted behind some empty cardboard boxes in an alley.

"I heard it that time!" Tory said in an urgent whisper.

"Okay, listen – let's let whoever it is get close enough. Once they pass, we'll take 'em from behind."

"But what if it's just some homeless person or maybe a drug dealer?"

"Like they're any match for us either?" Vanessa tossed off.

Tory smiled uncertainly and backed up against the wall of the brick building, hidden in the shadows with Vanessa.

Not far behind, a blithe, petite figure appeared at the end of the alley. Jiao waited a beat before heading into the dark, foreboding passageway. She walked so quietly that Vanessa and Tory could not hear her approach, even though they could see her.

She passed them, intent on following where they must have gone.

"Gotcha, you little sheila!" Vanessa had Jiao by the arms from behind. Jiao bent into Vanessa, about to toss her bodily, but Tory was already in front of her and grabbed her about the head, holding her doubled over.

The three girls struggled and all of them went down awkwardly onto their knees.

Cut to:Int.Council Security Center – Same Time

"Yeah," Kennedy's voice crackled once more over the radio. "We're all heading toward a convergence point on the corner of Winslow and Brown. Casey and Hadley are just around the bend on the other end of the alley. Faith and Buffy are with the regular patrol. They're gonna swing around and scare the slay outta these SITs!" Kennedy laughed.

"Oh man, I wish you could see this!" Casey chuckled over the radio. "The three of 'em are fallin' all over each other!"

"Casey, cut the chatter," Kennedy said. "Don't give us away."

Cut to:Ext.Cleveland Alleyway – Same Time

"Well, well. Looks like some people just can't get along. Even when they're out for a friendly stroll…"

Vanessa, Tory, and Jiao all stopped scrabbling on the ground and looked up, surprised, as Shannon stood grinning, her team fanned out on either side of her.

"Uh-oh," Tory said. "Busted." Jiao looked up scornfully at her.

Vanessa stood and dusted herself off, matching Shannon's smile and crossing her arms. "Looks like we musta left the gate open, girls," she said to Jiao and Tory. "The dogs have gotten loose."

"You guys are so disqualified!" Madison said.

"What for?" Tory said snottily. "We're just takin' a walk. Same as you…"

"We're followin' you to see what kind of trouble you're makin' and we're reporting it back to –."

"Can it, Maddy," Shannon barked. "We need to all get back before they find out any one of us are gone," she said.

"Why?" Vanessa asked pointedly. "Why do you care? What – you gonna get punished for being out after midnight?" She dropped her smile and strode toward Shannon. "You got everything to gain from our getting caught out of bounds after curfew. After all, your team's basically out of the competition. It's just between us and them now," she nodded at Jiao.

"This not your business!" Jiao said to Shannon. "This personarrr matter between us," she nodded at Vanessa.

"Good god, dearie, will you please learn to pronounce your errrrrrs – oh, sorry," Vanessa taunted, "I mean ellllllllll's."

"And you're gonna let your personar – I mean – personal matter ruin it for your teams?" Shannon asked. "What the hell kinda squad leaders are the other Councils turnin' out?"

"We left our teams home!" Vanessa countered. "So they wouldn't get in trouble if we got caught."

"Oh yeah? What about her?" Shannon pointed at Tory.

"She's my best mate. I don't go nowhere that she don't go with me."

"Wait a minute…was that English?" Shannon smirked.

Vanessa flipped Shannon off.

"Bitca!" Tyeesha cried and moved forward menacingly. Madison and Cindy grabbed her arms and stopped her.

"And what about you?" Vanessa said. "You got your entire team out here! Talk about not watchin' out for 'em…"

Shannon shifted her weight uncomfortably and looked from side to side.

"We're a team!" Jennifer said. "We stick together no matter what. Even if we're all getting punished for it. Wherever one is, that's where we all are."

"Yeah!" Cindy said.

Cut to:Int.Council Security Center – Same time

Kennedy laughed lightly into her radio. "Hey, Council, are you hearin' this?" she chuckled.

A sudden, howling shriek pierced the air and everyone went silent. "What the hell!" Kennedy said as an urgent call came from the regular patrol heading down a connecting alley.

"I have two down! What the hell is this thing!"

"Slayer Patrol One," Robin called into another microphone, "Patrol One, what's your location?"

Cut to:Ext.Cleveland Alleyway

"What the hell was –," Bailey began to say, but was immediately interrupted as Kennedy ran up from behind her. "All right! Everyone! Back to the dorms! Now!"

All the girls looked up open-mouthed at the slayer as she ran past them toward the other end of the alley. Kennedy stopped halfway down and turned back to them. "I told you maggots to move! Now move! Shannon! Get them home!"

"Okay! Okay!" Shannon said to Kennedy's retreating back. "C'mon, you heard her! Let's go."

