I was at home, walking toward the door, pulling on a leather jacket.

Mom was in the living room behind me when I got to the front door. "Going out?" 

I made a disappointed face, looking toward her. "I was hoping you wouldn't be home." 

"Where are you going?" Mom asked. 

"Uh..." I trailed off. "To Willow's." Mom tilted her head at me, unconvinced. I sighed. "I don't want you to worry, Mom. Besides, I told you that I can take care of myself." 

"So you're going patrolling?" Mom asked. I nodded hesitantly. "Alone?" I nodded. "Where's Buffy?" 

"She's doing training with Giles," I answered. "And Faith is no where to be found. Some one has to do it, Mom. People could be dying right now." 

"I understand that, I do," Mom told me. "Just... why do you think it's up to you when they can't do their jobs?" 

I scoffed softly. "You're joking, right? Did you seriously just say that to me?" 

"What?" Mom asked.

I stepped closer to her. "Mom, I may not be a Slayer, but I can assure you that I can take care of myself. Giles trained me over the summer." 

"Yes, after you were turned into an assassin on Halloween of last year, and having been that way for an entire night due to some spell, you had gathered all of this knowledge about fighting yourself," Mom stated. "Mr. Giles just showed you how to control it and to get stronger." 

"Yes," I answered. "And now that you know about all of this, you can not tell anyone. Okay? I'm gonna be fine. I promise. It'll be all right." 

I turned around, walking toward the door.

"Zoey, why do you do this?" Mom asked, suddenly as curious as she was worried. "Why so eager and anxious to go to the thing that could very well be the death of you?" I sighed, turning to face her. "Zo, your 18th birthday is in a week. Can't you at least hold off until you can be an adult and handle this?" 

"I guess it..." I trailed off. "I just have some... energy to burn. I have so much energy, and it makes me hyper, and distracted, and the more chances that I get to blow it off, the more that I can control it and keep myself and others safe. And no, I can't wait, Mom. If I wait, then someone could die. And I'm not having that." 

I turned to leave.

"But--" Mom started.

"See you in a few hours," I told her, walking out of the house, closing the door behind me. 

I hesitated on the porch, sighing. 

I kind of missed the time when Mom didn't know about all of this. 

It was sure hell of a lot easier than this.

I walked forward to go patrolling. 

•••

In the cemetery, I was already fighting with a vampire.

He kicked me back onto a headstone, making the tombstone break and me roll over onto the ground next to it, my knee brought to my chest. The vampire crouched over me, holding himself up with his arms, trying to bite. I used my leg to throw him over my head, making him flip backward and land flat on his back. I jumped up into a standing position, turning around to face him. He turned to face me, faking to the left, attacking from the right, trying to punch me. I ducked, spinning behind him, standing straight. He turned around to face me, trying to punch. I inner form blocked the move, spinning half-way with an in-to out crescent kick. He ducked. I kept on spinning downwards with a back leg sweep, sending him to the ground. 

"Wow, that was really funny-looking," I told him, smiling widely. "Could you do it again?"

"I'll kill you for that," he told me, jumping up to a standing position. 

"For that?" I repeated. "What were you trying to kill me for before?" 

The vampire swung at me. I ducked, spinning around him. He turned to face me. I round-house kicked him in the shoulder. He swung again. I ducked it, punching him in the stomach, standing straight, back-hand punching him in head. He pushed me back so he could respond with a half-spinning wheel kick, making me stumble back and fall onto the ground, making me drop the stake in hand, lunging. I kicked him back into a nearby tombstone, making him fall to the ground. I scrambled to get the stake, rolling toward him, sitting up, pinning him against the tombstone behind him, staking him in the heart. 

I smiled, raising my eyebrows smugly. "Gotcha." 

I pulled the stake out of his heart, watching him explode into dust in front of me. I sighed, relaxed now that I got to spend all that extra energy on something, standing. 

•••

I wasn't done patrolling, leaving the cemetery and going to the park. 

And saw a vampire straddling Buffy, leaning hard on a stake, slowly pushing it closer to Buffy's chest as she struggled immensely to keep him a bay, but losing the battle.

"Buffy!" I called.

They both looked toward me. 

I ran toward them.

The vampire stood, growling, still holding the stake, swinging it toward me. I ducked, catching his wrist, spinning around him, plunging the stake in his hand into his chest from behind. "Stakes are meant for anybody but a vampire." I let him go as he exploded into ash, brushing the dust off of me. Buffy sat up, breathing heavily. I instantly walked closer. "Buffy, are you okay?" Buffy nodded unconvincingly, standing. "Oh, my God, what happened?" 

Buffy shook her head. "I have no idea." 

I wrapped my arms around her in relief. Buffy held me gratefully.

•••

The next day at school, Buffy and I went to talk to Giles in the library. 

Buffy stood by the table, concentrating on a target she set up against the railing of the stack level, raising a knife, throwing it. 

It glanced off of the target, clinking as it hit the floor.

Giles walked in with his briefcase and a cup of coffee. "Bit early in the day." 

