(Sunday - Day One - Part Three)

Sunday - Day One - Part Three

And then, as if Doyle didn't have enough on his mind already with preparations for his first day at school and getting Amy home safely, he suddenly found that he had something else to worry about. He felt the splitting pain that signaled an oncoming vision and winced, his right hand shooting out to latch onto the counter top while his left arm, which was still resting around his girlfriend's shoulders, tensed.

And then, without any more warning, the vision was upon him and Doyle fell backwards, hitting the ground hard. His last coherent thought was that, of all places, why did this have to happen now while Max was in the room? Did the PTB just have it in for him or what?!?!

Amy was about to nod in agreement to the heading home sentiment when Allen began to collapse. She hated it when he got a vision! It was torture on her to watch the man she loved being tortured. Couldn't THEY come up with a less painful method of communication?

Max watched his visitor hit the floor in his kitchen and became instantly stuck in a quandary. Was he having some kind of attack? Had something hit him? Could Max simply stand by and let him writhe on his floor? Far too many people had been hurt by his first revelation of power through miraculous healing. How could he trust these people? How could he explain anything he might do?

Amy looked at Max and realized she had some quick explaining to do. "It's not as bad as it looks," she said trying her best to shed her loathing of the phone lines of the PTB. "He gets migraines...all of sudden like that. I just need to get him home and he'll be fine. Honest."

"Let me help," Max volunteered, highly relieved by her assurances. He wouldn't have to do anything after all. He was given pause briefly when he remembered Michael writhing on the floor in the middle of the UFO museum. Max had quickly ad libbed with a migraine excuse then. Was Amy doing that now or did Doyle actually have migraine problems? He must. People really do get migraines.

Max knelt on the floor on the other side of Doyle from Amy. Together they got him to his feet and very quickly out the door. Amy fished in her pocket for the house keys and finally found them. She let them in the house and they got Doyle to the living room couch. Max saw that it was a fairly nice place and would be even more so once the boxes had been unpacked and the clutter appropriately distributed.

"So, where are your parents?" he asked looking around.

"Oh, well, Jeffery and I are all alone. Mom passed on when I was a sophomore and we just buried Dad a few months back. Jeff's the man of the house now. Doyle has a room here, too. Teacher salaries being what they are, it just made more sense for him to stay with us. I mean, we have plenty of room."

Max couldn't imagine what it would be like to lose both your parents in the space of two years as a high schooler. His respect for the young woman in front of him and the strength she exhibited skyrocketed.

"Oh, I'm sorry," he stammered. "Look, I'd better go. I hope he feels better."

"Thanks," Amy answered sincerely. "See you tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah," Max answered and showed himself out.

"Allen?" Amy asked stroking his cheek. "You back with me?"

******************

Max left the Madison house and pondered the new neighbors. Knowing what he knew now he wondered all the more what had happened between Jeffery and Izzy. He worried about his sister. He bounded up the front steps and into his house. After wending his way through the familiar passages of his house he knocked on the door to Izzy's room and then opened the door before she could answer.

"Iz? You okay?"

Isabel had spent the last..., well to be honest she had lost all track of time. But for however long it had been, she had spent most of it starring at the covers on her bed. She tried to work out exactly why she was in the mood that she was. Part of it was being back in Roswell. Staying away most of the summer, gave her the luxury of denial. That was no longer an option. But there was more. She realised that Jeffrey was only trying to be friendly, if a little flirty as well. Last year she would have enjoyed the attention. He was afterall, rather nice to look at, and a little stroking of Isabel's ego, never use to do her any harm.

But above all that, all Isabel could think of was her destiny. It wasn't something that she could accept just like that. And the thought of all that their 'Destiny' could mean, didn't leave room for making 'new' friends. She didn't even know if she still had room for her 'old' friends.

"I'm fine," Isabel replied, with as much enthusiasm that she could manage.

It wasn't much.

"Yeah, sure you are," Max agreed sarcastically, entering the room. "You sounded more convincing just after you got your wisdom teeth pulled." He sat down on the bed next to her and put a consoling hand on her back. "What's wrong, Iz?"

sabel couldn't resist a small smile in return. Tinged with sadness, but a smile none the less. Max could always do that do her.

"We've no idea what's going to happen, Max. Our future, our past. It frightens me and we can't avoid it." Isabel paused, gathering her thoughts before continuing. "Being back in Roswell, it seems much more real."

"I know just how you feel," he assured her with resignation and weariness in his tone. "But, we can't run any more, Iz. As much as we might want to hide under a rock, there are people counting on us. And Earth keeps on turning, and school starts tomorrow whether we want it to or not."

He leaned forward and made her this promise, "But regardless of anything else that happens, I'll be right there with you. You know that. We have each other. Always."

Isabel leaned forward and wrapped her arms around her brother's back and held him tight. "I know you'll be. Sometimes it's the only thing that keeps me going."

Untangling her arms, she shifted back and yawned. "Speaking of school...," she said motioning to Max that is was probably past time to get some sleep.

Max smiled at his sister. "Good night, Iz," he said quietly. He kissed her forehead and pulled the covers up for good measure. "Sleep well." He'd been inclined to take care of her before he knew it was his destiny. It was only stronger now. He just hoped she didn't feel smothered or something. He got a heavy feeling that she might need a good deal of protection in the days to come, but he let it pass and closed her door behind him.

He was so keyed up with worry -- over seeing Liz tomorrow, over the ever-present weight of his destiny, over the rumors he had started to hear about Roswell this summer, everything -- he wasn't sure if he'd ever be able to sleep. He had to try though, or he'd be wasted by the time school came around. He took off his apparel and climbed into bed in his boxers and tank top. Despite his fears he was out in moments.

**************

Aidan made it to Xander's apartment complex pretty quickly. Roswell, like Sunnydale, wasn't that big a town. Once you were familiar with the maps, navigation was pretty easy. Aidan knew that what he really needed was a map of the sewer systems. Also maps of any cave systems in the area would come in extremely handy. The things that weren't sold in the average map display. His plan was, as soon as possible, to go surfing on the Web for such things -- or employ a good hacker to invade the city's online databases, if he could find one.

Putting those thoughts out of his mind, Aidan focused on the matter at hand. He walked to the appropriate apartment number and knocked on the door.