"Where did she come from?" Vanessa asked. "Was she tailin' us?"

"What is tay…" Jiao let the word trail off.

"Or did you bring her with you, you little snitch?" Vanessa turned on Shannon.

"I'm as surprised as you are," Shannon said. "C'mon! Whatever it is that's going on can't be good and we can't get in the way."

"Shannie, use your radio!" Bailey said. "We can find out what's going on!"

Shannon quickly unhooked her two-way and switched to the correct frequency. There were screams and shouts from a variety of slayers, including Kennedy and Faith. Suddenly, Buffy's voice sounded on the radio. "Send backup! The new construction site near – uhf!"

"We gotta go help!" Jennifer cried.

"No!" Shannon said. "Bailey! You and – what's her name again?" Shannon demanded.

"I'm Tory."

"Tory. You both take everyone back to the Council. Go in the front gate and don't mess around! You do whatever you're told once you get there, and no back-talkin'! Anybody who back-talks – and that goes for you, too, Miss Shrimp on the Barbie – is gonna answer to me after they're done with you! Got it?"

"We can fight, Shannon. We can help!" Cindy said.

Shannon blinked at the ten year-old, and then smiled. "I know you can, Cin. But this fight is not the one to break you in on. You can help by getting yourself back home safely. I'm counting on you and everyone else to follow orders exactly. Okay?"

Cindy nodded. "Be careful, Shannon."

"You got it!" Shannon looked down the alley, where the sounds of the battle were now within easy earshot. "Tory, Bailey – hurry up."

Vanessa nodded at Tory and she and Bailey joined up together. "Well," Tory said, smirking. "You're our lover-ly tour guide. Lead the way."

"We'll see you back there," Shannon said. Without waiting for a reply, she radioed in. "This is Shannon. We're about one block from the trouble," she said breaking into a run, Jiao and Vanessa alongside her. "We're going in to –."

"No!" Robin's voice came over the two-way. "Get your squad and the two other girls back here on the double!"

"The squad's coming back. Jiao, Vanessa and I are almost –."

The three slayers stopped in their tracks as Faith was thrown past them. She hit hard against a trash dumpster, denting it. She fell face forward onto the ground, stunned.

The demon that had thrown Faith stared the three young girls down. It stood in the midst of hurt and semi-conscious slayers. Kennedy jumped on it from behind and suddenly Buffy came from nowhere to roundhouse kick it in the ribs.

The demon stopped struggling with Kennedy and looked furiously at Buffy. Suddenly, it threw Kennedy off like a rag doll, the slayer rolling several yards before she stopped against a wall.

The demon took on Buffy.

"This isn't right!" Shannon said, her radio still live. "It's – it's small. It doesn't even look healthy…How can it be so strong? It even looks like…like it's half human!"

Cut to:Int.Council Security Center – Same Time

"Shannon!" Robin said, "Get the hell out of –."

"It's wearing a dress!" Vanessa said. "Demons have really bad taste in clothes on this continent!"

Ethan snatched the microphone from Robin's hand. "What do you mean?" Ethan demanded.

"Well it's an ugly dress…" Vanessa said.

"Bloody hell! Shannon! Tell me what the demon looks like!"

"It – it looks like a – a person. But it can't be a person. It's all kinda distorted and – puffy and – major eew…"

"Can you see its eyes?" Ethan asked.

"We're in a dark alley!" Shannon snapped. "Oh…wait a minute. Yeah…they're kinda green and glowy like…like a firefly."

Ethan's face went slightly pale.

"What?" Robin asked. "Ethan!"

"Shannon, tell me exactly where you are, right now!" Ethan spoke directly into the speaker.

"Alleyway, midway down the block between the corners of…"

As Shannon spoke, Ethan snapped his fingers at Robin, who pulled up a computerized map of Cleveland.

"Uh-oh."

"Shannon?" Robin called. "Shannon! Ethan, what do you thi–." Robin, Adrian Smith, Li and Rowena all looked around the room. The mage had disappeared.

"Call Will," Rowena said.

Cut to:Ext.Cleveland Alleyway – Same Time

The demon had Shannon by the throat and had raised her off the ground. Her feet dangled almost a yard off the pavement.

Vanessa, with a wild cry, rammed the demon with all her might behind the knees, only to be answered with a quick heel to the stomach. She went down, clutching her midsection and coughing.

Jiao Lin had back-flipped and catapulted herself up over the demon's head, scissoring the demon's neck with her legs. It had little effect and the small slayer hung upside down until the demon easily yanked one leg hard, wrenching it cruelly. The little slayer cried in agony just before her head hit the pavement. Vanessa tried desperately to kick the demon's legs out from under it as Shannon struggled to break free of the choke-hold, her vision fading.

