Immortal Secrets
Trinity Day


Joyce Summers sat down on a stool in her gallery. She was supposed to 
be unpacking her latest shipment, but too many other things were on her 
mind. 

Less than a year ago she had thought her daughter simply was going 
through a stage of rebellion. Buffy was a good kid, and everything 
would be made better if Joyce could only be there for her daughter. 

Then in a few short hours, she learned that her daughter masqueraded as 
a superhero by night. Her 18-year old child was the Slayer, the only 
person with the power to stop vampires, the no longer mythical undead 
creatures of the night. And if that weren't enough, a few short hours 
later, Buffy ran away and Joyce was left alone, no knowing if she was 
safe. 

When Buffy got back things hadn't miraculously gotten better, like they 
were supposed to. First, one of her best friends died, became a zombie, 
and then was destroyed by Buffy. Then there was that whole band candy 
thing. The less said about that, the better. 

And if all that wasn't enough, Joyce had to start a witch-hunt in 
Sunnydale that almost ended with her burning her daughter at the stake. 

No, Joyce had been through a very stressful time, and she needed a 
break. Reaching a decision, she went over and picked up the phone, 
dialing a long distance number. 

It rang three times before the person on the other end picked it up. 
"Hello," a deep, masculine voice greeted. 

"Hi Duncan. This is Joyce. I've been thinking about what you said, and 
I'd like to take you up on your offer." 

*       *       *

"You're what?" Willow exclaimed. 

"I'm going to Seacouver with my mom for spring break," Buffy repeated. 

"But you can't go." 

"Try telling my mom that," Buffy said dryly. 

"But who will stop all the vampires and demons when you're gone?" asked 
Willow. 

"You guys will just have to survive without me. You've done it before." 

"I suppose," Willow said reluctantly. "Why Seacouver?" 

"An old friend of my mom's lives there and has invited us to stay for 
the week," Buffy explained. 

"Have you told Giles yet?" 

"Yes. He's a bit worried, but mom sort of insisted." 

"Your mom does seem to be stubborn about some things, doesn't she." 

"Yeah, she does." Buffy looked at her watch. "Oh. I promised Giles I'd 
stop by the library. Gotta run. See ya later!" With that, Buffy ran off 
towards the library. 

Willow gathered her books and headed for class, praying that the local 
vampires didn't decide the time to play was while the Slayer's away. 

"So who's this friend of yours that's coming?" Joe Dawson asked his 
friend. 

"Joyce Summers. She and Tessa used to be good friends. She's bringing 
her daughter, Buffy, with her." 

Joe inwardly winced at the name. Poor girl. Who in their right mind 
would call their daughter Buffy? He kept a straight face, however, as 
he asked the girl's age. 

"16 or 17, I think," Duncan answered. "I haven't seen either of them in 
years." 

Duncan broke off and turned towards the door. He had the "look" that 
meant another immortal was nearby. 

Sure enough, the door opened to reveal Methos, the world's oldest 
immortal. The 5000 year old man came up to the bar counter. He greeted 
Joe and Duncan and asked for a beer. 

"Where've you been?" Duncan asked. He hadn't seen the old man in 
months. 

"Around," Methos told him. "What have you been up to?" 

"Not much. Life's been pretty boring for the last few months." 

Methos gave him a look that spoke volumes. He did no believe the 
Highlander. Duncan MacLeod's life was never boring. It often seemed 
like Seacouver was an Immortal hotspot. Rarely did a week pass in which 
some immortal did not show up. 

"I'm sure," Methos said sarcastically. 

Duncan ignored him. Instead he said, "Actually, an old friend of mine 
is coming tomorrow for the week. You should meet her." 

"An old friend?" Methos repeated skeptically, "I think I'll pass." 

"She's not that kind of old friend. She's mortal." 

"I suppose I'll see her tomorrow, then." 

The conversation turned away from talk of the Summers. The two 
Immortals and the Watcher spent the rest of the night drinking and 
catching up on old times. 

*       *       *

Buffy was upset. She had pleaded with her mom all week, but her mother 
wouldn't give in. She insisted Buffy had to come with her. They had 
just gotten off the plan and retrieved their luggage. Her mother was 
looking through the crowds, trying to find Duncan. 

"Joyce!" Duncan cried. 

He was off to their left. He was waving his hand to catch their 
attention. He was also a lot more handsome than Buffy remembered. Of 
course, she hadn't seen him since before she had really hit puberty. 

"Duncan!" Joyce exclaimed. She ran over to greet her friend leaving 

Buffy to carry the luggage. She dragged it over and waited for them to 
stop hugging each other. 

"You haven't changed a bit," Joyce was saying. "I'd swear you don't 
look a day older than you did when I met you." 

Duncan laughed a bit uncomfortably. "Neither do you," he lied. "And 
Buffy! You've grown up. How old are you now?" 

"18," she told him, a bit coldly. She was still resenting the trip and 
fully planned on sulking for the first couple of days. 

"18!' Duncan repeated, surprised, "Already? Last time I saw you, you 
were only 11." 

"That was 7 years ago." 

"Buffy," Joyce warned. She knew how annoyed Buffy was, but she didn't 
know why. She assumed Buffy would want a break from her slaying duties 
once in awhile. 

"Here, let me help you with your bags. The car's this way." Duncan led 
them over to the airport parking lot where he had parked the car. Buffy 
sat in the back, looking forlornly out the window while Joyce and 
Duncan talked about old times. She wished for the hundredth time she 
could be back in Sunnydale with her friends. 

Presently they got to Duncan's apartment. Buffy unpacked her suitcase, 
carefully hiding the stakes and holy water she couldn't bring herself 
to leave behind. After everything was put away, she wandered back out 
to the kitchen. 

"Buffy," her mother said, "Duncan and I were about to go to this 
gallery that just opened. Do you want to join us?" 

"Not really." Actually there were a billion things Buffy would rather 
be doing. 

"Are you sure? It'll be boring staying here by yourself." 

Buffy rolled her eyes. 'Not as boring as the gallery would be,' she 
thought. Aloud she said, "I'm sure, mom. I'll find something to do." 

"Okay then. We won't be long." 

"Help yourself to anything," Duncan told her. 

"Bye honey." They left and Buffy was finally alone. 

She grabbed a snack and waited ten minutes to be safe. Then Buffy went 
out exploring. 

She found a payphone and called Willow using the phone card she'd 
bought back in Sunnydale. 

"Hello?" the hacker said when she answered the phone. 

"Hi Will. It's Buffy." 

"Buffy!" Willow exclaimed cheerfully, "How was your flight?" 

"It was fine. We got here about an hour ago." 

"How is it?" 

"Not very nice. Mom and Duncan have already abandoned me, and they'll 
probably do that a lot more before the end of the week." 

"Do you actually want to hang out with them?" 

"Not really, it's just . . . " Buffy sighed. I don't know what it is. I 
wish I was back in Sunnydale." 

"Why?" Willow asked. "I would've thought you'd want a vacation. 
Especially from slaying." 

"Not really. I mean, I always wanted to be rid of being the Slayer, but 
all this talk about Faith taking over for me when I go to college has 
changed my mind." 

Willow laughed at that. 

"No really," Buffy insisted. "And then that whole thing on my birthday. 
I like being the Slayer, and killing vampires and saving the world," 
she confided to her best friend. 

"Buffy, we aren't about to replace you. You're just on vacation. Enjoy 
yourself." 

"Maybe you're right," the Slayer admitted. "I have to go now. Talk to 
ya later." 

"Bye," Willow said. 

Buffy hung up and went back to Duncan's place. Her mother and Duncan 
weren't back yet, luckily. Buffy grabbed a book and read until they 
returned. 

They were laughing, of course. Neither of them could see Buffy's face, 
which was a good thing. She thought she could feel some kind of weird 
sensation, similar to the one she sometimes got from vampires. Similar, 
but different. Of course, Buffy wasn't very good at sensing, so she 
just ignored it. The sun was still out; it couldn't be a vampire. 

When they did turn to Buffy, the slayer had gotten control of her 
emotions. She soon forgot about, because Joyce told her to go get 
changed. They were going out to dinner. 

Duncan took them to a fancy restaurant. Buffy felt more than a little 
out of place. Everyone was dressed up and everything looked really 
expensive. It also didn't help that her two companions were still 
playing 'Do you remember?' You'd think that they'd had enough already. 
They had been talking about the past all day. 

"Do you still ice skate?" Duncan asked, in an attempt to include his 
friend's daughter. 

It failed miserably. Buffy simply said no, while that reminded Joyce of 
the time she, Tessa, Hank and Duncan had gone to the ice capades. 

After dinner, which Duncan insisted on paying for, he suggested they 
head over to Joe's. Joyce was reluctant, Buffy was underage after all, 
but he convinced her. 

The presence informed him that Methos was already there. He was sitting 
at the bar, talking to Joe. Duncan waved at them and headed over. 

"Joyce, Buffy," he said, "Allow me to introduce Joe Dawson and Adam 
Pierson. Adam, Joe, this is Joyce Summers and her daughter Buffy." 

Buffy looked wearily at them. She felt that sensation again, like 
Duncan's, only stronger, and it came from one of his friends. 

"Pleasure to meet you," Adam said. 

"Nice to meet you, too," Joyce replied. 

Buffy gave them a brief smile. 

"Can I get you guys a drink?" Joe asked. 

"A beer for me. Buffy?" Joyce asked her daughter. Turning back to Joe, 
she asked, "Do you have any pop?" 

"Yes, we do. What would you like, Buffy?" 