"It's me, Aidan," he called loudly, so the others inside could rest assured that it wasn't a rogue vampire knocking at the door.

Xander turned away from Jessica and walked over to the front door of his apartment. Sliding the keyless lock aside, he pulled open the door and was greeted with the sight of Aidan standing on his doorstep.

"Hey, man. Long time no see."

Xander stepped out of the way so that Aidan could walk into the apartment, but he was careful not to actually invite the other man inside. He'd beeen around vampires long enough to know the score. He wanted Aidan to come inside without actually being invited.

"Hiya." Jessica waved, but followed Xander's example and refrained from inviting the Watcher in. If he wasn't vamped, he would come in when he was ready. And if he was, she had an industrial-strength wooden nail file in her purse that she could make use of.

Aidan clapped Xander on the shoulder in a friendly gesture, and then crossed the threshhold with no problems whatsoever. Once inside, he nodded at Jessica, Cordelia and Oz.

Xander closed and locked the door behind Aidan and the headed into the kitchen. "Want something to drink, Aidan?" he called over his shoulder as he grabbed a soda out of the small fridge.

"No, thank you," Aidan called to Xander. He sat on the couch and looked around the small apartment. The couch, beanbag chairs and bar stools were very Xander. Also very cheap, which would explain why Xander had them, but Aidan still decided that when he went out to buy furniture, he wouldn't go to the place where Xander shopped. Luckily, Aidan had a budget from the Council to supplement the salary he would get working as the new guidance counselor at West Roswell High.

Oz greated Aidan with a small wave. He hadn't seen him for a while. Aidan would probably be the only one to talk to when school started. Everyone would be gone until about 2 or 3 oclock in the afternoon. Even though he would probably get up around 10, 11 oclock in the morning. He figured his help was needed in the evening, when their "subjects" were available. He still figured this trip wasn't a good idea. Nothing had happened since he had gotten there, no leads nothing to his knowledge.

"Hello, everyone." He wasn't surprised to see Oz, since he had asked the werewolf to join the team (what else did he have to do since he had graduated), but he was more than a bit surprised to see Jessica and Cordelia in Roswell. "Are you girls here for a visit?" he asked as he walked over to the couch and set his briefcase down.

Oz sat on one of the chairs Xander had in his small apartment, and listened to what was to be said.

"Hey Aidan" Cordelia said, standing up from the arm of a chair where she had taken a seat. She couldn't help noting that Aidan looked good, considering she hadn't seen him all summer and everything. Giving him a smile she said "I've become a permanent resident of Roswell...at least until I move somewhere else."

"Really?" Aidan asked, curiosity evident in his tone. He had always had a fond spot for Cordelia. She had helped him several times -- a well-timed kiss when Faith was flaunting her new boyfriend in front of him being the one that stood out the most in his mind, but other times, too. "Did you come to help us, or did your family just finally decide that Sunnydale isn't quite heaven on Earth?" He chuckled dryly at anything about Sunnydale being compared to Heaven.

"Well I sort of came here for...Xander." Cordelia said motioning to her boyfriend with small smile.

"So, Xander," Aidan began, "you've been here the longest. Have you found any leads to these so-called super vampires?" He glanced at Oz and the girls. "What about you guys?" Aidan pulled some papers out of his briefcase, and then put the briefcase on the floor by his feet. "The Council has been faxing me updates, and magical scans show the mystical forces in the area are still too high for a non-Hellmouth location, and they are different than any the witches on the Council have ever seen before." Shuffling the papers around, he added, "Our sources in the demon community have been surprisingly silent on the super vampire subject. It's like they are afraid to talk. This is after our first source met a rather untimely end..." Then Aidan paused so that the others could digest that information and answer his earlier questions.

***************

Jeffery took the long way home, enjoying the drive in his new, red Camero. He didn't care which way he went, really. He just wanted to go. His first day in Roswell had actually been fairly crappy, and he was anxious for something good to happen. Yes, they were in town for a bad reason, but that didn't mean that their whole life there had to suck!

When he got home, he put the milk in the fridge. Then he ate his bowl of cereal, finally. After that, Jeffery didn't have much to do. He could continue unpacking, of course. But he'd been doing that all night, though, and he was sick of it. Walking by the answering machine, he saw the blinking light that signalled a new message. It was from Aidan. Jeffery was glad to hear that the Watcher had made it to town finally, and with no big problems. Jeffery picked up the phone and dialed his number, but it was busy. [Maybe he's talking to one of the others] Jeffery thought.

Looking at the clock, Jeffery realized it was getting really late. Midnight had come a gone quite a bit before. He decided that Max and Amy must have really had a lot to talk about since she'd been over there for so long. It had been hours now. Of course, Doyle would stay where Amy was regardless, so that part made since. But it was good that Amy was bonding with someone from her new school. It would help her emmensely. And Jeffery knew he couldn't expect Amy to halt his boredom. He had to do that himself.

With that thought in mind, Jeffery pocketed his new cell phone (so Amy or anyone could call him if they needed him), scribbled Amy and Doyle an updated note ("Went out for a drive. Have cell phone. Back later. Jeffery") and headed out to the car, his keys jingling in his hand.

Jeffery drove around Roswell a little more, this time moving toward the outskirts of town. He'd only been going a little while when he saw neon lights flashing in the post-midnight darkness. [That looks promising] Jeffery thought with a grin.

With a squeal of tires and a small spray of gravel, Jeffery pulled into a parking spot in the lot around UFOnics -- it seemed to be another alien-themed attraction, this time, a dance club. He could hear the pulsing music from out in the parking lot.

Because it was after midnight, the bouncer waved him in without a cover charge (the place closed by 1:30 or 2 a.m., especially on a Sunday night). Jeffery strolled inside. The place was fairly happening for that night of the week. And the music was good. He moved over to the bar and ordered a soda. He could get a beer -- Jeffery had his own fake ID that had gotten him into plenty of establishments and beverages in Sunnydale -- but Jeffery had a rule, no drinking when driving, especially not when driving the new Camero! Crashing a car into the headmaster's house and getting thrown out of boarding school will make a guy paranoid about that sort of thing.

Sitting back on his stool, Jeffery rotated so he had a good view of the dance floor and checked the place out, wondering if he would meet anyone else interesting tonight, and if he did, what his average would be. With one complete snub and one friendly overature under his belt, he just didn't know well enough to guess. The one thing that he didn't expect was that he might very well meet someone at the club whom he already knew...