The demon kicked Vanessa in the face and she rolled toward Jiao and lay still. Jiao reached over to see if Vanessa was still alive. She breathed a sigh of relief when the slayer moaned and blinked. Vanessa sat up quickly, hand to her head.

She and Jiao watched in horror as the demon began to shake the nearly unconscious Shannon by the neck. They looked at each other, then at each other's wounds. "Can't do this alone. Together then, mate?" Vanessa asked. Jiao Lin nodded, her black and bloody pony-tail bobbing. The two stood shakily, locking arms.

"On three," Vanessa said.

"Three!" Jiao cried immediately. They rushed the demon.

Ethan appeared just as the two girls were thrown back, arms still linked, and tumbled in a tangle of arms and legs. But the charge had loosened the hold the demon had on Shannon and she sat, dazed and swaying on the ground.

The demon leapt and opened its mouth unnaturally wide. Its jaw and teeth seemed to morph into the jaw of a wolf or dog and it grabbed the disoriented slayer by the throat. It clamped down as Ethan uttered an unintelligible cry.

A wide burst of green energy caught both slayer and demon. The demon screeched in agony, its mouth opening wide and its head twisting unnaturally. There was a snapping sound as the eyes widened in shock and then the limp body of the demon fell off to one side as Shannon fell to the other, unconscious.

Vanessa and Jiao quickly hobbled over to Shannon. Casey was by her side. "She's okay. She's alive," Casey said. "I don't think the bite's very deep…"

Buffy went to Faith's aid, the slayer still laying on her side, half-conscious.

Ethan walked up to the demon's corpse as the slayers from the patrols gained their feet or sat up, groaning. Kennedy radioed in to Robin.

In the fading green glow, the dress-clad demon began to change shape back to what was its true form.

"Oh my god," Casey said as she stood peering down at the body. "It's – it was – a woman!"

"A woman changed by a spell," Ethan said grimly and sighed.

"You…you killed a human being?" Vanessa asked, stunned as she supported Jiao Lin by the shoulders. "We aren't supposed to…"

"I had no choice," Ethan answered quietly.

"But a binding spell –"

"Didn't work. I tried it while you two were sailing past me at the speed of light."

He moved forward and knelt down beside Shannon. Buffy began to say something, but stopped as she watched Ethan take the semi-conscious girl out of Kennedy's arms and into his own, holding her before him and supporting her head from behind.

Shannon blinked her eyes open. "E-Ethan…Rupert…I saw…Ru…"

"Quiet now," he said softly. "Everything's all right now. It's all over. Everything's all right."

"Rupert…"

"No. It was a human being. It was a woman."

Shannon's eyes filled with tears. "Human? Is she dead? Did I…?" Suddenly she was crying. Ethan pulled the slayer toward him until her head rested against his chest. Then he wrapped one hand about her head and held her quietly.

"There now," he told her. "It was I who did it. You didn't harm anyone. It was all me."

Shannon cried softly against him. "There's the girl," he told her, his voice soothing. "There's my…" he hesitated for a beat. "Slayer…"

He held her gently and lowered his chin until it came to rest atop her head.

Cut to:Ext.Nearby Construction Area – Continuous

The shadowed man who had stood under the stands earlier that night stuffed a small piece of plain, folded paper into the chain-link fence surrounding the nearby construction zone, and then quietly stole from the scene.

Cut to:Ext.Council Athletic Field, Beneath the Stands – Next Afternoon

"Hey!" Vanessa called to Shannon. Shannon and Jiao looked over at her and smiled as she limped up to them. "I'll sign yours," she said indicating the cast around Jiao's ankle, "if you sign mine!" She held out her left arm, in a cast and sling.

"Well," Shannon grinned, "you two ready for this?"

"No!" Vanessa laughed. "This is worse than – than the other night! I mean…look, I'm not gonna be on patrol anymore when I get back home. Don't look so surprised. If we had been allowed to compete with our teams, you'd see – I'm just not that good. The youngest SIT on our squad is a better slayer than I am. I just…I wanted to know. I wanted to know just once…what it would be like to be a really good…"

Jiao and Shannon blinked at her.

Large tears fell from Vanessa's eyes. "They'll make me a watcher," she said quietly, "when we get back. I guess that's not so bad, if that's what you're called to do. But I was called as a slayer. I just wish I was as good as you two…"

She dragged her right arm across her eyes.

Jiao, on her crutch, hobbled up to her and laid her small hand on Vanessa's sling. "You are good," she told Vanessa. "You are fighter. You are friend. You are next to Jiao – anytime."

"Yeah," Shannon said. "Next to me, too! Anytime!"

Vanessa sniffled and looked at the two slayers. "You guys speak the worst bloody English I ever heard," she grinned.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer's voice blared across the field.

"Here we go…" Shannon said.