"Coke, please," Buffy responded politely. "Where are the washrooms?" 

Joe pointed her to them. When she came out again, Joyce, Joe and Duncan 
were sitting at a table, laughing and chatting like old friends. 

Not wishing to listen to that any more, Buffy went over to the counter 
and sat on one of the stools out of the way. 

She jumped when Adam spoke. "Would you like your Coke?" 

Buffy hadn't heard him come up. Now that they were alone, there was no 
doubt the feeling was coming from him. 

"Yeah, thanks," she said. 

He gave her the drink and sat down beside her. He pointed towards the 
others. "Aren't you going to join them?" 

"No." 

"Why not?" 

"I had enough of being left out over supper. I don't really want to sit 
there and listen to their stories." She paused and took a drink before 
asking, "Why aren't you there?" 

"Same reason." 

Joyce chose that moment to come over. "Buffy, Adam, why don't you join 
us?" 

Buffy made a face. "I'd rather not." 

"Buffy," Joyce said, exasperated and annoyed, "Why are you being so 
difficult?" 

"I'm not, mom. I'm just sick of feeling left out." 

Joyce was about to respond when Adam cut in, surprising both women. 
They had forgotten he was there. "I was just about to leave," he said, 
"I can give Buffy a ride back, if you'd like." 

"Sure," Buffy said, before her mom could decline. "Let's go." 

Joyce looked uncertain, but didn't say anything about it. She knew how 
stubborn Buffy could get, and she didn't want to cause a scene if they 
started arguing. "Go say goodbye to Duncan and Joe before you leave." 

"Yes, mother," Buffy said patronizingly. She went over to their table. 

"Thank you, Adam," Joyce said. "I'm sorry about Buffy's behaviour. 
She's just -" 

Adam cut her of with a wave of his hand. "Don't worry about it. It's no 
problem." 

Duncan was suspicious when he heard the news. Methos rarely left so 
early, nor did he often do favours for people. Especially those he just 
met. He shot a look at Methos, telling him he was going to ask for an 
explanation later. 

Adam had parked a couple of blocks away. It was dark, with almost no 
streetlights. Buffy nervously put her hand close to the stake she had 
concealed in her clothing. It wasn't Sunnydale, but she'd rather be 
safe than sorry. 

In a nearby alley, someone screamed. Buffy ran off towards it without 
thinking. 

A young woman, probably in her early 20s, was there, surrounded by a 
bunch of vampires. 

'Just my luck,' Buffy thought. 'I leave the Hellmouth just to find more 
vampires.' 

"Hey!" she said aloud. "Get away from her!" 

A couple of them actually listened, and turned to her instead. Out of 
the corner of her eye, she saw Adam enter the alley. "Damn," she 
muttered. Why couldn't he have just stayed away. It looked like yet 
another civilian was going to learn about her so called secret 
identity. 

Buffy didn't have anymore time to think about it. Two vamps rushed her. 
She surprised them and took one of them out before they realized what 
had happened. The second one was a bit more cautious the second time he 
attacked her, but still underestimated the Slayer. He, too, was killed 
less than a minute later. 

The next batch of vampires was much more careful. They knew she wasn't 
their average human. They still underestimated her, though. Buffy was 
able to kill them without too much difficulty. It took her some time to 
finish them off, because there were many attacking at once. 

Buffy went to check on the woman. She was in bad shape. Buffy wasn't 
sure if she'd survive. "I'll just find Adam and - " she broke off and 
swore. She'd forgotten about Adam. She turned around just in time to 
see him behead a vampire with a sword. She was so surprised that she 
did not notice the other vampires arrive. Her first sign of them 
happened when one of them hit her on the back of her head. She crumpled 
down as the blackness claimed her. 

*       *       *

Methos was annoyed. Of all the people MacLeod's friends could be, it 
had to be her. He quickly slipped into his Adam Pierson persona and 
greeted MacLeod's friends. He started a conversation with Buffy, 
ultimately offering her a ride home to find out why she and her mother 
were in town and whether or not he should leave. 

When Buffy ran off to investigate the scream, Methos swore. He had no 
choice but to follow her. 

He could just see himself trying to explain to MacLeod. "Oh, I just let 
her run off by herself. She's a vampire slayer, how was I supposed to 
know she couldn't take care of herself." 

Yeah, Duncan would accept that. He'd have Methos's head before he could 
finish. 

The Slayer caught the vampires' attention. Two of them headed towards 
her, while three others headed towards him. 

He dodged the first's attack. With a single fluid motion, he pulled out 
his sword and beheaded it. He managed to behead the second one easily 
too; it was too shocked to move out of the way of the blade. The third 
proved more of a challenge. It took nearly five minutes for Methos to 
deal with it. 

He may have killed it quickly, but more vampires came to take the place 
of their dusted comrades. They, unfortunately, did not believe in the 
one on one rule that immortals adhere by. 

He finally dusted the last one and looked to see how Buffy was doing. 
She had killed the rest of the group, and was looking at him and his 
sword in shock. She'd obviously seen something. Too late he saw a new 
vampire sneak up behind her. He shouted a warning, but the demon had 
already knocked her out. 

Dozens of vampires appeared. The new troops easily disarmed him and, 
surprisingly, knocked him out too. 

He awoke with a minor headache, which was already fading away. Thank 
the gods for immortal healing. The Slayer was beside him, and was also 
waking up. 

"Where are we?" she asked. 

"I have no idea," Methos told her. "They knocked me out, too." 

"Why'd they do that?" Buffy asked. 

"How should I know?" Methos snapped. He didn't like vampires or any 
other type of demons. He's spent a great deal of his life avoiding 
them. Now, not only had they captured him, but he was also imprisoned 
with the Slayer. 

"I don't know!" Buffy snapped back. She didn't like their situation any 
more than he did. They glared at each other for a couple of minutes, 
until Methos relaxed. 

"I guess I don't need to ask you why you're here anymore," Methos said, 
more to himself than to her. 

"Huh?" 

"Obviously you've been sent here to deal with these vampires." 

"What!" exclaimed Buffy. 

"Please don't tell me there're others. I hate demons." 

"How should I know?" demanded Buffy, referring to his first statement. 

"Well, you are the Slayer, aren't you?" 

To say Buffy was stunned was an understatement. "How'd you know?" she 
asked before thinking it would probably be a better idea to play dumb. 

"It's rather obvious. Few humans would be so blasé about seeing a bunch 
of vampires. Fewer still would attack them. Only the Slayer would 
managed to fight so many and survive." Methos didn't add that he 
already knew who she was. The Slayer's presence was very strong and 
unique. That would just lead to questions he didn't want to answer. 

Buffy accepted the explanation. It did make sense if he had already 
known about the existence of Slayers. That brought up an interesting 
point, how did he know? She asked him. 

Methos took a moment to think of an answer. "They killed my family." It 
was partially true. Vampires had killed one of his families, long ago. 
Of course, he had known about them before then, everyone had. But that 
was not true of this day and age, and his lie would suffice. 

"I'm sorry," Buffy said. She couldn't help but think of a similar 
conversation she'd once had with Angel. "You're not a vampire with a 
soul, are you?" she blurted out before she could stop herself. 

"What?" exclaimed Methos. 

Buffy blushed. "Nothing," she said quickly. "Never mind." 

Methos looked at her suspiciously, but thankfully didn't say anything. 
Neither did Buffy. 

*       *       *

"Buffy! We're back," Joyce called out into the dark apartment. There 
was no answer. Joyce was about to call out again, but Duncan stopped 
her. 

"Shh. She's probably sleeping. It's after midnight." 

Joyce giggled in agreement. She was a little drunk. Both she and Duncan 
went to bed quietly without checking in on Buffy and slept soundly all 
night. 

Duncan was up early the next morning to workout. He was almost finished 
when Joyce walked in. 

"Oww," she moaned. "My head hurts. I really shouldn't have had that 
much to drink. Why don't you have a hangover?" 

"I didn't have as much to drink," he answered. "Is Buffy up yet?" 

"No. I'll go wake her." Joyce went back upstairs. 

Duncan started to clean up when Joyce came bursting back into the dojo. 
"Buffy's gone!" she shouted. 

"What?" 

"She's not there. Her bed hasn't been slept in. She never came back 
last night." Joyce was frantic. 

Duncan was no less worried. His mind raced through several unpleasant 
possibilities about what may have happened. Had there been an accident? 
Methos wouldn't have been hurt, but Buffy could have. Did they run into 
another Immortal? 

"You're sure she didn't leave early," he asked. 

"Of course I'm sure," Joyce snapped. "Nothing in her room has been 
touched. She wasn't there." 

Her mind had also been thinking of things that may occurred. Seacouver 
should be safe from vampires, but who knew? Did something attack her? 

"I'll call Adam," Duncan said. 

He went over to the phone and dialed the old man's number. He let it 
ring for a couple of minutes before giving up. 

"He's not answering," he told Joyce. "He may not be awake. Why don't we 
go over to see if he's there. 

There wasn't anything else to do so Joyce nodded. They grabbed their 
coats and left. 

Methos's apartment was empty. The next place Duncan thought he might be 
was Joe's. 

When they were a couple of blocks away from the bar, Duncan suddenly 
pulled over. 

"What is it," asked Joyce, concerned. 

"That's Adam's cars," Duncan said, referring to the car parked in front 
of them. 

"Maybe he's at Joe's," Joyce suggested. 

"Maybe," Duncan said. 

Duncan drove to the bar and parked out in front. They got out of the 
car and knocked on the door. 

"We're close," Joe called out. 

"Joe, it's Duncan. Let me in." 

