#berrythevampireslayer

Burt locked the door to the house and headed out to the truck. He checked the bed, making sure he had all the stakes he needed for tonight's massacre. Yes, he was positive it would be a massacre. There was no way he was letting them out of there alive tonight. Seeing that everything was in order, he took his place in the driver’s side of the vehicle. He had told Jesse, Rachel, and Sebastian that he would be picking them up. Going in one vehicle would make them think that Burt was alone--the surprise attack was necessary for tonight to be successful. Anger coursing through his veins, heart pounding beneath his chest, and his lucky hunting hat atop his head, Burt started the truck and headed in the direction of Jesse's house. He made his way up to the porch and knocked.

Jesse had been antsy the entire day. Finally hearing a knock at the door, he sprung up from his sitting position, slung his bag of weapons over his shoulder, and went to answer. Feeling a small relief at the fact it was Burt, he all but pushed past the man to get to the car. The watcher didn’t wait for the others; he had trouble not resigning himself to this being a body search, and the sooner they left the less he had to deal with it.

Rachel hated sitting here. She was the slayer, she should be out there searching for her best friend. But instead she was waiting for Mr. Hummel to arrive, still not understanding how he even knew. At the knock, Rachel leapt from her chair and hurried over to the door behind Jesse, before following out to to the car.

Sebastian sat outside Jesse's house waiting for Kurt's dad. They were all geared up to find Kurt and he figured he might as well go with the group rather than on his own. He heard the truck coming long before he saw it and didn't wait for Burt to knock on the door, jumping in the back of the truck as soon as it pulled up.

Burt followed Rachel and Jesse back to the truck, jumping a little at the sight of Sebastian already in the back of the truck ready to go. He began to drive to the reservoir, explaining what was going on. "Now, there's roughly 12 or so vamps in this nest. They said they weren't letting Kurt go until I was in there so I'll head in first and you guys will be ready for an attack otherwise. They said if they had me, they'd let Kurt go. Usually they never keep promises like that, but if they do you get Kurt out of there and you drive as far away as you can, you understand me? If they take us both, dust as many of them as you can. I've got stakes in the back ready to go so we should be able to manage." Burt pulled into the parking lot of the reservoir and put the truck in park. "Any questions?"

Rachel shook her head as Burt drove towards their destination. "No, that won't work," she replied. "I should be the one to go in first. I'm sorry, Mr. Hummel. I know you don't really understand, but I'm the strongest. You can back me up." She turned to Jesse and Sebastian. "You two, find Kurt and get him out. Mr. Hummel and I will take care of the rest."

Burt grabbed Sebastian by the arm before he could get anywhere. "Hold up. If we go in without a plan they'll kill us all."

Sebastian reached for the nearest stake and gripped it tight. "Sounds like a plan," he said in Rachel's direction. He jumped out of the back of the truck and waited for the rest of them to get out so they could get in there and help Kurt. He looked down at the stake and sighed. "Let's just hope I don't trip," he muttered to himself.

Jesse finally spoke up, shaking his head. “Mr. Hummel, I’m not accustomed to valuing one human life over another. Nor am I accustomed to taking orders. We’re not leaving with Kurt if they take you. We give him a cross, hell, cover him in holy water, but we’re not driving off. Rachel, this is a hostage situation. It makes some sense to try to play into their hands a little, at least to begin with, if we value Kurt's life.”

Sebastian frowned at Jesse's reply. He gripped the stake tighter and decided to but in. "I'm getting Kurt out of there," he said firmly. "No offense to all of you," he said as he eyed them all. "But he's really the only one here I care about and I'm not about to let him get hurt any more than he is. So, if I get the opportunity, I'll grab him and run without a second thought."

Rachel shook her head at Jesse too. "This is not an ordinary hostage situation, Jesse," she replied, convinced that the current plan wasn't going to work. "If Burt goes in there, they could kill both him and Kurt in an instant." The slayer thought for a moment, and decided to change tactic. "How about I go in as Burt's prisoner?" she suggested. "I could pretend to be unconscious and there as a trade. Slayer blood is coveted by vampires. It would distract them for at least a few moments."

Sebastian sighed in frustration. He pulled his arm away from Burt and turned to face Rachel. "There's only 12 of them. Let's just charge the place. Six for you, six for me." He was sick of all the talk, he just wanted to get in there and see Kurt.

Rachel pointed an accusing finger at Sebastian. "This coming from a guy who doesn't even know how to fight!"

Jesse sighed, relenting a bit, “Rachel’s plan sounds reasonable enough. So Burt drags you in there--hopefully not weaponless--and Mr. Perfect Boyfriend is on rescue committee, but he only goes in when he hears a code word or something. Where does that leave me?” Jesse knew he didn’t seem useful to them, but he’d actually raided a few nests in his time.

Sebastian scowled but ignored Rachel's response in favor of listening to Jesse. He scoffed at the nickname, but didn't object. "Is there a back entrance to this place? You could cover that."

Burt 's stomach flipped at hearing 'Mr. Perfect Boyfriend'. Since when did that...? It left the elder Hummel thoroughly confused. But that was the least of his concerns at this point. "Alright, here's the plan. I'll head in and talk with them. They want me, right? I'll give them me. Meanwhile you three will find a way through the back to get to Kurt. There's a secluded room with a window where they should have him. Bring him to the truck and make sure he stays safe. I'll call for back up if needed. Sound good?"

Rachel didn't like this plan one bit, but they had already wasted enough time standing around and talking about it. She nodded wordlessly at Burt and then led Jesse and Sebastian towards the back.

Jesse nodded, then mumbled, hardly loud enough for the slayer's ears to pick up on it, "You're getting back up, whether you call for it or not." He knew Rachel, and he knew himself, and a vampire could certainly manage to carry an unconscious body to a truck.

Sebastian just followed Rachel towards the back. He was sick of talking and wanted action. He wanted Kurt and sitting around wasn't helping.

Kurt opened his eyes upon hearing another vampire enter the room. He saw him whisper something into his mom's ear before watching her walk out of the room. He was now left alone with the vampire who seemed to be taking most of his blood then the others. He shivered from the cold, but also from a sudden fear that rushed through his body. He watched with wide eyes as the vampire came closer to him. "You thirsty?" He asked the boy laying on the bed. "I can make it all better and keep you looking beautiful forever." He lifted Kurt's head off the bed, who couldn't protest that much due to weakness, and cut his arm with his own fang. "I have something that will make you feel all better ..." he said as he moved his wrist to Kurt's tightly clutched mouth. Kurt closed his eyes tightly and kept his mouth shut. He waited for the wrist to be placed at his mouth, but it never came.

Sebastian made his way around to the back with Jesse and Rachel. As they got closer to the window Burt had mentioned he picked up Kurt's scent. "He's definitely in there," he told the others. "He's hurt. I can smell his blood." They finally reached the window and he looked in to see a woman leaving the room. There was only one vamp inside with Kurt so he figured it wouldn't be a problem. That's when he saw the vamp cut himself and bring his wrist closer to Kurt's mouth. He saw red as he broke the window and dived inside. He tackled the vampire to the ground and began wailing on it, forgetting about the stake he'd dropped in his haste.

Burt prepared himself to enter the vampire infested cabin. He drew a long breath before entering the nest where, as far as he could see in the moonlight coming through the cracks in the wood, wasn't crowded yet. "Here I am, you sons of bitches! Come and get me!" Burt yelled. "Calm down there, baldy." A deep male voice called from the darkness. Burt stood firm his ground as he watched at least 13 vampires emerge from the surrounding darkness. The vampire spoke again. "It's about time, Burt. We've been waiting." A moment of silence fell between Burt and the surrounding creatures. "Alright. Here I am. Take me and let Kurt go." "Right, right. The precious boy. Don't worry, Burt." the hulking vampire approached Burt and was now within arm’s length of him. "We took good care of him. Now if you'd kindly surrender your holy water and any other atrocities you might have on you that you could use to kill us, it'd be greatly appreciated." Burt took the stakes he had hidden in his jacket out, his holy water, and everything else on him and laid it in front of him. "There. Now let Kurt go." The male vampire's head cocked upright as he heard a window shatter from the other room. Without hesitation, half of the vamps heading towards the distraction.

