Three Ghosts by Coll

Disclaimer: - None of the characters are mine, except the ones that I make up, all rights to Joss Whedon, a.k.a. - God, and I think you all know the drill.

Spoilers: Everything up until Lies My Parents Told Me with a few references to 'Angel's' Orpheus. Faith is also in this, so that's a spoiler…I suppose.

Author’s Note: Thanks to Faith who let me use her idea and merge it with a short fic that I had already written but decided to elaborate on a bit. I'm probably going to use the names I gave to people from Kennedy's past in this story that I used from "At Night," although you won't have to read that to understand this story. As I've said, I love Kennedy and I love writing her, so here's to you guys enjoying my next Kennedy epic! Reviews always welcome…

Summary: After returning from L.A. with Faith and some new information, Willow's witchy sub-conscious goes ker-floopy again when she tries to help Kennedy after she gets hurt.

"That she does," Carter replied as his hand remained extended, waiting for Willow or Dawn to make some kind of movement or reaction. "And you two lovely ladies are…?"

"Sorry, I'm Willow, and this is Dawn." She introduced them as she accepted Carter's hand and greeted him. Still, Willow felt a little skeptical and uneasy about the appearance of this guy claiming to be her girlfriend's older brother.

"Are you guys OK, because you seem a little freaked out or something?" Carter said suddenly as he tried to pull back his hand, but Willow had been so dazed and lost in thought that she had forgotten she still had a hold on it.

"I guess we're just learning that we don't know that much about Kennedy after all," Dawn told Carter while pointedly looking at Willow.

"Yeah, sorry for spacing, it's just…" Willow began, but she wasn't really too sure how to explain what was happening to Kennedy. She only just realized that her girlfriend's emotional wounds were being healed by the spell she performed, hence the still coma and no physical injuries. "Things with Kennedy are a little…weird is a good adjective to use."

Carter furrowed his brow as he let his hand drop. His gaze shifted between the two girls as he tried to peek past them into the Summers' home. "So…Kennedy is here?" he asked slowly.

Willow took a second to peek into the living room as Dawn looked at Willow with raised eyebrows, waiting for her to answer. "Yes, physically." Willow answered awkwardly.

Kennedy's brother made a move to enter into the house, but Willow stood in his way again and he narrowed his eyes at Willow. "Are you gonna let me in?" he asked. "I mean, I've come a long way to see my little sister."

"I know, I'm sorry," Willow said quickly. "It's just there's something you should know, maybe, before you see her because Kennedy isn't really herself right now."

The face of Carter shifted from narrowing to concerned. It was the face of a big brother who probably hadn't seen his sister in a while and was now learning that something might have happened to her. "There's something the matter with Kennedy?" he asked quietly. "What is it? Is she OK?"

"More or less," Willow answered. "OK, you know what she is then you have to know about demons and vampires and stuff, right?"

"Yeah," Carter said with a nod and a slight smile that vanished quickly from his face. "I know about vampires and stuff."

"Well, OK, because Kennedy's fine now but she was hurt," Willow told him and quickly continued to explain before Carter had a chance to say anything. "She's under a spell right now. She's asleep, but she's fine and we're just waiting for her to wake up."

The man's face twisted into many emotions. Willow saw anger, hurt, confusion, and she felt horrible because she knew that she was the cause of this. "Witch craft?" Carter asked, his tone showing confusion while his body language suggested he was going to lash out in anger. "A witch did something to her?"

Willow felt Dawn tense behind her as she began to stumble over her own words. "Well…inadvertently," Willow finally let out. "The, uh, the witch…she didn't mean to do what she did to Kennedy. She's fine too, still. Just asleep."

Carter just stood, letting all the information wash over him. He was still confused, but Willow saw that he seemed less angry. "Is she…" Carter began, but then he stopped and tried to rephrase the question. "But she's…is she up for visitors?"

"Oh, yeah," Willow said as she moved herself and Dawn aside. "Come in, just…again, be aware of what I said. Spell, asleep."

He slowly stepped inside the house. Despite the worry that was etched in his face, he was still polite and offered nods to Willow and Dawn. He also took time o take in the house, looking around getting a sort of feel for the home that his sister was staying in. Carter checked out the dining room and turned to look at the living room, stopping when he saw Kennedy.

She was still lying the same way she had been all day: face down, head tilted so that her closed eyes were looking at the living room, her back rising and falling in a steady rhythm, and not moving at all.

The sight still pained Willow a little, so she could only imagine what her brother must be feeling. "What kind of a spell is she under, exactly?" Carter asked, still not moving from the spot where he stood.

