8:53
I sigh. �It�s not straight�, I think to myself as I check the table�s surface. Placing a pencil down at one end, I watch as it rolls across desk.
"When did he get back?" Jen asked.
"Late last night." JC answered.
"And?"
"Ah, he seemed fine."
"He saw Britney. He was in Sunnydale for three days, tracking her and that thingy-majiggy you saw in your vision.� Jen sighed as she looked at Justin trying to adjust his desk.
�Where is the crabby scowl, the morbid gloom?� she asked turning to JC. �This just means that it cut deeper then usual. Batten down the hatches, here comes Hurricane Britney�
"You think?� Jen gives an exasperated sigh. �Maybe he's over her."
Jen pats JC on the shoulder. "You have so much to learn little man." Jen turns to see Justin take a stake out of his desk drawer, testing the tip with his finger.
"Oh, my God!"
Jen runs into the office with JC right behind her. "Don't do it, Justin!"
"Listen to me, man, it's not worth it." JC tries to reason.
I frow my eyebrows. "It's not?"
"No! You can't let her get to you like this. You'll meet someone else. Just give it some time." Jen said.
"Why don't you let me have that?" JC said, holding his hand out.
"Because I need it to level my desk.� I said as he bends down to stick the tip of it under one of the table's legs.
�The floor is uneven.� I straighten up with a smirk. �You two thought..."
"JC did. You know how he jumps to conclusions�'cause you saw Britney."
"It wasn't a social call. I was there to protect her. I stayed out of sight. She didn't even know I was there."
"Really?� Jen asked, skeptical. I nod. �So you avoided her."
"Look, Britney will always going to be a part of me, and that's never going to change. But she's human and I'm�not. And that's also never going to change. We said our good-byes, no need to stir any of this up again."
"You don't want to 'stir', but if my ex came to town and was all stalking me in the shadows and then left and then didn't even say 'hello' I'd be�"
"A little upset.�
My mouth drops open as I turn and see her standing there at the door.
�Wouldn�t you?"
"Britney! Britney's here�in town. What brings you to�"
"I came to see my father.� Britney says as she glances over at me. �Thought I'd stop by."
"What a surprise!" Jen says followed by a fake laugh.
Britney looks at her. "Jen how are you?"
"Good. I'm good. You?"
Britney looks over at me again, and my eyes fall to the ground. "I've been better."
"Uh-huh. Well, this is JC. And he gets visions of people in trouble."
"Nice to make your..."
Jen takes his arm and pulls him out of the office. "And this is us leaving you two alone."
Britney closes the door behind them then turns back to me, which I, at the moment, am having trouble meeting her eyes.
"Well, umm, it's good to...Can I get you anything?" I ask moving from the spot I was standing in take a seat on my desk.
"How about�an explanation? Who do you think you are coming to my town and following me around behind my back?"
"I'm sorry."
"What is this? Some new torment you cooked up just for me?"
"No, I don't want to torment.."
"What is it? You can see me, but I can't see you? What are we playing here?"
"We're not. I'm not playing anything. I wrestled with this decision."
"Which you made without me."
"I tried to do what I thought was right. It's complicated how this all happened, Britney, you know? It's kind of a long story."
She crosses her arms in front of her. "You're new sidekick had a vision, I was in it, you came to Sunnydale?"
I cringe. "Okay, maybe not that long."
"You didn't feel that I was important enough to even tell me that you were there."
I look over at her and I know how pissed she is. "I'm trying to explain. It's because I felt that you're important, that I didn't tell you."
"I'm a big girl now, Justin. I'm not in high school anymore. A lot has happened in my life since you left."
"I know. I respect that."
"And I don't need you skulking around, trying to protect me.� I look away as she looks down.
�Unless, of course, I'm in some gigantic fight to the death, which�I was last night. That was you, helping me, wasn't it?"
I shrug. "I was in the neighborhood - skulking."
"So that's the Slayer." JC states.
"That's our Buffy." Jen says as she sits behind her desk, rummaging through some drawers.
JC walks next to her, leaning over placing his hands on the desk. "Well, she seemed a little�"
"Bulgarian in that outfit?"
"No, I was going to say hurt."