Rachel lunged at the foolish vampire, but it was already too late. She cursed under her breath as the she jumped through the broken window following Sebastian into the cabin room. At that moment, half a dozen more vampires burst into the room. Readying her stance, weapons in hand, Rachel took them each on as they came at her. This was not good. The tables had turned too quickly and Burt was in the other room all alone. She wanted desperately to check if Kurt was okay, but there wasn't any time. "Jesse!" she shouted, as she staked the first two. "Take care of them!" she instructed, before running into the next room to help Burt.

Jesse recognized that Kurt had been in a position to be turned many times during his stay here, so he grabbed a bottle of holy water and spritzed a little on the boy’s skin, not having time to check his pulse instead. When there was no telltale hiss, he smiled and whispered on the off-chance the form riddled with bites was awake, “We have a slayer, a vampire, and two demon hunters. Everything’s going to be fine.” Jesse turned and kicked a vampire who rushed at him square in the stomach. He fired off his crossbow at the vamp farthest away and preceded into a melee with those quickly surrounding himself and Sebastian.

Kurt hearing the sounds of cracking glass, Kurt opened his eyes just in time to see a figure fly through the window and start attacking the vampire who tried to turn him. Kurt couldn't tell who it was, but he could hear the commotion of a fight breaking out in the room. He did hear the voice of Rachel in the room, so he had suspicion that his friends and father had arrived to save him. And his suspicion was confirmed when he saw Jesse's face look down at him. "Jesse?" He whispered hoarsely. He wanted to say more, but was cut off by liquid being squirted at his face. "Stop ... I'm human .." he said quietly as Jesse turned around and started to attack the vampires. "My hero .." he said just before his eyes started to roll back into his head. He was safe now .. his friends and father were there .. he could sleep now.

Burt immediately picked up a stake from the pile of his belongings on the ground and dusted as many vamps as he could. Between the ungodly amounts of ashes surrounding himself and, now, Rachel, Burt glanced over at Elizabeth. He finished off the vamps coming at him and exhaled. Before he knew it, Elizabeth was launching herself at him. She tore at his skin with her hands before Burt managed to plunge a stake firmly through her chest. Without hesitation, the female vampire dispersed into dust and ashes. Burt looked around him, no other vamps to be found. They had done it. Burt looked at the ashes of his wife, wanting to be upset with himself but found himself unable to be.

Rachel fought her way into the next room, dusting another as she went, the remaining three vampires already giving her a wide berth after she effortlessly took out the first three. Sure in the knowledge that Jesse could handle the remainder and take care of Kurt, she rushed to help Mr. Hummel. She saw him fighting off two vamps, while five more stood around watching. As she entered, their heads instantly turned towards Rachel, one raising her hand and commanding the others to rush at the slayer. Rachel barely looked at their supposed leader before launching herself at the oncoming four. She moved through the air effortlessly, landing a kick to one square in the chest before using her moment to punch another in the face. Twirling around, she shoved a stake into the chest of another, barely pausing as that disappeared into a pile of ash before she turned to face the fourth. It was easy for Rachel to take care of the remaining three. She dusted the final one just as Mr. Hummel dusted his. Rachel whirled around to face them just as the leader threw herself at Kurt's father, fangs bared. Running forward, prepared to help, but there was no need. The eyes of the vampire widened in shock as Mr. Hummel thrust a stake into her heart. Rachel watched familiar eyes dissolve into dust, an equal amount of shock written on her own face. She had seen those eyes countless times before, staring back at her from her best friend's face. Only this time, it wasn't Kurt's at all. It was his mother's.

Jesse had been doing his best to deal out flurries of punches and kicks to the two vampires attacking him, but close combat was not his forte. He’d have some bruises the next day--that was for sure. The third vampire which had rushed in but was not yet dust seemed fascinated by the vampire wrestling happening on the floor. That was a blessing, as far as the watcher was concerned. He moved to stake one of them, but the other demon knocked the stake out of his hand. It clattered to the floor, drawing Jesse’s attention momentarily back to Sebastian. He was now pinning the vamp to the ground, beating the undying daylights out of it. He barely stopped enough to drag the onlooker into the path of his fists. Jesse was slowly backed into a corner, and his ally was apparently overcome by his newly endowed emotions. He tensed his stomach as much as he could; he took the blows and felt his skin grow even tenser with the recent punches. He tried to get another stake from his belt, but it was increasingly difficult to do without lowering his defense.

Rachel didn't have time to berate Mr. Hummel about what the hell was going on. She darted back into the other room, with Burt quick at her heels. Gasping at the sight in front of her, Rachel kicked Sebastian in the face, and threw a stake at him. "Stake it already, you worthless idiot," she growled, all the while running forwards to help her watcher. Thrusting her second stake into the back of one of the vampires, Rachel grabbed the other by the neck and pulled it backwards, earning a cry of pain. "This'll teach you for hurting my friends," she said angrily as the stake landed in his chest and he disappeared into a pile of dust. Rachel's hands immediately went out to catch Jesse's bruised and battered body. "Are you okay?" she asked, her features etched in concern.

Jesse cleared his throat and blinked. He was incredibly grateful to always have the slayer around the corner. After a second of making absolutely sure his voice would sound even and trustworthy, he smiled down at Rachel and answered, “I’m always okay.” With all the worrying she already did, she didn’t need him to actually encourage it. He stretched a little, feeling more of a pull in the raw areas than normal, and collected his stake. “I assume things are taken care of? Let’s get Kurt into the truck. Better take the whole bed—we have enough able bodied…beings and people this injured shouldn’t be moved.”

Brittany: Brittany was franticly rushing around her room trying to find everything she needed for the protection spell. She gathered the herbs, a few candles, a lighter, and most importantly the spell book and shoved them into her bag.  She was going to meet Rachel in front of the school and they would walk to the small park a few blocks away together.  Once she had everything she checked another time just to make sure, everything accounted for. She slipped a few crosses, a sliver dagger, and a stake into her bag along with the components and the spell book.  Slinging her bag over her shoulder she was out the door and heading down the stairs.

                As she approached the school she saw a figure leaning against the railing on the stairs. “Hey Rachel, got everything you need?” she asked looking up. The sky was growing ever darker, it would reach full dark just as the made it to the park. Then Rachel would have to find a vampire to lure to the park, hopefully entirely protected by that time.  “We better get going; I don’t want to run into any vamps on the way. That would kind of ruin the whole thing” She smiled as she dashed to the opposite side of the street, Rachel right behind her.

Rachel was almost ready to go. It was amazing what a determined slayer could get done in just over twenty-four hours. Her entire room was empty save for her mattress; even the sheets had been packed away. She felt both happy and sad, excited and calm. This is what Rachel wanted. She knew it with all her heart. It didn't matter that she would be leaving behind everything and everyone that she ever knew, that she was leaving behind her slayer duties in Lima, Ohio, because this was her dream. Her dream should count for something, right? Rachel just couldn't see why she couldn't, just this once, be selfish for a change. Her only regret was not saying a proper goodbye to her friends, to Jesse. She had just replaced an old picture of the Scooby gang in her suitcase and closed the lid when she heard a loud knock on the door. Unlike the previous day, Rachel went down to answer it immediately.

Jesse perked his head up as the lock slipped through the door’s mechanism. He took in air to speak, then fell silent for a moment. He breathed in air again, hoping it might kickstart his brain. It worked. “Sebastian came over to my house. And it turns out there’s one more thing you need to do here. So yes, I’m taking advantage of the fact that you said if you said goodbye to me you’d change your mind, and I’m sorry, but I don’t know how to do this without you yet.” It really pained him to say that, so he assumed his eyes said nothing but bittersweet goodbyes. Jesse gulped. Coming over here was a bad idea. It wasn’t just Rachel who couldn’t deal with a proper farewell. “I wouldn’t ask…I really wouldn’t ask, but there are babies at stake.” He was only able to plow through the words by concentrating on his breathing. How hard could talking to one girl get?