Giles took a drink of his coffee.

"Giles, something's wrong," I told him. 

Giles stopped. "Wrong?" He saw the target with a few knives stuck awkwardly into it. None of them were anywhere near the center. "Ah. Perhaps you shouldn't..." Buffy threw a knife, missing the target. "Do that anymore." 

Giles set down the suitcase. 

"On top of that, I got a bad case of the dizzies last night and almost let a vamp stake me," Buffy told him. "With my own stake! If Zoey hadn't been there to save my life, I wouldn't be standing in front of you right now." Giles took a drink of his coffee. Buffy threw another knife. It flew wild. "I'm way off my game." I pressed my lips together. "My game's left the country. It's in Cuernavaca." 

"Giles, what's going on here?" I asked.

Giles sat down. "Well, perhaps Buffy's got a bad flu bug or something." 

"No," Buffy told us. "No, not sick. I can't get sick. My dad's coming to take me to the ice show. We do it every year for my birthday. If I cancel, it's gonna break his heart." 

"Ice show?" I repeated. 

"Shut up," Buffy told me. 

I smiled. 

"Well, just, um, take it easy for 48 hours," Giles told her. "You know, forego patrolling until you feel yourself again."

"So patrolling's all on me until Buffy gets better?" I asked. "Why does that statement sound so familiar and so exhausting?" 

Buffy gave me a look.

Giles stood, walking over to get his briefcase.

Buffy picked up a couple more knives from the table. "No. No, I just need to spend a little more time training." She threw one of the knives. This time, it went very wild, breaking one of the reading lamps. Giles didn't see it, but we all sure heard it. "I'm gone!" 

Buffy turned around, walking out of the library.

"Thank you!" Giles told her, walking into his office without looking at the damage.

I looked at the knives on the table thoughtfully, sliding off of the counter, walking toward them. I picked one up, throwing it to the target.

It hit the center mark. 

I looked toward the door, worried about Buffy. 

•••

Oz, Xander, Willow, Buffy and I were sitting outside at the lunch tables, eating. 

"An ice show?" Xander asked. "A show performed on ice. And how old are we again?" 

"I went to Snoopy On Ice when I was little," Willow told us. "My dad took me backstage, and I got so scared, I threw up on Woodstock." 

"Look, I know you guys think it's just a big, dumb, girlie thing, but it's not," Buffy told us. "I mean, a lot of those skaters are Olympic medal winners. And every year, my dad buys me cotton candy and one of those souvenir programs that has all the pictures. And, okay, it's a big, dumb, girlie thing, but I love it." 

"It's not so girlie," Oz told us. "Ice is cool. It's water, but it's not." 

"I think it's sweet you and your dad have a tradition," I told her. "Especially now that he's not around so much."

"Coming from someone who knows," Oz told me.

I shrugged. "My dad traveling all the freaking time... The only tradition that we have is that I sometimes get to travel with him in the summer. But that didn't happen last summer, because..." 

"Yeah, I know, I was gone, and you had to protect the town alone, and I'm so sorry," Buffy told me.

I smiled. "I'm over it already." 

Willow looked at Buffy. "But if you do go to the ice show, ixnay on the caramel corn, though, if you go backstage." 

Buffy nodded in agreement. 

"We're still talking party, right?" Xander asked. He gasped, looking at me. "And, hey, since Buffy's birthday is this week, and Zoey's is next week, both of whom are turning 18, we can have a merged birthday party of the greats. I mean, some of us still love to relish celebrating in the birth of Zo and Buff."

I smiled. 

"I don't know," Buffy told us. "I think it might be time to put a moratorium on parties in my honor. They tend to go badly. Monsters crash. People die." 

"But 18 is a big one, Buffy," Willow told her. She looked between us.  "I mean, you guys can vote now. You can be drafted." She smiled. "You can vote not to be drafted." 

"I don't know," I told them. "I mean, Mom's freaking out, and she just wants to spend my birthday with quiet reflection." 

"Where is it written that quiet reflection can't be combined with cake and funny hats?" Oz asked. 

We smiled .

•••

The next day at school, Buffy, Willow and I walked down the stairs into the quad. 

Willow looked at me. "So how'd patrolling go last night?" 

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," I answered. "I got to gank four vamps within two nights. I'm feeling better." 

Buffy smiled. "I'm sorry I couldn't help."

"Well, you shouldn't patrol until you get to feeling better," I told her. "Besides, I can take care of myself." I smiled. "Obviously." 

"Obviously," Buffy repeated. "But how is your mom taking it?" 

I sighed, looking away. "I've been avoiding her. She has too many questions that she would fall apart if she knew the truth to." 

"Give her a chance," Willow told her. "At least she's taking an interest." 

I nodded, looking at Willow, changing the subject. "So, how's it going with Amy the rat?" 

"Good," Willow answered excitedly. "She loves her new exercise wheel. She runs around, her nose wiggles--" 

"I meant, how's it going changing her back into a human being?" I asked.