"Yeah, there's a lot of that when they're together.� She picks up her purse. �Come on."
"Where are we going?"
"Oh, they'll be into this for a while. We still have time for a cappuccino and probably the director's cut of 'Titanic'."
"I'm sorry if I handled this wrong. I mean, what else was I supposed to do?" I asked.
"I don't know�I just know that when you're around, whether I see you or not�I feel you�inside�and it throws me."
I sigh. "Throws me, too."
"So let's just stick to the plan. We keep our distance until a lot of time has passed. Given enough time we should be able to�"
"Forget?'
"Yeah�So, I'm gonna go�start forgetting."
As she turns to go, a green skinned Samurai demon (with a curved sword and a red jewel in his forehead) crashes through the window behind me, attacking him. I barely avoid the first stroke of his sword by rolling across my desk.
"Justin!"
Britney kicks the demon back against the wall as I come up and throw an axe at it.
"Did you hear that?" JC asked, stopping.
Jen replies dismissively, "Yeah, the Justin and Britney show. First they talk out their differences, then they punch them out."
"Shouldn't we�"
"Stick our noses where they don't belong and get them flattened? No thank you." Jen pushes the front door open, pulling JC out.
Sliding across the floor, I pick up the demon's sword and stab it, while it wrestles with Britney. I cringe as some of its fluorescent green blood runs down the sword onto my hand. Growling, the demon jumps back causing Britney to land on top of me. It pulls the sword out and jumps out of the window. We stare at each other as we slowly untangle ourselves and get up.
"Friend of yours?" She asks.
"Never saw it before."
"It was rude. We should go kill it."
"I'm free."
"Got somewhere I can change?"
The water crackles as we walk through the sewer tunnel. I look ahead.
"It's heading towards the ocean."
"Are you sure?" she asks.
�It's wounded. I can smell its blood."
"Oh, great�handy skill.� I stop to look at her as she continues on. �Maybe if your crack staff hadn't run off at the first sign of trouble, they could have helped us with some research�find out what this thing is and why it wants to kill us." Something rustles behind us and she spins around, stake in hand.
"It's just a rat. So you can put that down.� She lowers it slowly. �It's not a vampire. I don't know why you brought that anyway."
She looks at me. "Because I know how to use it. Besides it's a lot handier then your fighting axe."
"Unless he chops it in two and maybe takes some of your hand with it."
"Look can we just get on with the hunting? I'd like to get this over with before dark."
"I can handle this myself." I say, annoyed with her attitude.
"You bailed me out last night. I'd like us to be even.'
I walk past her. "We're keeping score now?"
She looks around. "Are you getting anything? Because I sure smell sewer.� I touch a green spot on the wall of the tunnel junction. Bringing it up to my face, I smell it, and take a step to head down that tunnel. �Tunnel number one it is."
I emerge out of the mouth of a tunnel. Suddenly I begin to feel queasy. I blink, frowning.
"Justin? You okay?"
"I feel weird.'
She sighs. "I know. I do, too. I mean, I only came to see you so I could tell you face-to-face not to see me face-to-face anymore�and I know there is a fly in the logic ointment here somewhere, but the next thing I knew we're being attacked by this mutant ninja demon thing, and then we're on the floor on top of each other, and it's just really confusing being around you."
"No, I meant I felt weird from the demons blood.� I look down at my hand. �It's powerful." I confess with a slight grimace.
Britney looks away. "Oh. Okay.� She turns to walk on quickly. �Let's just rewind Britney's little outburst and pretend it never happened."
"No. I-It is confusing. And I�when we're apart�it�s easier.� She stares up at me as she listens to my reasoning. �It hurts�every day. But I live with it.� I say as I slowly step closer to her. �And now you're�you're right here, and I can actually reach out�and�it's more then confusing�it's unbearable."
She inches closer to me. "But we have to bear, right? I mean, what else can we do? It doesn't work with us. It can't."
"No, I-I can't give you a life, or a future or anything a real girl would want."
"No matter how much we miss each other." She says, still inching closer.
"Or what we feel in the moment."
"If we let something happen here�we'd want more. And nothing's changed. We'd only end up having to leave each other again."
