Phillip grinned while watching Dru and Spike waltz around the room. The retrieval of the code key had gone off without a hitch for the most part. The Slayer had shown up, but Phillip had been ready for her.

His teenage years in his parents' home had given Phillip lots of practice in the art of misdirection. His father, while not exactly a bad man, had been more than a little strict where his son was concerned. Not unexpected for born again man of the cloth. But Xander, Xander was the true master of mind fucks.

So, instead of finding a mad search for a code key, the Slayer stumbled upon a drunken party. It was easy to convince a bunch of idiot college students to party in the cemetery. All he had to say was "kegger". The volunteers just lined up. He'd have to remember that in the future.

So, drunken college kids, add a few vampires and voila, a free for all. He and Dalton had walked right out of the crypt with the key while the Slayer was busy trying to sort the living from the dead.

And once Dalton had the key, transcribing the ancient text had been a no-brainer. Even for Dalton. For a supposedly smart guy, he could be pretty stupid. Phillip really doubted that Dalton would survive without someone to take care of him. The idiot couldn't even hunt on his own. Oh well, he'd figured out the cure for Dru, Dalton wasn't really needed anymore. If he got dusted? No loss.

*****

Giles jumped when the door to the shop slammed open. "Good Lord, Buffy! What happened?"

The Slayer clumped down the stairs, her gait unsteady due to the missing heel on her left boot. Her clothes were torn, covered with blood, mud and other unknown fluids. Even her hair was a disaster. A large clump was missing from one side and the rest looked like small animals had nested in it.

The Slayer collapsed into a chair and pulled the remnant of her left boot off so she could rub her aching foot. "Oh, not much, Giles. Some vamps decided to have a party in a crypt. Nothing unusual. Well, not much anyway."

Giles handed Buffy a bottle of aspirin and a glass of water. "Not much?"

Buffy pulled a wad of white material from her jacket and exchanged it for the pain relievers and water. "The vamps were having a kegger with a bunch of frat boys and cheerleaders." Buffy pointed at the rather battered cloth, "That was hanging in the crypt."

Giles opened the material and read the words painted on it.

The Slayer's Wake
Courtesy of the Order of Taraka

Buffy jumped out of her chair and almost fell on her face because she'd forgotten that she was wearing only one boot. But she still managed to grab Giles and get him in a chair before he passed out.

Buffy started patting her Watcher on the cheek, trying to break the stupor he was in. "Giles? You in there? Come on, Giles, what's wrong?"

Giles' mouth opened and closed several times before he got himself under control. "How... how many vampires were there?"

Buffy shrugged, "Seven or eight. Why?"

Giles pointed at the walking disaster Buffy currently resembled. "Only eight?"

Buffy glared and dropped back into her own chair. "The party favors didn't appreciate being saved. Jerks."

Giles winced, "Did you see anything else?"

"Nope. Just vamps, assholes and bimbos. Why?"

"Did you dispatch all the vampires?"

Buffy muttered something, but Giles couldn't quite make out what it was. "Say again, Buffy?"

"I said, I didn't dust any of the vamps. They got away when I was trying to get past the football team."

"Ah. Yes. Well, that does sometimes happen." Giles said diplomatically before he pointed at the banner, "The Order of Taraka. They're a group of bounty hunters and assassins. If you want someone dead, they are the ones to call. We need some information. Do you think you could locate some of the vampires that were at this party?"

"Probably. Why do we need them?"

Rubbing his forehead in a futile attempt to stave off the migraine he felt coming on, Giles said, "Buffy. The Order of Taraka does not fail. They never fail. Ever. If you kill one, another will take its place. And another. And another. They will never stop coming. And they will kill anyone, or anything, that gets in their way. The more we know, the easier it will be to come up with a plan."

Buffy cocked her head to one side and said, "So... I'm guessing these guys are bad."

Giles sighed, "Yes, Buffy. They are, as you say, bad. Very, very bad."

Buffy groaned, "Yay. What do these Tartar guys look like?"

"Taraka, Buffy. And no one knows. They are comprised of various types of demons as well as humans. It is impossible to know who is a member and who is not until they attack. That is why we need as much information as possible."

*****

Xander crashed on the couch next to Phillip and watched Spike and Dru dance. "So," he asked the young vampire, "did it work?"

Phillip actually giggled. "Oh man, it was perfect. You should have seen the look on her face when she saw the banner. I thought she was going to blow a gasket." Phillip drew everyone's attention when he started laughing so hard he snorted. "When... when she busted the keg, a bunch of the jocks got pissed and went after her."

Practically in tears at this point, Phillip gasped out, "Then the cheerleaders. Oh God, the cheerleaders."

When he just kept laughing, Xander nudged him and he fell off the couch. "What about the cheerleaders, mate?" Spike asked curiously.

Phillip just laid on the floor and waved his hand in the air, unable to speak.

Spike looked at the transcriber. "Well, Dalton. What happened?"

"The young ladies were rather vocal in their displeasure, Sir. I've never heard that kind of language. There was a lot of scratching, pulling of clothes and hair."

"Hair." Phillip said from the floor, blood tears running down his cheeks.

Dalton smiled, slightly. "Yes. Well. One rather industrious young woman managed to remove a fairly large section of the Slayer's hair. At which point she proceeded to dance around the room waving it like a flag."

"Pom poms." Phillip muttered through his giggles.

Dalton tilted his head, "Yes, I suppose her actions could be construed as waving of pom poms. By the time the young ladies finished with her, the Slayer rather looked like she'd been in an industrial accident."

Spike grinned at the thought of that, then asked, "How many vamps did she take out?"

Dalton shook his head, "None, Sir. She was too busy fighting off the humans."

"Cheerleaders." Phillip said, still thrashing around on the floor.

"Yes. Cheerleaders. The young ladies in question kept the Slayer so busy she never saw us. So we shouldn't have any trouble on that front." Dalton said confidently.

Spike lit a cigarette, shaking his head. "All this time, all those vamps, demons and the Slayer gets her ass kicked by a bunch of bloody cheerleaders." Smiling at Xander, who was himself laughing like an idiot, Spike said, "Ya done good, Pet. That was one Hell of a plan. Now, let's see what you can come up with for Angelus."

Xander nodded, his eyes glowing green as a wicked smirk grew on his face, "I think I can come up with something special for Deadboy."

Spike laughed and grabbed Dru to dance her around the floor once more. "Sure you can, Pet. Almost feel sorry for the bastard. Almost."

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