Author's Chapter Notes:
Well... One left before the end. I just want to say how much fun this has been and I hope you stick around for part III
Execution

The young brunette sat at her computer. Audrey was one of the few people who hadn't attended the showing. It was easy to convince her parents that she needed to study for the final exams coming up.

Within minutes after her parents had left to join the rest of the community’s members in the rugby room, she had her computer booted, and was hacking through the system that controlled the power throughout the living quarters.

Now she needed to wait. The clock showed that it was only minutes away, and everything had to be timed just right.

~~`~~

Joel stepped carefully through the halls. The guards had been placed around every turn that lead to the living quarters. It took some time, but he was maneuvering through the lines without being noticed.. The last thing he needed right now was to stopped by a guard while walking with the very 'Vampire' they'd been chasing.

"Pretty quiet ‘round here." Spike followed, hoping the boy knew what he was doing.

"Almost everyone's watching the movie." Joel looked around the last corner. It was clear. “We’re using it to show The Slayer’s message.”

The two men walked up to Haden who was standing guard at the large door that separated them from the main commons of the living quarters. The young red head's eyes widened when he saw Spike. "Wow. He really did come back. And the Slayer?"

Joel nodded. "She's going to visit Mr. Travers first."

"I think I'm gonna miss the better of the shows." Spike said as Haden opened the sliding door to reveal the nearly empty commons. Inside, a few older children that Spike recognized, and a young man who bore a striking resemblance to the one who had just let him in, were posted near the door leading to the rugby room.

Anthony looked at his brother, then to the blondes behind him. "He's back." He checked his watch. "Cutting it close though.”

Spike looked back at Joel. "Does everyone know what's goin' on?"

Joel smiled. "No. Of course not. No one over 21 in The Council has a clue..." his grin widened, "Except Mr. Giles of course."

"So exactly what are we supposed to do in there?" Spike nodded his head towards the door.

"We're going to make sure they listen."

~~`~~

Willow's computer sat on the kitchen in the darkened apartment. The timer beeped quietly in the empty dining area as it counted down to one minute before the alternate disk would begin playing, instead of the movie.

It's direct connection would switch one small metallic box hidden under a panel in Mr. Travers's office. This simple box would allow any and all radios within the frequency's reach to play the audio for the disk. It was a small detail, but knowing of Quinton's lack of a sound system, excepting of course the basic radio on his desk, it had been a necessity.

There was one other little thing it did. Something that Haden and Anthony had add for dramatic effect. Both had wished they would be able to see the old man's face when he could no longer control his secret.

~~`~~

Buffy walked quietly through the halls getting closer to her tweed clad prey. She watched as the faces of the fallen Slayer's passed her by. Someday her picture would sit on the walls here. Someday a girl might walk by her face as unnoticing as she did everyday she had been there.

She slowed when the portraits became a line of proper Englishmen. Very few women hung on the walls in this area. The few that did seemed very recently painted. The men however seemed to be never-ending. The old styles of suits were classic, and dated.

Almost each and everyone, man or woman, had a pair of spectacles firmly placed upon the bridge of their nose. The grim looks reminded her of Giles the first day they met in the library. Of Randall, of Quinton, and of their ignorance.

She shook her head, and continued, hurrying her steps to the office of Quinton Travers.

Somehow she had known he would never join the others for a recreational activity.

She stopped before the last turn and took a deep breath just as all of the lights flickered off from above. In a moments time her new eyes adjusted to the complete blackness. Suddenly the hall’s corners and doors were as if in shadow, like a dark overcast just before the storm.

Buffy smiled at herself. “Now that is one nifty little trick.”

~~`~~

Audrey typed swiftly. The program was set, and everything was going well. From the display on her screen, the lights that were supposed to go off, had. She just needed to get the rugby rooms locks to disable now.

~~`~~

Willow’s computer lit up on the final beep of the counter. The quiet thrum of her hard disk working now the only sound in the otherwise empty darkness of the table it laid upon.