I nod. "And that's the best case scenario."
"Oh, boy.� She turns away. �I was really jonesing for another heartbreaking sewer talk."
"I�m sorry."
She turns back angry. �You know, I'm actually on the brink of something back home. I'm actually heading towards a pretty good life now that�"
�I'm out of the picture�that's why I left. I want you to have it."
"Could we just�find this thing and get this finished?� Out of the corner of her eye, she sees a ladder leading up. �What if it went up?"
"Into the day, where it knows I can't follow." I say looking up.
"But I can." She places her hand, ready to go up.
"Uh, I�� I reach out to touch her but then ball my hand up into a fist, and pulls it back. �I don't want you going after it alone."
"Look, it's best all around if we just split up. I can handle it."
I pause. "There's a dive on Second near Beach, The Lone Bar. Demons go there sometimes when they need to get patched up."
She starts to climb. "Got it."
"Be careful."
As I watch her disappear, I start walking through the dark tunnels. I stop as I begin to feel eerie. (Two glowing green eyes watch him from behind.) Suddenly the demon jumps out and attacks me from behind, slicing across the palm of my right hand as I spin around. I glance at the blood on my hand and vamp out. Swing my axe at it, the demon slices off the head of battle-ax. I kick its hand, managing to knock the sword out. Reaching to it�s side, the demon pulls out a short sword (about the same length as what's left of the ax handle) and we continue fighting. In the end, I manage to grab the demon's sword hand and turn its hand to stab it in the heart. The demon falls back as I stare at the glowing green blood that covers the cut in my right hand. My breathing picks up as the blood swirls around, sinking into the cut, automatically closing up. I watch in horror as a light races from my right hand through my whole body. I collapse with a strangled cry. Popping back up, I gasp for air. I hear this strange but familiar sound of beating rhythm. I stare at my hand in disbelief.
"I'm alive."
"Woah, when they fight�" JC starts as he glances around the office.
Jen runs past him. "Oh, my God!"
"What?"
"She killed him!� She picks up a handful of dust. �Oops! My bad�. She brushes off her hands. �It's just dust I forgot to sweep under the rug."
"What, are you trying to give me a heart attack?"
"Hey, don't blame me if he's too cheap to hire a Cleaning Lady!"
I open the door, walking into the outer office, a dazed expression on my face.
"What's wrong? What happened? Did you do it with Buffy?�
JC steps closer to me staring at my chest.
�Watch it JC, don't get too close�.Hey, you walked in the front door�from the street! You got..."
I look at JC. "Yeah."
"An umbrella!"
I walk past them and stand in the sun streaming in through the window.
"He's alive, Jenny." JC said.
"Alive?"
"Britney and I were attacked by some kind of demon. I-I tracked it�and killed it.� I hold out my right hand. �A-and some of its blood mixed with mine."
JC lays two fingers on my wrist. "And you wound up with a pulse?"
"I want to find out what kind of a demon that was. Ow, my back. It hurts. Everything�s�"
"More real, now that you're real?"
"Yeah. I'm mortal now. I have a mortal body.� I stare at where Jen was standing. �And I'm so�hungry!" I come charging towards her and she jumps out of the way.
"Look out, he's gonna eat...� I grabs one of the donuts sitting on the little refrigerator behind where she was standing and stuff it in his mouth. ��everything in sight!"
Opening the fridge, I take a bite out of an apple. "Oh my God. Food.� I exhaled, taking another bite. �This is unbelievable. This is so...you know, I forgot how good it all tastes when you're alive!"
"Yeah, and they didn't even have Cookie-dough-fudge-mint-chip when you were alive."
I point at her. "Mmm, I want some! Can you get that?"
"It'll go straight to your thighs."
I grab a bar of chocolate. "Uhm, chocolate! Oh, chocolate!" I laugh.
"All right, all right, we need to focus here. We need to try and find out�" JC says as he paces.
"I love chocolate!� I open a yogurt container and drink out of it. �Uh, but not, as it turns out, yogurt. Urgh!"
"Orsen! We're in a situation here."
