Spike heard Wesley’s roar of warning and leaped into the bus’s driver’s seat, slamming it into gear and pulling away.

“Spike!” cried another voice.

The vampire did a double take of the side of the bus then slowed down slightly to let Angel jump onto the bus.

“What’s going on?”

“Dunno, Wesley shouted for me to get out of here; that’s what I’m gonna do.”

“What about that huge explosion just now?”

Spike stared levelly at his grandsire. “Nice to see you too.”

“Don’t start, Spike.”

“Alright, on the account of our lives being in mortal danger I’ll give it a rest. For now. That was a school bus exploding with poor old Robin Wood inside of it. That big pool of holy water on the ground back there was our unique way of dealing with the ambush the First set up to take out Wes and Gunn.”

“Right.”

Spike had pulled out onto the road to see Robin’s car hurtling away after the fire engine the priest was driving. Wesley suddenly swung the car around and headed back past the bus and towards the shadow Spike had noticed in the distance.

“Not another one…” he muttered. Angel looked in the mirror also and groaned.

**********

Wesley revved the engine and shot past the bus, sticking his arm out of the open window and blasting the shadow with the handgun before he shot right through it. He slammed on the brakes, and unaware this was the second time this car had been inside a demon shadow, twisted the wheel until he thought he’d turned 180 degrees then revved the engine again.

**********

“Turn here – turn – here!”

“Shut up, will you?” demanded Spike as he failed to turn the corner.

“You’re gonna get us killed,” warned Angel.

“No, that giant shadow is probably goin’ to get us killed, but thanks for the thought.”

“Yeah, you’re gonna get us killed by letting the shadow catch up to us and…letting that kill us.”

Spike sighed. “Very coherent.”

“Shut up, just drive where I tell you to.”

“Uhm – no, I don’t think so.”

“Spike!”

“Look, mate, this isn’t the time for us to have one of our little spats, have you noticed the way the sky’s brightening more and more by the second?”

“Yeah, that’d be because of the sun, Spike.”

“And what does the sun do to vampires?”

“Which is why we have to get under cover as soon as we can.”

“The only cover we’re goin’ to get to is Buffy’s house, because they need this bus to…do something.”

“Great, you’re gonna drive this bus all the way to Buffy’s house through the impending sunrise and you don’t even know why. Sure you got a soul and not your brain removed?”

“I didn’t have a brain to begin with.”

“Right, course.”

Spike swung the bus around another corner.

“It’s not that far anyway, you managed to run to the school in about five minutes, didn’t you?”

“I took the direct route though.”

“Ah, right.” Spike checked the mirror. “It’s gaining on us.”

“Any weapons in here?”

“I doubt it, it’s a school bus, mate. They don’t exactly promote sharp objects in the educational system anymore, last time I checked anyway.”

“Just drive the bus, Spike.” Angel frantically searched for some kind of weapon to use against the approaching demon, but couldn’t find anything.

“It’s a giant bloody shadow,” called Spike from the front. “I doubt you’d be able to hit it anyway, unless it turns into its solid version and starts running really fast and gaining on us even more.”

“What?” shouted Angel, glaring up at Spike, whose voice had trailed off at the end of the sentence. Then he looked through the rear mirror to see the enormous demon they’d fought earlier on the street. “Oh…”

“Any news on that weapon?”

Angel ran to the front of the bus. “You’re driving one!”

Spike gave a puzzled look. “I’m sure I’ve had this -” The bus lurched violently and Angel cried out Spike’s name again as he staggered to the side. Spike fought to gain control of the bus and the demon let go.

“How much longer to the house?”

“More importantly, how much longer til the sun rises?” asked Spike, regarding the tops of the buildings around them glowing red as the sun prepared to break free of the shadows.

**********

Wesley was trapped behind the demon as it turned into its solid form and despite being the one who was attacking it, it was paying little to no attention to him, the only evidence of an attack being a slimy streak across the windscreen where a tentacle had brushed against the car.

He tried to reload the gun while attempting to overtake the demon but he couldn’t manage it, flinging the gun to one side in distaste. From what he could tell, it had hold of the bus and it was slowing down.

**********

“Are we slowing down?” asked Angel desperately.

“That’d be a yes, on the account of the demon dragging the rear of the bus,” retorted Spike.