"Oh," Willow said, the excitement draining away in disappointment. "Still working on it. But I just got her the cutest little bell..." 

We heard a boy raising his voice, looking in his direction to see that he was talking to Cordelia.

"You don't do that to me!" the boy told her. "I waited for you at the Bronze all night!" 

"And the big deal is?" Cordelia asked.

"You made me look like some kind of dork in front of my posse," the boy answered, grabbing her arm.

Cordelia, offended, slapped his arm away. "First of all, 'posse'? Passe'. Second of all, anyone with a teaspoon of brains knows not take my flirting seriously. Especially with my extenuating circumstances."

"What circumstances?" the boy asked.

"Rebound," Cordelia answered. "Look it up." 

Cordelia tried to walk away.

The boy grabbed Cordelia by both of her shoulders, pushing her against a tree. "Hey! I'm not through here." 

Buffy immediately moved in, grabbing the boy's arm. "Oh, I beg to differ." 

Buffy tried to pull his arm away from Cordelia only to find that she had absolutely no strength.

The boy scoffed, pushing Buffy away, making her fall backward onto a bench, rolling off onto the ground. 

Cordelia, incensed, pushed the boy away from her. "What is wrong with you?" 

"Ow," the boy told her. Cordelia started pounding him in the chest with girlie punches. The boy quickly backed away. Cordelia kept up with him, and wouldn't let up. "God, the chick started it!" 

Willow and I knelt next to Buffy.

"Are you okay?" I asked. 

Buffy slowly sat up, very confused. 

She went to see Giles.

Giles said that he would figure out what was happening. 

•••

That night, we were all, besides Giles, at the table in the library, doing research into Buffy's condition.

"Aha," Willow told us. "A curse on Slayers." We looked up. Willow read again. "Oh, no. Wait. It--it's lawyers." 

"You know, maybe we're on the wrong track with the whole spell, curse and whammy thing," Xander told us. "Maybe what we should be looking for is something like, um, Slayer kryptonite." 

"Faulty metaphor," Oz told him. "Kryptonite kills." 

"You're assuming I meant the green kryptonite," Xander told him. "I was referring, of course, to the red kryptonite, which drains Superman of his powers." 

Buffy, Willow and I exchanged a slightly annoyed and confused look, impatient. 

Oz thought for a moment. "Wrong. The gold kryptonite's the power-sucker. The red kryptonite mutates Superman into some sort of weird--"

"Guys?" I asked. "Reality?" 

Buffy dropped her book onto the table, standing, walking toward the stairs.

Willow and I stood, following.

"Buffy," I told her. We stopped. "I know you are definitely, without a doubt, gonna get your powers back."

"Thanks, guys," Buffy told us, turning to walk up to the stacks. 

"But what if you don't?" Willow asked.

Buffy stopped. "Okay..." She sighed. "If I don't get my powers back, then I don't. I'll deal." She considered for a second. "And there's a whole lotta good sides to it." 

"Acutally, this could open up so many..." Willow trailed off. 

Giles walked into the library.

Buffy walked up to him quickly. "Giles. Did you find anything?" 

"Uh, no," Giles answered apologetically. "Not yet." 

•••

Patrolling again later that night, I was just finishing when I heard Buffy screaming. "Help me! Somebody, please! Help me, please! Somebody!" I instantly started to run in that direction. "Somebody, help me! Stop! Please, I need a car! Please stop!" 

I saw Buffy standing next to a road, trying to flag someone down.

Two vampires were chasing after her.

I ran toward her. "Buffy!" 

Buffy looked at me in relief. "Zoey!" 

"Behind you!" I told her.

Buffy turned to see the two vampires. One of them lunged toward her. Buffy ducked in barely enough time. The other vampire tried to attack her. I pushed him back, standing in a fighting stance, looking between the two vampires as they surrounded us.

"You can't take both of them on by yourself while you're worried about me," Buffy told me.

"That's why we're gonna run," I told her.

The vampire in front of me smiled. "I love it when they run. Please do." 

The vampire that had tried to attack Buffy lunged toward us. I side-stepped, taking him by his arm, spinning around, pushing him into the other vampire, making them both fall to the ground. 

I turned to Buffy. "Go!" 

We both ran down the side of the street as fast as we could.

By the time the vampires stood, we had already taken off around the corner, and they started to chase after us. 

We got to my car around the corner, quickly getting inside, closing the doors. I started to drive away.

The one that had tried to attack us twice grabbed onto my side of the car, trying to reach inside and stop me. I elbowed him repeatedly until he finally let go and fell to the ground outside. 

I looked at Buffy as we continued to drive away, breathing heavily. "What were you doing out there by yourself while you're sick, Buffy?" 

"I wasn't patrolling, if that's what you mean," Buffy told me, still shaken up. "I was just walking home." 

"What the hell is happening?" I asked.

Buffy shook her head. "I don't know." 

•••

We got to the library, talking to Giles, sitting at the table.