"Right.� I take a deep breath and close the fridge. �I know. You're right. Let me think�and now my stomach's killing me. Jenny, find Britney. She's in Santa Monica near the Lone Star. Tell her I killed the demon."
"Okay." She says as she turns to go.
"Oh, wait! Don't tell her what's happened to me. Not until I know what it means."
"All right."
"That's it." I said, pointing at the picture in the book.
"It's called a Mohra demon. They're pretty powerful assassins, soldiers of darkness kind of thing. They take out warriors for our side, like you and Britney.
�Needs vast amounts of salt to live'."
"It was heading towards salt water."
" 'Veins run with the blood of eternity.' There it is. Its blood has regenerative properties."
As JC continues to talk, I stare fascinated at my reflection in the window. "Which explains what happened to me. But it doesn't explain why."
JC closes the book. "Hey, what difference does it make, man? The demon's dead, you're alive! It's happy fun time."
I spin to confront him. "What's going on here, JC?"
"I don't know. I thought the only way for you to be made mortal was if the Powers-That-Be stepped in."
"What, they could have done this? How come I keep getting the feeling that you're not telling me everything."
"Because I'm not. We're both on a need to know basis here." I start pacing. "I need to know about this. Is this permanent? Am I�am I normal Joe now? Can I have a normal life? I want to speak to the Powers-That-Be."
"Woah, woah, woah! That's easier said then done, bud. The Powers-That-Be don't live in our reality. You have to approach them through channels. Dangerous channels."
"Yeah, you know what? Start approaching!"
"All right. All right. Maybe we can try the Oracles. But hey, if they turn you into a toad�don't say I didn't warn you."
I stare at the white stone arc with inscriptions on the one wall in the chamber.
" 'The Gateway for Lost Souls'�� I turn to JC. ��is under the post office?"
"It makes sense if you think about it. Now listen, the Oracles are finicky and unpredictable. You do get in, don't dilly-dally. Ask your questions, get out."
"Aren't you coming?"
"Not allowed. I'm just a lowly messenger, you're a warrior�if your heart is pure �and I do this right.� He puts some herbs in an urn. �We beseech access to the knowing ones�We may just survive.� He lights the urn and it fills with high flames and the arc glows and fills with light.
�You're in."
I step through the light into a white marble chamber. Adjusting to the light, I see two glittery figures and they confront me.
A man speaks. "Come before us, lower being."
"What have you brought us?" The woman standing next to the man asks.
I stand there confused. "Was I supposed to�"
"You call us forth and bring us no offering?"
I take off my wristwatch. "I brought you this."
The woman holds out her hand and the watch flies to her. "I like Time. There is so little and so much of it."
The man smirks. "Well?"
"What's happened to me?"
The woman steps to one side of me. "It's true then, brother."
The man strides over to the other side of me. "He is no longer a warrior."
"It was the demon's blood. It wasn't the Powers-That-Be that did this?"
"The Powers-That-Be? Did you save humanity? Avert the Apocalypse?" the man asks objectively.
"You faced a Mohra demon. Life goes on." The woman said.
"My life as a human. I'm not poisoned or under some spell?"
She looks up. "The Auguries say no. If it has happened it was meant to be."
"From this day, you will live and die as any mortal man."
"Privy to all the attendant pains - and pleasures."
"That which we serve is no longer that which you serve. You are released from your fealty."
The woman and man walk away from me.
"That's it? I'm free?"
The man holds up his hand and suddenly, I go flying backwards out of the arc, falling on top of JC.
He helps him up. "Justin, it didn't work?"
"Yes, it did."
"You just went in this instant."
I stare up at the arc. "What?"
"Look at your watch."
"I can't do that, JC. Next time remind me to bring a gift?"
"I knew I forgot something. So, what happened? What did they say?"
"They're a little confusing, but�the gist of it is�it's real. I'm free."
"I can't believe this."
"Me either. I mean, what do I do now? I have this whole new life spread before me. I don't know where to begin."
"Right. It's overwhelming. You can pretty much do what ever you want now. The question is, what do you want?"