"One minute," Joe called back. 

He went over to the door and opened it. "Duncan, Joyce, what are you 
doing here?" 

"Have you seen Adam?" Duncan asked. 

"No, not since last night," Joe replied, puzzled, "Why?" 

"Buffy didn't come home last night," Joyce told him, her voice 
strained. 

"Adam's car is still parked where it was last night," Duncan added. 

Joe's face grew serious. "Do you think it - " he cut himself off before 
saying anything else. Joyce didn't know about immortals. "What do you 
think happened?" 

"I don't know." 

"Should we call the police?" Joyce asked. 

"That's probably a good idea," Duncan said. 

"The phone's over there." Joe pointed towards it. 

Joyce went off to make her call. Making sure she couldn't overhear the 
conversation, Joe asked, "Do you think it was an immortal?" 

"I don't know. Are there any in town?" 

Joe shook his head. "Not that I know of. I'll find out. 

"Where!" Joyce suddenly cried out. The two men looked over at her. She 
was very pale. "Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes." 

Joyce turned to face them. "The police found a body this morning, two 
blocks away from here. They think it may be Buffy." As she was saying 
this, Joyce was heading towards the door. Duncan followed her. 

There were many police cars at the scene. They tried at first to keep 
Joyce and Duncan back, but let them through when Joyce said she thought 
she could identify the body. 

She gave a small sob when she saw the bloody blond body. "Oh my god," 
she said as she rushed over. 

A police officer turned the body over and Joyce got a good look at its 
face. She almost cried with relief. "It isn't her!" she exclaimed. "It 
isn't Buffy!" 

"What happened, officer," Duncan asked. 

"The girl was attacked. She died from blood loss. Now, you'll have to 
leave. This is a crime scene." 

Duncan and Joyce were scooted away. The body was placed in a bag and 
zipped up. But not before both of them saw the two puncture wounds in 
the neck. 

Joyce paled considerably. She knew what that meant. She had left 
Sunnydale to get away from vampires. Why did they have to show up here? 

Duncan was also concerned. He did not believe in vampires, but he knew 
of some people who had disguised murders as such. It never failed to 
bring a general panic to the people. 

Just before they were about to head back, Duncan spotted a sword at the 
edge of the alley. An Ivanhoe, Methos's sword. Apparently he wasn't the 
only one to see it, for an officer came by and picked it up before 
Duncan could sneak it away. 

When they went back to Joe's bar, the owner was waiting anxiously. "Was 
it - " he asked, leaving the question hanging. 

"No," Joyce said wearily, but relieved. "It was someone else. If you'll 
excuse me, I have to go make a phone call." 

She left, planning on calling Giles. Surely he would know what to do. 
It gave Joe and Duncan a chance to talk freely. 

"There wasn't any signs of a quickening, but I found Methos's sword 
there," Duncan said. 

"What!" exclaimed Joe. 

"He dropped it in the alley. The cops found it." 

"Methos would never do something as reckless as losing his sword." 

"I know. Something serious must have happened." 

"So what do we know so far? Methos and Buffy have disappeared. Methos's 
sword is found at a murder scene, but no signs of a quickening. A girl 
has been murdered, at the last place we can place them." 

"And the girl's murder has been disguised to look like a vampires," 
Duncan added. 

"What?" 

"She died of blood loss with two puncture wounds at the neck." 

"So where does that leave us?" Joe asked. 

"I don't know," Duncan admitted. 

Joyce chose that moment to come back into the bar, so they couldn't 
talk anymore. "Duncan, could you give me a ride to the police station? 
I should tell them about Buffy." 

"Of course." 

They spent the rest of the day at the station, getting nothing done. By 
the time the police were finished taking statements and filling out 
their reports, the sun had already set. Joyce hadn't found out anything 
from Giles. He promised to do some research, but there wasn't enough 
information to really find anything useful. 

*       *       *

The door opened, causing both Buffy and Methos to wake up. A couple of 
vampires came in. 

"Get up!" one of them barked. 

The others went and grabbed them. 

"Where are we going?" Buffy demanded. 

"You'll see," the first one said. 

"Don't say anything," Methos hissed quietly to Buffy. 

The vampires dragged the two struggling prisoners through the door and 
down the hall. 

They were brought into a large room, devoid of any furniture. Instead, 
about two dozen of vampires filled the room. They moved to the side, 
forming a path that Methos and Buffy were pushed along until they were 
in front of the vampire that seemed to be in charge. 

"So these are the mortals you claim killed my troops," he said, eyeing 
them doubtfully. "They don't look like they could do much harm." 

"They did, master," the demon who had brought them in said. 

"Did I ask you to speak?" the master asked archly. The other vampire 
looked frightened and hesitantly said no. 

"Did anyone actually see them do this?" No one answered. The master 
took their silence to mean no one had. "Then what makes you think these 
mortals," he spat the word out in disgust, "Could kill my best troops?" 

Another vampire that had captured Buffy and Methos answered. "They were 
in the alley you told us the girl was going to be. Thomas and the 
others were not there. They would not abandon their posts while alive." 

"This is not the girl I sent you to capture. Where is she?" 

Once again no one answered. There were many vampires looking guiltily 
at anything but the master. 

"Am I to understand you did not bring her back?" 

The silence was an answer in itself. The master was furious, and 
everyone knew it. The vampires closest to him started to back off 
slowly, not wanting to be the receptor of their ruler's rage. There 
were a few that weren't fast enough, and a stake through their hearts 
quickly put them out of their pain. 

"Bring those mortals to me!" the master shouted. The vampires that had 
been holding Buffy and Methos quickly obeyed him. 

The master put his hand around Buffy's neck and brought her closer to 
him. Against her will, she started to breathe faster. She was close 
enough to feel his breath on her face, or at least she would have if 
the vampire had any breath. He suddenly laughed and threw her back. 
Another vampire caught her and brought her back beside Methos. 

"The girl has power," the master said. "She will do well in the place 
of the other. You have done well." 

"What about the man?" someone from the crowd asked. 

"He, too, will take place in the ceremony. Take them back to their 
cell." 

With a wave of his hand, he dismissed them. The vampires holding Methos 
and Buffy bowed slightly, careful to keep a good hold on their 
captives, then left the room. 

Methos and Buffy were thrown in the room, and the door was locked. They 
waited until the vampires' footsteps had faded away before talking. 

"That was weird," Buffy said. 

"Yes," Methos agreed. "Do you know what this ceremony they were talking 
about is?" 

"No, but ceremonies usually equal trouble. I don't think we want to 
know." 

"Well, considering we seem to be expected to take place in this one, I 
rather know. I don't much like surprises," Methos said in a sarcastic 
tone. 

"Good point." 

"So if you didn't know about this ceremony, why are you here in 
Seacouver?" Methos asked. 

Buffy gave a little laugh. "My mom thought I needed a vacation." 

Methos stared at her. "Are you serious?" Buffy nodded. Methos threw his 
head back and laughed. "What about your Watcher? How'd you get him to 
agree?" 

"My mom is very insistent. She wouldn't take no for an answer. Besides, 
Faith can take care of Sunnydale while I'm gone." 

"Sunnydale? You live on the Hellmouth?" 

"I take it you've heard of it." 

Methos nodded. "I can see why your mother thought you need a vacation. 
The Hellmouth is a death trap." 

"You're telling me," Buffy muttered. 

Methos suddenly remembered the other thing Buffy said. "Faith? Who's 
Faith?" 

Buffy hesitated before deciding that it was okay to tell him. Adam was 
obviously not one of the bad guys. "Faith is the other Slayer." 

"There is no other Slayer," Methos stated. "There's only ever one at a 
time. The new one is only called when the old one dies." 

"Yeah, yeah, I know the drill," Buffy said, a little uncomfortably. 
Dying wasn't a very pleasant experience, and her memory of that night 
wasn't a nice one. 

"You died," Methos said, his eyes lighting up with comprehension. Buffy 
nodded. "But what happened?" Methos asked, "I mean, you're clearly 
alive now." 

"I drowned," Buffy admitted. "Luckily, a friend of mine found me in 
time and gave me CPR." 

"And now there are two Slayers. That would make your life a lot 
easier." 

"You'd think so," Buffy muttered. At Methos's quizzical look, she shook 
her head. "Never mind." 

Methos didn't press the issue. Instead he looked around the room. "It 
seems as if we're in agreement that this ceremony is something we want 
to avoid. Any ideas how?" 

"Not really." 

"The room seems pretty secure. There are no ways in or out except for 
the door." 

Buffy went over to the door and kicked it as hard as she could. It 
didn't budge. "And the door seems to be pretty secure." 

Methos just gave her a look. "I see," he said. "So it seems as if we 
are stuck in here at least until the vampires deem to let us out. Then 
we'll be at their mercy again." 

"Definitely not the option I want to go with." 

"Me neither. I don't suppose they were nice enough to leave you with 
any of your weapons." Buffy shook her head. "I didn't think so." 

The talk of weapons suddenly reminded Buffy of something. "You," she 
hesitated, "You had a *sword.* In the alley. When the vampires 
attacked, you took out a *sword!*" 

Methos avoided her gaze. "Yes, I did," he admitted. 

Buffy waited for him to continue. When he didn't, she prompted, "And. . 
. " 

Methos turned and looked into her eyes. "And what?" he asked, with a 
perfectly straight face. 

"Well, most people don't go around carrying swords." 

"And most people don't fight vampires on a nightly basis." 

Buffy was getting impatient. "Yeah, we already went over that. I'm the 
Slayer, what's your excuse?" 