Rachel's heart almost stopped when she opened up the door to see her watcher standing behind it, a somber expression clouding his features. Shifting awkwardly against the door, Rachel crossed her arms over her chest protectively and stared at the ground. "Jesse..." she began just as he started speaking, his voice coming out in one long rushed sentence. Her first instinct was to scoff at the mention of Sebastian. Now he was going around town spouting this nonsense to her watcher? What, had 'Passions' reruns been canceled from daytime television? But then as Jesse continued, Rachel began to get worried. Her watcher wouldn't be acting like this unless something was seriously wrong. "Jesse, slow down, what are you talking about? What babies?" Her eyes darted up to meet Jesse's gaze for the first time in days. "What does Sebastian possibly have to do with babies?" She gasped as the sudden realization came to her. "He didn't eat them, did he? Because if he hurt them in any way, he'll be dust within the hour."

Jesse pushed back his sense of rejection stemming from Rachel’s body language. “No, he didn’t eat them. I think he prefers 17 year old boys. Besides, I already shot him in the leg.” The malice from his earlier conversation with Sebastian immediately returned to his voice, and left as soon as he changed subjects. “I think the babies are being used as sacrifices. Oh, and we’re all addicted to chocolate that lowers our inhibitions.” Not even giving a beat for her to process (because Rachel could keep up with rambles and large loads of information most of the time) Jesse pressed on. “I don’t know what they’re being sacrificed for, but I have a mental list of locations we should check out. Hopefully we’ll be in time to interrupt them. Or better yet, stop them before they start.” Maybe if he kept their encounter full of action he could ignore Rachel’s disappointment. She seemed to ignore her own just fine when the prospects of saving babies and dusting Sebastian flowed through her mind. Maybe if he kept the day full enough he could avoid his own inner thoughts. It was certainly worth a try.

Rachel was shocked by Jesse's words, or more specifically, the way his words were running on in long sentences, that while not completely uncharacteristic of her watcher, were rushed and obscure. Jesse had always been very calm and collected while he explained things, structured and to the point. "Wait, sacrifices? How did this happen?" Immediately, all thoughts of leaving Lima flew out of her mind. Santana had been right. Rachel couldn't simply just run out of Lima when there were people who needed her, especially poor defenseless babies. What about chocolate? "Jesse, we don't have time for more chocolate right now," Rachel said exasperatedly, grabbing her jacket and pulling the door closed behind her. "We need to go save those babies. Explain it to me on the way." She demanded as they rushed towards Jesse's car. Whatever was going on, Rachel was going to fix it before she left. It was the least she could do.

Jesse dismissed Rachel’s ‘how did this happen’ question as rhetorical. “Good. Whatever you do, don’t eat more chocolate.” Part of Jesse wondered if her deciding to leave while under the influence made it more her decision or less her decision. Inhibitions were confusing. He hopped into the car just as readily as Rachel. “There are stakes in the back. I think they’re your weapon of choice, right?” Having to move the books from the passenger’s seat reminded him how serious the matter at hand was. It had become very easy to get distracted around Rachel. The watcher suspected his current mixed feelings about her made lowered inhibitions leave his brain confused and conflicted. Whatever it was, they needed to find the children. No one should snuff out potential for life like that. “The chocolate is making us all behave like we would if we didn’t have a filter between what we desire and what we do. It’s the same mixture you discovered at the airport. Apparently, whoever it is made it just so they could kidnap and in all likelihood sacrifice babies.”

Rachel waved off Jesse's instructions. "I just said, we don't have time for chocolate right now, Jesse," she replied impatiently as they climbed into his car. Instead she went straight for the supplies. "Thanks," she replied gratefully, her thoughts drifting momentarily to her own supply of weapons tucked safely into the back of her otherwise empty wardrobe. She wasn't going to need them in New York, and after she'd left, she was planning on asking her dads to deliver them to Jesse for her. A parting gift that wasn't really a gift. "Do we know this for a fact, Jesse? Because I feel perfectly fine." Rachel nodded when she remembered that day at the airport. It seemed like an age ago since they had both driven to pick Kurt up, and come back with box of weird herbs as well. "What? How do you know that? Who told you this information?" None of it made sense. How had Jesse made these connections? Why would someone do this? All these questions swirled around Rachel's mind as Jesse slammed his foot on the gas and started to drive.

Jesse sighed. “You would feel perfectly fine, until you haven’t been on chocolate for a while. I ran out the other night, and even with the addictive nature—again, the same as the substance from the airport—I called in sick to school today so I didn’t get more. Hence I’m still on it. But now that I know what’s going on, I can pinpoint the cravings and rash actions.” He mainly believed it so readily because he wanted so badly for Rachel to not actually want to leave. Or he wanted her to have inhibitions that told her not to. In the end, what people wanted, they did, right? Because inhibitions and other people’s desires factored what into what people wanted too. Yes. Or they should. “We don’t know that they’re necessarily being used for sacrifice, but why would vampire thugs go to the trouble to drug a whole town just to kidnap babies? In any case, we’re stopping by the warehouse where they keep the chocolate first.” Jesse felt out of his depth. He had not been up the previous night for 6 hours researching like he normally was when they faced a new problem. He’d been up moping.

Rachel listened to Jesse's explanation carefully, trying to think back to the decisions she had made over the past week but found that she couldn't really focus. Opening her mouth to argue with Jesse once more, Rachel paused, instead thinking about the actions of her friends. It was easier to see their odd behavior than her own. "You bought a goat..." Rachel mumbled under her breath, more to herself than to Jesse. "You bought a goat, and Faith almost killed herself attacking too many vampires at once. Kurt quit the scoobies and Santana was crying." The thought of Santana's uncharacteristic outburst online the other day seemed to seal it for Rachel. "Okay," Rachel nodded asserting her belief. "But how do you know there are missing babies?" she asked, her mind still fuzzy on the details. It all felt too surreal too believe. Rachel had honestly thought that her slaying this past week had be top notch. Aside from her deciding to leave Lima, Rachel had gone out each night, just like always. Not that she thought about it, some of the vampires has been strangely confident when they realized who she was. "The warehouse. Right." Rachel nodded again, her fingers digging in to her thighs as they drove, no doubt causing deep purple bruises beneath. Ever since Jesse had turned up at her door with the news of doom, Rachel had been craving it badly.

Jesse sighed, knowing bringing up Quinn while Rachel had chocolate in her system was a bad idea. But of course, he had an impulse to tell the truth. “Quinn called me. She seemed concerned about the babies.” His eyes flicked over to Rachel and added, “I don’t know how she had my number though,” as if to appease her. The slayer had to bring up him having a goat…twice. “Look, Dulcinea is not a mistake! Even if I got her because of the chocolate, she’s been better to me than anyone else in this town!” It was a strong reaction, but he cared about his goat. The amount of caring was a little strange, but Jesse hoped that once he was sober he would still care at least somewhat. When they reached the warehouse, Jesse donned his own weapons of choice, just in case it was infested. They cautiously approached the door, and he waited for Rachel to break in. Slayer strength was amazing for that sort of thing.

Rachel glowered at the mention of Quinn. "Quinn..." she muttered softly, slumping back in her seat and crossing her arms her chest one more. "The stupid bitch who keeps blaming me for ruining her life? Because she's a reliable source," Rachel continued sarcastically, looking out the window in determination as Jesse drove. "Please, I know you want her," Rachel scoffed. "It's so obvious. Just another reason why me leaving town is a good thing for you. Without me around, you don't have to be a teacher at McKinley anymore. You can sleep with however many ex-demons pretending to cheerleaders that you'd like." Rachel had to admit, if what Jesse was saying was actually true, then Dulcie was probably the best thing to come out of the entire mess. That and the knowledge that she, indeed, was the best. "Yeah, maybe..." Rachel agreed halfheartedly, still upset at her watcher. As soon as they reached the warehouse, Rachel jumped out of the car and headed straight for the nearest door. She didn't bother with caution. She was the slayer, and she was awesome, so there really wasn't any need to. Kicking the door down easily, Rachel and Jesse entered the warehouse to find rows and rows of candy boxes. The loud noise had attracted the attention of the workers, and one such worker was someone Rachel had killed already. At least, she thought she had.