I can feel her. I know she�s near. Britney watches around, walking in a park overlooking the beach. She stops as she feels something run through her body. I step through a shadowed arch in a hedge, just as she turns around. She watches me with disbelief as I walk out into the sun towards her. I look down at her face, glancing from her eyes down to her lips and back. I wrap my arms around her as she does the same to my neck, crashing my lips to hers.
5:00
Jenny fusses over her sickly plant. "This plant was thriving just this morning. Now look at it. I'm telling you where she leads, dark forces follow."
"Britney gave it mites?" JC looks at her from his book. Jenny sits down on the couch beside him. "How else do you explain it?"
"Jealousy?"
"I'm jealous of her? Oh, please!"
"It's just a theory."
"Jealous or not, our lives are about to kaleidoscope."
"How do you figure. Justin�s only been human a day."
"The last 2 1/2 hours of which they've spent down there in his apartment�together."
"So? Don't they deserve a little happiness after all they've been through?" She sighs. "Let me explain the lore here, okay? They suffer, they fight. That's business as usual. They get groiny with each other, the world as we know it falls apart."
"Well, he's not cursed anymore. And anyway, you can't be sure that they're�"
"Oh, please! They've got the forbidden love of all time. They have been apart for months. Now he's suddenly human? I'm sure they are down there just having tea and crackers."
I watch her from the other side of kitchen table. I pour some more tea into the cup.
"Would you like some more?"
"No, thank you."
I look down at the cup. "I'm really sorry I kissed you like that."
"You are?" she asks wide-eyed. I see her shocked expression.
"Well, not for the kiss itself�"
She sighs. "Good. I mean, 'cause�as far as kisses go, I thought it was well above average."
"It was incredible. I just�I-I think, maybe we'd be asking for trouble rushing back into things.� She looks at me. �Not that I don't want to�rush. Believe me, I do."
"Right. You spoke to the Oracles and they said you were cured for good. But how do we know that they really speak for the Powers? I mean they could be�pranksters."
"Or there could be another loophole."
"Exactly. And then the two of us would be in even deeper and it�s 'grr' all over again."
"It would be smart to wait a while. See if this mortal thing takes."
"Exactly. And even if it does, it's still complicated."
"You're still the Slayer. And I'm not sure what I am now. I don't know what my purpose is. I can't just wedge myself into your life back in Sunnydale. It wouldn't be good for either of us. Not to mention the fact that you just started college. And what about slaying. I mean, if you had me to worry about, you might not be as focused."
"Are you going to pull out a pie chart on me now? Because I get it, it's not necessary." She said as she looks down at her cup.
I get up with a sigh and move to the chair next to her. "I'm not saying I don't want you. You know how much. I'm just saying it's worth the wait to be sure this is right. I need to be sure you won't get hurt again."
She gets up looking down at him. "You know it's a good thing I didn't fantasize about you turning human only about 10 zillion times, because today would have been a real let down.� She set her cup down and walks over the refrigerator.
�So how does the mature plan go? You call me? I call you? What?"
I get up and step over to her. "We stay in touch�just not�"
"Literally. Funny. � She catches my stare and she stares back at me for a second, then walks past me. �Okay, I'd better�"
I turn to look after her. "Right. Remove the temptation."
She spins back towards me. "So, we'll�talk soon." She puts her hand on top of me on the counter. We both stare down at our hands. Turning my hand, I grab hers and reach out, pulling her into a kiss. I push her back as we stumble up against the fridge. Britney jumps up to wrap her legs around his me. Still kissing, I carry her over to the kitchen table, sweeping the stuff on it on the floor and lay her down on it.
"Peanut butter, preferably crunchy!" Britney yells.
I pop my head up above the door of the fridge. "I got it."
My arms are piled with food as I make my way back to the bedroom with some strategically placed props, all that is preserving my dignity. I dump the stuff on the bed and slips under the sheet.
Wearing a black robe, she smiles at me. "The perfect yum.� I smile as I feeds her a spoon of ice cream. �Mmm, this is a dream. You're human for like a minute and already there is Cookie-dough-fudge-mint-chip in the fridge."
"God, I love food."
She feeds me some ice cream on a chocolate waffle. "Food is good." She smiles as she leans in to kiss me.
"Why didn't you ever tell me about chocolate and peanut butter?"