"It's a long story," Methos said. He caught sight of a vent and went 
over to examine it. "Want to give me a hand here?" he asked, changing 
the subject. He reached up and tried to pull the cover off. It wasn't 
budging. 

Buffy walked over and placed herself between Methos and the vent. 

"We've got a lot of time," she said, a little coldly. It wasn't fair 
that he knew her secret, but she didn't know his. It made her feel a 
bit uncomfortable and rather nervous. In her experience, secrets led to 
trouble. 

"I'd rather spend it trying to get out of here than exchanging life 
stories." 

"Uh, uh," Buffy said. "You're not getting off that easily. Tell me." 

"Let's just say I know there is more things in this world than most 
people know about. I like staying alive." 

"But with a sword?" Buffy asked skeptically. 

"Why not a sword? We both know how useful a gun is," Methos responded. 

"You have a point," Buffy admitted. She knew he wasn't telling her the 
whole story, but it seemed unlikely he would say anymore. She decided 
just to drop the subject. 

"So are you going to help me or not," Methos asked. 

"What are you trying to do?" she asked. 

"I'm trying to get this vent open. It looks big enough for you to get 
through." 

Buffy looked at the vent doubtfully. It didn't look big enough to her. 
"Are you sure?" 

"Here, I'll give you a boost." 

He lifted Buffy up and she took off the vent cover. She was about to go 
in when the door opened. Three vampires came into their cell. Buffy 
looked at them. "I think we're busted," she said. 

"I would have to agree with you," Methos replied. 

The vampires also agreed with them, although not verbally. They rushed 
over and tore the two escapee wannabes away from the wall. They weren't 
exactly gentle, and both Methos and Buffy were nursing bruised arms. Or 
at least they would be if the vampires hadn't pinned the two 
prisoners' arms behind their backs. 

"Ow, that hurts," Buffy complained. She had slipped back into her habit 
of provoking vampires. 

The look Adam shot her was full of venom and its meaning very clear: 
keep your mouth shut. They were in enough trouble already. It would not 
be very good if their captors decided to use violence to keep them 
quiet. Things would only get worse when they realized that neither of 
the two supposed mortals weren't being wounded as easily as they 
should. 

Luckily Buffy did what Methos asked, though for a different reason. She 
did not yet know of Methos's immortality. Enough people had been killed 
because of her in her lifetime; she didn't want to add another to the 
list. She decided to keep her mouth shut until they were out of there, 
or at least until she could be sure they would take out there anger on 
her alone. 

"What should we do with them, Paul?" one of them asked. 

"Bring them to the master," another, presumably Paul, answered. 

"He said he didn't want to be disturbed," the third added cautiously. 
"I for one don't want to go against his wishes." 

"But he would want to know about this," Paul argued. "Would you rather 
face is anger if he finds out later on, Mark?" 

"I'd rather not be at the receiving end of his anger at all!" Mark 
loosened his grip on Buffy and turned to face Paul. 

It was a painful mistake. Buffy took advantage of the distraction. She 
wrenched herself out of Paul's grasp and spun around, kicking him in 
his face. 

Methos, who had been expecting the Slayer to do something like that, 
managed to free himself of Mark's hold. The demon was so surprised he 
was barely able to put up a fight. Methos knocked him to the ground. 

The third vampire had gone after Buffy, which was a good thing. Methos 
knew he wouldn't be able to handle more than one vampire without any 
weapons. He was actually a bit surprised he had been able to dispatch 
of that one so fast. 

Buffy, on the other hand, was more than capable of taking care of two 
vampires, even without a stake. The vampires hadn't been stupid enough 
to leave anything wooden in the room, unfortunately, so Buffy could 
only send them flying to the other side of the room, giving her and 
Adam enough time to escape. 

They ran out of the room and closed the door, locking it. "So which way 
do we go?" Buffy asked. 

"That way," Methos said, pointing a hall on their right. 

"How do you know?" 

"I don't." 

"That doesn't exactly reassure me," Buffy told him. 

"It's not supposed to," Methos replied. "But unless you know where we 
are, and how to get out, we're lost. And that way is just as good as 
any other way." 

Buffy had to admit Adam was right, at least in her mind she did. She 
refused to acknowledge the truth in his words aloud. She was still 
annoyed at him for keeping secrets. There was something about him that 
made her rather uneasy. 

They made there way done the hall, amazingly managing to keep from 
running into any vampires. Their luck soon ran out. Shouts were heard 
from behind them. Their escape had been discovered. Methos and Buffy 
both started to walk faster. 

It seemed as if fate was against them. A few minutes after the alarm 
had gone out, the hall came to a dead end. Well, actually to a door. 
Methos tried to open it, but it was, of course, locked. 

"This way is just as good as any other way," Buffy mimicked. 

"Oh, shut up," Methos told her. 

He was about to say more when he suddenly froze. They could hear 
footsteps echoing down the hall. Buffy and Methos looked at each other, 
dread mirrored in both their faces. 

"Shit," Methos said. 

"Quick, in here," Buffy said, her voice barely above a whisper. She 
kicked the door open and they slipped into the dark room. 

"It's not going to take them long to discover out where we've gone," 
Methos muttered no louder than she had been. 

"Well, I'll think of something we that happens," Buffy retorted. "It 
may take awhile. They don't even know for sure which hall we went 
down." 

"Yeah, but they'll figure it out when they see the broken door. They're 
vampires, not idiots." 

"I didn't see you coming up with any other plans," Buffy growled, 
becoming louder in anger. 

"Shh." Methos put his finger on his lip. The footsteps came nearer, and 
both Methos and Buffy thought it was all over. 

Suddenly, a voice called out from in the hall; "They aren't here. Let's 
go back and look somewhere else." 

The footsteps faded. The only sound to be heard was the stifled 
breathing of Methos and Buffy. They waited several minutes just to be 
safe, before letting out sighs of relief. 

"I thought we were done for," Buffy admitted. 

"I can't believe they didn't notice the door," Methos said. 

"Well, let's not look a gift horse in the mouth." Buffy walked over to 
the door and put her ear up to it to see if she could hear anything. 
There was no movement outside. 

Meanwhile Methos went searching for a light switch. He soon found it 
and the room flooded with light. The Slayer and the immortal looked 
around the room in amazement. 

"Jackpot," Buffy murmured. 

"I think this was the right way to go after all," Methos gloated. 

They were in an armoury. That was the only thing one could call it. 
There were weapons of every imaginable kind lining the walls. 
Everything from guns to swords to crossbows to grenades. 

Buffy went over and looked at the crossbows while Methos selected a 
sword. His Ivanhoe was not among the swords, unfortunately. He didn't 
like using strange weapons. At least there were several swords of good 
quality. He picked one up and waved it around experimentally, before 
slipping it into his coat. 

He then went over and grabbed a couple of guns and extra ammunition. He 
tossed one to Buffy, who had selected a crossbow and some extra arrows. 
She caught it. 

"What's this for?" she asked. 

"What do you think?" Methos responded in an exasperated tone. 

Buffy made a face at him. It was a childish gesture, but it made her 
feel much better. "I know what guns are for," she answered venomously. 
"But they don't hurt vampires." 

"No," Methos corrected. "They don't kill vampires. They can hurt them, 
a lot." 

"Since when are you the expert on vampires? I'm the slayer here," Buffy 
shouted. 

"Then you should realize that we need every advantage we can get. We're 
outnumbered and I for one, don't particularly like dying." 

"Well, it's not my idea of a fun time, either," Buffy retorted. 

"Then why are you arguing with me?" 

"I'm not." 

Methos gave her a look of disbelief and Buffy found herself blushing. 
She was arguing with him and she knew it. He just got on her nerves and 
she couldn't help snapping at him. 

"If you're done then maybe we should get out of here." 

"This time I'm leading," Buffy told him. Methos nodded and they set off 
back down the hall. 

*       *       *

Duncan and Joyce left Chez Felice's and started home. It had been a 
long day and neither of them felt like cooking. Joyce was worried sick 
about her daughter. Duncan was worried about Buffy too, but he was also 
rather concerned about Methos. The old man was good in a fight and 
Duncan didn't want to think about whom was able to kidnap him and 
Buffy. Assuming the two had been kidnapped and not just killed. There 
was also a good possibility that there was another immortal involved. 

But that didn't make too much sense. It didn't explain why Methos would 
have dropped his sword. There was no chance in hell that Methos, the 
ultimate survivor, would loose his sword if there were another immortal 
involved. Also, as much as he liked Methos, Duncan knew his friend too 
well to think the ancient immortal would risk his life for Buffy. So 
that ruled out an immortal holding her hostage. 

There was also that dead girl in the alley. How did she fit in? And why 
was the death made to look like a vampire was the cause? There were too 
many piece of the puzzle and none of them seemed to fit. 

And then there was Joyce. She hadn't taken Buffy's disappearance well, 
but who could blame her. Duncan was aware of the stress that she'd been 
through lately. Nice, relaxing vacation this turned out to be. 

The two adults continued walking in silence to Duncan's car. It was now 
night. The nearly full moon was hanging fairly low in the sky. It 
seemed like a scene out of a corny horror movie. The only think missing 
was a wolf howling at the moon off in the distance. Joyce told herself 
how silly it was to be nervous, but shivered anyways. 

Duncan, always the gentleman, asked her if she was cold. 

"No," she answered absently. 

"It'll be alright," Duncan promised. "We'll find Buffy. She's fine." 

"How do you know?" Joyce asked. Her voice cracked and the tears that 
she had been holding back all day were threatening to come. 