The thing about a club like that was you can't just sit there and enjoy it. You'd get bored. Faith had been sitting for about thirty minutes just people watching. Granted it wasn't her favorite thing in the world but there wasn't really...anything to kill.

Or do other things with. Whatever. She pushed off the bar and wandered on to the dance floor. It wasn't huge, hell it wasn't even decent but she could deal with it anyway. It beat going back to her ratty motel alone and slightly irritated that the crappy television only showed cheap porn from two am to five am.

The Slayer started to move to the beat of a good remix. Of course it had to be something so damn stupid that only remix could save it. Like Britney Spears 'Oops I did it again'. Funny how something so bubble gum can sound so hardcore when you throw in some Mark Tremonti sized guitar.

Jeffery looked out at the dance floor just in time to see a brunette whirlwind taking over the place like she owned it. He smiled in appreciation. There was nothing finer than a woman taking charge and doing her own thing. He pondered going over to her, but there was an aura about her -- the way she was dancing alone instead of with one of the guys who would probably kill themselves for the opportunity -- that said "don't touch."

Suddenly, Jeffery caught a glimpse of the girl's profile and realized he might know her. He looked closer and his jaw dropped -- mentally, anyway, if not physically. It was Faith out there, dancing on the dance floor like a wild woman. Her hair flew seductively about her face in a careless gesture, and he couldn't help but stare. Where had this Faith come from? He hadn't known her very personally in Sunnydale, but they had known each other. She'd stayed at his house for a long time, with the others, so of course they'd been in proximity. The Faith he'd known before would never have gone out there without a guy -- be it a good guy, or a jerky guy, or a crush on the vampire-turned-human who was dating her best friend and co-Slayer, Faith always had a guy for motivation.

Jeffery reined in his astonishment. Maybe the change was a good thing. Anything was bound to be better for her than that horrific, public display she'd had breaking up with Cosmo. Faith standing on her own two feet could only be a good thing. And if she could function to sweep Roswell of the current infestation of super vamps, so much the better.

He wondered if he should talk to her. He didn't want to cramp her style. Jeffery, of all people, knew what it was like to re-invent yourself when you went a way. Leaving your demons behind -- whether related to bad love affairs or a guy's own mother trying to kill him -- was a time-honored tradition. He decided to sit back, finish his soda and see what happened.

She could feel eyes on her but hell when didn't she have all eyes on her? Granted she got the feeling that it was a calculated study rather than the usual lust driven gawking.

Her brown eyes opened and pinned Jeffery with a stare. That Slayer sense was pretty uncanny sometimes. Crowded club and she could pick him out first try. Her brow quirked up slowly, in that questioning way before she tuned him out and continued dancing.

If he wanted to talk he knew where she was. He'd been staring at her long enough. Dark waves feel over her shoulders as she worked her hips to the beat. This...was almost as good as a good kill. Or sex.

Jeffery met her stare full on and he knew that Faith knew he was there. He wanted to talk to her, but the dance floor was not a good place for talking -- all that motion and the bodies in the way. Not to mention the fact that you couldn't hear each other over the pounding beat anyway.

He flagged down the bartender and ordered another soda. When Faith came off the dance floor, he would be waiting so they could talk. Two Sunnydale alums couldn't just pass on the street without a word, could they? And she'd probably been in town longer than he had. Jeffery hoped she could fill him in on what the group was up to, and what the town was like vampire-wise.

****************

"Well there was this one guy working at the gas station who kept throwing me dirty looks just because I had crashed into the gas pump so automatically I assumed *vampire* but then I realized it was day..." Cordelia said, then added "but it was pretty close call."

Xander walked back into the main room and set his soda on the bar. Then he walked over to the bookshelf and pulled a thin book down. It was the West Roswell High yearbook. He flipped it open to the mug shots and set it down on the coffee table beside Aidan. Flipping through the pages, Xander found the page with last year's sophomores E-H and pointed out Max Evans and Michael Guerin to Aidan.

"These are the two guys that seem to be the most involved in all the weird stuff around here." He continued to point at Michael while he said, "And Faith thought there was something really odd about this guy. He works at the Crashdown with me, so I can keep an eye on him. I already know most of his story anyway, though..."

"I'm applying for a job there, too," Jessica added. "It's only part- time, but Xander'll have backup if he needs it."

Aidan looked at the two photos for a minute, committing the faces to memory. He would have to look for them at school the next day. Maybe he could even arrange a counseling session, or a career planning meeting with them.

Standing up, Xander walked over to his bulletin board, snagging his soda on his way. He took the board off the nail it was hanging on and brought it back over to where Aidan and the others were sitting. He set it down on the coffee table beside the yearbook. "This is what I did for my summer vacation, teach. It's every weird thing I could find out about that happened here in Roswell during the past year." Grinning at Aidan as he took a sip of his coke, Xander asked somewhat flippantly, "So, do I get an 'A' or what?"

"I'll mark one down for you in my gradebook," Aidan joked. But his face turned serious as he started examining the articles on the bulletin board. Most of them were stories from the local tabloid, but a few of them were from the legitimate paper. And Max Evans figured in them quite a bit.

"It's interesting," Aidan said, "that before now, the biggest weird story in Roswell was a healing, not a killing. It makes me wonder what else we're dealing with. There are some demons with healing powers. And various magic users..."

"He could be some kind of warlock or something," Jessica said after a moment. "It's pretty hard to separate anything interesting from all of the 'alien' sightings here." She grinned as a thought occurred to her. "Hey, that's one creature we can check off as nonexistant right there."

She looked back at the bulletin board, frowning as a thought occurred to her. "You know, that gives me an idea. What if Roswell is some sort of supernatural magnet, like a developing Hellmouth? It's not that far from Sunnydale and there's been some pretty weird stuff around here. What if all of these 'aliens' - " she made the little quotations with her fingers - "are really demons or some sort of magical society or something?"

