Carpe Diem - The Novel Version: Part 1 Continued
by Gaius Petronius



CARPE DIEM

Part 1 Continued

by
Gaius Petronius

Spoilers and Synopsis: Season 2 BtVS

This is the orginal Jonathan Martel story from the Carpe Diem
Trilogy first posted to the SFA March 1998 in script format, available
for the first time in a new novelization.

It is roughly three months after Jenny Calendar's murder at
the hands of a now evil Angelus. Willow accidently reanimates
an eighteen year old stranger from the distant past, Jonathan
Martel. Condemned in the 1600's due to his astonishing telekinetic
powers, Jonathan is rumored to possess the knowledge of restoring
a vampire's soul. But when Buffy finds she is attracted to this
dashing, but troubled young stranger, she is forced to choose
between him and her still strong feelings for Angel. Is this new
love truly friend or foe, wizard or charlatan?

Unknown to Buffy, Drusilla, too, has her eyes on Jonathan and
will stop at nothing to destroy him and sieze his soul with its
incredible powers. Jonathan finally must prove to Buffy that he
can retrieve lost souls, . . . but only at a terrible cost.

Rating: PG-13 for some violence, language and a racy scene
or two.

DISCLAIMER:
Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all the characters that appear on
the show are the exclusive property of Joss Whedon, the WB, Fox
and Mutant Enemy, Inc. I only lay claim to the character of Johannes
Martel, but Mutant Enemy can have him anytime they want him. The
Ancient One is loosely derived from the Cthulhu Mythos stories
of the classic 20th century horror writer, H. P. Lovecraft. The
selected lyrics from "It's a Beautiful Life" are copyright
by Ace of Base and Arista Records.

A Note On the Text:
The plot for the original script version of Carpe Diem was drafted
in mid season two before Angel's age and the relationship with
Dru and Spike were fully developed. The dating in this story and
their backgrounds, as a result, are a departure from BtVS canon.

* * * * * * * *

Evening research in the library was usually a quiet affair,
something that normally left Buffy cold. The other Scoobies, especially
Willow, were better at digging through Giles' voluminous piles
of books and manuscripts. Even Xander and Cordelia could handle
the work for maybe up to an hour if the books contained enough
pictures.

But tonight was different. Buffy tore through page after page,
her eyes rapidly scanning the texts in front of her. She didn't
quite understand what she was looking at but she reassured herself
that she didn't need to. All she had to do was find some reference
to the mysterious "Johannes Martel." She could then
turn her discovery over to Giles and he'd be able to interpret
what she had found.

She just had to find something . . . anything. She became more
frustrated with every passing minute as each book she searched
failed to reveal any more secrets regarding the eighteen year
old from the early 1600's who may have held the secret to finding
and restoring lost souls. Every few minutes she looked up from
her place at one of the study tables and glanced over the top
of her pile of books to see if her friends were having any more
success then she.

Giles, Xander and Cordelia were all studying in different parts
of the library, each rooting through the Watcher's more arcane
volumes. Willow, still sitting in front of her computer, had given
up on any further internet searches. She kept getting hits but
all referenced back to the same cryptic paragraphs from Landscheiding's
"Historia Imperium Sacrum Romanorum" she had discovered
that morning. She had yet to come up with anything new since then.

Now Willow leaned back in her work station chair and aimlessly
flipped the empty pages of one of the black Martel volumes. She
had expected the parchment to be rough and brittle but the pages
were soft and supple to the touch and they turned almost soundlessly
in her hands.

As she ran her palms back and forth over the smooth surface,
she imagined there was something more here than just an empty
book. She was able to do this more and more lately, taking ordinary
items and perceiving flashes of things beyond the realm of the
regular five senses. She sensed it now as well, a presence, something
waiting, quietly, patiently as if it were asleep.

"I'm bagging it!" Xander exclaimed as he slammed
his book shut.