There was no satisfactory answer to that and Duncan didn't try to make 
one up. Instead he repeated, "Joyce, it'll be okay." 

Joyce started to sob softly. He pulled her over and gave a comforting 
hug. He didn't let her go until she stopped crying about ten minutes 
later. Joyce pulled herself away from Duncan's embrace and furiously 
wiped away the last hint of tears. 

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I didn't mean to break down like that." 

"Don't be sorry," Duncan told her. "I don't know anyone who would be 
acting differently if they were in this situation." 

'Actually,' he thought, 'I'm surprised she didn't do this earlier on.' 

Crying had done Joyce some good. She straightened up and smoothed the 
wrinkles out her shirt. She was determined not to break down like that 
again. It wouldn't do any good. 

The two adults started for the car again, but once again they didn't 
quite make it there without stopping. 

*       *       *

Giles was researching again. Sometimes it seemed as if that was all he 
did. He sighed and took a sip of his tea before turning the page of an 
ancient book. 

He had received a rather disturbing phone call earlier that day from 
Joyce Summers. Buffy was missing. 

It also seemed as if there were vampires operating in Seacouver and 
Buffy had managed to run into them. That, at least, wasn't surprising. 
The Slayer attracted demons like a magnet. 

Her Watcher was worried. He knew that Buffy was more than capable at 
handling the more mundane threats of the twentieth century. She could 
fight lesser demons without even breaking a nail most of the time. She 
only had trouble with the more powerful ones. 

Giles sighed again and turned his attention back to the book he was 
supposed to be reading. He translated the words slowly. They were in an 
unusual dialect of Greek that he had trouble with. 

He was reading them in a half doze until he finally realized what they 
said. He stopped short and his face became a shade paler. 

"Oh dear," he murmured. 

*       *       *

"Drive, drive!" Duncan shouted to Joyce. She fumbled with the keys 
while he pulled his car door shut, then locked it. Joyce started the 
car and slammed her foot on the gas just as the pursuers reached the 
car. 

They had been attacked by vampires. Joyce had gotten away without 
injury, though how she did it, she didn't know. Duncan, on the other 
hand, didn't. He had been the hero and tried to save his damsel in 
distress. He quickly realized that their attackers weren't normal, a 
fact that was confirmed when the vampires put on their game faces. 

It was then that Duncan decided running would be their best option. He 
had shouted at Joyce to get to the car and tossed her the keys. 

They made a safe getaway and had been driving for a few blocks before 
Joyce slowed down a little. She glanced over at Duncan. 

"You're hurt," she cried out, worried. She pulled the car over to the 
side of the road. 

Duncan's shirt was soaked with blood. He looked down at it, worried. 
"I'm fine," he started to say. 

Joyce interrupted, "We have to get you to a hospital." 

"No," Duncan shouted a little too loudly and quickly. 

"Duncan, you're bleeding badly. You need to get a doctor to look at 
it." 

"No doctors," Duncan insisted. 

Joyce relented, but added, "At least let me look at it." 

She leaned over and pulled his shirt back before Duncan could object. 
She stared at the wound with frightened fascination as it healed before 
her eyes. She finally pulled her eyes away from the spot where the 
wound used to be. Joyce was so shocked she couldn't even speak, only 
stare at Duncan in horror. 

"I can explain," he began. 

*       *       *

"Oh my god," Joyce said as soon as she found her voice again. "You . . 
. you," she stuttered, "What are you?" She backed away instinctively. 

Duncan closed his eyes, sighing. He gave into the inevitable and began 
to tell Joyce his secret. "I am an Immortal," he said. "I was born in 
Scotland in 1592 and I cannot die." 

Joyce was staring at him again. "That's impossible," she said. 

"You saw what happened," Duncan reminded her. "You saw my wound heal. I 
can't get hurt, I can't get sick, I can't grow old. I'm Immortal." 

"But how's that possible?" Joyce asked. "I mean," she couldn't think of 
anything to finish her sentence so she just repeated, "How's that 
possible?" 

"I don't exactly know," Duncan admitted. "I'm not sure anyone does." 

"You mean there're more like you?" Joyce asked. 

Duncan nodded, "Hundreds, probably. I'm not exactly sure how many." 

"Of course," Joyce said. "There would have to be more people like 
you." The shock hadn't been letting her think things through, but when 
she thought about it, Duncan's answer made a lot of sense. 

"Did Tessa know?" 

Duncan felt a flash of pain go through him at the mention of this dead 
fiancée's name. "Yes," he said simply. "I told her just before we moved 
in together." 

"Oh, I'm sorry," Joyce said when she realized the pain she made Duncan 
feel. "I shouldn't have brought her up." 

"No, it's okay," Duncan reassured her. 

Joyce didn't bother asking why he hadn't told her before. She knew from 
first hand experience that those with secrets to hide rarely told 
anyone unless it was absolutely necessary, not even their own mothers. 
Besides, she and Duncan weren't even that close. 

Duncan sat thinking for several minutes while Joyce drove on in 
silence. The he frowned, suddenly remembering the reason Joyce had 
found out about his immortality. "Who attacked us, and why?" he wondered 
aloud. 


Joyce glanced at him, puzzled. She had assumed he knew. "Vampires," she 
said, matter-of-factly. 

Duncan scoffed at her. "You don't believe in them, do you?" he asked in 
disbelief. 

"I don't really have a choice," Joyce muttered before saying louder, 
"I'm taking it you don't." 

"No. They're just a silly superstition. A real vampire would be 
impossible." 

"Are they any less impossible than men who live forever?" Joyce asked 
him. 

"No," Duncan admitted, "But what proof do you have that they exist? In 
my four hundred years, I have only seen fakes." 

"Not anymore," Joyce told him. "Those things that just attacked us were 
definitely vampire." 

"How can you be so sure? Have you ever even seen one before?" 

"Yes," Joyce said, "Actually, I have." 

"What," he asked. Joyce could tell Duncan didn't believe her and that 
bothered her a lot. 

"Plenty of times," she answered defensively. "What? Why do you believe 
in people that live forever so easily, but think demons can only be 
something from fairy tales?" 

Duncan looked uneasy at the mention of demons. "I never said I didn't 
believe in demons, I just said I've never found anything that proved to 
me vampires exist." 

"Well, you do now. Those things that attacked us were vampires." 

Duncan decided to suspend his disbelief for the moment so they could 
actually do something other than debate the existence of the creatures 
of the night. "Okay, let's say vampires do exist," she started, putting 
up his hand to stop Joyce's protests. "How do you know that those 
things that attacked us were them?" 

"Their faces, mostly," Joyce said. 

"Their faces?" Duncan repeated. 

"Didn't you see them?" Joyce asked. "They were rather unique." 

Duncan had seen hem, but their unusualness had momentarily slipped from 
his mind. "Yeah," he agreed, "They are. How'd you find out about 
vampires?" 

"Buffy is a vampire slayer." 

"Buffy is a what?" Duncan exclaimed incredulously. 

"A vampire slayer," Joyce said again. 

"How'd she get to be a vampire slayer?" 

"I don't know exactly," Joyce admitted. "She was born one, or 
something, I think." 

"Born one?" 

"Yes. In every generation there's one vampire slayer. She's the only 
one with the strength to kill vampires, or something like that. I wish 
Giles was here. He'd be able to explain better than I can." 

"Who's Giles?" Duncan asked. 

"The school librarian. He's also Buffy's Watcher." 

"Watcher?" Duncan all but shouted. "Her Watcher?" he repeated, this 
time trying and almost succeeding in keeping the surprise out of his 
voice, making it sound like an idle curiosity. In reality, he was very 
interested in finding out if Giles was Joe's type of Watcher, and if he 
was, why Joe had never mentioned vampires or slayers before. 

"Yeah. He trains her and researches the demons and other stuff like 
that. Buffy always goes to him to find out what she should do. He 
always seems to know exactly what's going on." 

No, Duncan decided, Giles was definitely a different type of Watcher. 
He obviously never had to take the non-interference oath. 

"What he the person you called this morning?" he wondered. 

"Yes." 

"What did he say?" 

"He doesn't know what happened or what to do," Joyce said, tears 
threatening her again. 

"I thought you said he always knows what to do?" 

"No, I said he always seems to know. There's a difference. He said he 
would look in his books, but he didn't sound too hopeful. I'm supposed 
to call him again tomorrow morning if Buffy still hasn't shown up." 

"So until then there's nothing we can do." Duncan said. 

"Not unless we find out where the vampires Buffy went after are." 

"What makes you think Buffy went after vampires?" Duncan asked. 

"I saw her bracelet this morning in the alley way and that girl was 
killed by vampires. I'm guessing that Buffy came across them and 
followed them back." 

"I don't think so. If Buffy is with the vampires, I really doubt it's 
of her own free will. Something must've happened in the alley. Adam's 
sword was there and he would go anywhere without it." As soon as he 
said that, Duncan could have kicked himself. He rarely made slips like 
that. The events of the last 24 hours must have been getting to him. 

There was no need to tell Joyce about Adam, but it was too late now. 

"His sword?" Joyce's voice rose an octave higher on the last word. 

"Yeah," Duncan said casually, as if carrying a sword around was an 
everyday occurrence. "Adam's an immortal, too." 

"He is?" Joyce asked, shocked. She knew there were others, but she 
didn't really expect to know any at all. 

Joyce continued, "Do you carry a sword around too?" 

"Yes." 

"Why?" 

"For protection," Duncan said without elaborating. He didn't really 
want to explain the Game to his friend. 

"What do you mean?" Joyce frowned. 