"It's as good a theory as I've heard yet," Xander acknowledged with a nod. Taking a sip of his soda, Xander perched atop one of his bar stools. "But it doesn't explain the weird disappearances. I guess Max Evans and Co. could be the big bads we're looking for... but that just doesn't track. This whole Max is an evil demon thing, I mean. I just can't see someone who spends his time killing people taking a time out for a healing that ends up putting his face all over the newspapers and gets everyone to asking questions. If these kids are 'special' then I still don't think they're part of this whole disappearance thing. I'm thinking that they're something else entirely." Xander shrugged. "After all, we know for a fact that there are good demons, right? Take Doyle for example. He's half demon and has special powers, but he's on our side. Maybe this Max and his gang are good demons or something..."

Aidan sighed. "All we have right now are theories. The theories are boundless. Many mystical creatures could be mistaken for aliens if the person seeing them had the right mindset. As all Sunnydale natives know, people can convince themselves of almost anything."

He began putting his papers back inside his briefcase. "The problem is that we need more information before we can make any concrete decisions." Aidan looked around the room at Xander, Oz, Cordelia and Jessica in turn. "What we need to do, actually, is have a meeting of everyone who is in town. That way we can all compare notes like we are doing right now. How about tomorrow at lunch time. We can meet in my new office at the school, perhaps. Even those of you who have graduated look young enough to get in with no problem, I would assume. And someone can get the word out to Faith, Amy, Doyle and Jeffery." He thought for a second, but, yes, those were all the current members of his team.

"So Aidan...let me get this straight. You work at our school, you are a school employee. That must give you power...say the power to get us out of class every day?" Cordelia suggested hopefully.

"Well..." Aidan said with a smile, "they might catch on if I started giving you all passes all the time, but I'll do what I can." He chuckled a little at the irony. Now he was in Giles's old position, in more ways that one. If he had to send someone out demon/vampire hunting during school hours, Aidan would now be the one griped out by the principal. Fortunately, from what Aidan had heard, the principal of West Roswell would *have* to be more forgiving the Principal Snyder of Sunnydale High noteriety.

"All right!" Cordelia said, playfully hitting Aidan on the arm "I know you would come in handy someday! You can never have enough stuffy English guys around you know....so Xander, did you say you have drinks?" she finished, as she realized Aidan may not approve of being called a "stuffy English guy".

Cordelia always amused Aidan, even when she was insulting him -- calling him English when he was Irish by birth. However, since becoming a Watcher, and adopting an American accent to use undercover at Sunnydale High last fall, he had run across many who weren't sure of his nationality. If he spoke like Doyle, in the accent of his homeland, no one would be confused, but Aidan still kept up the American accent, figuring it made him stand out less in the United States -- and standing out the least amount possible was important in his line of work.

Aidan snapped the briefcase closed and stood up from the couch. "Xander, Cordelia, we'll meet in my office tomorrow at lunch time?" He looked to Oz and Jessica. "Do you two think you can make it as well?" He wasn't sure what they were up to in their spare time, especially Jessica, whom he hadn't known was coming to Roswell.

****************

Jeffery sat idly on his barstool twirling the red straw that had come in his Coke. He sighed. People watching was fun, but he could only do it for so long. And waiting for Faith kepted him stationed at the bar -- the location had a good view of her on the dancefloor. He was about to give up and go on the dance floor to talk to her -- despite the whirling bodies and music so loud they probably couldn't talk over it -- when someone sat down next to him.

"Hello there."

The throaty voice soothed his ears from the pounding music in the club. He looked up and turned his killer grin on the girl next to him. "Hi, yourself."

"My name's Valerie."

"Jeffery," he replied, giving the girl the once over. She was gorgeous, with honey blonde hair flowing over her shoulders and all the way down her back. Her blue eyes were rimmed in black kohl that made her look exotic, and her lips glistened with red lipstick. Normally, Jeffery wasn't a fan of the overly made-up look, but on this girl, it looked great. She wore a slinky black dress with thigh-high boots. Normally, Jeffery would have thought "the Julia Roberts prostitute look," but somehow, on this girl, the tack outfit also looked good.

She narrowed her eyes on his face. Her gaze flickered down to his neck and then back to his eyes. With a seductive smile, she inclined her head torward a door in the back that Jeffery had not noticed before. Her hair moved with the motion, releasing its scent in his direction. "Would you like to go outside for some air with me, Jeffery?"

He might appreciate a pretty face, but it did not escape him that it was a pretty pale face. Jeffery didn't have as much experience with the undead as, say, Faith, but he could spot one. And a hallmark of a vampire of the opposite sex was the victim finding it attractive so he or she would follow it into some dark corner for a feed.

Glancing around, Jeffery saw that Faith was still enthralled in her dancing. He knew she had senses, though. He hoped that they were working now. But he wanted to get this vamp out of here before she picked some unsuspecting Roswellian as her victim of choice. If she was a normal vampire, and not one of the supervampires they had heard rumors of, Jeffery knew he could take her. He'd been practicing.

"Sure," he agreed, keeping his face bland. "Air sounds good."

Valerie smiled enigmatically, and then started walking -- more like gliding -- toward the back entrance. She reached out and took his hand, leading him through the crowded room.

With one last look at Faith on the dance floor, Jeffery followed Valerie outside.

"I'm surprised you invited me to come with you, Valerie," Jeffery said as the warm, night air -- and the slightly damp and dank smell of the alley -- enveloped them.

"What is that?" Her face was turned away from him.

"I thought that your kind could smell a warlock."

Valerie growled and lunged at him, her true nature showing on her face.

Jeffery smiled, dodged and then yelled a word in Latin. It was a spell Willow had shown him. It made her freeze in her tracks. However much the vampire tried, she could not move a muscle. He could hear her growling softly as she struggled. But the spell held and she could not get free.

He pulled a stake from the small of his back. After living in Sunnydale, he would probably never leave the house without one again. "Sorry, Val. You've got to go."

"Bastard," she growled at him.

Pretending that he hadn't heard the insult, Jeffery went on, "But first, let me ask you something."

"Why should I tell you anything?"

His smile turned a little evil. "Because you want to die before I try out anymore of my spells on you. I know this great one that turns you inside out in your own skin. I've been dying for a victim... er... volunteer to try it out on."

Valerie snarled, but left off the insults.

"That's better." Jeffery twirled the stake over his knuckles and asked, "Now, I've heard that there are vampires in town who can do more than your usual, run-of-the-mill vampires. You know, your kind. Tell me what you know aobut them. What do they do? Where did they come from? Where are they?"