"Boring! There's nothing here, Buff," he called out
across the library floor, "I know teenagers need sleep, but
I sleep in bed . . . or in class. Who's up for the Bronze?"

"Let's look just a little more, Xander," Buffy said
softly as she looked up from her own volume. She could sense the
commitment of the others rapidly fading away.

"We've been at it since this morning!" Xander complained.

"Please!" Buffy pleaded and again she wished she
hadn't been so rough on Xander earlier in the day, "This
is our first real lead on helping Angel. There's gotta be something
here somewhere."

Xander rose, pushed his chair aside and walked over to Buffy.
He stared down at her. For a second their eyes met head on.

"Buffy, what if there isn't?" he asked firmly and
sincerely, "What if this is it?"

"I'm not quitting!" Buffy exclaimed, discouraged
that the others were about to bail on her. "Giles you've
gotta have some other stuff here."

"I'm sorry Buffy, but Xander may be right," Giles
said as gently as possible as he removed his glasses, "Sometimes,
so few manuscripts have survived, you just reach a dead end."

At her computer table, Willow's attention was riveted to the
Martel notebook in her arms. She ran her hands back and forth
over the open empty pages, drawing almost a telepathic sensation
from each page. At the same time, Cordelia walked down out of
the book stacks and stood leaning over her shoulder.

"What are you doing?" the head cheerleader asked,
half in a question and half as sarcastic criticism.

"I don't know. . . " Willow answered quietly, her
voice trembling, "They feel so funny . . . warm, the paper
feels warm."

"Willow, you're not going moon bozo on us, too, "Xander
called out from Buffy's side, "It's bad enough tying up Oz
every . . ."

"Xander!" Buffy snapped in defense of her friend.

"NO! Buffy! Giles! It's the book!" Willow exclaimed,
her hand now visibly shaking as it held one of the pages. "There's
something here!"

Giles looked up and opened his mouth to speak but before Willow
could explain, the doors to the library burst violently open.
A vampire raiding party, lead by Drusilla, Spike, and Angelus
swept into the center of the room.

Moving with a clear purpose, each vampire singled out one of
the Scooby Gang. Angelus immediately positioned himself between
Buffy and the others to distract the Slayer and give the other
vampires a freer reign. Drusilla leaped over the check out counter,
belted Giles in the face and grabbed the Martel notebook as it
lay loose and unprotected. Spike slid the flat rune stone off
the table, dropped it in his lap, then wheeled back towards the
library door.

As Angelus confronted Buffy, he taunted her, at the same time
keeping her from helping the others or protecting the Martel artifacts.

"See, we can still get together on social occasions!"
he snarled gleefully as he aimed a punch directly for her chest.
Buffy quickly parried and kicked swiftly at the vampire's face
in return. Angelus' reaction was not quite fast enough and the
hard sole of her boot grazed the side of his cheek, breaking the
skin.

Unfazed, Angelus pressed his attack as both traded blows, neither
able to penetrate the other's defenses. Cordelia screamed and
fled behind the book stacks. Xander leaped over towards the check
out counter to help Giles but was intercepted by a vampire who
grabbed him by the neck and threw him violently against the wall.

Willow immediately slammed the second Martel volume shut and
held it close to her chest. Two vampires, coming in opposite directions,
targeted her. She scrambled away from her computer monitor, seeking
any kind of protection out of their reach.

Racing up the stairs for the book stacks, Willow stumbled on
the last step and plunged headlong into one of the bookshelves.
It momentarily swayed from the impact and then toppled down, pinning
her under its heavy frame and the weight of the books. Without
hesitation, the vampires leaped on top of the mound, clawing away
at the books to get at her and the Martel volume she still clutched.

"HELP! HELP! BUFFY!" she screamed.

"WILLOW!" Buffy cried out as she struggled to get
around Angelus. The vampire charged her again and again, keeping
Buffy from coming to her friend's aid. Xander lay dazed and immobile
on the floor where he had landed. Cordelia cowered at the far
end of the book stacks. Giles, fumbling for either a cross or
vial of holy water in his vest pocket, was otherwise preoccupied,
menaced by Drusilla and another vampire.

