There was one more thing Buffy needed to take care of that night, and so a block away she was doing just that. That being getting a message to the mayor. She didn't know what the strange chest was for yet, but if the mayor was trying to get his hands on it then it was obviously important. All she had to was arrange a meeting, and she had decided to convince an unlucky someone to play delivery vamp.

Faith had told her where one of the cronies watching Faith's apartment was staked out, and Buffy had already made the introductions. At first she had simply tried to talk to the thing, but now she found it coming at her for a fourth time. It clearly wasn't the smartest member of the undead population, and she easily spun to her side as it charged past her. She kicked out at its back, sending it hurtling to the concrete. It slid across the ground, its knees grinding against the rough concrete.

"You really aren't making this easy on yourself," she commented, feeling inclined to talk even though she had gotten nothing more than growls in return.

Despite having to deal with the masochistically stubborn vampire, she found herself in a chipper mood. The talk with Faith had not only given her a much needed helping of reassurance, but it had also been pleasantly void of fighting. They had managed to make small talk for a good while without any real drama or violence. Definitely a huge tick in the progress column, and a nice change of pace from what had otherwise been a long week. She was feeling good, and that fed her the patience that was keeping the vampire alive.

“I've got no other plans so we can do this all night if you like. Or you can just tell the mayor I have what he wants, and that the only way he's going to get it is to meet me at the church on avenue 64 tomorrow night.”

Back on its feet, freshly ripped jeans and all, it moved in to attack again. She tilted her head to the left, easily avoiding its hurried swing, and then responded by clocking it hard on its nose with the back of her fist. It growled in pain as it stumbled back, both hands shooting up to comfort its bleeding nose.

Buffy casually pulled out her stake. “Or I can always find someone else?” she offered, giving the vampire a cheerful smile as she waved the weapon back and forth in front of its beady eyes.

The vampire didn't advance again, and the lines on its already crinkled forehead seemed to ripple a little more. It took a while to respond, perhaps weighing up its very limited options, and Buffy tapped her foot while she waited.

“OK,” it said in a throaty voice.

Buffy smiled in victory. “See, now was that so bad? Avenue 64. Tomorrow. 10 o'clock. Got it?”

The vampire nodded, but then continued to stand there staring at her.

“Well?” she said after a moment, and she ushered it away with a hand gesture. It gave one final growl before it turned and made its exit, fleeing quickly as if it was worried she'd change her mind.

With any luck the mayor would take the bait, and then she'd stop him once and for all. And with almost an entire week to spare before graduation.

----------

Early the next morning Buffy found herself back at the alleyway from the previous night. With the sun rising in the sky, the area looked more grubby than she had realized, leading her to opt to remain standing as she waited for Faith to arrive.

Ten minutes later she began to wonder how it was even possible for the girl to show up so late despite practically being able to see the alley from her apartment. Sure enough though, Faith arrived a further five minutes later, her casual stroll suggesting she hadn't hurried to make up for lost time.

“Glad you could make it,” Buffy joked. “Sleep in?”

“Long night,” was Faith's only answer to the question. “The mayor got your message. Loud and clear.”

“Good. I wasn't sure if that vamp had the mental capacity to find his way there, yet alone remember an entire half dozen words.” She smiled. “The mayor clearly has his best people watching you.”

Faith's nose wrinkled. “What would you know?” Her hand found its way to her hip.

Buffy raised an eyebrow, Faith's overly aggressive reply taking her by surprise. “Sounds like somebody got out of bed on the grumpy side this morning,” she said, not really sure what the problem was.

Faith stared at her for a few moments before responding. “Whatever.”

“So,” Buffy began cautiously, eager to move on. “Will he be at the church?”

“He'll be there,” Faith confirmed. “Won't be alone though.”

“Figured as much.” Buffy would have been more surprised if the mayor didn't take his undead employees. It wouldn't matter; she wasn't going to be alone either.

“He knows this isn't a trade. The way he tells it, you ain't walking out of that church.”

“Trust me, the feeling's mutual.”