A wide-eyed look of fear crossed her face and she clamped her falsely red lips together.

"Tell me," Jeffery urged, giving her his most menacing look.

"No. They are gods. I will not betray either one of them."

Jeffery smiled. "So there are only two of these vampire gods, then?"

Realizing she had given him information that she hadn't intended to, Valerie spat, "Do what you will, warlock. I care not. I will not speak another word."

Jeffery thought about the insideout spell. He really considered doing it. But in the end, he didn't. "I don't want your guts all over my new shoes," he said as she staked her. The magic containing her held the dust particles that were once Valerie the vampire in place. Jeffery waved his hand in a dismissive gesture, the magic vanished and the vampire dust floated to the ground almost peacefully.

He was about to go back into the club when he felt a prickling feeling on the back of his neck. That feeling usually meant he was being watched. Slowly, Jeffery turned around and swore softly. Between him and where the alley met the street were five more vampires. The head one was a huge guy in a flannel shirt.

"You look like a tasty magic-user," Flannel guy said, licking his lips hungrily. He was already vamped out. "And for what you just did to my Valerie, you will die slow. We will all get a taste." There were happy murmurs of agreement from the rest of the vampires.

Jeffery swallowed nervously. He'd never fought more than one vampire at a time before. His magic could neutralize some of them, but he doubted he could freeze them all before one of them got to him. And Jeffery didn't have super fighting skills...

Typical. He left with the fang probably thinking he could take her. And...well from the looks of her he probably could. That wasn't the point though. The point was if you're a human, spell caster or otherwise you don't go looking for trouble without a buddy.

Even Faith knew that much. Only she never really listened to that rule before she was called. Slipping off the dance floor she watched from the doorway of the club. All that talk for just that puny little staking? He didn't even torture her.

"It's witch. Warlock is litterally the word for Oath Breaker or Liar. Male Witch...get it right moron."

Okay so she wasn't exactly a Scooby Doof but yeah she knew the difference between Warlock and Witch. Plus she'd seen the movie Warlock enough to know that Jeffrey wasn't the spawn of the devil hell bent on releasing the forces of darkness on Earth.

Although...nah too white bread and wholesome looking. Which sent a thought in to her head...okay no he was a good guy. She didn't get the 'evil vibe' off him. Not even a 'badass vibe'.

Moving to stand next to Jeffery she raised a brow at the five and smirked. Losers. The two on the left were new. Really new. Flannel Boy was big which usually meant slow. So really the ones to look out for were the two on the right. Easy enough of a kill on her own.

"I can do this myself but I don't wanna demasculate ya...take two left and leave the rest to me. Got that J?"

Jeffery scowled a bit at her comment, but nodded, thinking that maybe her comment was just a way to ask for help without asking for it. Either way, though, he wasn't just going to sit around and let her do it all. Perhaps she would succeed, but five on one odds would make it impossible for most people, and at least a smidge difficult for a Slayer, or at least he thought so.

"Sure, F," he replied, quickly getting over any issues and preparing himself for the fight.

However, the vampires really weren't interested on if they were ready or not. They had started running before his last word.

Jeffery pointed at the one on the extreme right and shouted the same word he had at Valerie. The goon vampe froze in place. Jeffery looked up to find the other vampire already upon him. He lunged out with his stake, but the vampire batted it away.

"Is that all you've got?" the vampire gloated, probably thinking that the magic-user would be an easy kill after all.

"Not hardly," Jeffery replied. He dodged the vampire's fangs-beared lunge and gave the being an uppercut to the jaw. He used all his strength and it only caused the vamp to falter for a second. Jeffery had an instant appreciation for how much power a Slayer actually had.

Reaching into his pocket, Jeffery pulled out some white, fluffy crystals in a bag.

The vampire sneered at him. "How cute!"

Paying no attention, Jeffery summoned a little breeze to carry the powdered substance over to the vampire. Everywhere one of the tiny, pervasive crystals landed, the vampire's skin seemed to explode and ooze.

"I always wondered what would happen if a vampire got hit with holy water and communion wafers mixed together and dried. Interesting."

The diversion gave Jeffery enough time to find his stake on the ground and impale the vampire. It exploded into dust.

Then he stepped over to the vampire he had frozen. The spell was limited -- it would dissolve on its own if he didn't end it in time. But there was still time. He wanted to ask it about the super vampires. However, he wondered if Faith's brand of persuasion might not make the vampire more inclined to talk. He turned to see how she was doing with her chosen foes...

******************

The vision had finally passed and Doyle's eyes shot open. "Ugh," he groaned, placed a hand to his forehead. "I really have ta get meself a new line o' work. This messenger thing is the pits."

He slowly sat up, rubbing his temples with his index fingers. "What happened ta the lad?" he asked warily. "What did ya tell him was wrong wit' me?"

"Oh, thank God you're all right," she said, momentarily unconcerned with his question. "You gave me quite a scare," she reproved. "Max? Oh, I told him you get migraines. What did you see?"

Doyle sighed, pulling himself to his feet shakily. "I'm completely wiped, Dannan. An' it hasn't really gotten clear in me head yet. I think the best thing would be ta get some rest an' talk about it in the mornin' when I'm feelin' more like meself."

"Okay, well, that's fair. But I think you might want to right some things down so you don't forget them in the morning. Can't let the details escape from the already vague messages they love to send you. Tell me again how you got this job," she asked rhetorically. She handed him the pen sitting on the table and a scrap of paper. "But you do certainly need to get some sleep. No good facing the second graders zonked." She got up and offered him a hand up.

Doyle nodded and took the hand that Amy offered him. "Yeah, I'll be sure ta write it down before I go ta sleep." Giving Amy a kiss on the cheek, Doyle walked with her up the stairs to the second floor, where both of their respective bedrooms where. Letting go of Amy's hand as they passed her door, he whispered a quick "G'night, Dannan" before moving down the hall to his own room and ducking inside. He scribbled a few lines on the note pad before he gave up the loosing battle with his sleepy eyes and collapsed on the bed, clothes and all. Soon he was fast asleep, notepade fallen carelessly to the floor.

******************

"Well, I know that I'm just thrilled with the idea of spending my lunch hour at the guidance counselor's office!" Xander replied with a teasing smirk in Aidan's direction. "After all, what better way to make a name for yourself at a new school than to appear like you have mental troubles?"