"HELP! Somebody, HELP!" Willow tried to thrash as
the claw like fingers of the vampires came closer and closer.
She imagined she could smell their cold foul breath settling all
around her. She screamed again one final time as if her soul were
reaching out in despair across the dimensions of time and space.

Just as it seemed her last reserves of strength were failing,
the Martel notebook in her arms suddenly emitted a faint yellow
light that glowed all around her. The two vampires attacking Willow
instantly jumped back and slithered away. Drusilla, Spike and
Angelus stopped and stared at each other puzzled.

"What the hell's wrong with you losers, you got garlic
in your jocks?" Spike yelled at the cowering lackey vampires,
"Get the other book!"

His threatening command had no effect. Suddenly a virtual curtain
of silence descended on the room with the exception of Willow's
now fading cries of "HELP." Everyone, vampires, Buffy
and the others all glanced wildly around at each other. Something
was coming. Now they all could sense it but no one knew what.
The faintest wisp of air blew through the library and lightly
flapped the pages of several open books. The breeze softly pushed
a loose lock of Buffy's hair into her face.

"Spike, dear, I see an uninvited guest," Drusilla
said coldly, her saucer eyes bulging even larger that usual as
they snapped back and forth, "We have what we came for. Not
nice we should overstay our welcome."

"No problem. Etiquette is your thing, love," he agreed.

With the rune stone and one of the Martel books firmly in hand,
both backed up towards the library door. Quickly, the other vampires
scurried out ahead of them. Angelus, never once letting down his
guard, cautiously stepped away from Buffy towards the library
exit.

"This was fun," he grinned showing his teeth, "We'll
have to do it again real soon."

Buffy glowered at Angelus. As quickly as it began, the assault
was over. Angelus and Drusilla, wheeling Spike, fled the library
in a rush before Buffy could even consider pursuit. For a moment,
she stood motionless in a state of shock. Xander picked himself
up off the floor and tried to regain his wind which had been knocked
out him by the force of striking the wall. Giles dropped into
a chair and pulled out his handkerchief to staunch the trickle
of blood running down his face from where Drusilla hit him above
the eye. Willow whimpered quietly from under the fallen bookshelf.

"Willow! Are you all right?" Buffy called out.

Suddenly, a loud metallic crash followed by a dull thump erupted
from the darkness in the hallway as if something heavy had fallen
out of the ceiling, landed on top of the lockers and then rolled
off onto the linoleum floor. That was followed by a loud yell.

"OW! SACRE MERDE!"

"What's that?" Cordelia suddenly cried from her hiding
place in the stacks.

More cursing rang out, none of which Buffy or the others could
understand except for Giles whose eyebrows went up in both surprise
and embarrassment at the level of crudity.

That was followed by what sounded like somebody standing up
and brushing themselves off. Then a sound of sharp, distinct footfalls,
of crisp leather on the polished linoleum drawing nearer and nearer,
echoed up the hallway outside the library.

"They're coming back!" Cordelia screamed.

Buffy whirled towards the library door, prepared to do battle
with whomever was about to appear.

The doors flew open and a tall figure, shrouded in shadow,
strode in purposefully. He was young, clean shaven with dark wavy
hair and brown eyes that almost glowed in the subdued light of
the library. His clothing was nothing any of the Scoobies had
ever seen. He wore calf high boots, breeches, a white shirt and
a long open coat. However, if it weren't for that, he could easily
have been mistaken for any senior wandering the halls of Sunnydale
High.

Fearing they were under assault from a new, more dangerous
unknown enemy, Buffy swiftly struck out, throwing a sudden and
rapid punch at the young stranger. His reflexes instantly kicked
in as he caught her by the wrist before the blow could land. His
single handed grip didn't twist or injure her, but only held her
wrist firmly, restraining the force of the blow with a power Buffy
had never encountered. Their eyes meet. Astonished, Buffy pulled
out of his grasp. The stranger stared at her in wonder, as well.