“Right, that’s it,” growled Angel. He sprinted to the back of the bus and rammed into the emergency door, flinging it open and driving the demon off balance, causing it to let go of the bus. He almost fell out when the bus lurched forward but grabbed hold of the side of the doorway. Wesley tore past the demon as it stumbled to the side and shot in front of the bus. Angel pulled the door closed and ran back to the front.

“Get us out of here, Spike.”

“I’ll do my…” Spike stopped as he saw the fire engine much closer than he remembered. “What’s he…?”

Suddenly the fire truck slammed on its brakes, Wesley swerving around to avoid a collision.

“Bollocks!” cried Spike and he wrenched the wheel to the side, barely avoiding the front of the heavier vehicle as it slid to the side, blocking the whole road and slamming into the torso of the massive demon.

The fire truck lifted onto two wheels and the demon soared backwards and collapsed onto the road. The truck’s momentum kept it going and it slid on two tyres down towards to demon, coming to an eventual stop right over the monster and after hanging in the air for a few seconds, lazily collapsed onto it, sending a cascade of blood all over the street.

Spike and Wesley had brought their vehicles to a stop, and the three men gaped openly as the priest jumped out of the fire truck and walked around to the side. He took a large tub of petrol from one of the compartments, then spread the fuel around the driver’s cab, then walked towards the school bus making a trail of the liquid in front of him. Then, he threw the tub aside and reached into a pocket bringing out a lighter. He flicked it until a flame appeared, then set fire to the edge of the trail. He ran towards the trio and covered his head as the trail of fire reached the engine and made it explode violently, the noise echoing around them as Spike, Angel and Wesley covered their ears.

Then there was silence. The priest walked up to Angel.

“Father Greg Duncan, pleased to meet you.” He offered his hand to the vampire, who dumbly shook it.

He looked over at Spike. “…A priest?” The other vampire just shrugged and shook his head in disbelief.

Father Duncan grinned at Angel, then clambered onto the bus.

Wesley chuckled quietly then got back into the car and pulled away slowly, and the two vampires, after realising daylight was almost upon them, hid in the shadows inside the bus as the priest drove them home.

**********

Giles could simply stand and stare at the battered car and the blackened bus as they rolled to a stop outside the equally dilapidated house.

Faith strode outside after hearing the hiss of the bus’s brakes and regarded the newcomer as he climbed off the bus.

“Twenty says he’s evil somehow,” she wagered. Giles chose to ignore the comment and instead threw a couple of blankets into the bus after fetching them from the big pile of materials which now made up the Summers’ front lawn.

Angel and Spike disappeared inside and Wesley wandered over to the other Brit.

“Robin didn’t make it,” he said after a moment.

Giles sighed. “That’s a shame,” he said, unknowingly echoing Spike’s sentiment.

“What happened?” asked Faith, her face unreadable.

“We think the First knew what we’d do and planted a car bomb in one of the buses, hoping we’d get into it, and Robin did.”

“So why aren’t you and Charlie-boy dead?” asked Faith, faintly hostile, gesturing to Gunn as a couple of Slayers carried him inside.

“We were following Robin’s suggestion that we bring another bus back. Then we were assaulted by Turok-Han but Spike and the priest saved us by using a fire engine filled with holy water.”

Giles looked impressed, however Faith just stared at Wesley.

“It’s a shame he didn’t go down fighting,” she said finally, and walked off.

The two men watched her walk inside and then Giles felt a finger tap his shoulder.

“Father Greg Duncan, pleased to meet you,” said the balding man. Giles estimated his age to be around fifty. He was dressed in his customary clergy uniform, and so looked uncomfortably like Caleb.

He took the Father’s hand and shook it.

“I hope I won’t be a burden around here, Spike tells me you could use an extra set of hands.”

“Yes, every little helps,” murmured Giles.

Wesley looked at Giles. “I’d better show him around, introduce him.”

“Yes, that’d be best, I think. Buffy’s still unconscious, and I don’t think Father Duncan should be around her when she wakes up. We’ve had problems with members of the clergy recently,” he added, mainly for the priest’s benefit. He nodded and then moved off, the Father in tow.

Giles sighed. It was another day.

**********

“Oh my gosh,” gushed Fred. “What happened?”

“He’s going to be fine,” said Wesley from behind her as the Slayers dropped off Gunn on a hastily assembled cot.

“Yes, he’s also in my prayers,” added a strange voice.

Fred whirled around, panic stricken. “You said he’s gonna be fine!”