Cut to:Ext.Center of Council Athletic Field – Continuous

The three squads stood on the raised platforms, the Taiwanese on the highest level as the champions, followed by the Australians in second place, and then the Cleveland squad on the lowest riser, last.

The three lead slayers for the squads were called in turn – Shannon, Vanessa, and finally, the champion team's Jiao.

There were raucous and deafening cheers for all as each slayer made her way onto the field. Once all three stood with their teams, Rowena Allister presented the large trophy to Jiao Lin.

Jiao took it and looked at it. Carefully cradling it in one hand, she lowered herself on one crutch down to the grass. She looked at Shannon standing to her left, and to Vanessa to her right. They took her meaning and stepped down to the ground as well and stood on either side of Jiao.

Suddenly they smiled and each put a hand on the trophy. Jiao Lin, Vanessa Taylor, and Shannon Matthewson raised the trophy as one, sharing the moment with each other as their own teams jumped off the risers and began to pound each others' backs, laugh, and celebrate.

Cut to:Int.Council Conference Room – Next Day

Rowena and Robin frowned as Ethan entered the room.

"Thank you for seeing me," he said.

"Polite-Ethan," Buffy remarked. "An even weirder concept than Watcher-Ethan."

Ethan ignored the comment and sat down beside Giles. "I asked for this meeting and for Ripper to be here because there is something about that attack the other night that has me worried."

"Well, stop worrying," Dawn said, smiling slightly. "We think your fast thinking saved a lot of butts out there. I have to admit…you might really make a good watcher."

"No," Ethan said bluntly. "Not if this attack is what I think it was. If so, every one of those slayers was put at risk – because of me."

"Accountable-Ethan," Buffy chirped. "And the hits just keep on coming…"

"How so?" Robin asked.

"That woman, whomever she was, morphed into a – a creature with a doglike head and snout as soon as it leaped onto Shannon."

Giles turned his head and looked at Ethan.

"It grabbed her by the throat, viciously. Its jaws were completely around Shannon's throat and were about to bite clean through. Had I been just a second off, Shannon would be dead."

"Credit-Take-y-Ethan…" Buffy said.

Ethan's hand came down on the table. "Damn you! Shut up and listen!" Buffy's eyes, along with everyone else's, went wide for a moment. "Yes! I am taking credit, but not for saving them!" He turned to Giles, who sat staring hard at him.

"You say," Giles said, "that it changed into a wolf or dog and went for Shannon's throat, and would have bit clean through." Giles looked across at Faith. "Sound like a recurrent scenario?"

"No, like a replay."

Giles rolled his eyes.

"Like that night…" Faith said.

"In the woods," Xander continued for her.

"When I killed the dog," Ethan said flatly. "Even Shannon said she saw 'Rupert' when the demon tried to bite her."

"You think," Robin said, "someone was using the slayers to bait you – to lure you into a trap? That doesn't really make any sense…"

"Not bait…" Ethan said.

"A taunt," Giles concluded and looked at Ethan.

"A poke in the eye and a laugh," Ethan said grimly. "Someone who knows what happened that night in the woods made sure to recreate it for my benefit."

"Who've you pissed off recently?" Giles asked. "It's got to be a fairly adept mage. And who besides us would have known about the night you killed the dog?"

"That's just it – I can't think of anyone. I've been a non-user of magic for months. Had no contact with anyone in the usual – or even the unusual circles – except for Lupo."

"What's a Lupo?" Xander asked.

"Well, of course it wasn't him," Giles dismissed the notion easily. "But who?"

"Who indeed," Rowena said and nodded at Robin.

Robin pushed a manila folder toward Ethan. Ethan reached for it and opened it.

"That's a report from the field investigation," Robin told him. "The woman is Mary Bennett, twenty years old, a student at Columbia. She was last seen at a classical music concert about two weeks ago. Nice girl, good student…studying history…nothing to suggest she was anything but a victim herself."

Ethan slowly turned the page of the report as Robin spoke, and then stopped. There in the folder was a small, folded piece of plain paper.

"We did a sweep of the area," Robin said. "That note was found tucked inside the page wire fencing that surrounds the construction site."

Ethan unfolded the paper and Giles looked over his shoulder at it. He noted the slight paling of Ethan's face. "Not so funny," Giles asked quietly, "now someone's doing it to you, eh?"

"Ethan," Rowena called. "Ethan, do you know who left it? Any idea?"

Ethan blinked at her, his eyes wide. "I really – I haven't a clue," he lied easily.

Giles stared hard at him.

"All right," Rowena said, "we'll decide what kind of precautions need to be taken and…."

Rowena's voice droned in the background as Ethan stared down at the handwritten note. The words were written in an all-too-familiar and erratic script, a sloppy inkblot smeared halfway through the message.

Giles, still staring intently at Ethan, turned his attention once again to the cryptic message: 'Turnabout is fair play…'

Fade to Black

End of Games