We fight, it's what we do best... but it's not enough.

[angelbuffy]

We had word that there might be another potential out on the streets of Sunnydale. I wasn’t sure what she even looked like. We had been getting tips from the council as to who the girls were that would be heading here. We all knew that these recent few tips were going to be the last. The council was gone. Completely gone, all the books, all the

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[redwitch_willow]

There was a scream and Buffy followed the scream. Poor Buffy. I know that she’s been driving herself crazy because she hasn’t been able to stop these deaths, but it really isn’t her fault.

It’s my fault. Since last year, I’ve been afraid to use my powers and still am, and with Buffy in one direction, we haven’t been able to stop the attacks always done away from Buffy. It hasn’t helped, of course that Spike’s been having his difficulty with the first, but we need Spike, Buffy recognized that and had to deal with him too and the combination as well as the good planning of the evil bringers was too much for us.

I had seen several die including Andrew and Anya…poor Xander and though I’d been able to use my magic’s to further prevent any deaths on several occasions, I hadn’t used them before the deaths occurred and for that, I’m ashamed. It’s like the First evil knows that I’m tentative and that Buffy’s not and he’s picking on me while she isn’t there and though it pisses me off. I just can’t…can’t lose control again. I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose my edge again and with Kennedy now in my life, I don’t want to end up hurting her before we really begin.

We all followed Buffy, until there was another scream, faint to our ears, but probably loud. Kennedy ran off and I wanted to go with her and would, but we were near where the scream came from.

Off course, it was more of the harbingers and when they saw us, they growled. Buffy went into action and Giles readied his sword as I looked down to see another dead girl. I wanted to just strike them dead with any number of incantations, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. For now, I watched them fight and got my stake ready, just in case, knowing that we had to hurry and go towards that other scream and Kennedy.

I wondered who the dead girl on the ground was? Was she another potential? Did that matter? She was dead…gone and I’m still pussyfooting around and not using my powers.

[angelbuffy]

I saw the girl on the ground and I knew that we were too late. She had blood pouring out of her stomach, and her face was almost unrecognizable. This must have been a potential because there was no other reason that the harbingers would have staked her out like this. We were in an alleyway. So unless they stepped up their game, we lost another on our side.

We were seconds late. Seconds. But this battle we were fighting was all about time.

Seconds. That's all it took me to cut the head off the harbinger that was holding the bloody knife. But there were still a few left, and I figured that they would try to go after Kennedy, and I wasn't going to allow that.

Giles was fighting a harbinger. I could see that out of the corner of my eye. Willow was hanging back, thank God. I heard another scream, and I turned instinctively, and watched Kennedy run in that direction. Before I could scream for her to stop, I caught an undercut to the jaw that sent me staggering back. I knew that I needed to fight harder and quicker to save whoever it was that had screamed.

I prayed that it wasn't Amanda.

I couldn't say that I blamed her for wanting to run away. How well were we really doing at protecting these girls? The proof was right in front of us. As I heard Giles slice through one of the other harbingers, I nearly cut the one I was fighting in half.

My mind was on Kennedy. I could see slayer in her already. She ran to help the screaming girl knowing full well what danger she was in. I wanted to commend her, but at the same time, I wanted to scream at her.

[stillawatcher]

The bloody harbingers seemed to be coming from everywhere. Before I could asses the damage, one came straight for me. I wasted on time with introductions, not that one was needed, and sliced through one of the bloody harbingers with my sword. I looked around and saw Buffy fighting off the lot that had managed to sneak up on us, and Kennedy holding her own, even Willow was doing remarkably well considering she wasn’t using her powers.

I finally was able to look at the damage that had been done, and once again we were too late for the girl had already been killed.

There was another scream, but the harbingers just kept coming. Kennedy fought one of them and once killed she ran in the direction of the scream. I tried to call out to her, but one of the blasted monks got in my way, blocking that patch. By the time I dispatched him from this world, Kennedy was already gone.

I couldn't believe she had gone off her own. There was no doubt in my mind that if something were to happen to Faith, Kennedy would in deed be the next slayer to be activated, but this didn't mean she could go gallivanting on her own, and try to save the world without any form of back up. She wasn't prepared to face these evils on her own, especially with her lack of training.

"Buffy! Willow!" I called out. I knew Buffy had noticed that Kennedy had left on her own. But she too was being out numbered by harbingers. It was only a matter of time before the commotion attracted the Turrekan.

"We must go after Kennedy. She's not safe out there." I could see what the harbingers were doing. They were trying to separate us, and succeeding at that. The situation was quickly getting out of control.

[redwitch_willow]

I hadn't gotten involved in the fight until I needed to use my sword. Giles was doing his best and of course, Buffy was kicking ass, but I wasn't sure.

I had been watching Kennedy too. I am so impressed by her abilities. She fights like a slayer...almost like maybe Riley...certainly better then me or Xander even without slayer power.

For me, I just tried to stay away from fighting. Any fight could lead me to...lead me to do something powerful and I can't...I just can't. It's already happened twice, once with the giant spider, and I almost killed the whimpering girl there. Then it happened when the First got all invady inside of me at the table in Buffy's kitchen.

That was not fun. That was like a complimentary trip to the dark side again and I could feel the rage that I had once had. The Coven didn't believe that I was cleansed yet, so how could I?

"Buffy! Willow!"

I had been fighting a harbinger, which was to say that I was just trying to keep him off of me and not necessarily kill him unless I got lucky, while trying not to get in touch with that dark side again for the third time in weeks, when I heard Giles scream.

Instinctively, I looked up and saw Giles, Buffy and harbingers fighting, but no Kennedy...

Where had she gone?

She couldn't fight alone, not with that uber vamp thing out there. The harbingers alone could kill her if there were enough of them, regardless of how good of a fighter that she was.

"We must go after Kennedy. She's not safe out there."

Understatement much, Giles?

We'd lost so many and Kennedy could not be another statistic. She is so alive, so beautiful, so spirited.

Looking for her, I took my eye of the harbinger and I felt it's knife hitting my back. As soon as it did, instinct that I didn't want to kick in, kicked in again and I felt myself leaving and something primal coming back up.

I felt the power and reacted and when I looked up, all of the harbingers were burning, falling to the ground and somehow, Giles and Buffy were not burned by my power.

Trying to get myself back, but not being able to without Kennedy in front of me, I hurried off, just knowing where she had gone somehow.

"Let's go guys," I demanded, knowing that they would follow while trying to control me.

[angelbuffy]

I had every intent to chase after Kennedy, but the more I was killing, the more harbingers there were. It almost seemed like they were coming out of nowhere. They were separating us. Keeping us from the girl, who was just lying there. Keeping us from something else too. It was pissing me off.

I heard Giles yelling that we had to get to Kennedy. I had thrown my ax at a harbinger that was heading toward Giles, and sliced his head clear off. As I went to snap the neck of one, fire came all around my hands, and the harbinger was engulfed in flame. As I moved away from him, I looked around and saw that the rest of them were in flames too. All of them.

Willow.

I glanced at Giles, who was already looking at her. I was thankful for what she had just done, but I had no idea what that meant. By the way Giles was looking at her, I'm not sure that he did either.

It didn't matter now. I watched Willow run frantically toward the direction that Kennedy had been. I grabbed my axe, and caught up to her and Giles easily.

I heard her demand for us to follow her.

I traded glances with Giles.

"Kennedy!"

I tried yelling, even though I knew the scream was faint. I waited hopelessly to hear Kennedy. Anything was better than nothing.