Jesse‘s lowered inhibitions did not mean he was incapable of being at a loss for words. Rachel leaving the town was not a good thing. He enjoyed teaching, most of the time. And he never really expected the girl to talk about sex. So Jesse sat there, foot frozen on the accelerator, mouth agape, brow furrowed, blinking repeatedly. The words that finally came out were, “I don’t know what I want.” It was the truest thing he’d said because of the chocolate. “Moreover, want is not the same as desire. Lots of desires run through our minds, but we always do what we want.” With how much he cared about Rachel, what he wanted was never simple. He did desire Quinn, that was for sure. But he wanted to make her laugh and spin around on grassy hills in sundresses like some stupidly idyllic movie more than he wanted to sleep with her. Jesse pulled out his crossbow and undid the buckle on the sheath of his machete, watching the door open up to a group of vampires and an injured demon with a black exoskeleton. It must have been the one Rachel stopped at the airport.

Skip widened his eyes when the girl who broke his neck kicked down the door. This was not a good month. A garbled noise escaped his throat. All he wanted was to fit in as a human. He certainly didn’t want to be human, because otherwise breaking his neck would have for sure severed his neural chord. Ethan told him that they would all be too high on chocolate to do anything! He’d even gone as far as to make sure there was extra dark chocolate so the vegan slayer would do something other than slay. This was terrible. Skip needed to go tell him. Or the sorcerer would find him and hunt him down…if Ethan survived. And if he didn’t Skip’s chances at looking more human were lost. He needed a distraction. “What are you waiting for? Just because they break down a door doesn’t mean you’re excused from attacking them and just because they have weapons doesn’t mean they don’t have delicious blood!” After the mayhem ensued, the demon made a quick exit from the warehouse and and even quicker entrance into the sewers to warn Ethan. He wasn’t exactly sure what the man would do, but that wasn’t his job.

Rachel's eyes narrowed. "You!" she shouted out scathingly, making a mad dash for the demon. A part of her didn't understand how he was still alive, but another more rational part, chastised herself for not taking care of the demon properly the first time. Perhaps if she had paid proper attention, then none of this would have ever happened. People wouldn't be acting crazy, and babies wouldn't be missing, about to get sacrificed or something as equally horrifying. Unfortunately, at the demon's instruction, the horde of vampire workers started swarming. "Jesse!" she shouted out to her watcher as a warning, knowing he knew what to do. Almost effortlessly, Rachel began fighting the vampires, all the while trying get to through the door that the demon had disappeared. She needed to follow him. Whoever he was, it wasn't a mere coincidence that he was here today. Jesse had been right. Rachel could accept that. She more grudgingly accepted that Sebastian had been right as well. She grunted before thrusting her stake particularly hard into one vampires chest, withdrawing the stake just as it disintegrated into a cloud of dust. After dusting one quarter of the vampires, Rachel caught a glimpse of her watcher, trying to see how he was handling his attackers.

Jesse was surprised he hadn’t sought out this adrenaline rush most of the week. He’d seen the demon go, but he really didn’t care in the moment. He knew they needed to track it to figure out where the babies were because the rest of the things in this warehouse acted even more like goons than he did. All of that slipped his mind somewhat. There were vampires galore to slay around him. And he didn’t have to worry about Rachel, because dusting vampires was a part of life she excelled in. And now that she was going to Broadway, maybe she had something to live for. Jesse fired off his crossbow and tossed it onto a box of chocolate, drawing two stakes from his belt and fisting them. This was going to be fun. He treated the first demon that came at him to a right uppercut, left elbow, and right stake through the heart. As they started to swarm more, he was staking less and dealing blows more. It was harder to aim right at the heart with the number around him. He got hit a few times, but nothing that would take longer than three days to heal. The vampires thinned out, mainly due to the slayer’s efforts. When there were just a few left, Jesse finally glanced back over at Rachel, trying to divine what they were going to do about the escapee.

Rachel felt momentary relief when she saw her mentor was doing just fine. Turning back to the oncoming vampires, she began dealing with them one by one. The vampires were either stupid or hopped up on chocolate too, because they kept coming at her one by one, instead of all at once. Was it because she was a girl? Rolling her eyes, Rachel got bored and launched herself through the air, performing the perfect somersault before landing in between two vampires. She smiled devilishly as they stared at her stunned. "Obviously you boys aren't from around here..." she quipped, plunging her stakes into their non-beating hearts. When there were only a few vampires left and knowing that Jesse could take care of the rest by himself, Rachel raced towards the exit though which the demon had escaped, only to find an empty open space. Growling unhappily she raced back inside to find Jesse just about to attack the last remaining vampire. "Jesse, wait!" she called out, running towards her watcher. The vampire took Jesse's momentary hesitation to try running away, but Rachel was having none of it. Within moments she had the vampire by the scruff of his clothing, pushed up forcefully against a shelf of boxed. "Where did he go?" she demanded viciously. "Tell me!"

Vampire Minion watched on stunned as the tiny girl took out most of the vampires. The older dude could obviously hold his own, but the girl's speed and skill was unmatched. All too soon, there was no one left but him. He made a made dash for the only exit that lead down into the sewers, but the girl caught up to him way too quickly. Masking his fear, the vampire minion bit back. "Why the hell should I tell you? You're just going to kill me anyway."

Rachel laughed. "True," she replied, unapologetically. "But the speed of your death with depend one your level of cooperation."

Vampire Minion rolled his eyes. "That's not really an-" Before he could fully form a reply, the girl punched him in the stomach forcefully, a wry smile on her face.

Rachel reacted instantly. "Wrong answer mister." With one hand fisted tightly in the vampire's clothes she gave him a warning. "Now, we can do this the easy way or the hard way, take your pick."

Vampire Minion wanted to clamp his mouth shut, but the next thing he knew something painful was spraying him in the eyes. "AHHHH!" he screamed, his flesh sizzling. His hands instantly flew to his face in a vain attempt to protect himself, but the girl was relentless.

Rachel's trusty holy water spray had come in handy once again. "Are you ready to talk yet?" she asked, pulling the vampire forward slightly before thrusting him against the shelf again with a punishing force.

Jesse watched Rachel torture the vampire, a slow smile spreading across his face. The vampire was evil and partially responsible for missing babies, after all. He twirled the stake in one of his hands and walked over to the pair. Seizing one of the hands, he slowly but firmly pushed the stake into the vampire's hand. Moving in his face to whisper through clenched teeth, "I assure you, I would enjoy killing you slowly. But I would enjoy finding the babies much more."

Vampire Minion cried in agony as the stake was thrust through his hand, his eyes still stinging. Unable to protect his mouth, the girl took the opportunity to spray the inside of his mouth with that stupid spray, causing his throat and mouth to burn in excruciating pain. "Alright! Alright! I'll tell you!"

Rachel smiled triumphantly. "Good," she replied, still glaring the vampire while he squirmed in her grasp. "Now, where is he going? And where are those children."

Vampire Minion really didn't want to talk. He was dead either way. But the girl lifted up her spray bottle again and aimed it at his face. "The sewer!" the vampire shouted out, unable to endure any more pain. "The sewer beneath the school."

Rachel frowned. "You wouldn't be lying to me, would you?" Rachel asked skeptically. Why would they be beneath the school? She asked herself before turning to look at Jesse. "The school?" The realization dawned on each of them simultaneously. "The hellmouth!" Turning back the vampire, Rachel pulled him forward. "I'd spare your life, but since you're not really living. I guess there's not really a point, now is there?" Before the vampire could respond, Rachel pulled the stake out of his hand and hammered it into his heart, barely waiting for him to burst into dust before heading out to the car, Jesse close at her heels. "Let's go!"