Buffy had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, tears staining her cheeks. "When I hit him, it felt like my arm was broken, it hurt so much. I can't be just a person. I can't be helpless like that. Giles, please, we have to figure out what's happening to me." 

Giles opened his briefcase, pulling out the case with a syringe. He opened it, sighing, setting it in front of us, speaking shakily. "It's an organic compound... of muscle relaxants and adrenal suppressers. The effect is temporary. You'll be yourself again in a few days." 

We looked at him in disbelief. 

Buffy reached out to the tube of liquid and touched it. 

"You?" I asked. 

"It's a test, Zoey," Giles told me, taking off his glasses. "It's given once the Slayer and the next Chosen One... uh, well, if they reach their eighteenth birthday." 

"The next Chosen One?" I repeated. "You mean a Potential?" 

Giles nodded. "Yes." 

I looked between them in shock and realization. "You mean me? I'm the next one chosen if Buffy or Faith dies?" 

Giles nodded. "Yes." 

"And that's why you've been training me all summer," I realized. I scoffed, shaking my head. "Which is why you said you weren't doing what I thought you were when I accused you of trying to turn me into Buffy. You weren't trying to turn me into Buffy at all. You were training me to be the next Slayer if one of them dies." Buffy was in shock and disbelief. Giles nodded, looking down in shame, swallowing. I looked at him coldly. "And you lied to me this whole time." I scoffed, shaking my head. "But I guess I should have seen this one coming. The extra energy that has made me jumpy, and hyper, and reckless, and even a klutz sometimes, all of this was signs to being a Potential that was next to call on the list, wasn't it?" 

"Zoey--" Giles started.

"Wasn't it?" I repeated forcefully.

Giles nodded. "Yes." 

"What's the test?" I asked.

Giles hesitated. "The Slayer is disabled, so all that they can rely on is the teaching and knowledge of the Slayer and the strength and the training of Potential. They're then entrapped with a vampire foe whom they must defeat in order to pass the test." He paced toward his office. "The vampire you were to face... has escaped." He stopped at the door, facing away. "His name is Zackary Karlik. As a mortal, he murdered and tortured more than a dozen woman before he was committed to an asylum for the criminally insane. When a vamp--"

Buffy stood, throwing the syringe case at him, but missed hitting the wall beside him.

I stood in slight shock, but not much.

Buffy sobbed angrily. "You bastard. All this time, you saw what it was doing to me. All this time, you knew that it wasn't just putting me in danger, but my best friend, too, and you didn't say a word!" 

Giles turned to face us. "I wanted to." 

Buffy sobbed. "Liar." 

"In matters of tradition and protocol, I must answer to the Council," Giles told us. I ran my hands through my hair in disbelief and betrayal. "My role in this... was very specific." He looked at me. "I was to train you for months in preparation for this." He looked at Buffy. "And I was to administer the injections and direct the two of you to the old bording house on Prescott Lane." 

Buffy started to cry, shaking her head. "I can't... I can't hear this."

"Buffy, please," Giles told her. 

Buffy looked at her. "Who are you?" I lowered my hands to my side. "How could you do this to me? To us?" 

"I am deeply sorry," Giles told us, reaching toward us. "And you have to understand--"

I backed away, raising a hand as a warning. "If you touch me, I'll kill you." 

Giles lowered his hand. "You both have to listen to me. Because I've told you this, the test is invalidated. You will be safe now, I promise you. Now, whatever I have to do with Kralik, and to win back your trust--"

"You stuck a needle in me," Buffy told him, sobbing. "You poisoned me!"

"You were training me to fight this thing, and you didn't even tell me what you were training me for," I told him. 

Buffy shook her head at Giles, turning around, walking toward the door. 

"You can't walk home alone, Buffy," Giles told her. "It isn't safe." 

Buffy stopped, but didn't look at either of us. "I don't know you." She looked at me. "Zoey, could you please drive me home?" 

I glared at Giles for a moment. "Of course." 

Buffy and I turned around, walking out of the library, leaving Giles alone. 

•••

I had taken Buffy home, dropped her off, and went home, walking inside. 

I walked through the living room toward the kitchen, seeing the door wide open. 

There was a Polaroid photo taped on the door frame. 

I strode over, pulling it down to look at it.

The picture was of my mom with the vampire that had spoke to us, not the one that had attacked, Kralik. He was holding her by the neck. 

I shook my head in denial, tears in my eyes, turning the picture over to see a message on the back.

Come. 

I tore the picture in half in a burst of anger and worry, throwing the pieces into the trash can next to me, turning away, running a hand through my hair. 

The home phone started to ring.

I walked over quickly, answering it. "Hello?" 

Buffy's voice was on the other line, crying. "Zoey..." 

"Let me guess. Kralik took your mom, left a Polaroid of the two of them with a message on the back saying, 'Come'?" 

"How did you know that?" 

"I took a wild guess." 

"Wait... your mom?" 

"Yeah."

"I'm going to get them back. Tonight." 

"Not alone, you're not. I'm on my way." 