Aidan shrugged. There was no getting around it. All the Sunnydale transplants needed to meet and compare notes. How else were they going to figure out what was going on.

"Well, we'll just call it New Student Orientation." Aidan chuckled wryly. "We'll just hope there aren't any non-Sunnydale new students!"

As Aidan waited for Oz and Jesscia to answer his earlier question to them, Aidan glanced at Xander, "Can you bring a synopsis of all the information you've gathered while you've been here. Or at least be prepared to fill everyone in verbally." Aidan gave Xander an appreciative glance. "It's very helpful that you were able to come early and do all this scouting while I finished things in Sunnydale."

Jessica nodded. "I should be able to. Tomorrow is freshman orientation, but I've already taken a tour and shadowed about a dozen people. I can skip it. Unless I run into Liz or Michael, I'll be fine."

Oz nodded. "Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem."

Aidan nodded. "Good." Then he prepared to leave. There wasn't much sense in continuing to discuss important things when at least 3 of them were missing. It made more sense to discuss when everyone was together so they didn't have to repeat each other. As he got ready to go, he waited for the others to answer his latest question. He smiled a little, realizing he was Mr. Inquisitive tonight, but someone needed to plan, and, as the Watcher, he was usually the one elected to do it.

A sudden thought struck him, and Aidan suddenly changed the subject. "I just remembered. We've got to let Amy, Jeffery and Faith know about the meeting, as well. I've actually called them all this evening, but no one was home... anywhere. Will any of you be seeing any of them before the meeting tomorrow?"

Xander shrugged. "I'll probably see Amy, seeing as she's going to the same school as us. I don't know about Jeffery and Doyle, though. Maybe when I talk to Amy, I can ask her to call them. I know Doyle, at least, has a cell phone."

Aidan nodded. "Do that. I'll ring them tonight, see if they're home, just to cover all of our bases. Of course, Doyle will be at school himself, so I don't know if he'll be able to make it, but Amy will fill him in, I'm sure."

He moved toward the door. Turning back he gave them all a rare smile. A true smile, not a polite smile. "It is really good to see you all here safely. I know that, working together, we can solve this whole vampire problem. Or at least, figure out what is going on."

Jessica returned his smile and gave him a rather good imitation of a salute. "We'll get to the bottom of this. Don't worry."

Opening the door, he said, "Good night all. See you in my office at lunch tomorrow."

"I should probably get home, too." Jessica glanced at Xander's clock to emphasize her point. "My apartment's about a block away and I've got vamp repellant in my purse, so I'll be fine."

She gave the other three a quick hug - probably embarrassing them to no end, but she wasn't particularly worried about that right now. "It's nice to see friendly non-fangy faces here," she said with a quick smile. Then she hurried out the door before anyone could get all sentimental.

Cordelia remained next to Xander as she said her goodbyes to Jessica and Aidan. This was as close to spending time with Xander as she had come, there was just one small problem...

"So Oz..."

Oz looked up from where he was silently zoning out. It wasn't that things weren't interesting it was just that he tended to not have a lot to say.

Shaking off his ponderance of William Shatner in gold lame singing Stayin' Alive he blinked at the group. It looked like it was time to go. He stood slowly and raised a brow ever so slightly.

"I'm...gonna head home."

He gave what was considered a smile but was really just both his brows raising. Oz gave Xander a slight nod and turned toward the door. Something was different with them since Xander became half were.

It was...almost like having a packmate but not. Normally he wouldn't be all that jazzed about having family but he missed...something. Not sure what. Giving his thoughts another slam to the back of his head Oz wandered out of the apartment and to the dingy motel.

After waving goodbye to Jessica and Oz, Xander turned back to his girlfriend and opened his mouth to say something. However, instead of words, a yawn escaped as well.

"Man, I am completely wiped, Cor." Xander grinned tiredly. "But maybe we could meet for breakfast before school tommorrow? I know a pretty decent diner on the outskirts of town. Not the Crashdown, I am /so/ sick of their food after have to cook and serve it all the time. But it's a pretty good place. You don't have to meet me there if you don't want to, but I'll be there at about 7 o'clock in the morning regardless, so if you show up, that's cool. It's called Rick's Diner. Not too original, but whatever, ok?"

Xander took Cordelia's silence as a yes, since, if she'd been totally against the idea, she definitely would have spoken up. He walked her out to her car, which was a few blocks away at the Crashdown. (Xander had been lucky enough to get an apartment near where he worked.) And then he went back to his place and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.

Cordelia gave Xander a kiss and thanked him for walking her to his car. That had certainly been...gentlemanly of him. She drove home with a smile on her face, it was good to have him back.

Once home she quietly opened the front door of her aunt's house with the key she had been given. Slipping downstairs into the finished basement where her room was she entered the room and quickly undressed. Glancing into her closet she considered picking out an outfit for *the first day of school* but decided against it when her eyelids began to droop. Running into the adjoining bathroom she washed off her makeup and then hopped into bed.

****************

Jessica's apartment was, as she had said, a block away. The building was slightly more well-kept than Xander's and the slightly more landscaped yard was slightly more well-lit, but she kept herself on her guard right up until she was up the stairs and in front of her apartment door. Most of her neighbors had welcome mats out - some of which said things like "Come On In" - but Jessica had decided that she would handle muddy feet if it meant not inviting vampires inside.

She slipped inside and locked the door behind her. There was a lot of second-hand furniture here, but the sofa and slightly misshapen chair had somehow picked up on Jessica's sense of style. She and her possessions had reached a mutual understanding: if they all agreed to match and look relatively classy, she wouldn't stick them outside with the trash.

The result was a rather nice, upper-middle-class look that was spoiled only by the enormous and slightly malicious cat sitting on the sofa, known as Greebo to Jessica and Malicious Little Monster of Death to everyone else in the world. She shooed him off with a swat and plopped herself down on the sofa, closing her eyes for a moment.

She would have been asleep in seconds if her cat hadn't chosen that moment to jump on her stomach.

*******************

Aidan, briefcase in hand, went outside and got in his Intrepid. He drove away, but decided to make a stop before he went back to his furniture-less apartment. There was some one it was important not to forget to include in the meeting.