"Well, I figured if your vamp taste buds couldn't really savor it, then it would only hurt you, you know? By the way, I'm over the whole needing to be mature thing. That time you just spent in the kitchen? That was enough time apart."
"Too much." I smile. I kiss her, as some ice cream drips from my spoon onto my chest. I gasp at the coldness.
"Okay, mortal coordination leaving something to be desired."
"Wrong. It's just right."
I laugh as she licks up the ice cream. Not being able to resist, I pull her down into a kiss as we continue to spend our day in bed.
"Well, this is working out nicely! I'm out of a job." Jen says as she pounds her hand on the bar counter.
"Hey! It's not just you, you know?"
"Oh, please. Who are YOU kidding? You're glad it happened."
"Hey, I'm glad for Justin, but if that means I'm off the hook with the Powers-That-Be as well, all the better. I'm finally free to go out in the world and make me own mark in the world."
"We had a cat that used to do that.� She puts her head down on the bar. �Oh god, what am I going to do? I'm good for exactly two things: International Superstardom, or helping a vampire with a soul to rid the world of evil. That makes for a short but - colorful resume."
�Well, what ever happens form here on out, at least I will be able to say good-bye to them bone-crushing, head-wrenching, mind-numbing visions." His head hits the bar as a jumble of blurred pictures of the Mohra demon attacking Justin.
"What do you see?" Jen asked.
"We got trouble."
I play with her hair as she rests her head on my chest. "It's a good sound. Thump-thump. Thump-thump." Britney says as she listens to my heartbeat.
I smile. "It feels pretty amazing."
"I'm so glad we didn't logic ourselves out of this. We'll make it work, right?"
"We will." v"Oh, I'm so sleepy. But I still want�"
I look at her in shock. "What? You couldn't possibly�not that I wouldn't�"
"No, no. I'm spent. Pleasantly numb even. You?"
I sigh. "For now."
"No, I�want to stay awake�so this day can keep happening."
I lean down to kiss her forehead. "Sleep. We'll make another one like it tomorrow."
"Justin? This is the first time I ever really felt this way." Britney said, her voice laced with sleep.
"What way?"
�Just like I've always wanted to. Like a normal girl, falling asleep in the arms of her normal boyfriend. It's perfect."
I kiss the top of her head as she falls asleep.
I�ve been laying here watching her sleep. I am pulled away as I hear the door open. I get up, careful not to wake Britney. I come out of the bedroom, shrugging into a robe as JC comes down the stairs.
"Hey, that�� I hold up my hand for him to keep his voice down. JC continues more softly. ��Mohra demon regenerated more then just you."
"What?"
"I had a vision. It regenerated itself."
"Where?"
"In the tunnel where you fought it. Then it was in some sort of factory. I thought I tasted salt. Could have been the margarita."
I start pacing. "No, it needs a lot of salt to live."
"Well, it was very much alive in this vision, and angry if I might mention."
"I'll have to kill it again."
"Yeah, but you're human now. They released you."
I go over to pull on some pants. "You want to let that thing roam free? You saw it in a factory. There is a saline plant in Redondo. We'll start there."
�Yeah, but if it can regenerate itself, how can you kill it?"
"We'll figure it out. Just grab the book of Kelsor. You�ll read, I'll drive.� JC stays silent. �JC?"
JC looks at Britney sleeping in my bed. �I think we should bring someone a little�supernatural?"
I pull a sweater over my head and look to where JC is looking.
"Don't you want to wake the girl?"
I stare at her and shake my head. "Not for the world."
(the saline plant)
"Okay. This is not good. It doesn't just come back - it comes back bigger and stronger. I think we should go back and get Britney." JC says as he reads the book.
"I know what I'm doing."
"This isn't your average demon we're fighting here. It nearly licked you before and now your mortal." "If this thing with me and Britney is going to work, I need to be able do this on
my own. I can't keep risking her life every time some minion of hell�Just tell me how to kill it."
JC continues to read from book. "Uh, 'It regenerates until the dark future it envisions is upon us.' Oh, 'to kill the beast one must bring darkness to 1000 eyes'."
"Funny, I only saw two."