"You . . .you're a Slayer!" he said in a voice without
any accent but with a stilted formality similar to Giles but much
younger and not quite as pronounced.

Buffy fearfully backed away. The young man's gaze swept around
the room, his eyes falling on Giles.

"And a Watcher!" he exclaimed with more wonder.

Completely stunned, no one answered.

"Who called for help?" he shouted at them as if there
were only seconds to spare.

"Me!" Willow whimpered from under the bookshelf,
"Get me outta here!"

"Oh, shit, Will!" Xander exclaimed as he lurched
up the stairs to the collapsed shelving.

Buffy just stared at the stranger as he quickly ran past her
to join Xander at the pile of books.

"Let me help," the unexpected visitor said quickly
as both bent down over the wreckage.

"Thanks," Xander answered as they tore into the pile,
hurling books aside. Xander put his shoulder up against a bent
piece of metal and pushed with his legs lifting the twisted shelving
up and off of Willow.

Still fiercely clutching the Martel book, Willow sat up. The
tall peculiarly dressed teenager knelt down beside her.

"Lady, are you hurt?"

"I don't know," Willow whimpered. "Let me see
. . . " Slowly she tried to move, winced in pain and almost
curled up in Xander's arms. "YOW! My shoulder!" she
cried as the tears ran down her cheeks. Xander, his eyes begging
for something to stop his friend's pain as the panic grew on his
face, looked up at the stranger.

"May I please?" the tall youth asked gently as he
reached out to Willow.

Xander released Willow from his arms as the stranger took her
injured shoulder and encompassed the tender spot with both hands.
There was an almost unnoticed flash of the same yellow light as
appeared earlier from the black notebook but now flowing from
his palms and fingers. In that brief second, only Willow saw it.

"There, now try," he offered, releasing his hold.

"Oh, that's so much better," Willow sighed in relief
as she shifted her shoulder and wiped the tears off her face with
her sleeve.

It was then that she stared up into the young stranger's face
and her eyes widened. In that moment, she couldn't tell how but
she knew who he was.

"Oh . . . ," she said softly and trembled a little
in fear, "It's you."

Almost apologetically, Willow handed the black calfskin book
up to him.

"I think this is yours," she said as she put it in
his hands. The stranger paused, examining the volume carefully
as if it were something that was extremely valuable and had been
lost for a very long time.

"You've protected it well," he smiled nodding and
passed it back to Willow, "I leave it in your care. Your
name, lady?"

"Who me?" Willow answered astonished, "Oh, okay,
uh, Willow . . . yeah."

"Ah. . .Willow," he said nodding again, "Are
you ready to stand Lady Willow?"

"It's just 'Willow,'" she corrected him and then
wondered if she had made a mistake.

"Just 'Willow,' then," he said with a broad grin.
"Can you help me here?" he asked turning to Xander.

"Sure," Xander answered jumping to his feet as both
put their arms under Willow. In an instant she was up and standing,
although Xander and the stranger had to support her for a moment
since she was still a little woozy.

"And now, will you introduce me to your friends?"
the stranger asked her with an odd formality that made Willow
wonder what Giles would have sounded like at that age.

"Oh, yes, of course. How completely rude of me. This is
Cordelia," Willow pointed out as Cordelia slowly crept out
into the open from the stacks.

"How do you do, Lady Cordelia," the stranger answered,
bowing slightly towards Sunnydale's head cheerleader who instantly
ate up the attention.

"At last somebody around here's got it right!" she
snapped across the library at Xander.

"And this is Xander," Willow continued, trying to
remain friendly and ignore Cordelia at the same time.

"Iskander," the stranger nodded in appreciation as
he turned to Xander, "An ancient noble name. You're a soldier?"

