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Author's Chapter Notes:
lots of lovely reviews. thank you all
hope you enjoy the next chapter
The hotel was a mess. It was cold and dirty, cobwebs hung from the ceiling and the floor was covered in a thin layer of grime. It looked as though no-one had been in it for years.

Buffy and Willow looked around the lobby. It smelled. They weren’t sure of what but it was awful. Musty and foul. The dirty windows let in very little light, making the hotel even more gloomy if that were possible.

Buffy tried to ‘feel’ if there was anyone or anything around. It seemed as though the gang were alone in the huge building.

Xander came through the door that Buffy had broken to get into the Hyperion. The light from the hole where the glass had been did little to improve the light levels.

Willow stared around the place. ‘May I just say ‘ugh’ and add a eeww?’

‘I’ll see your eeww and raise you a yuck,’ Dawn said.

Rona looked around as she came in the broken door. ‘Been in worse,’ she said.

‘Worse?!’ Xander spluttered.

‘Yep, at least there are no junkies and I can’t hear rats,’ she grinned. ‘Not what you’re used to, is it, Princess?’ She added to Kennedy, who was reluctant to even put her bag on the grimy floor.

‘We could always clean the place…’ Viv suggested.

‘Anything a mouse can do I can do better. I have more fingers.’ Willow said with a grin. She concentrated hard on the dirt. It seemed to glow quietly, then a breeze started collecting the dust and grime into piles. The cobwebs leapt off the ceiling, spiders running for the doorway, and joined the dirt. The windows began to shine, light entering the building for the first time in at least two years.

Dawn and Buffy were distracted by the sight of sheets, pillowcases, duvets and curtains floating down the stairs and heading towards the back of the hotel and the service area.

‘Looks like something Disney would do,’ whispered Dawn.

Buffy just nodded, opened mouthed. Xander cheered the sheets on like a drunken bullfighter with a cloak and followed the laundry through a doorway and into a huge room where washing machines opened their doors ready for their loads.

‘Why couldn’t we use that sort of magic when we had a party?’ Asked a still shell-shocked Buffy at the sight of a building cleaning itself.

‘Cause I’m only supposed to use magic for important things, and keeping my lady happy is important,’ Willow smiled at Kennedy.

‘Well thanks for that Willow, it really has saved us days of work.’ Dawn smiled at the red headed witch. With the power coursing through her, Willow looked like the incarnation of some pagan goddess, but this spell hadn’t even changed her hair colour. She was getting more and more powerful by the day. Dawn was grateful they had Kennedy to help keep her balanced.

‘Next we need wards, and strong ones, around this place.’ Willow pointed out. ‘I can do some of them, but we’ll need help to get the most powerful ones. I’ll have to research what we can do. What we really need is access to the Council archives, but they are under Giles’ control. He was already locking down some areas before we left.’

The silence was disturbed by the ringing of a cell phone. Kennedy answered it.

‘Petal it’s me,’

‘Dad,’ mouthed Kennedy to Willow and walked away from the group. Xander looked around the now clean hotel.

‘We need food, who’s up for Chinese? Or pizza?’ he asked

‘Pizza for me,’ Dawn piped up.

‘And me!’ Viv said.

‘Me too,’ Rona said, handing over her cell to Xander.

‘Pizza it is then,’ Xander said, ringing through to a take-away whose flyer said they delivered.

When Kennedy returned to the group she looked serious.

‘Someone has been tracking my credit card. Dad put a tracer on it, protecting it, and someone else is tracking it. He’s sending a courier with cash. I’m to meet him tomorrow, we’ve to stop using credit at all.’

‘Who’s following us? Any ideas?’ Dawn asked.

‘I think its Andrew. Giles hates computers, so he’d have used magic.’ Replied Kennedy.

‘I hate this, I hate the idea of having to run, I hate that people who are supposed to be on our side are fighting against us. What’s next? Going into a demon bar and finding out that they all love slayers and want to be our friends? I am sick and tired of playing these stupid childish games. They want a pissed off slayer, they’ve got one.’ Buffy ranted on and on. She went over to a wall and started hitting it. Chunks of plaster showered down over her. Willow’s spell was still in effect so as it hit the floor the plaster started to clean itself up. Buffy watched as the dust piled itself neatly and waited for collection. She started laughing. The first time since Sunnydale, she roared with laughter.

‘I can’t even wreck a house properly any more!’ she laughed, until tears rolled down her cheeks.