"Keep up the glib. It makes me feel like we have a chance.� I see two corpses and I start gagging from the smell. �Take it easy, mate."
"The blood." I cough.
"It's never an easy sight. It's part of being human now." JC said, supporting me.
"I'm going to kill that thing."
"Just remember that it's brutal, deadly, and�� he looks up. ��here!"
The Mohra jumps down on them from above and they start fighting it. From the start, we�re clearly overmatched and JC gets knocked out pretty early. I keep getting back up, but the thing is pretty much wiping the floor with me and I finally turn to run.
Jen stands, putting sticky notes on things in the office. Britney walks into the room.
"Justin?�Jenny."
Jen hold up an ornate ax. "Is this antique?"
"Byzantine."
She puts it down. "Mmm."
"Where is Justin?"
Jen shrugs. "I've decided not to feel sorry for myself. I'm taking matters into my own hands, organizing a little 'going out of business' sale to subsidize the severance package Justin never bothered setting up for me."
"Did he leave a message about where he went?"
"You know I'm in real pain here and all you can do is talk about Justin. Has it even occurred to you how this whole turning human thing might affect me?"
"Regrettably�no. Look, if you know where he is, just tell me?"
"He told me not to tell you." Jen said with a sigh.
"Is he in trouble?� Britney asks as Jen makes a face. �Jenny, what are we, in second grade here? Tell me!"
"Oh, you want to talk about being mature? Maybe it's time that YOU grew up and realized that you can't have everything. You can't have Justin and save the world. And anyway, it's your fault that he went to fight that thing by himself without..."
"What thing?"
I struggle as I try to stay alive. The Mohra demon keeps coming after me. I climb on the lid of a salt silo as the demon jumps up and hits me. The lid breaks in two, and we both crash through. Mohra puts a foot on the back of my neck.
"The end of days has begun and can�t be stopped. For anyone of us that falls, ten shall rise."
As the Mohra lifts his sword, Britney jumps down on it from above, knocking it off me. Britney takes hold of the sword.
"You hurt my boyfriend."
"A great darkness is coming."
"You got that right."
I lay on the ground watching as they fight. Mohra manages to wrap its morgenstern around Britney's sword and pull it from her hand. She kicks it into the wall.
"Come on, this is the great warrior of darkness?"
They continue to fight. Britney manages to step on the chain of its morgenstern and kick the demon so it has to let go of it. It picks her up and throws her into the wall.
"Together you were powerful. Alone, you are dead.� He picks her up by her throat. �What do you think of the great warrior now?"
I push myself up, picking up a handful of salt. "Little bland.� I throw it in the demon's eyes and it drops Britney. �Needs salt."
I try to help Britney up, but the Mohra grabs me, throwing me across the silo. Britney and the demon keep fighting.
I look up at the demon. "The light of a thousand eyes�The jewel in its forehead! You have to smash the jewel."
Britney picks up the morgenstern, swings it around her head, and flings it at her. "No!" (The demon vanishes in a bright light.)
She runs over to me and takes my head in her lap.
"Britney, are you al..."
"Shh, you're all right. That's all that matters. Shh, you're all right...� She kisses the top of my head. ��and it's over. And we're together."
"You again." The man said.
�What have you brought me?" The woman asks.
"Famille Rose vase.� I throw her a black vase. �Ching dynasty. Circa 1811."
"Lovely."
�Why are you here, lower being?"
"The Mohra demon said the end of days had begun. That others were coming, soldiers of darkness. I need to know if he was telling the truth."
"As far as such things can be told." The man replies.
"What happens to the Slayer when these soldiers come?"
"What happens to all mortal beings. Albeit sooner in her case." The woman said.
"She'll die?�.Then I'm here to beg for her life."
The Oracles turn and walk away. "It is not our place to grant life or death."
"And I ask you to take mine back.� The oracles stop walking and turn back to me. �Look I can't protect her or anyone this way, not as a man."
"You're asking to be what you were, a demon with a soul, because of the Slayer?" The woman asks in disbelief.
The man turns to leave again. "Oh, this is a matter of love. It does not concern us."
"Yes, it does. The Mohra demon came to take a warrior from your cause�and it succeeded. I'm no good to you like this. I know you have it in your power to make this right. Please."