Jesse always enjoyed seeing a vampire turn to dust. What he didn’t enjoy was wiping their blood off his hand. It was worth it, however, to torture the vampire. Jesse picked up his crossbow, quickly reloading it, and ran to the car. The watcher went as fast as he could without endangering anyone’s lives; the police officers were probably all high on chocolate somewhere. In no time at all, they reached the school. Jesse parked haphazardly and leapt out of the car. “Nearest sewer entrance is over there,” he remarked even though Rachel was most likely aware. He felt like they were making a mad scramble for the sacrificing grounds. It would have really helped to have a vampire or werewolf that could sniff their way through right now, but they were out of luck there. Or in a lot of luck. He dropped into the sewer, sticking his landing and immediately starting off jogging in the direction of the school.

Rachel felt like time was running out. They had wasted too much time already when they had to fight the vampire minions, who knows what that demon could have done by now. She leaped out of the car before Jesse had even brought it to a stop. "I know!" she shouted over her shoulder, running towards the nearest sewer entrance. The tunnels beneath the school were extensive, but Rachel had a feeling she knew where to go. The hellmouth was situated directly under the choir room. That was the safest place to start. Just as she was about to jump down and disappear into the sewer, she called to Jesse over her shoulder. "Underneath the choir room!" Rachel ran as fast as her legs would carry her, hoping against hope that she wasn't too late, that her selfish behavior hadn't cost the lives of innocent children.

Skip was panting by the time he reached the hellmouth. At least once he got his image changed by Ethan he could travel in style rather than through the sewers with all the vampires. They were certainly not noble creatures. But at least they didn't want his blood. “Ethan. Sir. The slayer and the one who appears to be her watcher discovered us in the warehouse. I don’t know what went wrong. The rest of the week they had been completely innocuous.” He glanced over at the babies, noting they would be hard to move and cursing how much he turned his head. The injury he’d received from the girl still hurt; she had broken his neck! And the ritual was not necessarily something which could be rushed. Things looked bleak. “I came to warn you and aide you in whatever way you see fit. I will be in your debt once you finally transform me, so I ought to start on the tab now.” A slightly nervous laugh accompanied this last statement, along with an undesired emphasis on the word 'finally.'

Ethan frowned as his demon accomplice burst into the room and urgently made his way over. "What do you mean she discovered you?" Ethan shouted angrily, his mean, course voice reverberating throughout the sewer chamber. Yelling in frustration, Ethan kicked a nearby rock, sending it skittering into the sewage stream. There was no time to delay the ritual, it had to be tonight or else he'd have to wait another month, and even then, he wouldn't be able to execute the same plan again, especially with the slayer on his tail. "We need to hurry," Ethan said decisively, commanding Skip as he knelt at the mouth of hell. "Help me get everything into position. I need to start. Now."

Skip opened the trunk to look at the supplies Ethan had brought below the school. He could remember the first part of the ritual well enough, but seeing 9 different knives worried him. Skip honestly couldn’t remember what order they were used in, or what parts of the babies bodies the blood was to be let from. The still-injured demon closed his eyes for a second, calming himself with the thought that the sorcerer could take care of that part. And he didn’t have to memorize the horrendous amount of words coming out of the man’s mouth in prayer either. All he had to do was scatter salt and thyme then light a few candles. Being a minion was pretty easy work. He finished the pattern with the thyme to purify the area, then started on the salt. The words kept echoing through the sewers faster and faster in a low mutter. They really needed to make up for lost time considering the slayer probably had a car. Skip finally placed the last of the salt, brushing his hands off and stretching into an upright position.

Ethan began chanting, a low humming sound coming from the back of his throat as he half-spoke, half-sang the prayer to Lurconis. He only half paid attention to what Skip was doing around him, instead focusing on the words he needed to recite in perfect order to summon the demon god. Once the chant was done, Ethan stood, rolling up his sleeves for instructing Skip to hand him the first baby and the largest knife. He could sense the demons hesitation, but Ethan just waved it off. "We'll be fine, as long as we finish..." There was a loud bang as another figure burst in to the chamber, and Ethan scowled when the figure came into view. "... before the slayer gets here..."

Rachel could hear singing. Well, not really singing, and it definitely didn't sound good. The tone was low and unpleasant, and the words were a jumbled mess of slurs. She was getting close, she only hoped that she wasn't too late. She ran through the sewers into a large underground room, a room that by all accounts should not be there, and yet there it was. Her eyes were instantly drawn to the large black demon, who tossed something up into the air in shock and fear. But then her gaze shifted to the man. An ordinary man in not so ordinary robes standing within a circle of salt and thyme. "Stop right there," Rachel commanded striding forward, a look of utter disgust twisted into her features. "You were foolish to come to my town and pull this crap, because now you have to deal with me." She tilted her head, staring the man down. "And I am in a very cranky mood."

Ethan turned slowly to face the slayer. "There's is nothing you can do to stop me, you stupid little girl," Ethan laughed maniacally, before waving his hand, signaling for Skip to step forward. "Whatever you do, don't let her get near the sacrifices!" he commanded, before resuming position.

Skip stepped forward, putting down the baby he had been holding, but keeping the knife out. He moved in front of the row of babies as one of them started to wail. He put on the best menacing look he could, considering the girl he was facing beat had already beaten him within an inch of death once. At least this time he was armed and had not recently been tortured for information. He might just stand a chance, especially if Ethan got to her first. With these thoughts, Skip worked his feet more into the ground, crouching and ready to move in any direction.

Rachel gaze switched from the man to the demon. She frowned, wondering why the demon was listening to this man rather than the other way around. It wasn't often that a demon was flunkie. Whatever the case, Rachel didn't have time to debate it any longer. She eyed the babies as she began to step forward to, bracing herself to fight the demon as he brandished a knife at her.

Ethan scowled as the stupid demon advanced with the sacrificial knife in hand. “Skip!” the man growled, exasperated. "No, no! You stupid demon!" he yelled angrily now while moving to pick up an axe. He threw it through the air using the handle to give to Skip. "Swap," he commanded. When he finally had the first knife for the ritual, he moved to pick the nearest baby before returning to the center of the circle once more. He raised the dagger in the air and began to chant again, the small underground chamber beginning to rock with the force of his words.

Skip was actually glad to have an axe instead. It was more substantial than the knife and the longer handle would allow him to swing the blade of it faster than the ceremonial dagger. Which meant better chances against the small girl who was now stepping forward. He pushed any of the fear that his mind was still clinging to back, and rushed at the girl. He was a demon, and should not be intimidated by such a tiny slayer. Skip waited until he was only a couple feet away before swinging the axe with both arms—not strong enough to create vulnerability in follow-through, but certainly enough to spill a good amount of blood if it connected.

Jesse took the last few steps into the ritual site. He’d paced himself as to not show up too late and not show up too winded to be of any use. Since Rachel was endowed with super speed, she’d already gotten a fight and baby sacrifices underway. Typical. Seeing the slayer occupied with the stronger looking of the two, his eyes fell on the man in strange robes. Still chanting, he was beginning to lower a knife towards one of the babies. Jesse ran at the man and shoulder checked him, seizing the baby. The watcher knew he had to put down the newborn to fight properly, and assured the robed man needed to maim the infant in a very specific way, he quickly searched the room for a place out of harm’s way.

Rachel was torn between dealing with the advancing demon, whose name was Skip, apparently, and the man. It was surprising that the demon was the flunkie in this scenario. In most cases, it was the other way around. As she walked forward to face the demon, Rachel watched the man out of the corner of her eye, horrified when he went straight for the children. Timing everything perfectly with the swings of the axe, Rachel leaped up into the air and soared over the demons head, to put herself between the man and Skip. Just as she landed facing the demon, a wave of relief overcame her as Jesse ran into the room. She didn't need to say anything as she watched her watcher run towards the man, and Rachel was grateful for that, grateful that he was here with her even though she knew he didn't want to be. It gave her a chance to deal with the demon. She continued watching as Skip swung the handle of the axe around like a madman. Luckily for Rachel, the demon was slow and she was able to launch herself forward at the opportune moment to land a drop kick square in its chest.