~~`~~

Quinton sat at his desk looking over the paperwork needed to convince the prison holding Faith to release her to The Council. He didn't like using his contacts like this, it was frivolous, but he either needed to convince Faith to fight for them, or... well the ‘or’ was obvious, they would need a new Slayer.

He was nearly done reading a page in the form he was filling out when the lights went dark. A second later the emergency power dimly lit his office once more.

There was a faint clicking, then without warning the false wall behind him began to raise. He turned slowly and watched its slow ascent . "What the bloody…?"

~~`~~

The murmurs grew as the emergency power turned on a quarter of the lights. It also provided just enough power for the young man running the equipment for tonight's main feature. He quickly ejected the dubbed movie, and replaced it with a homemade DVD.

The disk drawer retracted, and the disk began to load.

~~`~~

Spike scanned the darkness, and let his eyes focus. To his shock, he was able to see perfectly. His senses were still as sharp as ever. He looked back at the boy with his still blue eyes, "Well?"

Joel nodded, and the entire grouped slipped in unnoticed into the dimly lit rugby room filled with people murmuring and whispering.

Spike slipped off to the side, and waited.

Joel, Haden and Anthony walked down the middle isle straight to the front of the crowd.

"Don't be alarmed." The blonde watcher in training said. "It will just be a moment." He nodded to the other people as he passed each row. When he reached the Slayer's friends, he nodded and winked at the row of chairs holding The Scoobies.

Dawn smiled and squeezed Anya's hand. "Everything is ok. They're back." The young brunette looked back over her shoulder. After a few moments she saw a light hired man hidden in a black corner. "Yay." She squealed quietly.


~~`~~

Audrey kept typing. Now she needed to get the power back on. A few more clicks of her mouse, and the program stopped.

"Well." She said as she turned off her computer. "Time to see if it worked." She pushed her chair back and went to her door. After opening it, and seeing that the commons was completely empty, including Anthony and the other guards, she headed to the lift.

~~`~~

The door to the Rugby room opened and closed one more time as a girl walked in. The boy sat up, and pressed play. He adjusted the sound a bit, and waited.

~~`~~

Quinton watched as the main lights came back on. His wall, now fully retracted. The old man reached under the arm of his chair and pressed the small button underneath.

Nothing happened. He pressed it again, this time with more pressure.

Nothing.

Quinton looked at the screens, and his safe, now in plain sight. He slammed his hand down on the arm of the chair, his face turning red with anger. Once more he pressed on the hidden button, and once more he watched as nothing happened.

Before he could press the button again, the screens lit up.

He looked on as the picture on each of his screen appeared, and on each one was her face.

She sat there holding a small pc mic, unmoving at one of the tables in one of the apartments assigned to the group. That much he knew. He stood in utter disbelief, and for the first time in his life, felt completely powerless.

"Buffy Summers?"

He fell back into his seat, not able to control, or come up with, a proper reaction. Then he heard her voice. "Hi Mr. Travers." He turned and saw the small box he and his secretary used to communicate. The same type used by many of the Watchers because it could also be used to communicate with the guards if necessary.

"I suppose if your seeing this, I'm dead and gone, but maybe not forgotten." She stood up and began pacing. Then she stopped and looked up at him through the screen. "Or at least, I'm sure that's what you told everyone. Isn't it?"

~~`~~

Spike smiled at her on the large screen. The guards in training, as well as the small special ops trainees had been prepared. They knew that none of the Watcher's and other adults were in any way prepared for what they were seeing, or what they were about to learn.

The young men spread throughout the room. Hoping to avoid confrontation, and to settle anyone down who was not willing to listen.

Instead, the adults were silent. They were in whole, too shocked to make any outbursts yet.

The, now changed, former vampire walked past the young men lining the walls to stand closer to the screen. "You tell 'im, luv."

The row filled with her family and friends was all smiles when they saw him walk by them.