"It's a long story." Duncan looked at Joyce's resolved face and sighed. 
He knew she wasn't going to give up until she had the whole story. 

Resigned to the fact his secret was now going to be out in the open, he 
began to explain. "What I said earlier wasn't entirely true. There is 
one way I can die. By beheading." 

"Beheading," Joyce interrupted, her voice and her face mirror images of 
disgust. 

"Yes, beheading," repeated Duncan patiently. "The sword is to protect 
myself from those who want to kill me." 

"Who would want to kill you?" Joyce asked, puzzled. 

"Other Immortals." 

"Why?" 

"For my Quickening." At Joyce's blank look he explained. "Every 
Immortal has a power, a life-force, that is released when they are 
killed. The Immortal who kills them gets this power. It's called a 
Quickening." 

"Do you mean that you immortals go around chopping each other's heads 
off?" Joyce exclaimed. 

"Some of us do," Duncan said. "Most of us just live a relatively normal 
life, only fighting if they're challenged." 

"So you have to carry your sword around with you at all times," Joyce 
half asked, half stated. 

"Yes." 

Joyce continued. "And you saw Adam's sword in the alley." 

Duncan nodded. 

"So if, as you say, he wouldn't leave it behind if he could help it, 
something must have happened to him in the alley," Joyce concluded, her 
face pale once again. 

"Yes, and since he left with Buffy, I think we can safely assume that 
she's with Adam." 

"But we don't know where Adam is, so that doesn't help us at all," 
Joyce said, the frustration clear in her voice. 

"Okay, so we know there were vampires involved. They killed that girl 
in the alley," stated Duncan. 

"Right," Joyce agreed. 

"And we know that Buffy and Adam were in the alley. The police found 
his sword and her bracelet. And that also proves that they didn't 
willingly leave the alley because Adam would never go anywhere unarmed. 
So, unless something else turns up, I'd be willing to bet that whatever 
vampire or vampires that killed that girl also took Buffy and Adam." 

"But why would they do that?" Joyce asked. 

"I don't know. You're the vampire expert here." 

"Not really," Joyce said. "I don't really know anything about 
vampires." 

"But your daughter's a vampire slayer. You have to know something." 

Joyce laughed bitterly. "Buffy doesn't tell me anything. The only 
reason I even know is because a vampire attacked and she dusted it 
right in front of my eyes." 

"Dusted it?" Duncan asked, startled. 

"Put a piece of wood in its heart and it burst into dust," Joyce 
elaborated. 

"Does anything else kill a vampire?" 

"Umm," Joyce thought for a minute about what her daughter and Giles had 
told her. "Sunlight. Beheading, too, I think. Holy water and crosses 
hurt it, I know. I think that's it." 

"That's what I've heard. Then they'd need a place to keep their coffins 
during they day." 

Duncan regarded his friend curiously and not without some annoyance 
when she burst out laughing. "What!" he demanded. "What's so funny?" 

"Vampires don't sleep in coffins," Joyce told him. 

"But they do in all the movies," Duncan protested. 

"Well they don't in real life. But they do need a place to keep out of 
the sun," Joyce responded. 

"Let me guess," Duncan said dryly. "They often have their secret lairs 
in abandoned warehouses. It seemed like all bad guys, in real life and 
in stories, favoured abandoned warehouses. Duncan wasn't at all 
surprised when Joyce nodded. 

"Yep. And sewers, too, apparently." 

"Sewers?" Duncan was surprised at that. He didn't think any creature 
other than a rat would want to live in a sewer. 

"They're supposed to be good for staying out of the sun and a great way 
for getting around the city." 

"I suppose," Duncan said doubtfully, "But I don't really think these 
vampires are living in the sewers." 

"Then that leaves warehouses. We should start looking. There can't be 
that many in Seacouver." 

"You'd be surprised," Duncan muttered. As hopeless as it sounded, 
searching the empty warehouses of Seacouver seemed to be the only 
option right then other than sitting at home and doing nothing. 

"Here," Duncan said, "Give me the keys. It'll be easier for me to drive 
there myself." 

Joyce gave him the keys and they switched places. Duncan started the 
car and began driving. He said, "You do realize that there isn't much 
chance we'll find them like this. Not to mention the fact that even if 
we do, it's extremely dangerous." 

Joyce cut him off before he could say anything else. "This is my 
daughter we're talking about," she said. "I don't car how dangerous or 
how much of a wild goose chase this is. I'm not going to sit around and 
do nothing. So don't even think about trying to talk me out of doing 
this." 

Duncan did think about it, but wisely kept his mouth shut. In his four 
hundred years he had seen fierce maternal instincts and knew better 
than to fight with a woman whose child was in danger. It was like 
talking to a brick wall. Actually, a brick wall usually listened more. 

So they began their most likely futile search for Buffy and Methos. 

*       *       *

"Shh," Methos said, putting his finger to his lips. He waved his hand, 
motioning Buffy to stay behind him. She did. 

Now that they had stopped, they could hear the frantic footsteps of the 
searching vampires coming closer. Buffy and Methos turned around and 
hurried back down the hall, ducking into a room while the vampires 
passed. 

"Another one," Buffy whispered in disgust. "How many of these guys are 
there?" 

"Too many for my taste," Methos responded, also whispering. "It looks 
like they're all searching for us, too." 

"Why couldn't they just leave us along," Buffy moaned softly. 

"That would be too easy. It never happens that way in real life. 
Murphy's Law," Methos whispered with fake cheeriness. 

"It's a stupid law," Buffy grumbled. 

"Well, I didn't write it," Methos said. He decided to get back to the 
topic at hand, "So what are we going to do now? They seem to be 
wherever we go." 

Indeed, they did. Three times already had vampires come across the 
fugitives. Now armed, Buffy was able to kill them before they could 
give the alarm. Luckily, the vampires were searching in groups of only
two, sometimes three. Buffy knew she would be able to handle larger 
groups, especially considering most of these vampires seemed to be 
young, but it would be hard and would take too long. So far, none had 
expected Buffy or Methos to fight back. 

"Why are you asking me?" Buffy asked. 

"Because," Methos reminded her, "You're the one who insisted on 
leading." 

"I did not," Buffy protested. 

"Did to." 

"Well, I take it back," Buffy said, a little childishly. "There seem to 
be vamps wherever we go. I don't want to be blamed for running into 
them again." 

"No, instead you're going to make me lead so you can blame me if we run 
into vampires," Methos said. 

Forgetting to keep her voice down, Buffy said, "You did it to me!" He 
had, too. Each time they ran into the vampires, Methos reminded her 
which one of them had suggested that way. 

"So, it doesn't mean you can do it to me," Methos retorted, also 
temporarily forgetting the need for silence. 

"That's hardly fair." 

"Life's not fair." 

"Oh, shut up," Buffy said viciously. "Shut up and pick a direction." 

"I can hardly do both." Buffy glared at Methos. He decided to stop 
wasting time and answer her question. "Well, there are vampires 
everywhere we go. We know we can't escape the other way, so we may as 
well keep on going the same way we were." 

Buffy realize the logic in what he was saying, but refused to tell him 
that. She was still mad that he seemed to blame here for running into 
the vampires. It wasn't like she wanted the demons to find them. But 
the way he was acting, you'd think she did. 

If she had known more about Methos, she would have found out the reason 
that he had been acting like he had been was because he had known other 
Slayers. He knew of their abilities. He knew that Slayers had the 
ability to sense vampires, a talent that wasn't one of Buffy's strong 
points. 

In fact, if truth be told, she sucked at it. There had never been any 
real reason to improve that sense. Living in Sunnydale she always had 
more than enough targets who would put on their game faces and real 
their demonic identity at the drop of a pin. 

Most other Slayers, on the other hand, lived at one point or another in 
their lives, in a place with a lot fewer vampires that were more 
cautious about showing themselves. These Slayers needed to hone their 
sense to find any vampires. 

Of course, Methos didin't know this. He thought Buffy was just being 
careless. That was why he was so annoyed when three times Buffy led 
them straight into vampires. 

They continued along the maze of halls for another half-hour or so. 
True to her word, Buffy mocked Methos when he led them straight into 
two vampires. After she staked the, of course. 

They hadn't seen or heard any vampires for a full ten minutes when 
Methos suddenly felt a familiar presence. An Immortal was nearby. 

Buffy looked at him, startled, when he sword softly cursing their luck. 
Methos had seen Immortals that worked with vampires before. It was 
always an ugly sight and never a good thing, especially for him. 

"What is it?" Buffy whispered urgently. 

"Quick," Methos said, not explaining. "We have to go back." 

"No," Buffy said stubbornly. "We've already been that way. There's no 
way out back there." 

She started to go forward, but Methos stopped her. 

"Don't be an idiot," he said as he pulled her back. We can't go that 
way." 

"Why not?" Buffy asked, her jaw set with determination. 

"Because," Methos lied, "There're vampires that way." He continued to 
pull Buffy back the way the came. 

"There are not," Buffy said. She pulled away from him and started 
walking in the opposite direction. 

"Are too," Methos grabbed Buffy again and tried to pull her back. It 
didn't work this time. 

"Stop it," Buffy said. "There aren't any vampires that way." 

"There are." 

"How can you tell?" Buffy asked. 

Methos hesitated and Buffy continued before he could come up with a 
good answer. "You can't," she said. "If you could, you wouldn't have 
let us walk into all those others." 

Once again Methos was interrupted before he could respond. This time it 
wasn't his companion who kept him from talking. It was voices. Vampires 
were coming from the direction in which they had come. The direction 
Methos had wanted to go two seconds ago. 