"What is done can not be undone."
The woman halts him with her hand. "What is not yet done can be avoided."
"Temporal folds are not to indulge at�the whims of lower beings."
She whips her head to face him. "You are wrong. This one is willing to sacrifice every drop of human happiness and love he has ever known for another. He is not a lower being."
The man sighs. "There is one way. But it is not to be undertaken lightly."
"We swallow this day, as though it had never happened. Twenty-four hours from the moment the demon first attacked you, we take it back." She explains.
I lick my lips. "Then none of this happened and Britney and I�What�what'll stop us from doing the exact same thing again?"
The woman looks at me. �You. You alone will carry the memory of this day�. Can you carry that burden?"
8:56.
I see Britney wearing a long flowery dress, pacing the apartment. I sigh as I walk down the steps to my apartment.
"I'm guessing that expression isn't because they were all out of fresh OJ at the deli. What happened?"
"Nothing happened. I just�"
"Where have you been?" she questions.
"I went to see the Oracles. I asked them to turn me back."
"What? Why?"
"Because more then ever I know how much I love you."
She shakes her head and backs away from me. "No. No, you didn't."
I follow her. "And if I stayed mortal one of us would wind up dead, maybe both of us. You heard what Mohra said."
"Mohra is dead. We killed him." She said, the tears already forming in her eyes.
"He said others would come."
"They always come. And they always will. But that's my problem now, not yours, remember?"
"No, I won't just stand by and let you fight, maybe die, alone."
"Then we fight together."
"You saw what happened last night. If anything I'm a liability to you. You take chances to protect me, and that's not just bad for you, it's bad for the people we were meant to help."
"So what? You just took a whole 24 hours to weigh the ups and downs of being a regular Joe and decided it was more fun being a superhero?" she said as the tears fall over her face.
"You know that's not it. How can we be together if the cost is your life, or the lives of others?� She just stares at me and after a moment, I take her into my arms. �I know. I couldn't tell you. I wasn't sure�if I could do it if I woke up with you one more morning."
She sniffles. "I understand�.So, what happens now?'
"The Oracles are giving us back the day, turning back time, so I can kill Mohra before his blood makes me mortal."
She blinks, the tears continuing to flow down her face. "When?"
I look over at the clock.
9:00
"Another minute."
Britney gasps, crying. "A minute? No. No, it's not enough time!"
"We don't have a choice. It's done."
"How am I supposed to go on with my life knowing what we had? What we could have had?"
"You won't. No one will know but me."
"Everything we did?"
"It never happened."
Britney shakes her head, the tears just coming down like a river. "It did. It did. I know it did!� She puts her hand on my chest. �I felt your heart beat."
"Britney..."
She pulls me into a passionate kiss. She looks over at the clock. The minute is almost up.
"No! Oh God. It's not enough time."
The tears I tried to keep from coming are finally released. "Shh, please. Please."
I hold her for dear life as she does me, both of us crying. "Please, please."
Britney shakes her head and pulls me to her, burying her head into my neck.
"No. I'll never forget. I'll never forget. I'll never forget. I'll never forget�."
-White flash-
I�m leaning against his desk blinking, looking around. Britney is standing next to the door.
"So, then let's just stick to the plan. Keep our distance until a lot of time has passed, and given enough time�we should be able to�"
I stare at her and swallow hard. "Forget."
"Yeah. So�I'm gonna go�start forgetting."
The Mohra crashes through the window behind me with a scream. I just turn, grabbing the clock from my desk and coolly smash the Mohra's jewel with it. The Mohra goes up in a flash of light.
Britney stand there slightly stunned. "That was unreal. How did you know how to kill it?" she asks, fishy of what just happened.
"It's a Mohra demon. I�I had a lot of time to catch up on my reading." She nods slowly. "Yeah. Okay�.So I guess we've covered it, right?"
"I guess we did."
"And that's all there really is to say."
I take a deep breath and look down on the smashed clock.
9:02
I turn back seeing Britney already leaving the outer office.
"Yeah��That's it."
**A/N: Yeah...I guess it's just the acting in the video that got me all choked up.LOL.