‘Whatever it is that’s so funny, I love it. It’s better than you wrecking the joint.’ Xander watched as Buffy rolled around the floor holding her stomach.

The fear and anger of the last couple of weeks, on top of the grief she felt for Spike overwhelmed her, but instead of crying she was laughing. Laughing at dust cleaning itself up.

A broom tried to sweep her into the pile; Willow waved a hand at it and the broom sank gracefully to the floor, leaving Buffy hysterical. The tears seemed to be cathartic. When she’d finished laughing, or crying, Buffy felt at peace, calm and at one with her surroundings. She took a good look at the hotel. In one corner, where the reception had been there was a glowing light. It seemed to hover for a moment and solidified into …

‘Cordy?!’ Yelped Xander.

‘Yes its me, jush have you ever seen such stupid clothes?’ She said, pointing to the white robe she was wearing. ‘And look at these shoes. I get made into a higher being and do I get Manolo Blahniks, no I get stupid sandals!’ Cordy kept ranting until Xander rushed over to her and hugged her, hard.

‘Good to see you Cordy, we heard you were dead.’

‘I am,’ she said in her ‘flat’ voice. ‘You can put me down Xander. I’m working here.’

‘Hi Cordy.’ Willow said quietly. Dawn and Buffy also seemed pleased to see her, smiling their welcome.

‘Kennedy, Rona and Viv.’ Cordy nodded at the other slayers.

‘You know us?’ Rona asked, ‘cause I don’t think we’ve ever met.’

‘Yep I know you, know all about you too. That’s why I’m here.’

‘Why are you here, Cordy?’ Willow asked. ‘What with the being dead and all…’

‘Here to fill you in. Giles is trouble, I think you’ve guessed that already. He is really messing with things he shouldn’t and he should have known better.
You aren’t dealing with Giles, you’re dealing with Ripper. You are going to hate your first task Buffy.’ Cordy added.

‘Why, what is it?’

‘Go back two years to the Watchers Council, when you were dealing with Glory and Travers was in America: you have to go in, give the code word and talk to a witch called Morgana. You can tell her everything. You will find a watcher there as well, and this is the hard bit, you need to trust him. His name is Septamus Pratt, he’s old and far too interested in research but you need him.’

‘And how do I travel through time? Catch a bus?’

‘No! Willow recites the spell, Dawn opens the gate, you step through. You need to take some of Dawn’s blood with you when you go so that Morgana can open the gate the other end to let you back.’

‘I died last time I went through one of those!’

‘Well yeah, but that’s because you fell like 200 feet, this time you’ll walk through a door.’

‘Why can’t I use the same gateway to get back?’

Cordy rolled her eyes. She felt like she was talking to a child.

‘Well, duh, if you go through a gateway NOT bleeding, it closes it.’

Willow looked worried. She hated it when everything relied on her magic, yes she was powerful but the responsibility hurt.

‘It’s ok Willow, you can do it sweetie,’ Kennedy held her girlfriend tightly.

Willow nodded: she would try.

The spell was deceptively simple. It was even in English. Willow sat on the floor saying the words and pointed at an old door they had set up in the room. Dawn pricked her finger, just like the princess she giggled, and dropped three drops of blood on the sill. The door glowed for a second.
Buffy looked through. It was all sparkling light.

‘You sure this thing’s safe?’

‘Yep,’ Cordy said, filing her nails and examining them, ‘and would you hurry up please, I’ve got to be back for the baby sitter.’

The next thing Buffy knew was she was standing outside an old building. The cars and taxis and buses told her she was in London. There was a doorman in full livery watching her carefully. Buffy gave herself a shake
‘I guess we’re not in Kansas Toto,’ she said and went up to the man.

‘I’m here to see Septamus Pratt.’ she explained quietly.

‘Do you have an appointment?’ He wasn’t going to let some scruffy girl into the building. It was more than his job was worth.

‘No,’ replied Buffy, trying to keep hold of her temper, ‘but could you tell someone a little higher up the food chain that Buffy Summers is here and “We await the arrival of the shining ones?” she quoted.

Doorman looked her over again. He’d seen strange things in his time working for The Club, and there was something about the girl, something that screamed danger. He used his walkie-talkie to get through to reception. Someone on a higher pay grade could see to this problem.

Before he’d even finished one of the club management was outside holding the door open for the strange girl.

‘Please come in Ms Summers. I must say this is an unexpected surprise, we understood you were still in Sunnydale dealing with a God.’

‘I am.’ Buffy said quietly as she followed the man into the building.





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