He gave Dawn a quick wink, and walked forward.

~~`~~

Buffy heard her voice come from all around. It took her a moment, but she was soon able to control her hearing. It was now attuned to the rapid heartbeat of an old man, and her voice coming from behind the door of which she was standing outside.

~~`~~

The crowd watched as Full-Screen-Buffy walked to sit behind the table filled with papers and books.

She set the mic in it's small stand, and smiled at the people sweetly. "You know, I wonder how long you people knew. Giles said that you may not have know for awhile."

Randall looked around him hoping no one would notice how much he was perspiring. His chant was simple. "Oh god. Oh God. Oh God." There she was, alive and well. Walking and talking. Something he himself knew was a bad sign. "Oh God."

He watched her sit, and begin to pull a few papers close. "I wonder what you did when you found out Quinton. Maybe you thought it was something else. You know of anyone else who might have made you think the prophecy would happen?" She looked at him as though she was waiting for an answer.

"No? Hu? Well here, let me give you my take on this." She held the papers up. Randall didn't recognize them, but he was scared non-the less.

~~`~~

Quinton's heart raced when she lifted the papers into view. Even with the poor resolution of the recording, he recognized the prophesy that had been in his trust for nearly 60 years. "Dear God." He whispered to himself.

"You know, that safe of yours? It is so easy to crack. Heck I only needed..." She looked off to the side.

"Three, luv." Was heard from out of the camera's view.

"Three days of practice to learn." Then her face scrunched. "But it did take two tries." She shrugged. "The outcome was the same though. So no real complaints."

Quinton was shaking his head at her words when he realized the safe she was referring to was the one right in front of him. With out thought, he turned the dial, and opened the safe, The familiar worn edge of the papers were there.

"It's funny though. I've met three Slayer's in my life, one who married a former Vampire. Oh and the fact that there was a prophecy to go with it. Well. It's all very Slayer-ish. Of course the fact that she had a Watcher who loved her and cared for her helped. I mean, how often does that happen?"

He calmed and reached in to take the pages out from under the folders he kept secured within the safe as The Slayer‘s voice echoed in his office. Before he had them halfway out, he realized they were not the papers he himself had torn from the ancient book so long ago. His eyes scanned along the text that appeared to be torn from an everyday paperback.

Confusion swept across his face.

"But I met Sam after I saw those Diaries." Buffy continued on the screen. "You remember that doncha' Quinton?" She looked up at him seriously. "Let's see. What was going on that made me want to look up info on Vamps and Slayers. I know it was some thing important."

The pages fell from his hand when his eyes moved from the screen to the scroll. Slowly, he reached in and took it from it's resting place. Before he opened it, he knew it was not the familiar parchment. The Yellow legal pad had fooled him from it's dark hiding place, but here he knew.

He unrolled the paper, and read the words written in black marker. "Akoshta."

~~`~~

Buffy marveled at the confidence in her voice. She listened as she taunted the old man.

When she heard herself trying to remember why she had asked for the diaries months ago, Buffy turned the knob and entered.

~~`~~

The moments of prerecorded planning playing in front of Spike had him smiling. They had all been sitting silently in the living area of the apartment when she made the recording. He remembered her taunting the hidden camera, trying to remember why she had wanted those books.

He smiled when he appeared on the screen. "Bloody hell Slayer. A daily reminder needed?" And with that said, he pulled her from her seat and quickly wrapped his arms around her. She leaned up and they began a slow passionate kiss.

"Ewe, guys. Can't you just say, "We're dating, and I wondered why?"" Dawn complained out of the camera's view.

This was quickly followed by Giles's voice. "Yes. Quite."

Buffy pushed Spike away, and the peroxide blonde lifted his head and turned back to where Giles was sitting. "You know, I think I should get my bit in. This thing’s got to do with me too ya' know."

He turned and looked over the crowd. As of yet, no one seemed to be paying attention to him here and in the living, breathing flesh. He spotted Randall, who appeared as though he was having serious problems with the whole breathing thing.