"Hurry," Buffy whispered and she pulled Methos down the hall towards 
the other Immortal. She dragged him around the corner, coming face to 
face with the other Immortal. 

*       *       *

"Mom?" "Buffy!" "Methos!" "MacLeod?" the four of them shouted at once. 
Then, almost in unison, Methos and Buffy yelled, "What are you doing 
here?" 

"Buffy," Joyce exclaimed. "Are you okay?" She ran over and hugged her 
daughter tightly. 

"Yeah, I'm fine, mom," Buffy said, struggling to get away from her 
mother. "But what are you doing here?" 

"Looking for you," Joyce said. 

"How did you find us?" Buffy wondered. 

"You're sure you're not hurt," Joyce asked. 

"I'm sure, mom," Buffy said again, exasperated. "But, what are you 
doing here?" 

"We here to rescue you," Joyce said. 

"I think what Buffy meant was how did you find us?" Methos said. 

"Well, it was actually dumb luck," Duncan admitted. "We were searching 
all the empty warehouses of the area. This one had a lot of activity 
going on considering it's supposed to be abandoned, so we decided to 
check it out." 

Methos sighed. Only MacLeod would stumble across this almost by 
accident. "Why were you searching empty warehouses?" 

"We were looking for you," Joyce answered. 

"No, I meant why were you looking in empty warehouses?" he repeated, 
stressing the last word. 

"Well, Buffy says that vampires often hide in warehouses." 

"Of course. Buffy says vampires hide in warehouses," Methos muttered. 
He saw Joyce about to explain so he quickly said, "Never mind.  I don't 
really want to know." Then, to Duncan, "I thought you didn't believe in 
vampires." 

"Well, I had a change of heart," Duncan admitted. 

"You guys are so going to explain after we leave," Buffy said. 

"What happened to you?" Duncan asked. 

"Long story short, we were kidnapped by vamps, escaped, got lost, found 
you. Now, we can leave," Buffy chirped. 

"Okay," Joyce said. "So, which way do we go?" 

Methos and Buffy stared at her. "You don't know?" Buffy asked in a 
weird voice. 

Joyce and Duncan exchanged a guilty look. "Well, umm," Duncan started, 
"We kind of got lost on our way in." 

"You kind of got lost. Perfect," Buffy said. 

"How did you manage to get lost?" Methos asked, annoyed. 

"When we first got in, someone spotted us and chased us for awhile. We 
managed to loose him, but lost our way as well," Duncan explained. 

"We were trying to find our way out when we ran across you," Joyce 
added. 

"I guess you don't know the way out, then," Duncan said. 

"If we knew the way out, we wouldn't have wandered around the place for 
the last four or five hours," Methos told them angrily. 

"Look," Buffy said, "Let's not get into a fight here. Mom, Duncan, can 
you remember anything?" 

They both shook their heads. "Okay," Buffy continued. "I guess we just 
have to keep going the way we were." 

"Which is?" Duncan asked. 

"Guess and hope we get lucky," Buffy said in mock cheerfulness. 

"Are you serious?" Joyce asked in disbelief. 

Buffy and Methos nodded solemnly. 

"So, MacLeod," Methos said. "Which way shall it be?" Neither Buffy nor 
Methos wanted to lead, knowing the other would jump all over their 
mistakes. MacLeod didn't know this so he gladly took lead. 

"This way, then," MacLeod said, referring to the direction from which 
he and Joyce had just come. 

"Let's go then," Buffy said. 

"There they are!" a voice shouted. The entire group turned towards it 
and saw three vampires running towards them. 

Buffy responded immediately. She aimed her crossbow and let loose the 
arrow. Right away she reached for the quiver on her back and took out 
another arrow. She loaded it and shot it at the second vampire. It 
missed his heart, embedding in his shoulder. 

"Damn," she swore as she prepared her third arrow. 

Meanwhile both Duncan and Methos had drawn their swords and Joyce had 
taken out a cross. Both men headed for the two vampires. Duncan managed 
to swing twice before one of the vampires kicked his sword halfway 
across the hall. Methos, who knew how vampires fought, stabbed one 
through the heart. 

It laughed. "That won't kill me, you stupid mortal. Only wood kills 
me." 

"Beheading does," Methos said. He pulled out the sword and quickly 
beheaded the demon. 

"Duck!" Buffy yelled. Methos did and Buffy shot another arrow right 
over his head. This one got its target. It exploded into dust. 

"I see why you say you 'dust it'" Duncan said. He picked up his sword 
and examined it, making sure it was okay. 

Buffy ignored him, instead turning to Methos. "Don't block my way," she 
said. 

"I was killing a vampire," he said. 

"I could have done it myself," Buffy responded defensively. 

"Really? You could have fooled me. I never knew a vampire's heart was 
in his shoulder." 

"Oh, sorry. I missed one shot out of twenty." 

"It could have meant our death," Methos argued. 

"It didn't, did it?" Buffy yelled. 

Joyce and Duncan looked on with amazement. Joyce decided to jump in 
before they brought our weapons. "Umm, guys?" 

Buffy and Methos stopped glaring at each other and looked over to 
Duncan and Joyce. Realizing what they had been doing Buffy began to 
blush furiously. Methos merely stepped back, his face showing no 
emotions. 

Changing the subject slightly, Methos asked, "How many arrows do you 
have left?" 

Buffy looked. "Not many. I've used half of them already." 

The group had started to walk again. 

"Damn. Well, we should have enough to last us until we get out. Unless 
something happens, that is." 

Buffy stared at him in disgust. "You just cursed us, you know." 

"What do you mean?" Duncan asked, curiously. 

"It's a known fact," Buffy said. "If you talk about something bad, 
especially if you say it won't happen, it will happen." 

"Oh, that's really childish reasoning," Methos said. 

"It is not," Buffy said. 

Methos didn't have to reply to that. He just gave her a look that said 
it all. 

"Don't look at me like that!" Buffy exclaimed. 

"What are you talking about?" Methos asked innocently. 

"You know what she's talking about," Duncan said. 

"Will you two stop bickering?" Joyce asked. 

"Yes, it's getting very annoying," Duncan agreed. 

"We are not bickering," Methos and Buffy both protested. 

"Oh!" Joyce said suddenly remembering the other contents of her purse. 
"I probably should have given this to you before the fight, but I kind 
of forgot." She reached in and pulled out a wooden stake. She gave it 
to her daughter. 

"Where'd you get this?" Buffy asked in amazement. 

"We stopped by Duncan's place and got some stuff before we came," Joyce 
told her. 

"Why didn't you tell us?" Methos asked. 

"I kinda forgot," Joyce admitted. 

Methos shook his head but kept his mouth shut. 

They came to the end of the hall. They could go either left or right. 
"Which way should we go?" Duncan asked. 

"It's your choice, O wise and fearless leader," Buffy said. 

"Buffy," Joyce warned. 

"Sorry," Buffy apologized. "It's been a long day." 

"Speaking of which," Methos said. "How long have we been here?" 

Duncan chose the left hall. "Well, you left the bar around nine last 
night. Did they get you soon after?" 

"Almost right away," Buffy told him. 

"Then that would make it about thirty or so hours," Duncan told them. 

"Thirty hours?" Buffy exclaimed. "It didn't seem that long." 

"We must have been unconscious for a half that time," Methos reminded 
her. "And we've been wandering around lost for almost six hours." 

"I didn't think we were out that long," Buffy admitted. 

"Neither did I, but we must have been." 

"So, Duncan, Joyce, what happened to you?" Methos asked. 

Duncan explained, with Joyce adding the parts he forgot or didn't know. 
He had reached the part when the vampires had attacked them outside the 
restaurant when the hall came to an end again. This time, however, it 
was a dead end. Except for two huge, menacing doors in front of them. 

The whole group stopped and stared at the doors. 

"I guess we should try the doors, then," Buffy said. She didn't mean it 
though. She didn't like the doors. 

"It is the only way," Methos agreed. 

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Joyce asked. She went over and pulled 

the doors open. 

"Uh oh," Buffy said when she got a look inside the room. 

"My thoughts exactly," Methos said. 

It was the "throne" room Buffy and Methos had been taken to earlier on. 
In the middle of the room, surrounded by a half a dozen vampire guards, 
was the master. He was looking right at them. 

*       *       *

"These are the mortals that have been so hard to find?" the master 
asked.  "The ones everyone has been looking for?  Do I have complete 
morons working for me?"

The vampires all looked ashamed, and a little scared.  "Well," the 
master continued, "What are you waiting for?  Get them, you idiots."

Everyone in the room leapt into action, except for the master himself.  
He was content to let others do the dirty work for him.

"Mom!" Buffy yelled, "Get out of here!"  She kicked the closest vampire 
back while firing her crossbow at another one.  It hit its mark and the 
vampire exploded.  "One down, six more to go," she muttered to herself.

Joyce ran out of the doors, Duncan and two vampires on her heels.  
Methos and Buffy also tried for the door, but one vampire still in the 
room was smart enough to close and lock the doors.  She lost her life 
for that when Buffy reached her.

There were three vampires left, not including the master.  He was 
starting to look concerned, but still didn't make any move.

Methos killed one of the vampires, and moved in on his second vampire.  
He tried the tricked he used to kill the vampire earlier.  He plunged 
the sword into the vamp's chest and then, when he wasn't expecting it, 
beheaded it.  It worked perfectly the second time, too.

Outside the room, Joyce fumbled with some holy water, trying clumsily 
to take the lid off.  She splashed it on the nearest vampire, which ran 
away, screaming like a baby. 