He stopped by the motel where Faith was staying. He located her room easily enough. The message the manager had been good enough to tack up to her door earlier -- saying Aidan had called and giving her Aidan's new number -- was still there. She obviously hadn't been home.

Pulling his ever-present pen out of his shirt pocket, Aidan scribbled an addendum to the message. It said, "Faith -- We're having a meeting at lunchtime tomorrow, my new office, West Roswell High School. Your presence will be invaluable in planning our strategy -- Aidan."

Aidan was actually nervous about seeing Faith again. They had parted as friends, sure, but the last time they'd interacted, even after the trip to Ireland, Faith had still been upset about whatever magical entity (the mystery had never been solved) had impersonated him to her and tried to make her think they were resuming their romance. He had been involved with Willow -- unbeknownst to anyone else -- at the time, so, needless to say, he'd had to turn her down. She hadn't acted the same around him since. But she had said, back in Sunnydale, that she could handle it. And Aidan still had some lingering guilt about the way their relationship had ended the first time. True, Faith had been the one to dump him and go after Cos, but he had been the one cheating on her. He was just glad that Faith -- and Jeffery, too -- had never found out about that. He didn't want either of them to be hurt. But, all the past aside, Aidan wondered how he and Faith were going to resurrect a true business Watcher/Slayer relationship now.

Maybe, now that they were in Roswell, Aidan and Faith could start over with a clean slate. He hoped so.

With a sigh, Aidan decided lingering wasn't doing him any good. It wouldn't make Faith come home any faster. He finally got back in his car and drove back to good old Apartment 3. Going inside, he placed his briefcase by the door and changed into his pajama bottoms.

He picked up the phone and dialed the Madison house. But again, no one answered. Aidan left a quick message about the meeting tomorrow, requesting the attendance of everyone who could make it.

Then he brushed his teeth, set his alarm for 5:30 a.m. -- he wanted to get to school early to unpack things in his office -- and got into his sleeping bag bed. As he closed his eyes, thoughts about the busy days ahead had already begun morphing into dreams of the future.

******************

Faith almost laughed at his expression. Really he was going to go all big bad man wasn't he? She sneered at the on coming vamps and cracked her neck. Just what she needed to break her earlier tension.

Okay not exactly what she needed but close enough to it. The first of the three had really long legs. Track star. He was there in front of her in a few steps but Faith didn't even blink. Mostly because she didn't have time. Her elbow crashed in to his face, breaking the nose and splintering it up in to his brain.

The body crumpled to the ground screaming in pain. She reached out and up as the second vampire slowed down. He wasn't as stupid as his friend. She grabbed a hold of his head with both hands and twisted letting his momentum help snap his neck neatly. Two down and one to go.

Faith stood waiting for the fang with the bull neck. No lie. The thing was as big around as and elephant trunk. Not going to be an easy break. She sized him up and snarled right back at him.

He ducked low and came up with a boxer's speed, pinning the dark Slayer to the wall. For a second Faithw as stuck. But she was angry at being caught and more so she felt trapped which never went well for the person doing the trapping. Both her feet came up and pushed hard againt his chest sending him flying back in to the trashcans.

She stopped catching her breath before lunging low enough to catch his solar plexus with her shoulder. He didn't breath but it would still shock him in to doubling over. She swung her head back smashing his face as he hunched over and grinned. She was going to have on hell of a headache.

Her slaydar tingling Faith ducked as a tin trash can sailed just over her head and beaned the vampire full in the chest. She peeked over her shoulder. Track guy. Stake in hand she dusted the human tree and turned to face off again.

"Ready to dance twinkie?"

He turned to take flight and she guessed that meant no. Then again Faith wasn't really a no kinda girl. She grabbed the trash can lid and tossed it like a frisbee watching it's perfect arc. And points for decapitations resulting in a dust. Pleased with herself she nearly skipped over to the vampire flopping around with a broken neck and sat on his belly.

"So...I hear ya got some real wicked nasties here. Wanna tell me about 'em?"

"Screw you..."

"Normally sure 'cause ya ain't ugly but seein' as how you can't feel below your waist I'm thinkin' it'd be a waste of time."

That only made him angrier and his ridges formed on his face. Fangs glinted and Faith really thought about carving them free for her own personal collection. But she had an audience and that meant that somethings were private.

"Ooh I like it when ya get all butch. So...who's the big bad?"

Nothing. She pulled out her knife and cleaned under her fingernails with that slow easy way that is too practiced and fluid to be all show. She sucked her teeth and smirked down at him.

"Nice set ya got there...mind if I keep 'em?"

"Alright alright...God...there's these people here. Like you only...not as scary. They aren't really human though. So aliens right and um they have freaky powers and can do all kinds of sh..."

And he was dust and Faith was standing as if she hadn't been sitting comfortably just seconds before. Wrong answer but sometimes you'll say anything to save your life. Or unlife. She turned to Jeffery and tucked her stake back up her sleeve.

"We done here big boy?"

Since Faith had found her own vampire to question -- the one who's neck she had broken -- instead of the vampire Jeffery had frozen in his spell for that purpose, Jeffery had to make a quick decision. He looked at the frozen vampire consideringly.

"So, are you stickin' with the alien story, too, or would you like to go with the vampire god scenario." The frozen vampire closed his eyes and said nothing. Jeffery sighed. "Whatever." He aimed his stake at the vamp's heart and plunged. It died without a sound, exploding into dust. Like before, the dust stayed trapped in the spell, until Jeffery dismissed the spell with a simple gesture. He put his stake back into his waistband and shook his head. "Aliens and gods... are all vampires made insane upon transformation?" He rolled his eyes.

"Sure, we're done. Wanna walk me around front to my car. I'd feel so much safer with you to *protect* me." He gave her a smile that belied the sarcasm in his tone. "Thanks for following me out, Faith," he said as he started walking to the end of the alley.

Faith gave Big J a nod as she turned away and started for home. Really it wasn't all that bad a night. Fairly productive as far as the hunt went. Partially of the freaky with the weirdo she-fang. Then there was that guy at the Crashdown.

Cutie with the hair. He didn't seem evil, just pissy which she generally liked anyway. Of course he didn't look like he was the one night stand kinda guy so that killed her idea there. She wasn't in for relationships anymore.