“Yeah, but last I checked you weren't rocking the immortality.”

Buffy had trouble reading Faith's expression. Her face didn't give much away, but at least the earlier look of annoyance had faded. Buffy thought Faith sounded almost impressed though, if that was even the right word. “We'll find a way to undo it,” she said with complete confidence. “The guys are working on it now.”

A smirk tugged at one side of Faith's mouth. “What, Red? The boss has been at this for a hundred years, and your grand plan is the pencil floater? I'm sure he's already running for the hills.”

“Don't be so quick to sell her short. She's come through before.”

Faith shrugged as she began to move across the alley, her eyes wandering away.

Buffy could have done without the scepticism, but Faith didn't know Willow like she did. “What about you, Faith?”

“What's that?” Faith continued her casual pacing down the length of the alleyway, but her eyes made their way back to Buffy.

“When this goes down, I have to assume you'll be there?”

Faith gave another nonchalant shrug. “Like I said, he wants you out of the picture.” She cocked her head. “Didn't even have to ask.”

“Well that makes sense. He wants you to do his dirty work again.”

“Employee of the month.” Faith motioned to herself with her hands, a glint in her eye. She came to a stop facing Buffy. A thin, lopsided smile danced on her face. “Not nervous, are you?”

“Should I be?” Buffy asked flatly, quickly losing patience with Faith's flippant behaviour.

Faith's only response was a flash of her teeth as she gave a quick grin.

“This isn't a game, Faith,” Buffy said, her exasperation getting the better of her.

Faith's smile slipped away. “Jeez, lighten up. I'm only joking.”

“Are you sure about that? Because you don't seem particularly thrilled about any of this, so I just want to make sure you're OK with what's going to happen.” It was Buffy's turn to shrug, and she did so with a forced indifference, echoing Faith's earlier care-free action. “You know, him being your boss and all,” she added sarcastically.

Faith glared at Buffy as if she'd just kicked a puppy. Twice. “Well excuse me. I'm just trying to make sure you don't walk into a death trap. But hey, you know best, B, as ever.”

The snarky tone did nothing to soothe Buffy's growing irritation. She really didn't need this first thing in the morning, or at any other time of the day for that matter. “I am well aware that this isn't an ideal situation, but we don't all have the luxury of taking an extended vacation when things get tough,” she shot back.

Faith let out an amused snort. “Funny, cause that's not the way I heard it.”

Buffy grit her teeth and clenched her fists tight. She could feel her fingernails threatening to break through the skin on the palms of her hands, but it was all she could do to keep from retaliating. She forced a slow, deep breath through her nose before she replied. “Can we please not do this?”

“You started it,” Faith replied instantly, clearly not ready to back down.

Buffy rolled her eyes. “What, are we in fourth grade now?”

“Why? You have a stick up your ass back then too?”

Buffy found her mouth gaping open of its own accord. She couldn't believe how ridiculous Faith was being. “You know what, I think I'd feel a lot safer if you just stayed out of this entire thing.”

“Maybe I will.”

“Good.”

“Fine.”

Faith crossed her arms, her shoulders squared, and her unblinking eyes pierced through Buffy. The two of them traded stares in a silent stand-off. Buffy began to feel nervous under Faith's thorny gaze, but she wasn't going to let that show. She forced her arms to stay down by her sides, but her muscles were tensed, ready to defend herself if Faith lashed out. She wanted to get out of there, but she refused to back down; Faith was the one being difficult. Buffy could have gotten the information she needed over the phone. She'd only shown up in person to see how Faith was holding up, and this was the thanks she got.

“Screw this,” Faith said, breaking the deadlock, her face contorting back into a look of disgust. Her arms dropped to her sides as she began to move past Buffy.

Buffy let out a frustrated sigh and put her hand on Faith's arm. “Faith, wait.” Faith shrugged her off as she shoved past. “Faith!” Buffy said more sternly, turning to keep her eyes on the other girl.