"Well, I don't like to brag," Xander said, a little
humbled and at a loss for a witty crack, "And it's 'Xander,'"
was all he could finally spit out.

"And this is Giles," Willow continued making the
rounds, "And this is Buffy. She's a Slayer."

Instantly, Buffy glared at Willow.

"Oops . . ." Willow cringed, "And I think I
talk too much."

"And to whom do I have the pleasure?" Giles asked
with the strictest formality, at the same time studying from head
to foot the teenager dressed in the oddly ancient clothing.

"I . . ." the unnamed stranger glanced around the
room at all the Scoobies staring at him. Buffy immediately sensed
in him that familiar excrutiating insecurity that every one of
them knew so well when they first set foot in Sunnydale High as
a new student. Buffy shook her head in quiet amazement. She could
have sworn from the look on his face that he thought everyone
was either going to laugh at him or tease him about something.

"I, . . . I am Johannes Martel," he said hesitantly.

* * * * * * * * * * *

Chapter 4 - "Poof"

The entire Scooby gang stared open mouthed at the oddly dressed
teenager standing in their midst in the library.

"Martel?" Buffy finally stammered, "The
Johannes Martel? The wizard?"

"No!" the stranger quickly exclaimed and then struggled
to explain, "I mean . . . my name is Johannes. But I'm not
a wizard! That's what my enemies at the imperial court accused
me of."

"Then what are you?" Buffy asked fearfully. At the
same time, she found herself fascinated by the mystery surrounding
the stranger who couldn't have been a year older than she.

"Telemon always says I'm just me but that I have a 'gift,'"
Johannes answered.

"Who's Telemon?" Buffy asked unable to control her
mounting fascination.

"My Magister," he said looking at her as if it were
the most obvious answer, "Everyone at court knows Telemon."

Buffy, and the others stared back and forth at each other,
bewildered by the strange word.

"Magister is medieval latin for 'Teacher,'" Giles
quickly explained.

"Yes," Johannes quickly agreed, "He's been helping
me understand and control 'the gift.' It takes a lot of work and
it's really hard. I've been with him as long as I can remember.
He's all the family I have. I don't recall my real mother and
father."

"So your Magister is sort of like a Watcher," Willow
asked gently.

"Kind of," Johannes said turning to Buffy, "Yes,
I guess he would be," he continued as if Buffy had asked
the question. "Except Slayers are trained to control and
use their physical strength. Telemon has been training me to control
this thing in my head."

For a few moments, no one spoke. Bewildered, Johannes stared
around at the library and the totally unfamiliar surroundings.

"Where am I?" he finally asked, and for the first
time there was fear in his voice, "What is this place where
vampires wander at will, attacking even a Slayer?"

"Welcome to America, land of the free," Buffy smiled
ironically but suddenly realized her modern witty answer hadn't
said anything that would help dispell his fears. She wanted to
apologize, say anything that would put him at ease but, as so
often was the case lately, her command of words was nowhere near
her skills with a stake.

Her Watcher plunged in to the rescue. For a fraction of a second
Giles contemplated concealing the details of the situation for
fear of the impact it would have on the young stranger but he
quickly discarded the idea. The truth would be hard enough for
Johannes to handle but Giles knew there was no other way.

"This will be difficult to understand," he began
slowly as he walked around from behind the check out desk. "You
are in the New World on the side of the continent facing the Pacific
Ocean. The place is called California, Sunnydale to be precise."

The impact was exactly what he expected.

"This . . . is the New World?" Johannes stammered.
". . . How long has it been?"

"If you are who you say you are," Giles answered
as clinically as possible, "It is almost 400 years from the
time you knew."

Buffy felt her heart tear a little as she gazed at the effect
Giles' statement had. Johannes stepped back unsteadily. In her
imagination his movement was as if her punch of just a few minutes
ago had somehow finally gotten through his defenses and staggered
him.