"A healing spell," Willow answered, then stopped and continued quickly. "I mean, from my untrained un-witched eye that this could be a…a healing spell. I think the witch was trying to help her. Kennedy got hurt in a fight earlier."

"What are you talking about?" Dawn asked loudly, not at all getting that Willow was trying to cover her own ass. "Willow, you did the healing spell on Kennedy. Remember? After she got attacked when you brought her with you to find information about the ultimate evil that's trying to kill us all?"

Carter raised his eyebrows at Willow, who shifted uncomfortably and tried a smile on her face before letting it slip away. The witch quickly glared at Dawn, whose eyes went wide with realization. "Crap," She muttered before motioning to the dining room. "Hey, check it out…books. Who would've thought?"

Making a quick exit, Dawn left Willow and Carter standing in a very awkward silence. Willow knew that she should be the one to initiate some type of explanation for her lying, but her high school spaz self was starting to resurface and she was tripping over every word she tried to verbalize. "You're a witch then?" Carter asked with an unsure tone.

Willow shrugged. "Yeah, sorry about the lying," she apologized. "It's just…I wasn't all that sure how much knowledge you had of the supernatural, so…"

"No, I understand," Carter told her, offering a smile. "I mean, I can see it in your eyes that you care about Kenny and if you performed the spell then it had to have been important. It's just weird…seeing Kennedy so helpless and vulnerable."

Carter was now watching Kennedy and Willow turned to watch her as well. She couldn't help the smile that crept on her face as she watched her girlfriend. However, she was still pained knowing that she was the reason that Kennedy was asleep. Carter walked into her line of vision and headed for Kennedy, stopping before the couch and looking down at the candles.

"Oh, you know, just be careful," Willow warned as she followed Carter into the living room. "Those candles are a part of the spell. Disturbing them could hurt Kennedy."

"I see," he said, keeping his eyes on Kennedy and moving around the candles and taking a seat on the edge of the couch. "Wouldn't want to hurt her."

"No," Willow agreed, even though she had done just that. "Don't wanna hurt Kennedy."

Carter nodded along with Willow before taking Kennedy's hand in his own and smiling at his little sister. "I don't mean to be rude, what with being a guest in this home," Carter began, not taking his eyes off Kennedy. "Could I have a minute…with her?"

"Yeah, of…of course," she reluctantly agreed as she began to back out of the living room. "Um, I'm just…you know, a room away."

Kennedy's brother made some kind of a nod and didn't even pay attention to Willow as she slipped into the dining room, locking eyes with Dawn who wore a look of worry and confusion. "You're trusting that guy?" she asked in a hushed, urgent tone. "I mean, alone…with Kennedy? Has she ever mentioned having an older brother before?"

Willow shook her head. "She never really went into specifics about brothers or sisters," Willow answered, following her train of thought out loud. "Well, she mentioned a half sister before, but nothing about a brother. I don't think we're in any real danger yet, though."

"OK, you know you jinxed yourself, right?" Dawn told her as they both ran into the living room. Willow's eyes blew past Carter and began to scan Kennedy. She looked fine, physically, so why did Carter call them in.

"What happened? What's going on?" Willow asked, taking her eyes off Kennedy briefly to look at Carter. He wasn't looking back at her, though. Carter wasn't even looking at Kennedy. He was looking down at the candles.

"You were nineteen years old, had more training than any other slayer in waiting had before you, and on top of all that you were frustrated. Wondering why the slayer wasn't dead already, if you were going to live your whole life as just a potential.

"I mean, you gave up everything. Left your life behind for your destiny and all you ended up doing was working at a local Y, training in every free second you had, and getting beaten by evil that you couldn't face because you never got your powers.

Kennedy could still hear her scream echoing in the background while Tara's narration floated like a heavenly voice on top of it. In it's own, twisted way, it was beautiful; very ironic, but beautiful because of Tara's gentle, goddess-like presence.

The detail that caused her reaction, that led to Tara's quick background fill in, was the fact that Kennedy didn't lie when she said Cedric had been torn apart. His body parts, cut into little pieces, were haphazardly spread through the common area of the apartment while the walls and most of the furniture were painted red with Cedric's blood.

Until then, Kennedy didn't know how much blood could have been drained from a person. What happened that day, what she came back to, wasn't a slaughter or a murder…it was art. Someone's masterpiece and she hated it with such a fiery passion that she couldn't stand to just sit still and relive this moment all over again.