“Good luck,” Faith threw back, belligerent rather than supportive. She didn't look back, and her brisk pace took her around the corner and out of sight before Buffy could decide whether to follow.

Left alone in the alley, she shook her head in disbelief. “Great. Now there's a nice, stable girl you can count on.”

----------

“OK guys, give me some good news,” Buffy said as she walked into the Sunnydale High library.

Willow, Xander, Oz and Giles were huddled around a table. Several open books were scattered across the surface, and closed ones sat stacked to the side of an empty doughnut box.

“Someone's locked Snyder in his office,” Xander said. “He's been trapped in there since first period. Every now and then you can just make out his tiny cries for help.”

Buffy attempted to smile. “You're right. That is good news.” Despite that, she didn't find herself buoyed. It was going to take more than a bad day for the principal to improve her mood, but she kept it to herself. Faith was her problem, not theirs. The problem that just kept on giving. She tried not to dwell on it too much – there'd be time to worry about Faith later.

“Perhaps somebody should let him out,” Giles said, looking up. Buffy stared at him as if he had grown horns. “A-at some point,” he added, frowning briefly before returning to his book.

“I'd recommend post-graduation,” Oz offered.

“I don't know,” Xander said. “Before I leave I need to to kneel down, look that man in the eyes, and tell him that I fear him no longer.”

“For a minute there I was wondering where you were going with that. With the kneeling.”

“He's short,” Xander clarified, and Oz gave a single nod.

“So anyway,” Willow began, a hint of amusement on her face when she turned to Buffy, “how did it go with Faith?”

“Great!” Buffy answered, far quicker and more enthusiastically than she had meant to. She plastered a large smile on her face.

There was an odd silence, and Buffy found herself waiting but not quite sure what for.

Willow eyed her curiously before she spoke. “So will he be there?”

“Who?“ Buffy said, taking a beat before she realized what Willow had actually been asking about. “Oh. Right. Yes, even. We're a go.”

“Well that's unfortunate,” Xander said, flipping the book in front of him closed and slouching back in his chair, “because we got nadda.”

“Well that's not true,” Oz countered. “There was that whole thing with the cats and the runic stones.”

Xander shook his head. “That was for muting doomsayers.”

Oz looked away into space for a second. “So it was.”

“Wonderful,” Buffy muttered as she dropped down into the free chair alongside Xander. She slumped forward to let her arms and head rest on the table. “If someone could just wake me up after the world ends, that'd be good.”

“Don't worry, Buff, we'll find something,” Xander said cheerfully. “Sure, it might be after the mayor has killed us all and used our bones for soup, but mark my words, we'll find something.”

Buffy wasn't so sure, and challenging the mayor to fight night suddenly seemed a little rash. Maybe Faith was right; maybe she was going to end up walking in to her death. How unfitting would that be? Taking out all sorts of vampires and demons just to end up losing to what looked like some regular guy wearing a suit and a cheerful smile. Not that she had a particular preference for her way out, but she was kind of hoping to at least see her early twenties. She hadn't even owned a car yet.

“Aha!” Giles shouted, the excitement in his voice grabbing Buffy's attention.

“What?” she asked, her head snapping up instantly.

“Oh wait, sorry. That says reserve, not reverse.” He gave her an apologetic look.

She groaned and let herself flop back down. She knew already that it was going to be a long day. A really, really long day.

----------

“It all comes down to determination and strength of mind,” Wesley noted enthusiastically. “With the right attitude there are no limits.”

On the one hand Buffy wanted to get up and strangle him. On the other, he was stood close by and she figured she could probably reach without leaving her seat. She was mostly sure he had good intentions, but the unnecessary pep talk was doing nothing for her. Not that she thought it was aimed at her, or anyone else in particular. He seemed to be addressing the room in general after Xander had made the mistake of questioning whether they were getting anywhere.

“Self-belief is our greatest ally, and doubt our most fearsome enemy,” Wesley continued as he paced dramatically around the table.

Giles grimaced, his look stuck somewhere between questioning amusement and utter disbelief as he made his way over to Wesley from his office. “Are you trying to suggest that we've spent the last six hours looking through these bloody books because we're not eager enough to find the answer?”