Duncan was fighting with the last vampire.  It was blocking all his 
swings.  Finally it knocked the sword right out of Duncan's hand.  It 
stood there with a wicked smile on its face, gloating for a moment 
before it moved in for the kill.  

It never got the change.  Joyce sneaked up behind it and staked it in 
the back.  A horrible look of comprehension was on its face before it 
exploded into dust.

"Thanks," Duncan smiled.

"You're welcome," Joyce replied.

 Buffy staked the last vampire inside, turning around just in time to 
see the master sneak up on Methos, who had just killed his vampire.  
"Watch out!" she yelled.

Methos turned his head to see what Buffy was warning him about.  He 
instinctively ducked when he caught sight of the master.  He wasn't 
fast enough.  The master ripped the sword out of Methos's hand and ran 
it through his chest.

"Adam!" Buffy screamed as Methos fell first to his knees, then to the 
floor.  He was dead.

Buffy furiously ran over to Methos and yanked the sword out of the 
body.  She twirled it around a few times, trying to get the feel.  Then 
she attacked the master.

He grabbed the sword that was hanging above his dais.  He wielded it, 
fending off Buffy's frenzied blows perfectly.  He soon managed to 
disarm Buffy, who wasn't a very good swordsman.  He grabbed Buffy by 
the back of her neck and drew her closer.

"I would have rather waited for the ceremony, but I'm not too picky," 
he said.

Buffy was struggling a lot, trying to get free, but the vampire only 
tightened his grip on her.  She tried going limp to catch him off 
guard.  The master was able to recover quicker than Buffy expected and 
she didn't get free.

"Stop struggling!" he ordered.

"You're used to getting your own way," Buffy remarked.

"No one ever crosses me," the vampire leader boasted.

"Well, get used to it," Buffy shouted as she finally twisted out of the 
master's grasp.  She pulled a stake out of her sleeve and slammed it 
into his chest.  

The vampire's shocked and horrified look soon turned to one of relief 
when he realized the wood had missed his heart.

"You'll have to try harder than that," he said, mimicking the exact 
words Sunnydale's dead Master had once told Buffy.  For a second she 
panicked, remember how close to dying, well to dying forever, she had 
come that night two years ago.

A second was all this master needed.  He grabbed Buffy again, with a 
grip so tight Buffy knew the marks would be there for a week.  Assuming 
she lived that long.  For the first time in a long time it looked like 
she was going to seriously die.

The vampire master had pulled her in close and his fangs were 
millimetres from biting her neck when a gunshot sounded.

The master lost his grip on Buffy and she ducked out of the way, 
letting Methos shoot the vampire several more times, right in the 
chest.  Buffy stared at the man she had seen dead just a few minutes 
ago.

"Don't just stare," he said, annoyed.  "Kill the bastard."

Dumbly Buffy picked up the stake which had fallen to the floor and 
threw herself at the vampire.  For the second time that evening she 
slammed the stake into the master's chest.  She didn't miss the heart 
this time and the vampire was no more.

"Adam," Buffy said, her voice quivering.  She knew he hadn't been 
turned; no vampire had drained his blood and he had tasted none 
himself.  Once again her thoughts turned to Angel and his deception 
when they first met.  "I thought you said you weren't a vampire with a 
soul," she joked, shaking.

Methos gave her a weird look.  "What is it with you a vampire's with 
souls.  Vampires don't have souls."

"I know that," Buffy said absently, still unable to tear her eyes away 
from her "dead" friend.  "But how . . . what . . ." She didn't know 
what to say, how to phrase the question that was burning to be asked.  
"You were dead," she settled for.

"I know that," Methos said, letting his voice sound annoyed in hopes 
that it would help Buffy understand and accept the fact that he was 
alive.  "I'm Immortal."

"Immortal?" Buffy asked

"You know, someone that lives forever, a person that can't die," Methos 
said.

"But, but . . ." Buffy trailed off.

"But?" Methos asked.

"But how?"

"I honestly don't know," Methos said.  "All I know is that I recover 
from all mortal wounds."

"How old are you?" Buffy asked curiously.  She had finally gotten over 
the shocked.  It was easier for her to accept it than a normal person, 
whose whole life didn't revolve around fighting the forces of evil and 
killing supernatural beings every night.

"Old enough," Methos said evasively.

"You didn't answer my question," Buffy accused him.

"You're right," Methos said in his infuriating way.  Then, to keep her 
from asking any more questions, he said, "Shouldn't we go check on your 
mother and MacLeod?"

Buffy's eyes widened in horror as she remembered the vampires that had 
run out of the room after her mother.  "Mom," she said as she ran to 
the door.

The Slayer unlocked it and threw the doors open.  Both MacLeod and 
Joyce, who had been trying their best to find a way back inside, 
stumbled in.

"Are you okay, mom?" Buffy asked.

"I'm fine, honey.  Are you alright?" Joyce asked, looking Buffy over to 
see if her daughter had hurt herself.

"I'm fine, mom," Buffy said.

"I hate to break up this touching reunion," Methos said.  "But I for 
one would like to find a way out of this god forsaken place."

*       *       *

The group finally arrived at Duncan's place. Buffy immediately 
collapsed on a chair. Methos followed her example after stopping off at 
the fridge for a beer. 

"I told you so," Buffy suddenly said out of the blue. 

"You told me what?" Methos asked. 

"You cursed us and I told you so," Buffy explained. 

"I did not curse us," Methos said indignantly. 

"You did too," Buffy argued. "You said things couldn't get any worse, 
and they did." 

"First of all, I said we had enough arrows unless something happened, 
and second, that was in no way cursing us." 

"See!" Buffy exclaimed. "You admitted you said it." 

"Of course I said it. I can hardly argue differently. You all heard me 
say it. But I didn't curse us. Besides," Methos added, "we would have 
been fine if you had better aim." 

"What!" 

"I said, we would have been - " 

Buffy cut him off. "I know what you said," she said icily. 

"Then why'd you ask?" 

Buffy clenched her teeth. "What I meant was, what do you mean?" 

"I mean we would have been fine if you had better aim," Methos said. 

"My aim is fine!" Buffy yelled. 

"If your aim is so good, why did you miss the master's heart? You were 
less than a foot away." 

The phone rang, interrupting the argument. 

Duncan answered it, "MacLeod." 

He listened for a minute before handing it to Joyce, saying, "It's for 
you." 

"Hello?" Joyce said into the phone. "Giles!" 

"Giles?" Buffy asked, surprised. "Why would he be calling?" 

"Your mother phoned him when you disappeared," Duncan told her. 

"Who's Giles?" Methos asked. 

"My Watcher," Buffy told him. 

"Ah." 

"We found Buffy," Joyce was saying. "Yes, she's fine." 

"Hey Giles!" Buffy yelled to the phone. 

"I'm going to put you on speakerphone," Joyce said. 

"Buffy?" Giles' voice sounded a little weird over the phone, at least 
to Buffy. 

"I'm here, Giles," the Slayer answered merrily. 

"Thank God you're alright," Giles said, his relief noticeable. "What 
happened?" 

"Got kidnapped by vamps, escaped, killed them, came home. How was your 
day?" 

"Are they all dead then?" Giles asked. 

"Most of them." 

"Is their leader still alive?" 

"No," Methos said. 

"Who's that?" Giles asked. 

"A friend of mine," Buffy told him. "He was there." 

"Oh. Well," Giles said, "I guess you don't need to know now, but I 
found out who kidnapped you, and why." 

"You did?" Buffy asked, excited. "Who?" 

"An old vampire, named Kykiote. It was part of a prophecy calling for 
Slayer's blood." 

Joyce's face became very pale as she realized how close her daughter 
had come once again to death. 

Buffy was upset, too, but also confused. "But I wasn't the first choice 
for the ritual. They were supposed to bring in another girl." 

"Yes, Catherine Waters, the girl that died. She was a potential 
slayer," Giles explained. 

"A what?" Duncan asked. 

"In every generation there is a chosen one. She's the only one with the 
strength and skill to kill vampires. But there are a lot more girls 
with the potential to be a slayer. When the old one dies, one of the 
potential slayers becomes the Vampire Slayer." 

"How'd the vamp know this Catherine girl was a potential slayer?" Buffy 
wanted to know. 

"There are many indications of a potential slayer. Many vampires, at 
least the older ones, can tell who they are. The Watcher Council also 
needs to be able to find and train these girls," Giles explained. 

Suddenly Buffy yawned and it was contagious. Giles heard them and said, 
"I think I should get going. I'll see you when you get back, Buffy." 

"Bye Giles," Buffy said sleepily. He hung up. 

"I'd better get going, too," Methos said. "It was nice meeting you 
Joyce, Buffy." 

"Will you be around tomorrow?" Duncan asked. 

Methos glanced at Buffy. "I don't think so," he said. 

"Yeah," Buffy chimed in. "To quote the Simpsons, once you've been 
through something like that with someone, you never want to see them 
again. 

"Good bye, Buffy," Methos said, smiling.

"Bye," Joyce said. Buffy smiled and waved. Despite her words, she did 
like him and they both knew it. 

Adam left and Buffy went to her room to sleep, leaving only Joyce and 
Duncan. 

"Well, this wasn't exactly the nice, relaxing vacation I promised 
you," Duncan said. 

"No, it wasn't," Joyce replied. "But at least everything turned out 
okay in the end." 

"Good night, Joyce," Duncan said, giving his friend a kiss on the cheek 
before going to bed himself. 

"' night, Duncan," Joyce said. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
trinityday@hotmail.com