"I never should have left," Kennedy thought out loud, telling herself just as much as she was telling Tara. "If I hadn't left-"

"Then the bringers would have had enough blood and body parts to cover the whole apartment?" Tara ventured, stopping Kennedy in her tracks. "Everything happens for a reason, Kennedy."

"I know, but this?" Kennedy said, frustrated, as she moved into the mess and threw her arms up, motioning towards the room. "This has a greater reason behind it? How can it? How can his death happen…what's it's greater reason?"

This was all way too much. Kennedy knew her emotions would be highly on edge, but seeing this all over again. Being in this space and having some entity tell you that it happened for a reason…Kennedy tried to forget this moment, but now she knew she could never ever do that.

Tara's brow furrowed as Kennedy broke down, not being able to hold back the emotion that threatened to pour out. She dropped down to her knees and buried her face in her hands. Tara lowered herself next to Kennedy and pulled the potential into an embrace. "Just let it out," she whispered soothingly as she stroked Kennedy's hair. "Stop repressing these memories, it's not good for you."

"I just…" Kennedy began, but stopped to choke back a sob before continuing. "I can't stop myself from thinking that this was my fault. That if I could've done one thing differently…"

"It wouldn't have mattered," Tara told her gently. "Whatever's responsible with what we do, our destiny's, chose for this to happen. You can't mess with those things. All you can do is accept it and learn to go on living."

"I was living," Kennedy said as the front door opened and she watched herself enter the apartment and immediately crumple to the floor. "I had moved on…and now I have to see this all over again."

The bringers came out suddenly: three of them, coming from different places in the apartment, and all of them toting sharp knives. They lunged at Kennedy, ready to do to her what they did to Cedric, but someone stopped them.

Giles appeared, and took one of the bringers out right away with a crossbow. The arrow fired, connected, and then he dropped the instrument on the floor and pulled a knife out of his belt. He held it out, letting one of the bringers run straight into it before punching the last bringer several times.

It fell to the ground, dazed and bloody, as Giles picked up it's own knife and swung it down into the bringer. The knife clattered to the ground as he took out a cloth from his pocket and wiped his brow. "Kennedy?" he asked gently as he crouched down in front of the potential.

Kennedy didn't respond, just looked back at Giles as he got that she was in shock and helped her up while he introduced himself. "I'm Rupert Giles," He said warmly. "And I'm afraid you're in terrible danger."

Giles led her out of the apartment, and Kennedy watched as herself from only a few months ago looked back at the apartment one last time before allowing herself to be pulled out. "From that moment, you repressed it," Tara said matter-of-factly. "You were never even given a chance to mourn for him, a person you considered a father."

"There was no time," Kennedy responded. "Giles filled me in right away and before I knew it me, Molly, and Annabelle were on a plane heading for Sunnydale."

Kennedy furrowed her brow and looked at Tara with a questioning look. "Your time…?"

"Is over," she confirmed as she grabbed Kennedy's hands and rose to her feet, pulling Kennedy up after her. "You still have two more ghosts and a few more things from your past to deal with."

Kennedy opened her mouth to say something, but what do you say in this type of situation? "Loss for words?" Tara laughed. "But you're so annoyingly out spoken."

"Just…it was really nice to meet you," Kennedy said, finding her voice. "I'm sorry about what happened to you. I…"

"It's OK, you don't have to say anything else," Tara told Kennedy as she smiled warmly before starting to slowly fade away. "It might take a while for the next spirit, but good luck in your journeys, Kennedy."

Then she was gone, and Kennedy was alone, waiting for the next ghost to lead her through her next set of memories.

"That's new…" Willow muttered as the smoke from the blown out candle twirled around in the air.

"What does it mean?" Carter asked as he looked up at Willow and Dawn. "Is it…is it part of the spell?"

"I guess…I mean, I don't even know about the spell that I-" Willow started explaining before noticing Carter's furrowed brow and shifting the direction of her explanation. "Yes, it is a part of the spell that I have been doing for quite some time now, on many different people."

Dawn opened her mouth, ready to contradict Willow, but was silenced by Willow's hand shooting up in front of her face. Getting the hint, Dawn turned and exited into the dining room as Willow slowly followed her while still facing Carter.

"We just…there's some work to be done, so we're gonna," Willow said, motioning to the dining room. "Just, remember, mind the candles and if you get hungry or something…well, actually I don't think there's much food, but we can rummage for some or-"

"I appreciate it, thanks," he cut her off in a polite and gentle manner. "I just…it's been a while since I've seen Kenny, so…even if she's asleep just wanna have my time, you know?"