“Uh…he is…I just meant he’s in my prayers.”

“Oh. Don’t scare people like that, alright?” demanded Fred and with that went to attend to Gunn. Wesley shrugged apologetically at the priest and then went to speak with Fred, leaving Father Duncan to his own devices.

“Hey…” he whispered.

She turned and smiled wearily at him. “Long day, right?”

“Long year, more like it. I thought I’d be able to sleep for a month or so after Jasmine was defeated but the fight continues for us relentlessly.”

“Well, maybe we should look on the bright side,” said Fred. Wesley gave her a quizzical look as he watched her search for a suitable reason.

“Uhm…we should be able to rest after the First’s defeated, right?” She grinned enthusiastically, and Wesley, helpless in the sight of her beaming face, could only smile back.

He watched her tinker around for a few moments longer then looked around for the priest – to see he’d disappeared from sight. He sighed then touched Fred’s shoulder.

“I’m going to find a quiet place to rest,” he said, and Fred nodded. He headed away, further into the house.

**********

Xander let out a tense breath and sat down on the dilapidated couch next to Anya. All he wanted to do was sleep – if Anya decided to join him, so much the better – but he knew there was too much to do to even consider sleep. However, as soon as his head hit the couch, he had drifted off to sleep before he even realised he was doing it.

**********

Andrew huddled in a corner, watching the Slayers cart boxes and crates and lots of other things outside, ready to be loaded onto the bus. Before long someone had noticed the corner he was sitting in and shuffled over.
Luckily, she was in no mood to help shifting gear and therefore sat down next to him without making him help.

“Hey,” said Andrew quietly, recognising the need to stay quiet if he wanted to get out of the heavy lifting.

“Hey,” said Dawn. She’d recently awakened and had started putting an appearance in around the house, slowly coming to her senses once again.

“How are you?” he asked.

“Tired, I guess.”

“I can imagine. You were gone for a while.”

An uncomfortable silence stretched between the two, and Andrew inevitably tried to fill it.

“Nothing really happened while you were gone…I mean, Willow got kidnapped, oh, and the house kinda got demolished. Spike’s back, too. That Gunn guy is out cold, again. Buffy too. She’s gonna be okay though. Slayer strength and healing and all that. Oh yeah, Willow went evil again before she got snatched, almost forgot about that. And all the Potentials are Slayers, but I guess you already heard about that… Robin Wood got blowed up, and there’s a new priest guy hanging around, let’s hope he doesn’t turn out evil like the last one.” He glanced over at her. “Other than that, nothing really.”

“It spoke to me, you know.”

Rather than be discouraged by this apparent change of conversation, Andrew tried to make sense of it. “I know, it’s hard to get used to. But just because you’ve met one evil priest doesn’t mean every other member of the clergy - ”

“The First, dumbass.”

“Oh. Well, that’s hard to get used to, as well.”

They watched the Slayers march up and down in front of them, each lost in their own thoughts.

**********

Faith marched resolutely into the kitchen and slammed her fists into the counters. One made a cracking noise, and she felt a little bit better for having done it. But Robin dying reinforced her belief that the universe was out to get her – every time she remotely opened up to anyone, they were taken away from her.

She huffed loudly and threw herself onto a stool. It was then she realised there was somebody else in the room with her.

“Oh… didn’t realise anyone else was in here.”

Lorne threw back whatever he was drinking and went to rinse out the glass. “Slayer senses suffering from all the stress, honey? Not only did I not try to hide but – hello, demon!”

Faith snorted. “I think everyone’s feelin’ the pressure lately.”

He paused for a moment. “It was an accident, you know. The First didn’t kill him because you and him…you know. It was a random thing.”
She whirled on him, shocked. Before she could say anything, he carried on talking. “Part of the aura-reading thing, sometimes you don’t have to sing for me to see what you’re already screaming. Not literally, of course.”

“Right…”

“I can’t take the pain away, but I’m an expert in destinies and my professional opinion is that you aren’t supposed to be alone forever. You can trust me on that.”

She stared at the ground, trying to make sense of what he’d said. Could she hope to hope? For so long she’d either been hiding or redeeming herself, could she reach a point where she could stop paying?

“Maybe you should talk to Angel about that,” said Lorne, surprising her again. “And I didn’t have to be an aura-reading, all-singing all-dancing demon from another dimension to see that – it’s written all over your face, sweetheart.” He patted her shoulder and then left her alone.

