❝ 'Cause baby now we got bad blood.❞
Nikki was left to pick up the pieces when Buffy left her behind, broken. Her friends had established themselves as a Scooby Gang as she became more reckless and careless, she was a Slayer without a cause. What h...
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Someone is underwater; copious amounts of bubbles rise through it, some larger, some smaller, as though someone below is doing their best to hold their breath but can't continue for much longer.
Buffy frantically trying to get to the surface. Below her, Allan grabs her ankle and pulls her down. She kicks her legs and flails her arms, desperately trying to shake loose.
Eventually, she manages to break free of his grip and swim to the surface. She breaks through and draws a deep breath. There, kneeling above the dock, she sees Faith, who reaches down and shoves her back underwater.
Gasping, Buffy wakes with a start from the nightmare and draws several deep breaths to calm herself as she realizes it was all just a dream. She sits up in bed and looks around her room before realizing the dark-colored room belonged to her sister.
Since learning about Faith's lack of empathy for the murder she committed, Buffy had been trying to keep the two girls apart, that and being with Nikki usually kept the nightmares at bay.
Seeing the crumples sheets that were still warm, she guessed her sister couldn't have been out of bed for long. She pushes the blankets back, gets up, and walks out into the hall, where she can hear the news on the TV in her mother's room.
"We go now live to our field reporter, who is standing by at the waterfront with this breaking news about the murder that has shocked the Mayor and residents of Sunnydale," A new anchor calls from the television.
Buffy can see the TV from the hall. It shows footage of the boat retrieving Allan's body "Fishermen discovered the body today, the victim of a brutal stabbing. Authorities and citizens alike were shocked when the slain man was identified as Deputy Mayor Allan Finch".
Buffy can't believe that they not only found the body but that he was also a public figure. "Still reeling from the news, Mayor Wilkins had this to say. The news cuts to the Mayor at a press conference".
Mayor Wilkins comes on the screen looking woeful. "Mr. Finch was not only my longtime aide and associate, he was a close personal friend. I promise you I will not rest until whoever did this is found and brought to justice. Thank you very much".
Joyce notices Buffy standing behind her. "Oh, honey, you're up," she says as she had her arm curled around Nikki, who had been lying beside their mother. Joyce turns back to the TV, "Oh, it's just terrible, isn't it?"
Buffy doesn't know what to say or how to react, and it shows on her face, which, unfortunately for her, was caught by her now suspicious twin.
††††††
Buffy is sitting on the study table, and Faith is seated in a chair at the table. Wesley paces as Giles is sitting at the far end. "I want you to look into this. Find out everything you can about the murder of the Deputy Mayor".