I hung up, placing the phone in the receiver, walking out of the open back door, closing it behind me. 

•••

I went to Buffy's house, walking into her room to see her packing up the weapons that we would need. 

I stood next to her, looking into the bag to see a knife, several stakes, Holy Water...

"Is that gonna be enough?" I asked.

"I have no idea," Buffy told me. "I have no idea how strong he is or how well he fights, or how psycho he is."

I shook my head. "I don't care. He has both of our mothers. I'm not gonna let him kill them." 

"Neither am I," Buffy told me. 

I looked down sadly, shaking my head. "This is why I never wanted her to know." 

"She would have been taken whether she knew or not, Zoey," Buffy told me. "At least, now, she knows exactly what's going on." 

"And now it's up to us to save them," I told her. "The Potential without the strength of a Slayer and the Slayer that doesn't have her powers, but has all the knowledge of one." 

Buffy nodded. "Let's do this." 

Buffy tried to pick up the heavy bag, but failed to do so.

I picked up the bag, realizing that it was very heavy, but I was stronger than Buffy at the moment, so I could easily pick it up, put it over my shoulder, leading the way out of the room. 

•••

Buffy slowly opened the front door of the bording house that Giles had told us about, having a crossbow in her hand, holding it up and ready. 

The front rooms were empty and quiet.

Buffy led the way in.

I took one of the stakes, putting it down between the door and the frame to keep it open.

Buffy continued to have the crossbow up and ready, looking through the rooms, stepping in further, looking through the archway into the sitting room.

I slowly followed with the bags of weapons, seeing that a fire was going in the fire place, walking around the room once, setting the bag down on the old couch. 

Buffy continued to look around the area quietly, fearful and nervous, approaching a door, cautiously taking hold of the knob, quickly twisting, pulling the door open, only to find that it had been bricked up on the other side. She closed the door.

I opened the bag quietly, taking out one of the larger weapons, a scythe, meant to take of the vampire's head. I still held a stake in the other. 

The door closed, the latch echoing loudly.

Buffy and I turned around to face the noise, but saw nothing. 

•••

We were still in the sitting room, slowly stepping toward the foyer.

Buffy continued to look around the room with the crossbow raised.

I walked toward the door, trying to open it, but it was locked shut from the outside. I continued to pull but couldn't open it. "Damn it." I turned around to see the other vampire behind Buffy. "Buffy!" 

Buffy turned around, aiming the crossbow at him, pulling the trigger, but the bolt flew right past his face. The vampire grabbed the bow, jerking it out of her hands, throwing it down, grabbing her by the throat, beginning to choke her. 

I grabbed the vampire's arm, pulling him away from Buffy, pushing him into the wall behind me, trying to stake him in the heart. The vampire raised his arms in a cross to block the move, trying to take the stake away from me. I held tighter, spinning to kick him back into the wall. He ran toward me. I swung the scythe at his neck. He caught my wrist. I tried to stake him in the heart with the stake in my other hand. He caught that wrist, pushing me into the wall behind me, squeezing them until I was forced to drop the weapons. I tried to knee him in the gut. He raised a leg to stop the move, pinning it against the wall.

Then he suddenly exploded into ash. 

Buffy had been standing behind him with a stake in her hand, raised to the point where his heart would have been. 

I sighed in relief, trying to catch my breath. "Nice save." 

"You, too," Buffy told me. 

"Let's move on, shall we?" I asked, pushing away from the wall, grabbing the bag of weapons.

Buffy picked up the stake and the scythe from the floor, following me into a different room.

We could hear Kralik's voice. "Hide and seek..." We looked all around us. "Hide and seek!" 

The hall, the stairs and the adjacent room were empty.

I saw a crate. Its door was closed. I slowly approached it. 

The door suddenly swung open, and Kralik jumped out, grabbing me by my throat. "Why did you come to the dark of the woods?" He yanked the bag out of my hands, looking into it to see a smaller bow, several stakes and a few knives. "To bring all these sweets to grandmother's house?" 

Kralik dropped the bag, pulling me closer to throw me across the room into the wall, making me fall. 

I started to sit up painfully. "I guess we figured out how strong and psycho is on the scale." I held my arm to my chest. It felt as if it was broken. "I'd give it a ten." 

Kralik chuckled, stalking closer to Buffy.

Buffy held out a cross toward him, making him back away, holding it out at arm's length, shaking nervously. 

Kralik looked at her for a moment, smiling evilly, suddenly grabbing her arm, pulling it and the cross into his chest, rubbing it around, laughing as it burned against his skin. "Oh, no, no. Just a little lower." He nudged it down. "Right..." He inhaled. "Oh, yes. Yes. Oh." He gasped. "Ooh. Thank you very much." 

Buffy let go of the cross, backing away in terror.

It had given me enough time to stand, appear behind Kralik and try to stake him in the heart through his back. He turned around in just enough to catch my wrist, crushing it, making me groan in pain. "Buffy, run!" 

Buffy turned around, but she obviously wasn't going anywhere without me, because she grabbed the crossbow, turning toward us, firing. 