Looking sadly at Kennedy, Willow slowly nodded before shutting the doors behind her, closing herself off from Kennedy. "So…anything about that spell involve candles blowing out by themselves?" Dawn asked, causing Willow to jump slightly and turn to face her.

Willow shrugged as she went to retrieve the book. "Well, kinda just realized what was going on," Willow confessed as she scanned the spell with her new found knowledge of what had to have been going on with Kennedy. "Maybe looking at the spell from a new angle will help."

"I still don't trust that guy," Dawn confessed in a hush tone as she came and sat next to Willow. "I mean…he's all…polite and stuff."

"You can't tell me that this guy doesn't give you the heebie jeebies?" Dawn shot back. "I mean, even if he is Kennedy's brother…he's still creepy."

"Fine, he's getting a ten on the ick factor," Willow agreed. "But we've got more important things to figure out like…"

The words fell short as Willow continued to scan the spell. Her face dropped and her brow furrowed. "Huh." She muttered as she looked at the closed off living room and back to the spell.

"We have to figure out," Willow began before swallowing the lump in her throat. "Why this spell doesn't mention anything about candles…and why I used them. There shouldn't be candles, Dawn.

No sooner had Tara left then Kennedy was blown back by another unseen force and landed to the ground with a hard thud. "Uh, I'm getting really tired of getting knocked on my ass," She muttered as she propped herself up on her elbows. "I'm tired of this spell, I'm tired of being able to see my repressed memories and working through them…"

For the first time in her rant, Kennedy took in her surroundings. If she could feel the ground, it'd be moist do to the freshly wet grass. The drizzling rain passed right through her, even though Kennedy blinked when she looked up to see it falling down from the sky.

Kennedy pushed herself off and brushed off her clothes…an old corporeal habit.

"Graveyard," Kennedy muttered as she pushed herself up and looked around at the headstones. "Great…my favorite places."

"Oh come on," a voice called out to her. Kennedy's eyes went wide, instantly recognizing the masculine voice. Her heart began to ache instantly as she turned and saw one of the last people she expected. "You know you always tried to sneak me off into graveyards every Halloween, Kenny. Tryin to get me into trouble with mom and dad…"

Sure enough, it was her brother. His dark brown hair was slicked into spikes as his deep brown eyes bounced the moonlight off of them. Carter smiled at Kennedy, and said, "You ready for round two?"

Carter pushed the hair off of Kennedy's neck and behind her shoulders. The urge was getting harder to fight. He was still fairly new at the whole vampire game, but he knew what was at stake and he wasn't going to screw it up.

Not to mention the fact that if he did bite his little sister his ass would be dust. Carter pushed the sound of Kennedy's pulse away and pulled his hand away from her neck. He couldn't tear his eyes away, however. The blue veins that ran under Kennedy's olive skin weren't all that visible, but he knew exactly where they were and he knew the right way to bite them so that he would get more blood flow.

"Focus." He growled at himself as he looked back at the closed double doors. Even though they were in a completely other room, he felt their pulses as well, and he could hardly wait until the time would come when he could let loose and have himself a feast.

The house was prime with supple flesh to eat and warm blood to drink. Pretty girls to turn…as well as his little sister. Carter just had to wait for his orders to change before he could feed.

Him being here, being her guide, it meant that he was dead. Her brother had died. "This must be a bit of a shock, huh Kenny?" Carter said as he stepped closer, but Kennedy stepped back automatically.

"And the understatement of the year award goes to…" she shot back, trying to do anything to make this easier to deal with.

As it was, Kennedy had long stopped thinking about her brother as much as she had when she was little and he was just sent away from her. Carter was her best friend; her protector and she loved him so much.

"Look…I know you must have questions-" Carter began, but was cut off by Kennedy's question.

Carter chuckled at her straightforwardness and smiled softly at her. "Not too long ago," he answered quietly. "It was fast…but that's all I really remember about it."

Kennedy violently shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut, turning completely away from Carter. She thought she could do this, deal with the fact that Carter was dead and talk to him about it, but she wasn't that strong.

"Again, I know this must be shocking for you, Kenny," Carter started gently and, although she couldn't see him, Kennedy knew he was coming closer to her. "Believe me, I was sure as hell shocked, but you have to try and be calm."

"Calm?!?!" Kennedy exploded, rounding on her brother. "You're freakin dead, Carter! You're…God…Oh, God…"

Tears stung her eyes, and this time the shock of seeing her brother was too much to control her emotions. Not only did she break down, but her knees failed to support her body and she crumbled to the cemetery ground as the rain still pulsated on the ground…passing right through her. Carter was there in an instant, never hesitating, pulling her body to his.