Now pale, Johannes sat down on a nearby study chair.

". . . that long? " he murmered," . . .then
they're all gone . . .Telemon, dear Phoebe, all my friends, .
. . all dead," He quickly turned up to Buffy who wanted to
but couldn't pull her eyes away. "I never dreamed it would
be so long," he said to her as if the explanation now had
no meaning."

"How did you do this?" Buffy asked as she knelt down
beside him and to her own surprise, put her arm gently on his
shoulder, "Why are you here?"

"I don't know," Johannes shook his head as he returned
her gaze, "The Imperial Chancelor threatened me with execution
because of my studies on souls. I tried to explain that what I
was doing was only to help the crown princess. But he was part
of the plot against me. He incited a mob that stormed my study.
I had to protect my notebooks." He glanced over at Willow
who still clutched the black calfskin volume. "They contain
the results of all my work but most of them would be extremely
dangerous in the wrong hands so I cast a concealing spell about
them . . . and myself."

"Hence the lack of any text," Giles nodded in acknowledgement,
"And that spell tied you to the books unchanged until now."

"It was the cry for help," Johannes agreed as he
cast a glance over his shoulder at Willow again, "I included
it for safety. All my spells drop when there is great need."

"Well, Willow, super taste in men," Xander cracked
feebly since he, along with Cordelia, was feeling a little left
out of the procedings, "First a werewolf, now a wizard!"

"I'm not a wizard!" Johannes exclaimed.

"Xander!" Willow snarled.

"It's all right," Buffy said to Johannes soothingly,
"We understand."

"Tell me, uh, Buffy," Johannes suddenly asked, his
eyes locking on hers, "Why are you here?"

"Run that one by me again?" Buffy said completely
caught off guard.

"You asked me why I was here," he continued, "Perhaps
I could answer better if I knew why there was such great need
for a Slayer."

"Well duh!" Cordelia piped up from her vantage point
near the stacks, "If you haven't noticed from the pasty looking
party crashers we get, this place is sitting on top of a Hellmouth.
Giles, I thought you said this guy was smart."

"Is this true?" Johannes turned to Buffy for confirmation.

Buffy only nodded and then spoke to him as if he were someone
in one of her dreams. "You really are Martel."

He looked at her, not understanding her meaning.

"The books about you say you can restore a vampire's soul,"
Buffy said quietly, fearful for what his response might be. "Can
you?"

"Accusations like that nearly cost me my life," he
answered, dodging her question, "Why would they interest
a Slayer?"

"She has a vampire boyfriend," Xander sang out, deliberately
leaving nothing to the imagination, "We're pretty cute here
in the New World. We dig the fangs and wolves trip."

Suddenly, Xander looked around finding Willow nearly face to
face with him, her clenched fist hovering close between his eyes.

"Xander, if you don't shut up I'm gonna bust your nose!"

"A Slayer and a vampire?" Johannes asked Buffy, now
beginning to understand her keen interest in him.

"It's a long story," Buffy said apologetically and
then spoke almost as if she were the only one in the room, "The
only thing left to do is kill him."

"I think I understand," Johannes said softly. Buffy
turned to him in surprise, "I lost someone I loved that way."

"Who was she?" Buffy asked quietly and as gently
as possible, again astonished that she feared what he might reveal.

Johannes spoke to her slowly with a distant sadness.

"The crown princess . . . my fiance. Her fathers' enemies
plotted to destroy the union before our marriage could unite the
Holy Roman Empire. They secretly brought in a vampire from Ireland.
After she was harvested, I thought I could bring her back. I tried
several times . . . Doesn't seem to matter now . . ." he
trailed off.

"I'm sorry, . . . I'm sorry," Buffy stammered at
a total loss for words, "I didn't realize . . ."

"No, that's all right . . ." he interrupted her.

Johannes stood up and walked around the room, looking up towards
the upper windows and ceiling as if he were seeing beyond the
walls into the farther reaches of time and space.

