A small army marched down avenue 64. Buffy led the way, followed closely by Xander, Willow, Giles, Wesley, Oz, and Angel. It was crosses, stakes and bows all around, and they were all ready for a fight. Buffy hadn't brought the box, but if the mayor was going to be there for the same reason she was then it wouldn't matter. That meant he was confident, but was that because he thought Faith was the ace up his sleeve? Buffy was more hoping Faith would be the joker in the pack, though she wasn't even sure if the girl would show. She'd made three calls earlier that evening, but each time the phone had rang endlessly without answer. Either Faith's company had kept her from talking, or she'd bailed and was who knows where.

Even if Faith was already half way to Nevada, Buffy knew that the mayor would still meet them. She had always been able to feel the big nights. The Master. Angelus. She may not have seen what was coming, but she knew when it was time. Once they had moved into full view of the church, the line of five vampires that stood by the entrance to the building was nothing more than a confirmation she didn't need.

“Guess he's already inside,” she commented, mostly to herself.

“Can he even do that?” Willow asked. “Shouldn't he, I don't know, go up in flames or something?”

“Sadly I don't think that's the way it works,” Buffy replied. “Giles says even vampires can enter as they please.”

“But he is a politician,” Oz pointed out.

“Good point,” she said. “Well, here's hoping.” She looked over at Willow. “But failing that, are you ready for this?”

Willow took the backpack from her shoulder and held it up as if for inspection. “As I'll ever be.”

“OK. Once you start, chances are the vamps are going to come say hi.”

“And we'll be waiting,” Angel said, stepping forward. “We'll keep her safe while she does the spell.”

She nodded. “I know you will. And thank you.” She looked around at each of them. “All of you. I know you didn't have to come with me tonight.”

“Just give him hell and we'll call it even,” Xander said, giving her a firm nod.

Buffy gave him a small smile before her eyes roamed back to the church, looking past the vampires to the large, wooden doors that lead inside. “Then I guess this is it.”

“Be careful,” Giles offered.

She slowly made her way up the uneven, stone path to the old building. The vampires parted to the sides to allow her through. Their eyes watched her hungrily, but they made no move to attack her as she took the steps to the looming church doors. She took one last look back at her friends to find Willow already setting up on the floor. The rest of them had formed a line in front, weapons raised, ready to face the crowd of vampires when they advanced. Buffy wanted to stay and help with the fight, but she knew she couldn't. The mayor wouldn't stick around for long once a large scale fight broke out.

She pushed one half of the sturdy, wooden doors open and cautiously stepped inside. Mayor Wilkins was hunched over toward the far end of the church. It wasn't until she moved farther inside that she could see him enthusiastically rubbing at the top of the lectern with a cloth.

If the loud bang from the church door closing behind her didn't get his attention, the clomping of her shoes against the stone floor must have. He straightened up and glanced in her direction, his blank expression unchanging. He took his time to neatly fold the cloth and return it to his jacket pocket before making a show of looking at his watch. “9:59,” he said, a smile coming across his face. “I do appreciate a girl who's punctual.”

“I wasn't going to miss this,” she said from the middle of the church aisle.

“No, I didn't suppose you would.” His eyes honed in on her right hand. “But that doesn't look like my box you're holding there. Should I be concerned that I won't be receiving it tonight?”

“Oh don't worry, you're going to get it all right.” She slowly twirled the dagger around in her hand, allowing the mayor a good look at it.

“I see,” he said evenly. “Well I can't say I'm all that surprised. You know what they say about honour and thieves.”

“You're one to talk,” she said, taking a single, tentative step forward. “So how is this going to work? A bit of banter? Maybe a few threats? Because if we just skipped to the part where I kill you then I'd really be OK with that.”

“Oh, but I didn't come here to fight,“ he said earnestly, and Buffy's eyebrows rose sceptically. “However there's a friend of mine whom you've made quite the impression on, and I think she'd like to have a word with you if that's quite alright.” He paused for a moment. “Faith,” he called out, lacking his earlier jovial tang.

