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Extra Help Needed (Part 5)
By Amy Mina

Disclaimer: Any characters that you recognize from Buffy belong to Joss Whedon, the Mutant Enemy company, and the WB. Strange characters that you have never heard of such as Amy, Beth, Angela, Mr. Kraus, Mr. Upton, and any others belong to themselves.

. . .

Chapter 4

"What do ya think?" Angela asked Mr. Kraus over the loud din of music.

"It's nice. What exactly is that dance that Xander is doing out on the floor?"

Angela looked Xander's direction and laughed. There were a number of couples on the dance floor, and here was Xander, all by himself, flinging his arms about and not caring what anyone else thought.

"I'm not sure," she replied. "I haven't seen that dance in Barker yet."

"I have to say, I don't think you will."

They both laughed. Angela was having a good time. She felt the tension from earlier that day and evening dissipate. "Where's Amy and Beth?" asked Angela.

"Over at the drink counter. I think that's Amy spinning on the stool." Angela laughed again.

"Simple toys for simple minds."

They were silent for a few minutes; each lost in their own world. "Mr. Kraus," Angela began after a few moments, "do you think that we're all going to make it through this?"

"Honestly, Angela, I don't know."

Angela just nodded her head as a sullen mood took over and he continued. "All you can do is you best. Moreover, you won't be the only one there. So will Beth, Amy, Giles, I'll be there, and the way Buffy's friends were talking, they'll be there also and they'll be fighting almost as hard as the rest of us."

"What if we fail? I mean that prophecy said it will be the end of the world if we don't kill the master."

"I don't know," was the only answer he could give her.

"She's worried," said Buffy from the catwalk. She sat on the edge next to Angel and leaned on him while watching Angela and her mentor.

"Can you blame her?"

"No, I understand how she feels. To have the weight of the world on your shoulders is a large burden."

"How are you doing with it?"

"I've been through this before. I'm not as scared as I was the first time. This time I have lots of people to help me."

"No going off alone again," said Angel. "I don't want you to put your life at risk like that again. You would have died if Xander hadn't become so concerned."

"Don't worry, I have no intention of doing that again. But enough talk about prophecies and worries. Time to dance."

Buffy grabbed his hand and pulled him up. They made their way down to the dance floor and began gently swaying slowly back and forth to the music.

Amy jumped off the stool and went running towards Angela and Mr. Kraus. "You're dancing," she told Angela.

"Sure," said Angela, knowing it was a request, not a demand. She followed Amy out to the floor.

"Hey, Xander," said Amy. "You looked like you needed some company."

"Sure. Hey, can you do this?"

He demonstrated a crazy dance for them. Angela laughed and shook her head no. Amy stood in surprise for a second before smiling.

"I'm going to try," she said. Xander and Angela both laughed, her imitation of Xander was pretty bad.

"I didn't think you would try it," he said.

"I'll try almost anything that makes ya look funny."

"Really?"

"Yep. I pretty much known as one of the most immature kids in my grade, but that's okay, 'cause I have fun."

"A girl after my own heart. Well, let's dance!"

. . .

Beth woke up, shaking her head back on forth. "Ugh, what time is it?"

"Time to rise and shine. We have half an hour to get ready for school," replied Amy.

"Where's Angela?"

"She stayed at Willow's house."

"Where are we?"

"Buffy's house. Don't you remember anything from last night?"

"Not really. I remember my legs being numb after sitting on the stool and trying to get off."

"How far did you get?"

"Maybe a step and a half."

Amy tried to hide her amusement. "Come on, get up. We're meeting the adults in the library before school starts."

"Okay, I'm getting up."

Beth got ready and Amy bounded down the stairs taking two at a time. She was feeling very lazy this morning and made herself comfortable at the table. She used her powers to make herself a nice breakfast. Buffy walking in while she was getting her food ready and scowled.

"That is not fair."

"It's completely fair. You have more physical strength and I can mentally lift things."

"It's still not fair."

Amy laughed. "If you want me to, I can fix you some breakfast."

"Okay," said Buffy, a little too enthusiastically. Amy finished hers and gave it to Buffy and began the process all over again. Beth joined them and made her breakfast the old fashion way.

"Why aren't you getting food like Amy?" asked Buffy.

"My mental strength can't endure as long as hers. I tend to save it just in case I need it."

"That's not fair," said Buffy.

"Amy couldn't hold out very long in a fight with fists."

"No, probably not," said Amy.

"Absolutely not."

Amy took a dishtowel off the chair next to her and threw it at Beth. They started a war in the kitchen and didn't hear the telephone ring. Buffy did, and went to pick it up.

"Hello?" she said into the receiver.