The arrow nearly shot through both of our skulls, but Kralik caught the arrow, smiling, stabbing it into my already-hurt arm. "Does that feel as good as the cross did?" 

Kralik grabbed my throat, starting to punch me repeatedly in the face, making me fall to the floor. He knelt next to me, grabbing me by my jacket, continuing to punch, leaving scratches on my face and head that began to bleed. 

I kneed him in the gut, making him let go, head-butting him in the head, pushing him away from me, standing, grabbing the bag of weapons as I ran past, running toward Buffy, taking her head, running out of the room, into the kitchen, locking the door. 

There was a dead body on the floor in front of us. 

I didn't barely look at it, looking at the arrow in my arm. "Oh, my God." 

"Shh," Buffy told me, taking the arrow. "On three, okay?" I nodded, pulling my hair behind my ear, grabbing the counter with my uninjured arm, bracing myself for the pain. "One, two--" 

Buffy suddenly pulled the arm out of my arm, making me groan in pain loudly.

"What happened to three?" I asked.

Buffy dropped the arrow onto the counter next to us.

We heard pounding on the locked door, obviously from Kralik. 

Buffy went through the bag, rifling through it for anything we could use. 

I ripped a piece of cloth off of the counter's table cloth, using one hand and my teeth to make a touriquet around my injured arm to stop the bleeding, applying pressure for a moment. 

The pounding on the door stopped.

Buffy breathed shallowly with fear, slowly stepping back to the door, quietly opening it. "He's gone." 

I nodded, grabbing the bag, following her out into the hall, toward the stairs, opening the bag to retrieve a stake to replace the one that I had lost. 

Buffy looked around constantly, making a dash up them.

Kralik punched his arm through the railing, tripping her, making her fall and cut her forehead when she fell to the stairs, grabbing her leg, pulling her down a ways. 

Buffy looked to be unconscious. 

I raised the stake in hand to stake him in the heart. Kralik turned to face me, raising an arm to block the move. The stake stabbed him in the arm the way he had stabbed me with the arrow.

"How does it feel?" I asked breathlessly. "Buffy, wake up!" I pulled the stake out of his arm, letting the bag slide off of my shoulder and into my hand so I could use it to hit Kralik in the face, making him stumble back into the stair railing, making it break more than it already was. "Buffy!" 

Buffy slowly started to wake up. 

Kralik ran toward me. I sidestepped, making him ran past me, running toward the stairs, and up to where Buffy was, helping her up. Kralik ran closer. 

Knowing that I couldn't carry both the bag of weapons and help a nearly unconscious Buffy, I pushed the bag down the stairs into Kralik's chest, making him fall. I took Buffy's arm, wrapping it around my shoulder, running up the stairs and down the hall, seeing that Kralik had pushed the bag aside and chased up the stairs after us. At a bend in the hall, we stopped, looking around to see the hallway empty, running to the first door. It was locked. We went to the next. It opened. We ran inside, closing the door behind us.

The room was pitch dark. 

I let go of Buffy.

Buffy was fully awake now, searching around until she found a string hanging from the ceiling, pulling it, turning the light on.

We looked around the walls surrounding us in horror.

They were covered with Polaroids with our mothers. 

I grabbed one of them off of the wall to make sure. 

The picture was of my mom bound to a chair and gagged, terrified. 

Kralik started pounding at the door, punching through the wood, reaching inside, searching for the knob, unlocking it. 

Buffy and I ran to another door, opening it, running out into the hall. 

Just as we reached the end, Kralik stepped out in front of us. "If you stray from the path, you will lose your way. Where are your little weapons now?" 

Kralik put a hand on Buffy's cheek.

I pushed it away from her. "Go!" 

Buffy started to back away, but she didn't leave. 

Kralik tried to punch me. I raised my injured arm to block the move, punching him in the face with the other, making him turn away. He attacked me. I launched myself into a hopping side-kick to his gut. He tried to punch me. I sidestepped, swinging under his arm with an uppercut to his jaw, but he wasn't fazed. He swung at me with both arms, knocking me aside. I punched him twice in the face.

Kralik caught the third try, grabbing my injured arm, applying pressure, making me groan in pain, pushing me into the wall behind me, leaning in toward my neck. "I won't take it all. I won't take it all." 

I strained hard to keep him at bay, the more I struggled, the more that he applied pressure to my arm, making it bleed through the tourniquet, and making me weaker. 

Buffy appeared, using one of the broken pieces of the door from down the hall to hit it against Kralik's head, making him back away. 

The blow to the head seemed to activiate something, like a seizure attack. He grabbed his head, beginning to groan in pain, pulling out a pill bottle, struggling to get it open. 

Buffy grabbed the bottle out of his hands, taking my hand, leading me down the hall at a run.

"No!" Kralik told us. "No! No!" 

Kralik had a hard time coming after us with the pain in his head. 

We reached the far end of the hall. 

Buffy leaped into the laundry chute, sliding down. 