**********

Spike carefully moved a lock of hair out of Buffy’s face and behind her ear.

“Weird that, even though they’re unconscious, that one bit of hair still manages to get out of place.”

Connor grunted from behind him, remembering Cordy’s coma. How it wasn’t really her, but Jasmine all along. Even hours and hours later, he hadn’t adjusted completely to that revelation, and the fact that it was Cordy herself who was telling him – from a higher plane to boot – added to the distress he felt.

“Talkative little nipper, aren’t you?” asked Spike. “You know, if I didn’t know vampires are incapable of squeezin’ out kids I’d swear you’re Angel’s son.”

Connor stared at Spike strangely, making the vampire uncomfortable.

“All right, mate, just makin’ a bit of conversation…”

“You called me ‘Brood Junior’ when we were on the streets.”

“Uhm…right, okay.”

Spike went to walk out of the room but Connor jumped up and barred the exit.

“No, what is it?”

“Not tryin’ to deliberately contradict you here, but this is the first time we’ve spoken.”

Connor stared at him again making Spike back away, uneasy.

“Okay, that’s getting creepy.”

“You’re trying to tell me this is the first time we’ve spoken?”

“…Yeah.”

“Then how come I remember different?”

“Well, obviously someone in this room has a faulty memory disorder, and I’m fairly confident that it isn’t me.”

“Well, so am I.”

“And that puts us right back a square one. Why don’t you explain what you think you remember, and then I’ll do likewise.”

“Well…right after the fight with the Erus Veneficus, we all got separated by a big wall of fire, and some of us had to come back to the house another way, and me and you were in that group. Somewhere along the way you called me ‘Brood Junior’.”

“What so you really are Angel’s son?”

Connor nodded.

“Bloody hell! How the hell did that happen?”

“Long story.”

“I can imagine. Hang on a tick, the fight with the Erus Veneficus downstairs?”

“No, the one after we fought that shadow demon.”

“Ah, so it was him who caused those burn marks…”

“You mean you didn’t know?”

“No, I got knocked into a house fightin’ that demon you mentioned and passed out. Next thing I remember, I’m talkin’ to the big man himself then Cordelia of all people shows up, then Gunn and Faith lookin’ for Dawn.”

“Then something’s wrong here. I can definitely remember…” Connor paused, then abruptly stabbed a finger into Spike’s shoulder.

“Ow! What did you…?” he asked, then trailed off, understanding. “Oh. Oh, I see.”

“I think we’d better tell the others,” suggested Connor, and he and the vampire rushed downstairs.

**********

‘A quiet place to rest,’ unfortunately for Wesley, ended up being about three minutes of poking around the house for an unoccupied corner then being collared into directing the Slayers while they loaded up the bus.

And that was where he now stood, pointing girls to either boxes or spaces to put ones that they carried. The process was going very well, he thought, and they could be underway almost immediately.

The trouble was, deciding on a place to go to.

And that was the point being debated – rather hotly – between an increasingly large group of people standing just beyond the open front door of the house. He let it continue for several more minutes, then sighed tiredly and trudged over.

“What’s the problem?” he asked the closest person.

Everyone turned to face him. In the group were several Slayers he hadn’t had time to learn the names of yet, Kennedy, Angel, Giles and Faith.

“We can’t decide where to head off to now,” supplied Kennedy.

“I think it’s pretty obvious where we’ve got to go now,” said Wesley.

Everyone present muttered a variation of ‘So do I,’ but from the noise of the debate they all had a different destination in mind.

“We have to hit the First while it’s beaten back for the moment. We’ve now killed two of those shadow demons, and several Turok-Han. The Erus Veneficus has the object it’s been searching a millennia for, and we’re in a stronger position than ever before with our new Slayers. Its plan all along has been to destroy the Slayer line and to become corporeal, ruling over our dimension. We’ve taken one of those objectives out of its grasp and now all we have to do is disable the other to cut off its dominance here, if only temporarily.”

“So…?” asked Kennedy.

“So,” said Wesley, coolly meeting her confrontational tone and glare, “We have to go to its power base, and since Caleb is dead and the scythe has been recovered from the vineyard…”

Angel grinned suddenly. “See? I told you.”

“We have to take back Sunnydale High.”

**********

It’s been a long time coming, but hopefully it was worth the wait. Review please.