"Buffy, this is Giles."

"Hey Giles. What's up?"

"I think you and the other two need to get to the school as soon as possible."

"Why?"

"Buffy, we forgot something."

"What, Giles?"

"The prophecy said that you and the master will face off today, but I believe whoever they are rose last night."

"What??" she screeched. Amy and Beth immediately stopped their towel fight and turned to look at her. "Giles, why do you believe that?" she said, barely getting the words passed her throat.

"Remember what happened last time before the master rose? The dead students in the lounge."

"Oh my gosh. How many?" When she got not reply, she almost became hysterical. "Answer me, Giles!!"

"Ten. Three were Cordelia's friends, and the others were people around campus that you and the Slayerettes knew."

"Like who?"

"Julie, Amanda, Jeffrey, even kids that you haven't talked to in months."

"What are you saying, Giles."

"Whoever this vampire is, they not only have a desire to take over the world, they have a personal vendetta against you."

"Are you saying that she is out to kill anyone with that associates with me?"

"She wants to make you feel guilty, I think."

Amy laid her hand on Buffy's shoulder. "Buffy, are you okay?" Buffy didn't notice until then how hard she was shaking.

"We're coming over, Giles." She hung up the phone and turned to look at the other two. "We need to get to the library."

"What's happening?"

"I'll explain on the way."

They all grabbed their book bags and went running out of the house, leaving the kitchen a mess. Buffy gave them a quick rundown on what was going on. By the time they reached the library, everyone else was there, including Angel. He was in the shadows in the back of the library.

"Buffy, Principal Snyder is looking for you."

"Principal Snyder can deal with it," replied Buffy. "We have more important matters on hand. Where were the students killed?"

"Their bodies were in the music room."

"Then that's where I am going. I'll see you all in a few minutes."

Beth and Angela followed Buffy out of the library. They all ran down to the music room and found the place roped off and surrounded by police.

"What are we going to do?" asked Angela.

Buffy went to the utility closet and got out a ladder. "We can go through the ceiling." She walked over to the room next door and set up the ladder. She then climbed to the top and slid aside one of the panels in the ceiling. Pulling herself up, she turned back and stuck out her hand. Angela followed Buffy, then Beth. Buffy motioned for them to be as quiet as possible. Crawling behind her, within a few seconds, they came to an area with a bed and some clothes.

"What's this?" whispered Beth.

"Marcie used to stay here." Seeing the confused look on the girl's faces, she continued. "It's a long story. I'll tell you later."

"Have you done this before?"

"Yep."

"Now what?" Beth asked.

Buffy moved aside another panel near then slightly and looked down. "It's all clear of police. Let's check it out." She jumped down and they followed her lead. Beth quickly scanned the room with her eyes. Angela didn't know about Beth, but Angela thought she was going to be sick. There was blood everywhere.

"What happened?" she questioned.

"The vampires had a party," replied Buffy. They split up and looked around the room. "Don't touch anything, and we need to hurry. All we need is to have someone find us in here."

Buffy moved off to a corner and inspected what was left. "Uh, Buffy?" she heard. She turned around to see Beth and Angela staring at a message on the wall. It was written in marker, not blood, which seemed unusual if it was from a vampire. She took a closer look at the message and felt her face turn white.

Slayer, Now it is my turn for revenge.

"Revenge," questioned Angela, "Revenge for what?"

"I have no idea," replied Buffy.

Suddenly, the doors to the room were flung open and two policemen spotted them. Buffy pushed Angela and Beth towards the opening in the ceiling. "Hurry!" she shouted. She had never seem them move so fast, not even when they were fighting vampires the night before. As soon as they were in the ceiling, Buffy turned them in a different direction.

"Where are we going?" asked Angela.

"Somewhere safer." When they were at their destination, Buffy punched a hole through the ceiling and fell through. Beth and Angela followed. Buffy ran over to Angel and they went to hide behind the bookshelves, due to Mr. Snyder's voice in the hallway.

"Where is she?" he asked, as soon as he walked in.

"Who?" asked Beth.

"Buffy, and who are you?"

"Buffy hasn't arrived at school yet," said Mr. Upton.

"I know you're lying. Two policemen saw her and two other girls at the crime scene."

"Did you see them yourself?" questioned Mr. Kraus.

"Hey, I'm asking the questions here. I want to know where she is."

"I believe we already told you," said Giles.

"There's something you're all hiding. Sometime soon, I'm going to find out what it is."

"We'll see about that," Amy muttered under her breath. He sent her a look towards her that made her inside turn to mush. That little man scared her. He turned back to the doors and left the library.