Kralik ran closer, pulling out the scythe that I had lost, trying to stab me with it. I sidestepped, taking his arm, twisting it, making him let the scythe go, grabbing it, stabbing it into his chest, stunning him long enough to slide down the chute with the scythe in hand. 

I heard a table break on the way down the chute, seeing Buffy at the end of the table, getting up and walking away, giving me enough room to land on the broken table. 

Buffy helped me stand. "Are you okay?" 

I held up the scythe. "Got this back, didn't I? But how the hell are we even gonna get close enough to use it? He's strong, Buffy. Too strong. I don't think we can beat him." 

Buffy smiled a forced smile, holding up the pill bottle that she had taken from Kralik. "Oh, I think we can."

I took the bottle. "What are these? Steroids? Is that why he's so freaking strong?"

Buffy shrugged. "I guess so."

"A psycho nut case vampire on steroids," I said. "Fantastic."

"These things are what make him strongest, and every time he takes them, he gets stronger," Buffy told me. "He's addicted. That's why he started to have that attack upstairs. Even though these are what makes him strongest, we can make them what makes him the weakest right here and right now."  

I looked at her in confusion.

Buffy smiled, pulling out the bottle of Holy Water from her pocket to show me. 

I chuckled in shock. "And this is why the test is for both of us. I would have never thought of that." 

Buffy smiled weakly, looking behind me, her smile fading. "Zoey." 

I turned around to follow her gaze. 

Our moms were bound and gagged in two separate chairs a few feet away from each other, facing each other. 

We walked closer to them instantly. 

Buffy opened the pill bottle, pouring the Holy Water inside. 

I knelt next to my mom in relief. "Oh, my God. Mom."

Mom's voice was muffled. "Zoey, we have to get out--" 

We heard pounding at the basement door. Kralik smashed the door in, coming running down the stairs. "Where are they? Where are they?!"  

Kralik ran into the room.

Buffy tried to get past him and up the stairs.

Kralik grabbed her, pushing her against the wall, seeing the pill bottle in her hands, snatching it from her, struggling with the lid as he stumbled over to where he saw a glass of water near the wine racks. He got the lid off, popping a couple of pills, gulping down the water. He gasped for air, taking several deep breaths as he began to calm down, knowing that the medicine should have soon take take effect. He smiled evilly at us, taking a few forced steps in our direction. "You don't seem to understand your places in all of this." 

"And you don't seem to understand that we don't care," I replied.

Kralik growled, attacking. The Holy Water was having a slow effect, but it was making him weaker as he was trying to punch me. I ducked, spinning behind him, standing straight. He turned around to face me, trying to punch me. I inner form blocked the move, spinning half-way with an in-to-out crescent kick. He ducked. I kept on spinning downwards with a back leg sweep, making him fall to the floor. 

Kralik realized something was very wrong. "Oh, my..." He slowly raised to his knees, trying to stand, but was too weak to do so. "What have you..." He began to shake, looking back up at Buffy. "My pills!" Buffy pulled the now-empty bottle of Holy Water from her pocket, holding it up for him to see. Kralik began to shake violently, grunting and groaning in pain. "No, no." 

I grabbed him by the back of his head, pulling it back. "Yes. You know, you already lost your mind. I'm sure losing your head won't be that much different."  

"No!" Kralik told me. "No!" 

I slit the scythe across his throat so hard it took his head off. The body fell to the floor. The head was in my hand. Both exploded into ash at the same time. 

Mom had to close her eyes, looking away. 

Buffy sighed in relief, looking at me. "We won." 

I nodded, sighing, raising my eyebrows. "We won." 

Buffy and I turned to our mothers, pulling the gags from their mouths.

Mom breathed heavily. "Zoey, thank God you're okay. Oh, that man..." 

"Yeah, he was a vampire," I told her. "Told you I could take care of myself." 

"You look horrible," Mom told me.

"Right back at you," I told her, taking the scythe, using it to cut through the ropes restraining her. 

Buffy strained to untie her mother. "I can't get these. They're too tight." 

"Can't you just..." Joyce trailed off, jerking in her chair, suggesting that Buffy just tore through the ropes.

"Not right now," Buffy answered. 

I cut through the ropes of my mom, freeing her. I turned to Buffy, handing the scythe to her. "Here you go." 

"Thanks," Buffy told me, taking the scythe, using it to cut through the ropes restraining her. 

The dead guy from the kitchen had obviously turned into a vampire, because he lunged toward us. Giles was right behind him.

"Oh, Buffy!" Joyce told her.

"Zoey!" Mom told me. 

The newbie vamp grabbed Giles, throwing him against the shelf rack, punching him in the face in the gut, making him double over in pain. Giles thrusted up with his arm, staking the vampire in the heart, killing him, making him burst into ashes. 

Giles stood straight, looking at Buffy and me. 

Buffy and I looked at him numbly.

•••

After we had taken care of our mothers and gotten them home, Giles took us back to the library to talk to one of the guys on the Council, Quentin. Buffy and I sat at the table. Giles leaned in the doorway to his office.

