The Leap To SunnydaleBy Meltha
It was several more hours before Buffy plodded down the stairs and into the living room. During that time, Sam and Al had made a fairly complete search of the house, turning up loads of weaponry, though none of it firearms. In fact, Sam thought, the Summers sisters could come pretty close to setting up a historical recreation of a Medieval arsenal if they wanted to. Al, for his part, had stuck his incorporeal head through the refrigerator door.
"I think I see why they're both so thin, Sammy," he called. "Nothing in here but some expired milk and part of a really moldy cauliflower. At least, I think it's a cauliflower. Might be a geriatric turnip."Sam shuddered in disgust. "Yeah, well, I think the dietary habits of these girls is pretty low down on the list of priorities right now. Has Gushy got a bead on why Buffy's got all this stuff?"
"He's working on it," Al assured Sam as Buffy's head poked around the corner. "Uh oh. Hold still. Buffy at three o'clock."
Sam went rigid, very happy that he'd returned to his perch on the couch moments before. Buffy, for her part, yawned widely before her slippered feet continued into the kitchen. She reappeared in the living room a few moments later, carrying a granola bar and collapsing onto the sofa beside her pig. She stared at him dimly for a few seconds, then reached out to touch his hoof.
"Somebody played doctor with you," she said with a ghost of a smile.
"Yeah, I'd like to play doctor with Buffy, myself," Al purred at the oblivious girl.
Buffy absently ran her finger over the newly sewn seam as she chewed her granola bar. Sam wished she would open up to him like Tara had done, but he doubted that he'd have that kind of luck twice in a day. Instead, the girl merely continued chewing until the foil wrapper was empty.
"I hate granola. It's so bland. But then, so's life," she sighed as she grabbed the pig and carried him back upstairs. Buffy took the same uniform from the night before off her dresser and disappeared into the bathroom again.
"Yeesh. Could she get more down? She could make a daisy droop," Al remarked to Sam as soon as she'd left the room.
"Ziggy find out anything new during her breakfast of non-champions?"
"Um, only that, oh, this ain't good," Al said as he read the comlink. "It says here that someone answering Buffy's description is seen a couple months from now in a fight with your old pal Spike the vampire. Witnesses claim Spike, yagh, put a wooden stake through her heart and she turned to dust right before he, double yagh, used the same stake on himself. But... oh, geez, Sam, Sunnydale's population has decreased by half by then."
Sam shook his head. "Look, I need to find out exactly how this attack is going to take place."
"Yeah, well, details are kinda scattered because of the high death toll around these parts after Buffy gets all fangy," Al said. "All we can tell is that it happens around seven o'clock tonight after... aw, geez, after Buffy gets fired. She's really got it coming on all fronts."
"Do we know where?" Sam asked.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, um, says here that the body was found on the front porch, but that there weren't any signs of a struggle."
Sam nodded his porcine head thoughtfully.
Just at that moment, Buffy plowed back into the room, slung her purse over her shoulder, and jogged down the stairs.
"That's odd," Al said as he thunked the comlink. "Ziggy says that Buffy's not due at work until 5:00. It's only 2:15 right now, and the joint is only two miles away."
"Can you follow her? Let me know what happens?" Sam asked.
"Sure thing. Gushy, center me on Buffy!" Al called loudly, and a moment later he had disappeared, leaving behind one little piggy who had to stay home.