Skip staggered back from the force of the kick. The area felt a little stale, but Skip had a skeleton on the outside of his body for goodness sake. It was going to take more than a few well-placed kicks to down him. Another perk to being a demon. If only demons were allowed to walk in the streets and discuss tv shows with humans. That’s what Skip fought for, and since the slayer didn’t have anything but her fists and feet, he thought he had a pretty good chance of getting there. Acting as though the kick had harmed him more than it had, he tried to catch the girl unawares by swinging the axe once more. This time his blow didn’t strike—not because he missed again, but because the axe was blocked by the tiny hands of the human he was fighting.

Ethan continued to chant as he began lowering the knife, aiming straight for the sacrifice's heart. He had long ago stopped lost his moral conscience and the fact that he was about to take a innocent human life didn't even register in Ethan's mind. It was what needed to be done for the power. He had no qualms about getting his hands dirty in the process. However, just as the the first stage of the ritual was about to be complete, Ethan was rudely shoved out of the way and the baby taken from his grasp. "Skip!" he yelled angrily, thinking his minion had failed once again. It soon became apparent that the slayer wasn't working alone. In fact, she had a young man with her as well. He laughed as he lunged at the boy, who was cradling the baby protectively in his arms. "Give it back to me, boy!" he shouted, his voice booming loudly to inspire fear. "Give it back to me and maybe I'll spare your life."

Jesse finally spotted the rest of the babies, and elbowed the man in the gut to give himself time to put the infant down softly. “No one calls me boy,” the teacher responded darkly, growing even more ticked off because the man who was trying to kill newborns had no respect for him. Age was always a touchy subject. He drew the machete and stepped towards the robed man menacingly, questioning, “and how exactly do you hope to spare something that was never yours to toy with, old man?” Jesse lunged at him, not quite willing to kill the human until he discovered what was going on, but certainly willing to mutilate him. With the way the area had been rocking with the words, he wanted an explanation. But the power inherent in the sung prayer had not scared him. It pushed him forward to slash at the sorcerer.

Rachel shook her head while gripping the handle of the axe. She couldn't understand why the underworld kept underestimating her. Surely, they had all heard about the existence of slayers by now, even if they hadn't heard about Rachel, herself. They stood at a standstill for a moment as they both grappled for the axe. "You were stupid to team up with him," the slayer said to the demon. "And you were even more stupid to think you could to my town and get away with this absurdity." Getting tired of wrestling the demon for the axe, Rachel yanked it forward, tugging Skip along with it and landing a well-placed elbow into his jaw. Pain shot through her arm as she broke the demon's strange exoskeleton beard, only hoping that she had caused the demon just as much damage.

Skip felt the sting of one of his favorite spikes being ripped off. But it was really just a giant, better version of humans getting part of their nails ripped off. It hurt, it stung, it could be used for torture, but it could be ignored and did not mean injury. He couldn’t let her get ahold of the axe though, and that’s why he chose to ignore it. Because ignoring it meant that there were going to be less injuries for him. Even if he really fancied that extension of his exoskeleton. Skip pivoted on his left foot attempting to land his right knee in her soft, miniscule body’s ribcage. His knee was as good as armor, except he could feel through it. And maybe it would distract her for long enough to take back possession of the weapon. The demon tugged harder against the handle as his body turned.

Ethan keeled over slightly, winded by the strike to the gut. Glaring at the intruder, Ethan slid to the side, easily avoiding the blow. "You'll have to do better than that to defeat me," he shouted back. He whispered a spell under his breath and sent the boy flying backwards into a nearby pillar, though with not as much force as he'd intended. With most of his magic tied up in the ritual, Ethan barely had enough power left to knock the angry young man off his feet. Growling in frustration, Ethan steadied his stance and stared the boy in the eyes. He would have to take care of this imbecile without magic. Wielding his sacrificial knife as a weapon, Ethan beckoned the boy forward with an arrogant smirk upon his lips. It wasn't what the knife was intended for, but Ethan knew how to make the best of bad situations. He was a lover of chaos, after all.

Jesse felt himself pulled pack towards a pillar, so he flattened his body and crooked his head forward best he could in order to dissipate the force somewhere other than his skull. When the energy holding him to the pillar disappeared and his feet fell back to the ground, the watcher rolled his shoulders back, trying to get the hang of movement after being almost-smashed into a pillar. He felt some relief when the man pulled out the knife instead; too much magic tended to make him feel powerless in a fight. Jesse approached the man again in a fighting stance, faked a strike, and kicked the sorcerer in the knee, followed by a swift strike to the knife wielding hand. The watcher quickly drew back into a defensive stance. It was better to strike second so you could parry, and he had already done too much striking first. That was what got him thrown into the pillar.

Rachel used the momentum of the tall, black demon to her advantage. Sensing the movement, she abruptly let go of the axe and pushed Skip away, before spinning her body around as she dropped to the ground and swung her leg around to knock Skip to the ground. Rachel almost laughed as the demon flailed around, the axe scattering across the floor. In one swift movement, Rachel tumble rolled to beside the axe, picking it up before running back to the demon. Raising the axe above her head, Rachel barely had time to register the look of terror in the demon's eye before it landed, cleaving his head clean off. "Try coming back from the dead this time," she spat in disgust before whirling around to help Jesse.

Ethan yelled out dramatically as everything began unraveling around him. The stupid boy was besting him, and the slayer had already disposed of his only ally. He had to make a choice, die now or run, hopefully to live another day and try again. He loathed both options, but especially the first. Glaring, he threw the knife toward the slayer, hoping to slow her down as he bolted towards another exit, leaving all his hard work behind him.

Jesse was surprised the sorcerer was giving up so easily. He seemed like the type to follow through, judging by his willingness to sacrifice babies and cockiness in calling the watcher a boy. He glanced over to his slayer, and seeing her already moving to capture the man that he could best, decided his time was better spent making sure the babies were alright. And figuring out a way to transport them safely in his car. Jesse searched through the open trunk and found 8 knives, some candles, salt, thyme, and some rope. How convenient, if the girl decided to keep the man alive. Hoping she would get the message if she wasn’t already planning on it, he tossed the rope over to Rachel. It looked like they were going to have to take the babies one by one out of the sewer.

Rachel yelled a quick "Thanks!" to Jesse as he tossed her the rope before she raced after the man. Obviously it didn't take long, as she launched herself at his back and brought him hurtling to the ground. "Not so fast," she said angrily, instantly binding off the man's hands before dragging him to his feet. She punched him in the jaw for good measure, before dragging him back to the chamber where Jesse was taking care of the babies. Slamming him up against the same pillar he had knocked Jesse into, Rachel asked with a level of ferocity that would not be expected from a girl her size. "Now, you're going to tell me what the hell you are doing in my town!" she demanded, putting pressure on his windpipe for good measure.

Ethan struggled to laugh at the slayer's foolishness. "Well, I hardly likely to tell you now, am I?" he choked out in a strangled voice. The slayer shook her head and smirked at him, as if to ask 'No?'. She slammed his back into the pillar once more and repeated her question. "I'm going to send you the bill for my chiropractor," Ethan quipped instead of answering.

Rachel growled in frustration. "You think this funny?!" she yelled angrily. "You think taking the lives of innocent children and messing with the lives of everyone in town is funny?!"

Ethan's fingers clawed at the hand around his neck, seeking oxygen. "As a matter a fact, I do," he choked out weakly.

Rachel 's eyes darkened. "Well, let see how funny you think this is!" she retorted, dragging the man over to a sewage stream flowing nearby and dunking his head inside. She held his head under water for a few seconds, his body flailing about like a headless chicken, before lifting it up, allowing him one brief gasp of air before plunging it back beneath the surface. Rachel saw red as she thought of the children behind her, and instead of letting go like she knew she should, she continued to hold it under the water, her hatred for this man almost overwhelming her.

