Title: Breakdown
Series: Shadows in the Tunnel
Author: Phoenixflame
Rating: PG-13
Summary: Tasha discovers a secret about a blind date... And 
her world will never be the same. At the same time, a very
confused and scared girl is taken under the wing of one
Martha Evinsport, Watcher...
Disclaimer: I do not own the universe of Buffy the Vampire
Slayer. Disappointing, no?



I know the breakdown,
Everything is going to shake down someday.
I know the breakdown,
Tell me again are we awake now baby?
You can find the reason that,
No one else is living this way.


~Breakdown, by Tantric



Destiny is cruel. Especially towards those who have fate to
live up to. Even if it's a glorious end to a tale, there's
always a price to pay. If your friends are still around,
relatively unscatched, then you're lucky.

Take for example, Slayers. Even the ones that are never
activated end up under the wing of Watchers, who take
away their childhood, or the poor kids end up as demon 
meat. Just because you don't know a thing about glorious
destiny or the right way to kill a vampire, you still 
attract all kinds of supernatural phenomenon. Few are 
lucky enough to end up with just a haunted house and
murders all around them. Some don't even get out of
childhood.

Let's take a look at one of the potentials. The day is 
April 1st, 1994. The place, Alexandria, Virginia. It's the
birthday of a young girl named Sara.

Sara is a potential Slayer. She's already quite a firecracker,
although it can be debated as to whether or not it's from the
ancient primal Slayer power, or from growing up in the ghetto.

*I wanna puppy.* Sara stared at her feet, sullenly debating 
the merit of leaving the house in search of her chosen 
birthday present. Her mother would never dream of spending
precious welfare money on a puppy. Her mother prefferred
getting as much of whatever drug she wanted, and ignoring
the daughter that had ruined her life.

At her young age, Sarah was already somewhat bitter. It's
not suprising, considering her life. 

It was already quite dark out, and the neighborhood was
already roaming with drug dealers, gangs, and other 
more dangerous things. It was no time for Sara to go 
out looking for a puppy.

Sarah wasn't stupid. But she was desperately lonely and
angry. Therefore, when a mangy looking puppy wandered
through what passed as a backyard, she ran towards 
it, intent on catching it.

And when the puppy left the yard, Sara followed it.


                        ***


In another part of Alexandria, Tasha Jennison was getting
out of her uniform. "Another long day at the Red Hot and
Blues, and more money in the bucket." she muttered to
herself.

Dropping the waitress uniform in the laundry hamper 
near the door, Tasha walked over to her closet and began
looking through her clothes.

Just as she found an appropriate outfit, the phone rang.
Picking it up, she tilted her head so the phone stayed between
shoulder and cheek. "Hi Julia." She listened to it as she 
struggled into her clothing. "Not much, just getting ready
for a date." She lifted the phone away for a minute, 
and pulled the top on. "Yeah, Andria set me up with this
guy. Dunno what he's like. She's being pretty close-mouthed.
Haven't seen her around recently."

Just as she had her hair in order, the doorbell rang. "Yeah,
listen, I think my date just got here. I've got to go... Yeah,
see you later. Bye!" She hit the off button, and dropped the
phone on her bed. Pulling on her shoes, she dashed as best
as she could over to the door, and pulled it open. "Hi, I'm
Tasha. You must be Eric."

Eric grinned at her. He was a handsome, somewhat tall blonde
who had grey eyes. "You're Tasha? Andria told me all about
you."

"That's wierd." mumbled Tasha. "She didn't tell me anything
about you..."

Her date shrugged. "Oh well. Anyway, you ready to go."

"Yup." Tasha brushed her hair back with one hand, grabbed her
purse, and followed him out the door. "Lead the way."


                          ***


Eric turned out to have a rather nice red SAAB waiting out
front. Tasha slid into the passenger seat, and buckled
her seatbelt. She quickly found out that Eric wasn't a
sparkling conversationalist, and spent most of her time
staring out of the window. 

Tasha found herself getting oddly sleepy and trancelike.
Putting one hand on her forehead, she wondered why. It
had been a long day at the Red Hot and Blues, but nothing
that would make her fall asleep.

She was jerked out of it by the car stopping.