“Precisely! The council are very keen to stress the importance of mental conviction these days, for Slayers and watchers both. And I wholeheartedly agree. You musn't let these things get you down.”

“In the interests of fair warning, I think I'm going to hit you now, you pillock,” Giles said, though instead he handed Wesley one of two mugs, keeping the other for himself.

Wesley cupped the mug graciously while tutting his disapproval. “Now Mr. Giles, that's not the attitude I'm talking about.”

“Not even if I go about it in a very determined manner?”

Wesley looked uncertain, and he let out a nervous laugh. His eyes briefly flicked to Buffy as if he expected her to help. “That was, uh, a joke, yes?”

“Oh. Oh!” Willow interrupted. “I think I've found something.”

“Does it say reserve?” Buffy asked, drawing a wry look from Giles. She shrugged innocently. “I'm sure it's a common mistake.”

Willow smiled as she slid the book across the table toward Buffy, but Giles was quick to intercept it. He held the book up in his free hand, occasionally taking a careful sip from the steaming mug in his other as he ran his eyes over the text. “This is a complicated spell, Willow,” he said before returning the book to the table.

“But could it work?” Buffy asked, eyeing the page without bothering to actually read it.

“Perhaps,” Giles said, his eyes remaining on Willow. “Without knowing the exact nature of the mayor's power it's hard to say for sure.”

“Well that's still a big step up from nothing.”

“And I'm completely ready,” Willow said earnestly. “I've been practising a lot lately, and I'm getting really good. So sure, Amy's still a rat, but the other day I'm sure I made her tail grow.” She frowned at Buffy's questioning look before focusing on Giles. “OK, so maybe that's not my greatest defence ever, but I want to help, Giles, and I know I can do this.”

“Then I'd say we have a plan.” Buffy said, and she gave Willow a supportive smile that was returned in kind.

“Very well,” Giles said after a short pause. “Willow, why don't you and Oz go to the magic shop and pick up the requisite supplies? I'll keep looking into this spell to make sure there are no unexpected side affects. Wesley, you switch your focus to the box of Gavrok.” He looked at the other watcher with a tired expression. “I'm sure with your mental conviction it shouldn't take too long,” he finished dryly.

“I'm already on it,” Wesley said as he energetically sprang up the stairs to the stacks.

“Wait, the who of the what now?” Buffy asked, suddenly registering words she didn't understand. There's a box of gravel, she asked herself, frowning.

“The box of Gavrok,” Giles repeated, and Buffy looked at him blankly. “The chest we intercepted at the airport. We found some information regarding its origin, though no clue as to why the mayor might need it as of yet. Did I not mention that?”

“You really kinda didn't.”

“Speaking of which,” Willow interjected, “as it turns out, there's an awful lot of those giant, horrible things in there. 'How many more can there be.'” She gave Buffy a mock look of disapproval.

Buffy smirked and raised an eyebrow. “Gee, sorry Will.”

“You would have been when we were drowning in an army of Spiders,” she said sulkily, and she rubbed her hands up and down her arms.

“You're never going to get over that, are you?”

Willow's bottom lip jutted out. “Not likely.”

Giles finished scrawling on a piece of paper and handed it to Willow. He took the book containing the spell and moved toward his office while Willow and Oz made for the exit.

“I guess that leaves you and me on weapons duty,” Buffy said, looking to Xander.

“Finally, the good stuff. This whole reading thing isn't all it's cracked up to be,” he said as he held a book up before tossing it lazily across the table. “Half a day gone and I'm about as knowledgeable as I was when I woke up this morning.”

Buffy got to her feet and began making her way over to the weapons cabinet with Xander in tow. “That's why I try and stick to the slaying. Punch, kick, stake, job done.”

“No fuss, no mess, and home in time for Beverly Hills.”

“Exactly,” she said instinctively before pausing and looking over her shoulder to give him a puzzled look. “Well, maybe not that last part.”