Once they were sure he was gone, Buffy and Angel walked out of the stacks. Buffy gave a quick synopsis on what was in the music room. Giles took off his glasses and rubbed the top of his nose.

"Who could this master be?" questioned Buffy.

"I'm not sure," replied Giles. "By the message in the music room, you would assume that she knows you personally."

"Right, and I never knew Lenia."

"Is there another possibility?" asked Amy.

"I don't believe so, but anything is possible," said Giles.

"Giles, what are we going to do?" asked Buffy.

He put his glasses back on. "All of you are going to stay in tonight. No one can be killed. If the vampires aren't invited in, they shouldn't be able to bother you."

"But Giles," protested Willow. "The prophecy said that this master would be coming after all of us."

"If you stay inside, then you will be protected."

"Yeah, we'll be fine," said Buffy. "But what about everyone else that doesn't know about the master. They'll be killed and I'll be the one to blame."

Giles paused for a moment. "I see your point."

"Well, good. I'm going to fight this master tonight, and I'm going to enjoy roasting her bones over a fire."

"Fine, then we need some weapons and plans, quick."

"Stakes are a must, I think almost everyone here can handle those and holy water--how exactly do we get holy water Giles?"

"Water that has had a cross setting in it for a certain amount of time. I have plenty of that in the cage."

"Okay, good. How about fire? Vampires really don't like that."

"We'll work on it."

"Good. Let's go."

*

. . .

Quite a few hours and complaints later, there was a large pile of stakes in the middle of the table, a lot of jars of holy water, at least two per person, and some jugs filled with gasoline.

"Is that enough?" asked Cordelia. "My hands are really hurting me and my manicure is totally ruined."

"I think so," said Buffy. "Now, tonight, who is coming with us?"

Everyone's hands went up except for Cordelia. They all turned to look at her.

"Sorry guys, I'm not cut out for fighting." Xander groaned loudly and began to retort when Buffy intervened.

"That's okay. You can stay with Mr. Upton and the guys at Xander's house. His parents are out of town, make sure that no one leaves the house."

"That I can handle."

"Good. Now, what is our plan for meeting up with this master?"

"Well, according to my guess, she is going to be looking for you," replied Giles.

"So in other words, we're walking bait again," said Beth. "This job is getting very boring."

"I think tonight is going to be anything but boring," replied Angela.

"How much longer till sunset?" asked Buffy.

"About half an hour," Miss Calendar informed her.

"What should we do until then?"

Giles answered. "Rest, mentally prepare. This fight tonight is going to be very big."

Angela, Beth, Willow and Xander all sat down in a corner of the library to relax and think. Giles, Miss Calendar and Mr. Kraus went to Giles' office to talk and prepare. Cordelia left to go to Xander's, and Amy cornered Angel.

"We need to talk," she said, leaving no room for refusal. He looked at Buffy and she motioned for him to follow Amy, and then sent Amy a warning glance. Angel followed Amy into the back room.

"What is it?" he asked, curiously.

"Angel, around twelve years ago, did you help train a young girl to use her mental capabilities and stand her own ground?"

He gave her the mysterious smile that he always seemed to wear. "You remembered, huh?"

"Oh, yeah. Why didn't you say anything?"

"I don't know. Sort of hoping that you figure it out on your own, half not wanting you to know."

"Why not?"

"I don't know."

"Well, I remember everything that you did for me as a child. I remember you coming to baby-sit. When we would move from city to city, I remember that you followed my family and you were always there. The long hours you spent trying to get me to focus my energy long enough to get some where."

"I remember you losing your temper and focusing on how to throw me across the room."

Amy laughed. "I was a rotten little girl, wasn't I?"

"One of the worst, but it paid off. Look at you now. Your one problem is that you are too compulsive. You tend to do things without giving it more than a second of thought."

"I know, but I don't like to sit down and think too much."

They were silent for a few moments. "So, now that you remember-?"

"I expect a letter or two to let me know how you're doing, and for you to not just disappear the way you did the first time."

He gave her small smile. "I think I can do that."

He began to walk away when Amy voiced her question. "Angel, did you ever think about me once you left?"

He turned to look at her and was surprised at her change. A minute earlier, she had appeared strong, confident. Now she looked young and scared. He walked back towards her.

"Of course I thought about you. For two years of my life, you were the only friend I had. Ever since I left, I have carried around a picture of you, always wondering if one day I would get to meet you again."

"Are you glad that we're working together?"

"Very glad." To his surprise, she reached forward and gave him a bear hug.

"Angel, no matter what happens tonight, I wanted to say thank you for everything that you every did. I'll never forget it and I really appreciate it." She let him go, and he saw that she was crying.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm about to walk into the Lion's Den with everyone who is closest to me, you, Angela, Beth, Mr. Kraus, my new friends, and there isn't a thing I can do. I guess I'm a little nervous."