Jesse walked up behind Rachel, putting a hand on her shoulder. Trying to pull her back would probably do no good given her strength and the state she was in. He was shocked that she was capable of this cruel until he remembered the chocolate. “Rachel,” he spoke softly. The putrid air wafted through the pause in his speech. “No one should have the power to say when humans live or die. That’s why we came here.”

Rachel had been up all night packing. After her conversation with Noah, she was more than ready to get out of Lima and go where she'd always dreamed of going: Broadway. It was always the place for Rachel Berry, the only place. Long before, Jesse, the watcher's council and demons had come into her life, Rachel had dreamed of being a star. Noah's encouragement had finally convinced her that this was what she had to do. Rachel still cared about the people she was going to be leaving behind, but she was tired, so very tired of carry the entire world's problems on her shoulders. Why couldn't she just be Rachel Berry, the star? Why couldn't she be selfish just this once? Was it too much to ask to have this one thing for herself? While most of her clothes were packed, there was still quite a lot to do before she left. She raced around the room, putting all her treasured belongings in boxes when suddenly the sound of urgent knocking resounded throughout her quiet house.

Sebastian kept pounding on the door. What the hell was taking her so long? He was frying out here. He didn't know what the girl was doing but whatever it is could wait. "Berry!" he screamed, still knocking. "Open up! I'm about to catch on fire here!" He adjusted the blanket to try and cover more of his body. It didn't really occur to him that the girl might not be at home or that she may very well still be under the influence of the candy. He just wanted to figure things out and if that meant standing outside the slayer's house all day long he was prepared to do it.

Rachel glanced around her room, determinedly ignoring the pounding at the door. Her fathers were home, they could answer the door. She had much more important things to do. After another minute of incessant knocking, Rachel realised her dads weren’t answering. It was odd, and she wondered where they could possibly be. The pounding continued loudly, seemingly rocking the house, or was that the lack of sleep? Either way, Rachel finally relented and made her way downstairs to answer the door. As she swung it open she knew this was a bad idea. She had half a mind to swing it shut again, when she remembered the blanket-covered Sebastian couldn’t enter her house without permission. “What do you want?” she asked scathingly, hands on her hips.

Sebastian sighed in relief as the door finally swung open. "What the hell took you so long? I've been pounding on your door for the past five minutes. And if you hadn't noticed I'm sort of burning out here!" As expected, she wasn't happy to see him. Thankfully, he had no problem being disliked. But he was going to have to get her to invite him in. He couldn't stand the heat of the sun through his blanket and he was ready to just rush at the doorway, despite the fact that it would do nothing to help him.

Rachel rolled her eyes. And people called her overdramatic? "I fail to see how that is any of my concern," she replied, glaring at the vampire. While she didn't take pleasure in his obvious discomfort, she really didn't care either. He was a vampire that was causing so much trouble among her friends, and despite what Kurt might have said, Rachel was convinced that Sebastian's arrival in town had something to do with it. Before he had arrived, everything had been fine. Eyes narrowing, Rachel asked again. "Now, what do you want? Because I have more important things to do today than bothering with whatever it is you have to say."

Sebastian groaned. Of course she was going to be difficult about it. "I need to talk to you about what's been happening with everyone in town, more specifically your friends, and even more specifically inside." He wasn't counting on her inviting him inside, but he definitely wasn't going to leave without a fight. She was his best bet on finding out how to get rid of whatever that chocolate had done to everyone.

Rachel stomped her foot impatiently. "There's nothing going around town. Everyone has been acting perfectly normal. You're the one acting strange." Rachel laughed. "You want me to invite you inside my house? Are you kidding me? Have you forgotten that I'm the slayer?" Shaking her head at the ridiculousness of the situation, Rachel replied, "No, whatever it is you have to say, you can do it on my front porch. There is no way I'm letting a vampire gain access to my house."

Sebastian couldn't believe what he was hearing. She seriously couldn't see what was going on? He groaned as he realized she too must have been eating her fair share of candy. "Look, something is going on. All of you are acting ridiculous. Blaine was almost killed last night because he thought he could take on a group of vampires on his own. You really think that's normal behavior? Not to mention you've all been at each other's throats lately online. Nothing about this is normal." He tried desperately to explain. Surely she must still be able to see reason.

Rachel continued shaking her head in disbelief until Sebastian mentioned her new friend. "What?" she asked in horror. "Why would he do that? Is he alright? That doesn't sound like him at all." Her gaze immediately turned on Sebastian, eyes narrowed in an accusing glare. She didn't know how exactly, but this was his fault. It was the only plausible explanation. "What did you do to him?"

Sebastian threw his head back in frustration. "I didn't do anything to him! He saw a vamp at his place and, thanks to that shit he's been eating, he decided it would be a wonderful idea to chase after him straight into the Bite Den. And he's fine. I showed up and saved him. You're welcome, for doing your job, by the way." He was getting fed up with the situation and he wished he could just shake the girl until she listened to him. He tried to calm himself so that he didn't end up yelling at her. Somehow, he doubted that would help anything. "Look, that candy is doing something to you. There's something in it. I'm not sure if it's just planting ideas, or lowering inhibitions, or what but it's bad news."

Rachel tilted her head in confusion. "And why would he do that, Sebastian?" Rachel asked, her foot tapping impatiently. This was completely absurd. "I already warned Blaine about the vampires in this town, you included. He's not foolish enough to go into an entire 'den' of vampires, all by himself." At the jibe, Rachel's head snapped towards the vampire, hair flying everywhere. "Shut up! You know nothing about me! You don't have any right to judge me!" Rachel shook her head, not believing a word Sebastian was saying. "That doesn't make any sense. I've been eating the candy all week, and I feel perfectly fine. Whatever you think is going on, it isn't. Sorry, but you're delusional!"

Sebastian wanted to just hit the girl. He was getting nowhere. "Why else do you think Blaine would do that? He's not acting like his fucking self! It's what I'm trying to tell you!" His blanket slipped and his hand was exposed causing it to start sizzling. "Fuck!" he screamed as he pulled his hand back under the blanket. Then he turned his attention back to Rachel, even more pissed than before. "And why else would I be standing here, in the sun, at your doorstep? This isn't exactly my idea of a good time."

Rachel watched as Sebastian's blanket slipped, causing the smell of sizzling flesh to fill the air. Her eyes narrowed. Why was Sebastian so willing to get himself hurt over this elaborate prank? "I don't believe you, and why should I? You're the one who's stringing both of them along like they're you play things. I'm done with this absurd conversation. Goodbye." Without saying another word, Rachel slammed her front door shut and stomped upstairs, her good mood completely ruined as she continued to pack. She couldn't wait until she left Lima and all her slayer problems behind. Nobody wanted her here anyway. Soon, she would be gone, and they would all get their wish.

Sebastian stood staring at the door. "Are you fucking kidding me?" He screamed out of frustration and ran back to his car. Twenty minutes sitting in the sun and nothing. He should have known that the slayer would have been no help to him. He slammed his head down on the steering wheel and groaned. He had to think of someone else that could help him. The only person that came to mind was Jesse. Now that he knew Rachel was the slayer it wasn't hard to guess who her watcher was. He could be helpful, if he wasn't completely out of his mind by now. He didn't really have any other options, so he set out for Jesse's place. So he tried it again, pounding on Jesse's door in place of Rachel's. Hopefully this visit would prove more fruitful.

Jesse had been crying and stroking Dulcinea's hair for an hour now. Ever since he woke up from the night of restless sleep, he couldn't get Rachel leaving out of his head. And it wasn't enough that she had to leave. She had to be torn up about it. So he just couldn't stop. Which was strange, considering he was great with controlling emotions. He was jolted up by the sound at his door. Dulcinea would probably welcome the reprieve from his monotonous petting, so he roused himself. "While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, as of someone gently rapping." The watcher threw the door open. "This is not my chamber door, that was not gentle, and you are not a raven. What the hell are you doing here?"