They only got you hurt or used or you know...helpless. Faith gave a mental shudder and kept walking. The neon lights to her ratty motel. Huh small town, she didn't even notice she was that close to home. Taking the key out of her back pocket she strolled up to the door and blinked.

She looked around and blinked again. Taking the note off her door she read it quickly. Yes...Faith could read. The Slayer rolled her eyes and balled up the paper tossing it over her shoulder before opening her door and slamming it shut behind her.

Great. Scooby Doof meeting and she was invited. Faith unlaced her Docs and flopped on to the bed to catch a few hours before she had to be at that damn school. This place sucked.

*******************

Jeffery drove home from UFOnics with his mind racing faster than the Camero. He didn't understand what had motivate the vampires to make up such stories. Gods and aliens. It was too weird. Aliens, even in a town like Roswell, he just couldn't believe in. Of course, he thought that there might be something out there somewhere, but it wasn't here. It wasn't malicious. And it certainly wasn't in the form of a vampire!

If there were aliens, Jeffery had always thought that they would be more like the beings in "Contact" than the ones in "ID4" or "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." And as for vampire gods, well, that was just a contradiction in terms. Vampires were demons through and through. The demon inside -- and the lack of a soul -- made them evil and gave them their strength. What would a god want with that? A bigger demon, maybe, but not a god.

Something in the corner of his vision caught his eye, and Jeffery groaned loudly. The flashing red and blue lights of a police car whirled in his rearview mirror. As he pulled over, Jeffery lamented the one problem with driving a red Camero -- he was a cop target for speeding. Had he been speeding? Probably. Jeffery tended to drive fast. He could only be glad that he had kept up his non-drinking when driving rule. It would not have been good to be caught by the local law enforcement under age and DUI.

He heard footsteps before the policeman got up to his window. Jeffery already had his licensee and registration in hand. The man was older. He had a lined craggy face and sharp eyes that didn't miss much. From his badge, Jeffery saw he was the sheriff. He sighed. It would be the top dog who pulled him over, wouldn't it?

"Goin' a little fast there, weren't you son?" the sheriff drawled.

Jeffery put on his most charming grin, not that it would do any good with this guy. "I'm sorry, officer. I was just in a hurry to get home. I wasn't speeding too badly, was I?"

"Bad enough," the man replied. "Licensee and registration, please."

Jeffery handed them over.

The sheriff perused them. "Well, Mr. Madison, I see you're nineteen, so that means you aren't violating curfew, like I first thought. However, you do need to let up on the gas when drivin' in my town. I don't tolerate reckless drivin' here abouts."

Jeffery put what he hoped was an honest and sincere expression. "I will definitely keep that in mind, Sir. I am sorry for the speeding. I'm new in town, so I don't know all the limits yet."

"This area here," the sheriff gestured with his sun-browned hand, "is 30 m.p.h."

"Thank you, Sir," Jeffery managed. He knew he was going to get a ticket. He just knew it.

To Jeffery's surprise, the sheriff handed him back his licensee and registration without writing anything down.

"I'm just going to give you a verbal warning this time, Mr. Madison. Consider it a welcome to Roswell gift from Sheriff Valenti. But don't let me catch you speedin' through here again. Next time I won't be so nice."

Jeffery's smile was much more genuine this time. "Thanks, Sheriff Valenti. I'll remember that. I promise."

Valenti nodded and turned to go back to his car. His voice trickled back with the warning, "Be careful, Mr. Madison. Arrive alive."

Shaking his head at the corny slogan, Jeffery rolled up his window and continued the drive home, making sure to keep the Camero reined in at about 25 m.p.h. He couldn't believe that the old guy hadn't given him a ticket. That Valenti character seemed like a stickler for the law. It just went to show that looks could be deceiving.

Jeffery parked in the driveway and walked into his new house. He was greeted with the familiar scent of a recent paint job (it had been done before they started moving in) and cardboard boxes. As he walked through the entry hall, he peered into the living room and saw Amy and Doyle. Jeffery started to go in and talk to them, but they looked like they were in the middle of a romantic moment on the couch. Her hand tenderly grazed his cheek as they stared at each other with their hearts in their eyes. He didn't want to interrupt. Jeffery sighed. He was glad to have Doyle living with them, and he was glad that it made Amy happy, but it did make him feel a little odd to continually be barging in on romantic moments. It just reminded Jeffery of how alone he was.

Turning away, he walked upstairs and into his room. He ditched his clothes, which now smelled like stale smoke from UFOnics, and pulled on a pair of shorts. Then he turned off his light, closed his door, turned his radio on softly -- to the only radio station in the area that didn't play Latino or country -- and went to sleep to the soothing sounds of love songs.

***************

She'd been in Roswell for less than two days and already demons from the past...or future, however you wanted to put it, had gotten in the way of her getting over Sunnydale. She had spotted a few of the scooby gang, which meant there had to be more around and that was never good. She didn't want anything to do with any of them. If Buffy was in town, or even worse, if *he* had come to Roswell...if Angelus had found her, that would have been...words couldn't describe how she felt about that prospect.

Tossing such thoughts aside, Zeke tried to focus on the rock she had been kicking down the street. It was time to find a more permanent residence. Somewhere she could call "home", at least for the time being. Somewhere that a certian lawyer for a certian lawfirm wouldn't find her. Apartments cost to much, and hotels were to public. She was going to have to go low key on this one. Really low key.

It was New Mexico, there had to be a few abandoned places along the wind-whipped highway. The dusty environment couldn't have been good for anybody looking to make a home, and live off the land. Headed for greener pastures or something like that. She had been right.

A short walk outside of the town limits, and across a desert landscape lay a little, decrepit shack.

Opening the door, she tossed down a blanket she had taken from Joyce's destroyed house, and tried to arrange some of the splintered remains into a position that resembled "livable".

"Great place to lay down roots." She muttered to herself sarcastically.

Spotting an old kerosine lamp on a half-fallen down shelf, she took it and placed it next to the blanket. When she needed light, it was going to have to do. It was late though, and sleep sounded great. She had been walking around looking for a place all day and her legs and feet were burning.

Unlacing her boots she pulled the offending articles off her feet and chucked them across the room, taking the blame for her aches and pains out on the footware.

Laying back on the one soft and inviting thing in the entire place, she fell asleep, her mind filled with thoughts of her grandma.

*****************

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