Buffy kept her face neutral as Faith emerged from a room at the back end of the church. The girl took her time as she made her away over to stand by the mayor, her eyes trailing along the floor all the way. Even when she stopped, her head stayed bowed, her gaze landing somewhere in front of Buffy's feet.

“You see,” Wilkins continued, “running for office isn't easy, and it's certainly not something you do alone. You need the support of your peers if you're going to succeed. And it doesn't stop when you get there, oh no. Once you make it to the top there's always someone, or something, waiting to stab you in the back. And that's why it's so important to have people you can count on.”

Buffy hoped his confidence was misplaced. “I guess that's the problem with politics then,” she said. “You really can't trust anybody these days.”

She looked at Faith expectantly, waiting for something to happen. It took a moment before Faith looked up, catching her eye for the first time. Buffy hadn't really noticed it that morning, but Faith looked tired. Her eyes sagged at the corners, and faint shadows hung below them. The contact didn't last long before Faith looked to her side. Away from Buffy. Away from the mayor.

The mayor was watching Faith as well, a look of curiosity on his face. Buffy swallowed hard, trying to dampen her dry throat. Hundreds of tiny pins prickled up and down her arms for what seemed like an eternity.

Faith briefly met the mayor's look before her eyes dipped to stare at his chest. She took one step back from him, followed by a second. He watched her carefully, and then his face drooped, his cheerful smile vanishing for the first time. “Oh no, surely not. Not my Faith.”

“Sorry, boss,” Faith said quietly. “I guess we're just not meant to be.”

He regarded her with sorrow. “Now, Faith, I'm not sure you've fully thought this through.”

Faith shrugged, but her evasive eyes betrayed the indifference. “Never really my strong point.”

“It wasn't so long ago when you first turned up on my doorstep, frightened and lost. No purpose, nowhere to go. So tell me, Faith, where was Buffy then?” There was compassion in his voice, venom briefly appearing only when he referred to Buffy by name. “I'll tell you where. She was off making time with a vampire, while you were all alone. But I took you in. And I gave you more than just a place to stay. I gave you a place where you could matter. Where you could truly belong.”

It still hadn't properly sunk in for Buffy, just how bad a state Faith had reached, but the fact that the mayor's words rang true left her feeling uneasy. She watched as Faith shifted her balance, as her hands awkwardly clutched at the pockets of her dark, denim jeans.

“Things are different now,” Buffy interjected. She looked at Faith, trying to grab her attention, but Faith's eyes were locked on the mayor.

“Are they really?” The mayor wasn't talking to Buffy. “Where did you spend your day, Faith? Was it at school, with them? Were you taking part in their secret little meetings? No. Of course not.”

Buffy had a counter-argument for that. The council could have shown up – it wasn't safe. It just sounded so weak, even in her head, that she couldn't bring herself to share it. How the hell was she coming up second best against a monster? She looked down at her watch as she tried to stay focused. She only needed five more minutes.

“You were in my office, with me, preparing for the big day.” Wilkins stepped closer to Faith. “Our big day.”

Buffy looked on, her quickening pulse making it difficult to concentrate on the mayor's words. The certainty she had felt about everything turning out well was quickly wavering. Faith was going to choose the mayor, and the worst part was she couldn't even blame her. When Faith needed it, he had been there, and what was she doing? She was trying. Trying? She suddenly found herself with a strong distaste for that word. More so when she realized that back then, when it had truly mattered most, she'd barely even done that.

The mayor seemed to have an entire speech prepared, every word of it aimed at tearing her down. “How long until Buffy and her friends cast you aside? With them you'll always be on the outside looking in.” Faith's head dropped, and she didn't flinch when the mayor put the side of his hand under her chin and nudged it back up. “But you'll always be my right hand girl, Faith.”

Buffy had heard enough. “OK, this is getting a little creepy now.” She knew her voice lacked the confidence she would have liked, and she doubted she'd been able to cover up the increasing sense of dread she felt, but she didn't dare let the mayor continue.

It was enough to draw his attention. He turned toward her, a leer forming on his face. Strolling forward, hands in pockets, his eyes accused her of heinous crimes. “You just can't bare to see anyone else happy, can you?”