"I am here for some other reason," he spoke his thoughts
out loud, "That spell was meant to last only a few hours.
Instead it is almost four hundred years. There is a greater hand
in this than we know."

He suddenly turned to face all the Scoobies, "These vampires,
what did they take?"

"Well, one of your notebooks," Giles answered, "And
a gray flat stone inscribed with a Celtic rune."

"The book is of no matter; they haven't the wits to use
it," Johannes dismissed the theft with the wave of his hand,
"But the stone, if it's what I suspect, was stolen from my
library and is very dangerous. It's a Command stone."

Although Buffy had no idea what he was referring to, still
a chill ran up her spine from her brief moment handling what she
now realized must be a cursed object.

"Oh dear . . .," Giles muttered as he ran his hand
through his hair, "Then the rune is an antimorph and . .
."

"Whoa!" Buffy interrupted, not wanting to be left
out of the explanation, "Back the truck up you two. You're
losing us."

"A command stone is used to raise up an Ancient One,"
Giles said, dropping effortlessly into his teaching mode, "The
symbol on it is an antimorph. In the upright position it gives
the command to rise up. Upside down, it's the opposite."

"Wait, I think I've heard of these Ancient guys,"
Xander broke in, his voice trembling slightly, "And they
are definitely not cool. Buff, didn't we have a run in with one
sophmore year?"

"You sure that wasn't your praying mantis biology teacher?"
Cordelia let her acid tongue slip in.

"No, Xander's right. I remember," Willow called out
and then tried to recite from memory an excerpt from an obscure
text, "'The Ancient Ones are from before time and space.
They ruled all and were ruled by no one.'"

"Some sources say an Ancient One, if it so chose, could
actually think something out of existence," Giles
added with a cool, horrid finality.

"You and Willow know the lore," Johannes said, impressed
with her and the Watcher.

Willow continued to recite from memory.

"'They were finally cast out into the aether, the Void
in that place between the living and the dead, but are always
seeking to break forth once more . . . and lay waste to the world
as they reclaim their dominions.'"

"And our vampires are going to open the door and invite
them right in!" Buffy growled as she rose to her feet, strengthened
by the challenge that now lay before them all, "We have to
squash this now!"

"I'm with Buff!" Xander agreed, "These Ancient
guys sound like the Judge on steroids!"

"Wait, Buffy," Johannes exclaimed as he stood beside
her, now placing his hand on her shoulder to hold her back, "It's
not quite that bad yet. An Ancient One can only be raised on a
moonless night. Sunlight, even if only reflected by the moon,
not only overwhelms the power of the stone, it also drives them
back into the Void from whence they came."

"So they can't make their move until, uh . . . "
Giles scratched his head as he struggled to recall the details
of that month's lunar cycle, "Two nights from now?"

"Great, that makes me feel so much better!" Cordelia
answered sarcastically.

"Okay," Buffy deferred to her Watcher. At the same
time for just a moment, she wished Johannes would leave his hand
on her shoulder. It was somehow comforting, "And how do we
fight an Ancient One if it gets in?" she asked as she straightened
up, ready to give battle to whatever the future would bring.

"We fight it," Johannes replied, "By not letting
it get into this world. If it does . . .well . . ." he didn't
finish the sentence. There was a brief silence in the library.

"Oh, . . . I get it. . . " Willow finally completed
the thought, "poof!"

"Poof!" Johannes nodded in agreement.

*****

Chapter 5 - The Secret Weapon

Returning from the raid on the school library, Spike, Drusilla,
and Angelus followed by three lackey vampires stormed into their
makeshift banquet hall in the old warehouse. Angelus, now in an
especially foul mood because of the latest inconclusive run in
with the Slayer, struck out at the corpse still dangling upside
down from the ceiling rafters. The body swung gently from the
impact of the vampire's sloppy and ill placed blow as if it were
another insult to the evening's escapade

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