All Spike could do was chuckle at the ponce.

~~`~~

Quinton felt physically ill. He couldn't bear to hear the words, or face the screens. The fake scroll was now laying on the floor next to the torn pages of an unknown novel.

His eyes shut, he turned away so that he wouldn't have to see the sight of The Slayer and her Vampire.

Buffy was smiling broadly at the moment. It’s a shame she didn’t have a camera. The look on the Head of The Council's face was priceless. "If this isn't a Kodak moment, I don't know what is."

He was stilled by what he knew was not a voice from the radio. She was here. His eyes remained closed as he took long deep breaths. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he felt they would be his last.

Behind him, the Buffy on the screen continued. "I really had this all kinda planned out, Spike."

He looked up at the camera. "Alright, Buffy. I think I got my piece in." He nodded at the camera. "Have at it."

She smiled at him as he walked off camera. "So where were we. Oh yea, I'm in love with a Vampire. So I was wondering why."

~~`~~

The gasps from all around the room echoed off the walls. Spike looked on as the previously silent adults whispered to each other. He watched as the boys walked around quieting the adults.

They were in no mood to listen.

A few of the men and women began to get up from their seats and move about the room.

Randall stood with the others searching the large area. His eyes passed over several people, then stopped when they reached the young man running the movie.

The young Watcher headed in the direction of the large stand. He pushed past the boys with some force. When he reached the teenager, he looked up at the table the equipment was sitting on. Next to the DVD player was a disk. "What is that?" Randall asked pointing at the lone disk.

The young man looked back, and pressed stop on the player. "It's the movie for tonight?" The boy smiled in fear.

Randal looked back over the now very confused crowd. "What is going on here?" He asked himself.

The adults were trying to get control of the situation. Each standing and plotting with the nearest associate they could find. The murmurs were growing in volume to full blown rants and discussions.

The Scoobs were caught in the middle with several people questioning Giles. The kids had made a good go at it, but the adults were trying to pull rank on them. Without any other options he could see, Spike ran to the now silent screen, and stood on a vacant chair where everyone could see him.

"Anyone looking for me?!" He yelled over the raised voices.

~~`~~

When the radio went silent and the screens were dark, Quinton found himself. "You're dead."

"Even convinced yourself, hu'?” Buffy sauntered to the desk. "Well, I suppose a man of your age can't possibly be expected to keep reality and the imaginary separate all of the time." She lowered herself into Randall's normal seat, and propped her feet up on the desk. "But then again, even if you did think I was dead, you should know by now, I rarely stay that way."

Quinton's breath came in quick rasps. "No. You're..."

"Dead. We just covered that. But see, I really wasn't." She put her feet down and leaned forward in her seat. "Oh come on Quinty ol' boy. You can add."

He stared dumbfounded.

"Ok. Maybe not." She stood up and walked around the desk stopping at the safe. "Awe, you dropped the pages from Anya's book." Buffy bent down and retrieved the unbound printed papers. "She made me swear to get them back to her." Buffy stuffed them into her back pocket.

She took a whiff of the room. either he was sweating allot, or this room has a dead body hidden somewhere. The pounding of the old man's heart was getting to her as well. "Look, Quint. Either settle down or your thumping heart is going to drive me nuts." Then she looked at him quizzically. "Who knew you had one in the first place?"

"My heart?" His brows shot up as he took a breath. "You hear my...?"

"Oh yea. Super senses. It's a thing. A new thing, but it's a thing I do... now."

The screens were still dark. "Looks like they may have had technical difficulties."

Shrugging she gripped the old man's arm. "Come on. Might as well finish this in living color, before Spike starts going stir crazy."

Quinton stood, but only from lack of anything better to do at the moment. He couldn't fathom half of the information he was now receiving. Somehow, someway, the very thing he was trying to prevent had happened.


Chapter End Notes:
See, that's just fun.



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