Faith moved after him before he had gotten far, and there was dampness in her eyes. She grabbed the mayor around his arm. “Don't.” Her voice was quiet, the single word sounding more like a request than an order.

He sighed, and his forehead crinkled as he regarded her with soft, dismayed eyes. “I'm sorry, Faith. I wish it didn't have to be this way.” His free hand shot from his pocket and on to Faith's head. A light burst out from the point of contact, bright enough to make Buffy squint.

“Faith!” Buffy ran forward and, even as the mayor removed his hand from Faith, kicked out to send him stumbling back. He knocked into the side of the lectern, his hands urgently grabbing hold of it to barely keep himself on his feet. Faith dropped to her knees, and Buffy was down just as fast to stop her falling any farther. “Faith?” she said again, carefully guiding Faith's head to look at her.

“I don't... feel...” Faith's murmurs died away, her lips staying slimly parted. Her cloudy eyes fluttered shut as she collapsed limply into Buffy's supporting arms.

“What did you do to her?” Buffy demanded, glaring up at the mayor as he casually straightened his tie.

He lifted one of the Shards of Ursula up in front of his face. It gleamed much more brightly than the one Buffy had seen back at the museum. He stared at it intently as he twirled it between his fingers and thumb. “That was meant for you. You've been quite the troublemaker since showing up in Sunnydale, let me tell you. And quite frankly I didn't expect you to bring me my box. But if there's one thing I've learnt in my considerable time on this planet, it's to always have a contingency plan.”

Buffy looked back to Faith. She could see the girl's chest slowly shifting in and out, but there was no other movement.

“Oh, I wouldn't worry about her too much. She'll be fine.” He paused, and then his voice lowered. “Better than fine, once you're out of the picture.”

He held the shard forward, and a bolt of pale blue energy shot out toward Buffy. Still clutching Faith, Buffy rolled to the side, taking them both out of the firing line. Her eyes trailed the bolt as it narrowly flew past them and landed against the far wall. It exploded in a vicious burst, sending large chunks of stone debris hurtling in all directions.

“Whoa!” Wilkins yelled, his eyes lighting up to level the brightness of the shard. He gave a short, upbeat laugh that verged on maniacal. “Well wasn't that neat. I'll tell you this for nothing: they don't make magical artefacts like these any more. No sir. I can't wait to see what all three of them can do.”

Buffy carefully lay Faith down on her back, easing her head down to rest on the stone floor. She took one long, worried look down at the unconscious girl before getting to her feet. She strafed away to make sure Faith wouldn't be caught in the fight. “Then it's too bad you're never going to find out,” she said, her anger building rapidly.

“You know what your problem is, young lady?” he asked, taking a step forward. “Arrogance. How old are you? Seventeen, eighteen? And you think you can stop me? I've spent a century putting everything together ready for the big day. Preparing every detail for every contingency. Do you honestly think I'm going to let a nasty, little miscreant like you ruin everything I've worked so hard to build?”

“You know what your problem is, Dick?” Buffy said as she also moved to close the gap. “You talk too much.”

She leapt forward with her knife clutched tightly in hand. She didn't even make it into striking distance before the shard pulsed. A wave of energy rushed over her, cold enough to raise every hair on her skin. The force was overwhelming, blurring her vision and sending her catapulting back through the air with ease. When she landed, it was hard on her side, and the momentum sent her rolling across the ground.

She let out a pained groan once she came to a stop. She gingerly pushed herself to her knees, her hand pressing against her pained side as she stole another glance at her watch. It was time.

“You're a feisty little thing, aren't you? I'm betting there's enough juice in you to fill up both my other shards. Granted, you probably won't survive the process, but I know my Faith will be better off with you gone.”

As if on cue, Faith began to stir. She let out a small groan as her hand absently moved to rest on her forehead. Her eyes blinked rapidly as she stared up at the church ceiling. It proved enough of a distraction to the mayor, and while he continued to look at the waking girl Buffy used the opening to throw her knife forward. It flew through the air with speed and precision until it pierced straight through flesh. It embedded itself in the side of the mayor's neck, bringing a smile to Buffy's face. The mayor stepped back as he winced in pain, and she waited expectantly for him to go down.