Sebastian raised an eyebrow at Jesse's rambling. "What the hell are you talking about? Of course I'm not a raven. Are you expecting a raven to knock on your door?" He shook off his thoughts. "Nevermind, I don't have time for this. I'm here because, as much as it pains me to say it, I need your help. I think that the candy you all got from the school is mystical or drugged or something. It's making everyone reckless and irresponsible. We need to figure out how to stop it and who is behind it." He explained more slowly than he had with Rachel. He hoped that if he was calm Jesse would be more likely to believe him.

Jesse wiped at the tears on his face. "Edgar Allen Poe you dolt. And you don't sit up late at night wondering if a visitor is entreating entrance at your chamber door?" He waved the previous conversation away. Hearing the vampire's concerns, he stepped into the kitchen where he had emergency slaying supplies and grabbed a cross and crossbow. When Jesse returned to the door, he smirked somewhat about Sebastian's vaguely smoking body (in all the wrong ways) and challenged the demon with a "Come in," pointing the crossbow directly at the unbeating heart.

Sebastian just noticed the tears on Jesse's face. Crap, was he supposed to ask what was wrong? He wasn't sure how to deal with a crying Jesse. Why couldn't things ever be simple? Thankfully, he didn't have to think about it too long since Jesse left. He blinked in confusion. What just happened? Before he had time to contemplate Jesse returned... with a crossbow. Just great. He took the invitation and stepped over the doorway, eyes locked onto the weapon Jesse held. "Is that really necessary?" he asked.

Jesse smiled. "Absolutely. And since you seem to be in the mood for following my orders, sit down.” He gestured with his cross wielding hand at the chair in the living room not occupied by his goat, and smiled even harder when the goat got up, eyed Sebastian for a second, and ran away. “So how do you figure we’ve been acting strange, and since when do you figure me competent enough to do anything?” Jesse refused to sit lest he relax his arm too much. He was having a very difficult time with not pulling the trigger, as well as with not dropping the crossbow altogether.

Sebastian sat in the chair Jesse gestured at, dropping his blanket, happy to finally be out of the sun. He glanced over at the goat before it ran away. He looked back at Jesse. "Should I even ask?" Looks like Jesse was definitely on the candy. "First of all, you have a goat. I sort of think that's speaks for itself. Second, can you honestly tell me you haven't noticed your students running around like a bunch of chickens with their heads cut off? Blaine nearly got himself killed last night. As for you being competent, well I've always thought that. You're pretty much the most intelligent person in this town. Hence why I've come to you for help."

Jesse scowled at Sebastian. “Of course I have a goat! How can you call her the result of something mystical or drugs?” The watcher blew air towards his bangs in a sigh. There was a point to be made there. And his curiosity was coming on stronger than ever. It practically took him over. “This makes a lot of sense in a really nonsensical way. Rachel and I found some demons smuggling something to lower inhibitions in the airport, but that was 60 miles away! I feel like I’m in some detective novel! This is positively exhilarating!” Jesse was wearing a grin at this point. “Wait, does that mean everything strange that’s happening is all part of the plot?”

Sebastian wanted to face palm. He sighed instead and gave Jesse a look. "Yes. That's what I've been trying to tell you. All of this... nonsense is because of that candy. So it would be just wonderful if you would stop eating it long enough to get your head back so we can find out who's behind it."

Jesse blinked several times at Sebastian. It finally clicked that he didn’t know about the missing babies. “No, I’m asking if absolutely everything is connected. Including the lack of babies in the hospital. I had assumed some vampires came in looking for a little ‘veal’ or something.” Jesse dropped the cross and rand his hand through his hair. It was a nervous habit that had gotten more prevalent these past few days. “So what do you suggest happens now, other than you waiting in my garage for me to get rid of your invite to my house?” He still had a lot of small crosses and nails from helping Kurt. And he’d memorized the verse, so it wouldn’t take more than 3 minutes to finish the ritual.

Sebastian snapped his eyes up from the cross to look at Jesse. "Babies?" So this whole thing was so whoever it was could steal some babies? He figured it did actually make some sense. What better way to easily steal a bunch of kids than to make their caretakers irresponsible idiots? "It most likely is connected. Someone dosed the town with this drug or whatever so that no one would be watching over those kids." Then he quickly changed topic. "And just so you know, babies really don't have very much blood, obviously, so it's just stupid to assume vampires were the ones who did this. We much prefer adults. Unless of course there's some sort of sacrifice going on... or a party." He tried to get back on track, talk of baby sacrifice would help no one at this point. He rolled his eyes when Jesse told him to wait in the garage. "Seriously? Is uninviting me really such an important objective right now? There are babies at stake."

Jesse stroked his chin and narrowed his eyes. This really was turning into a novel. “Yes, it is important. At least it’s important to move to my garage. I don’t like you. And for all I know, you enjoy goat blood. 2 minutes. I’ll run. And I’ll grab some weapons while I’m upstairs.” Without waiting for an answer, the watcher dashed into the hall closet to pick up the bag of crosses and yelled, “I suggest you’re not in here when I finish, garage is open,” out to the vampire. He was true to his word about 2 minutes, and popped up in the garage then: once more wielding his crossbow, but this time with a machete and the belt full of weighted stakes at his waist. “So rituals and parties. Talk.”

Sebastian stared at Jesse. "That's disgusting... way too much hair. And I have a feeling she headbutts." He just sighed when Jesse didn't listen and walked towards the garage. He wasn't even surprised when, literally two minutes later, Jesse showed up. He looked at the machete he now had along with the other weapons. "What are you, Rambo? And I was kidding about the party thing. Sort of." He sighed again, hating that he was supposed to be the one with the answers when answers were what he was looking for. "Look, there are some demons who tend to prefer babies for sacrifice, but I really don't know that much about the demon world. Kind of a loner here. My specialty is vampires, and we're not so big in the worship."

Jesse twitched his eyebrow up. Aside from being relieved that Sebastian did not want to eat…or rather drink his goat, Jesse was fascinated, but he was starting to get angry. It could be withdrawals from the drug’s addictive aspect considering he had run out recently and called in sick to school. Or he could just hate the demon standing in his garage. “So what you’re saying is I should look into demon sacrifices, and you’re of absolutely no help otherwise?” The vampire already got on his nerves, but after mentioning eating babies at parties, he was starting to really get disgusted. Even if Sebastian only drank pigs blood, he had to have had human blood at one point. Oh right, Kurt’s. His angry stare redoubled in intensity, waiting impatiently for the answer. Even if it only took a couple seconds.

Sebastian could practically feel the anger coming off of Jesse and it wasn't doing anything to help his temper. "I'd say considering that I'm the only person in this goddamned town that still sane enough to try and figure things out that I've been a pretty damn big help. And maybe you should remember that despite your little crossbow and your oh so brilliant knowledge on vampires I could kill you in an instant and yet here I am trying to help you instead!" He was seriously getting pissed at the slayer and all her friends hating him on principle alone. He hadn't done anything.

Jesse relented slightly, but in words only, and only for a brief moment. “You have been a big help. But perhaps you forget it’s daylight outside, I have brilliant knowledge, and, oh right, a crossbow.” Jesse lifted the weapon up for emphasis, but decided he needed more than that. Deftly moving the aim to Sebastian’s right leg, he pulled the trigger. He smiled at the sound it made, the vampire’s blood starting to leak through the union of the bolt and skin. “You also forget that as a culture we don’t consider minors able to consent. Especially not for having their blood drained.” His words were coated in venom at this point, but he was almost finished. “Now I suggest you get out of my garage, considering the werewolf who visits that cage from time to time hates vampires even more than I do.” Jesse turned and made his exit. He retrieved a few books on sacrifice from his house and got in the car. Not wanting to be near when Sebastian recovered even more, he made his way to Rachel’s house.