"That's understandable. I'm sure your friends feel the same way."

"Probably." She took in a deep breath and wiped her eyes. "I always thought I cried too much. You'd better go out and spend some time with Buffy. She probably thinks I've staked you."

He squeezed her hand and left the room. Amy followed a minute later to join her friends. When she sat down in the group, she noticed everyone except Xander was giving her funny stares. He was too busy staring at Buffy and Angel, sitting next to each other on the floor and talking.

"What were you and Angel talking about?" asked Beth.

"You know how I insisted that I recognized him from somewhere? Well, he was the baby-sitter that trained me."

"Really?" said Willow. "That's cool."

"Yeah, it is. I was just making sure of what I suspected. He confirmed it."

"Are you all nervous about tonight?" asked Willow quietly. "I know I am. I've never had vampires come after me before."

"Oh," said Beth, trying to lighten the mood. "It's a blast. They always aim for the neck, at least that was what the one did to me last night."

"A cross in the mouth is one of best ways to make a vampire hurt," said Xander, turning his attention back to the conversation.

Beth suggested a few ways to really hurt a vampire with a cross. Amy's mouth dropped in surprise and embarrassment. Xander and Angela both laughed hard, while Willow turned red and smiled.

"You have one of the sickest minds I have ever seen," said Xander.

"And proud of it," replied Beth.

"She never thinks about anything else but her next sick comment," said Amy.

"I believe it," answered Xander. "Does she always act like this?"

"There is nothing wrong with my behavior," said Beth.

"It's worse than mine."

"That's because you're a wimp."

"A wimp? That's the worst you can say about me?"

"I can't say much worse because Amy can't handle it."

"Hey!" replied Amy, somewhat insulted.

"I think she can handle it just fine," said Xander. "The real reason you didn't say anything worse was because you couldn't think of anything."

Everyone else sitting the group burst out laughing. Beth's mouth dropped and Xander grinned at his effect on her.

"Fine, do you want me to say something worse?" asked Beth.

"You can try."

"How about a threat?"

"Nothing you can say scares me. Being friends with the Slayer is more intimidating than you."

"Fine," replied Beth.

Angela and Amy looked at each other. "He's asking for it," said Angela.

Amy rolled her eyes.

"Asking for what?" questioned Willow.

"I think that someone here needs to be castrated," said Beth, making the scissors motion with her fingers. "Snip, snip."

Amy and Angela burst out laughing. They had seen it coming, Xander hadn't. His face showed his disbelief and turned a little pale.

"You wouldn't," said Xander.

"You have no idea," said Amy. "There is this one kid in Barker. Every day, he picks on her, and then she threatens him." She dropped her voice a volume level and leaned forward. "I think that means she likes the guy, I'm not quite sure."

Beth hit Amy on the arm. "I do not."

"Just kidding. Don't worry, Xander, " continued Amy. "She only threatens her friends."

"Is that supposed to be reassuring?"

"Yeah, you could be her enemy."

Mr. Kraus walked over to the group. "Is everyone ready?"

"Absolutely," said Xander, jumping up. "I need to get away from this crazy female."

"I'm not crazy," replied Beth.

"I'm taking that as a 'Sure we're ready. Let's go' sort of deal," said Mr. Kraus.

"Yep," answered Angela. "I guess it's now or never."

"I'll take now," said Buffy, coming over. "Whoever this vampire is, they're going to pay for killing everyone this morning."

"I'm with ya," answered Xander. "So, where to, all wise and knowing leader?"

"The cemetery. What better place to meet up with vampires trying to kill me personally?"

"What about the Bronze?" asked Willow. "I mean, that is where they went last time."

"Yeah, but last time they were out to get fresh blood. This time, the master is only after me."

Everyone got up off the floor and followed Mr. Kraus over to the table to get their weapons.

"That's one way to relieve the tension," said Willow.

"Beth is good at that," replied Angela.

Buffy went to follow them, but Angel held her back for a minute. "Angel, what is it?"

"Buffy, promise me you'll be careful."

"Of course I'll be careful. Are you worried?"

"Absolutely. We don't know how many vampires will be there, or even who this vampire is."

"Angel, relax. I'll be fine. This time I have my friends and some help with me. Don't worry, we'll do this."

Angel appeared to be more confident, so Buffy leaned forward and kissed him. "You had better be careful too, Angel," she whispered in his ear. She turned around and walked to the table. Grabbing a few handfuls of stakes, she led the others out of the library. Xander and Willow each filled a book bag full of weapons and ran after everyone. Angel slowly followed a minute later.

. . .

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