“Well now, that wasn't very thoughtful, was it?” he said, looking nothing more than a little miffed as he pulled the knife straight out in a single tug.

Buffy watched as the wound healed, his skin sewing itself shut before even a single drop of blood could spill down the front of his shirt. “Oh,” she said to herself, her smile slipping; that really wasn't supposed to be happening still.

“I think it's about darn time somebody taught you some manners.”

A loud bang from behind grabbed Buffy's attention. The church doors had flown open, one side slamming hard enough against the wall to break it from its hinges. Before it even had time to fall to the floor, Angel charged through the opening, his hands wrapped tightly around the neck of another vampire. Another followed behind him, pausing at the threshold. Its gaze ran uncertainly around the edge of the doorway before it entered.

“It didn't work,” Angel shouted out whilst he traded blows with the two vampires.

“Yeah? Tell me something I don't know,” Buffy said, her gaze flicking back and forth between Angel and the mayor.

Faith had made her way back to her feet and was slowly shaking the cobwebs away as her dimmed eyes looked groggily at Buffy.

“Are you OK?” Buffy called out to her.

“Five by five,” she responded, even as her legs almost gave way beneath her. Her knees buckled, and her hands shot out to the side as she tried to keep herself on her feet.

“Get out of here,” Buffy ordered.

“No way, B. I've got this.”

Angel's fist caught one vampire low in the stomach, doubling it over, before a punch to the face from the other sent him spinning to the ground. Faith moved in to intercept, aiming a trio of punches into the vampire's midsection. It barely flinched and swung its fist out in retaliation, easily swatting her to the ground. She let out a groan as she hit the floor, and she was down long enough to allow the vampire to dive on top of her. Its head moved down, its fangs quickly homing in on her neck.

“Faith!” Buffy shouted as she abandoned her stand off with the mayor. Faith was writhing around as she tried to free herself, but making little in the way of progress as the vampire kept her arms pinned down by her sides. Buffy grabbed it by the collar of its shirt and dragged it to its feet. She pulled out her stake with her free hand and thrust it into the vampire's heart. It exploded into a cloud of dust, and Faith shielded her eyes as the remains dropped down over her. With the vampire gone, Buffy extended her hand to help Faith up.

“Down!” Faith shouted.

Instinctively Buffy ducked to a low crouch, and she watched as another blast of energy shot over her head. She turned to Angel just in time to see him dispatch of the other vampire. “Help Faith,” she called out to him. She moved quickly away, drawing the mayor's attention as she circled around.

“Hey!” Faith warned from Buffy's side. “Try and carry me out of here and I'll stake you myself.”

Buffy looked over to see Angel bent down as if he was ready to scoop Faith up into his arms. He was frozen in place, clearly unsure of what to do, and he gave Buffy an unsure look.

Smirking just a little, Buffy shrugged before turning back to the mayor. She watched out the corner of her eye as Angel instead pulled Faith to her feet and began guiding her toward the exit. She gave them time to get clear before she too started to back away.

“You're not leaving already, are you?” he asked. “But we've got so much to discuss. Such as how I'm going to kill everyone you've ever met unless you bring me my box.” The mayor's smile was as much eerie as it was cheerful, and the tone of his voice suggested the threat was very much real.

She continued to back away while the mayor stood his ground, unwilling to turn her back on him until she was safely out through the church doorway. She had barely made it to the bottom of the steps before Willow reached her. “I'm sorry, Buffy, I don't know what happened. It seemed to be working, but then – nothing. I tried to start again, but I couldn't. I couldn't--”

“It's OK, Will, it's not your fault,” she said, pulling the babbling Willow away from the building as she shot a glance back toward the church.

They joined the rest of the group, including Angel and Faith, and as one they retreated back the way they had come. Buffy looked back over her shoulder to find the mayor stood in the open doorway to the church. He watched her with a sombre expression that left her rubbing at her bare arms, his unblinking, emotionless eyes trailing her doggedly until she was out of sight.