Quentin stood calmly at the head of the table, looking at Buffy and me. "Congratulations. Both of you passed. You exhibited extraordinary courage and clear-headed-ness in battle. The Council is very pleased." He looked at Buffy. "Even without your powers, you outsmarted Kralik." He looked at me. "And even as a Potential, you exhibited amazing strength and fighting against the strongest vampire that had been, without the powers that Buffy has. Consider what you could as an actual Slayer." 

"Do we get gold stars?" I asked expressionlessly. 

"I understand that you're both upset," Quentin told us. 

Buffy spoke with controlled fury. "You understand nothing. You set that monster loose, and he came after our mothers."

"You think the test was unfair?" Quentin asked. 

"I think you better leave town before I get my strength back and Zoey heals enough to fight back again," Buffy answered. 

"We're not in the business of fair," Quentin told us. "We're fighting a war." 

"You're waging a war," Giles corrected. "They're fighting it. There is a difference." 

"Mr. Giles, if you don't mind..." Quentin trailed off. 

"The test is done," Giles told him. "We're finished." 

"Not quite," Quentin told him. "They passed. You didn't." He turned to face Giles. "The Slayer and the next Chosen One are not the only one who must perform in this situation. I've recommended to the Council, and they've agreed, that you be relieved of your duties as Watcher immediately. You're fired." 

Giles was taken aback. "On what grounds?" 

"Your affection for your charges have rendered you incapable of clear and impartial judgment," Quentin answered. Buffy and I exchanged a look. "You have a father's love for the girls, and that is useless to the cause." Giles looked down. "It would be best if you had no further contact with either of them." 

"I'm not going anywhere," Giles told him.

"No, well, I didn't expect you would adhere to that," Quentin told him. "However, if you interfere with the new Watcher, or countermand his authority in any way, you will be dealt with. Are we clear?" 

"Oh, we're very clear," Giles answered.

Quentin looked at Buffy and me, bowing slightly. "Congratulations, again." 

I looked at him with hatred. "If this is what being a Slayer is like, then I don't want to be one." 

"You wouldn't have a choice," Quentin told me. 

I glared a him. "Bite me." 

Quentin chuckled ruefully. "Yes, well, colorful girls." 

Quentin turned around, walking out of the library.

Giles looked up, putting his glasses, looking at us. 

I looked down into space for a moment, sniffing, holding my arm over the tourniquet painfully. 

Giles walked toward his desk in the office, picking something up, walking toward us, holding the cloth to me, holding the two pieces of the pocket apart for me. 

It was a sling. 

I nodding, wrapping the strap around my neck, putting my arm inside. 

Buffy reached out for the cloth that was lying on the table next to a bowl of water, picking it up.

Giles put his hand on the cloth. Buffy let him take it from her hand. He dipped it in the water, kneeling in front of her, reaching out and gently patting it over the gash in her forehead, making her wince in pain. 

We looked at Giles sadly, exchanging a look. 

Giles patted the blood away from Buffy's wound until it was gone, turning to me to help clean mine. 

•••

We went to Buffy's house, standing in the kitchen with Willow, Xander, Oz, Joyce and my mom. 

Buffy and Xander were making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. 

Willow brought a jug of lemonade over to us at the island. "I can't believe Giles was fired. How could Giles get fired?" 

"What I can't believe is that we didn't see Zoey being a Potential Slayer coming," Xander told us.

I smiled weakly, looking down.

"How did you manage to kill Kralik?" Oz asked.

Mom smiled. "Oh, they were very clever." I raised my eyebrows at her. "Uh, you go ahead and tell it, dear. You tell it better."  

I sighed. "I'm just glad you're finally accepting all of this after what happened." 

Mom shrugged slightly, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. I smiled a small smile, leaning my head against her shoulder, my sling closest to her. Oz took my hand on the other side of me. I smiled at him. 

"Aw," Joyce said.

We smiled. 

"Now, now, when you say 'fired', do you mean 'fired'?" Willow asked. 

"You're not cruising past that concept any time soon, are you?" Xander asked. 

"Well, it's just..." Willow trailed off. "I mean, he's been fired! He's--he's unemployed. He's... between jobs."

"Giles isn't going anywhere, Will," Buffy told her. "He's still librarian." 

"Okay, but I'm writing an angry letter," Willow told us. 

"You know, nothing's really gonna change," Buffy told us. "The important thing is that I kept up my special birthday tradition of gut-wrenching misery and horror." 

"Bright side to everything," Oz told us. 

Buffy grabbed a new jar of peanut butter, trying to open it, sighing. "Just feel better when I get my strength back." 

"Give you a hand with that, little lady?" Xander asked, standing, holding out his hand to take the jar from her. 

Buffy handed it to him. "You're loving this far too much." 

"Admit it," Xander told her, trying to open it. "Sometimes you just need a big strong man." He smiled, struggling with the jar for a while, trying to cover it with a laugh. "Uh, Oz, give me a hand with that?"