Instinctively, Kennedy's arms clung to his body. If they weren't both just essences at the moment, Kennedy was sure that her brother's oxygen would be in serious danger. It had been so long since Kennedy had seen, let alone hugged, her brother.

Hell, she had been non-corporeal for so long that any time she could touch something or someone, she never wanted to stop. Kennedy reveled in the contact with Carter; and, letting her mind slip momentarily away from the current situation, she thought about Willow and how badly she wanted to touch her. He hissed quietly in her ear as he stroked her hair. "It's OK…" he whispered. "I'm here now. Shhh…it's OK."

"No," Kennedy said forcefully as she sniffed back a few tears, regaining her control of her emotions while still keeping a firm hold on Carter. "You're dead…it's not OK. Nothing is OK. You're gonna lead me on another wacky, freaky tour of my messed up past and then you'll disappear again."

Carter laughed, and Kennedy closed her eyes, smiling at the memory of her brother's laugh. "You got the drill down, don't you?" he chuckled. "That other ghost must have been good, getting all the info out of the way and all."

"So…you do know all about what's going on here," Kennedy told him as she pulled back slightly to look up at him. "Three ghosts, healing my emotional scars, blah, blah, blah."

"Yep, they kinda have to tell you when your essence is gonna be on a job like this," Carter told her with a smile. "Until now I was just sitting around, watching everything. Now it's all, 'Oh, big job! Help your sister! Show her things…some things you don't wanna see, but you gotta help her.'"

"Don't sound too excited about seeing me or anything," Kennedy teased as Carter pulled away, indicating that they should stand up, or just untangle from each other.

"You know what I mean." Carter responded sincerely once they were on their feet.

"I do," she agreed. "Just seeing you…Let's just say, these past few months have been a roller coaster of emotions."

Carter's smile brightened a little as he playfully punched Kennedy's arm. "Yeah, you with the new girlfriend and everything."

"I tend to switch over to other people when you and the red head start to go at it," he told her as he furrowed his brow. "And, as much as I just wanna catch up, I think we both know that we can't."

Kennedy nodded. It was true, there was work to be done and Kennedy wanted to get it done so she could get back to her red head. There was still the little girl inside, though, that just wanted to be with her big brother. Kennedy knew life wasn't fair, and that sometimes it was Bitchy McBitch from Bitchdonia, but this just reinforced all this.

Carter sighed as he slung his arm around her shoulder and pulled her towards him. "That's one of those secrets of the universe that I'm not allowed to disclose on my little visit. It's just the cycle, Kenny. The stuff life is made of."

"Very original," Carter shot back sarcastically. "But, back to the actual job, you have to know where we are by now."

The potential hesitated and looked around before nodding and confirming that she did know where they were. "Cornerstone Cemetery," she answered, a twinge of bitterness in her voice. "Witness to many kicking's of my ass."

"And which ass kicking is this?" Carter asked with raised eyebrows as he looked ahead into the darkness. Kennedy, who was watching her brother, had turned to follow his gaze. A big, bulky figure began to take better shape and get closer and closer to them.

Kennedy's eyes grew wide with a mixture of fear and remembrance of a thing that had terrorized her time in London. "Oh God," she choked out; going back to the fear she had felt for most of her young adult life of this creature. "Vladimir."

The blazing, yellow eyes twinkled underneath the distorted, lumpy forehead as he huffed his way towards them. He stopped close to Carter and Kennedy, scanning the graveyard and inhaling deeply through his nose. Kennedy's memory was coming back to her, and she looked over to her left.

Sure enough, Kennedy saw herself crouched behind a headstone. She was curled into a small ball, hugging herself closely, clinging to a stake, and muttering something inaudible under her breath. "What are you saying to yourself?" Carter asked her.

"I'm saying," Kennedy began as she watched Vladimir pick up her scent and stalk towards the grave she was hidden behind. "I wish I were a slayer…over and over again."

The vampire launched himself over the headstone, and tuck rolled on to the ground, landing right in front of Kennedy. She was barely fifteen for a day and she had to deal with this vampire. Kennedy screamed, uncurling her body and connecting her legs with the vampire's stomach.

With all of her strength, Kennedy pushed her legs forward and sent Vladimir back a few feet. It gave her an opportunity to get away, but Vladimir was older, faster, and stronger. A kick in the stomach wasn't going to be enough to get herself away from him.

He caught up with her and stopped her running by grabbing her neck and yanking her body back towards his. "Did you really think you could get away from me?" Vladimir whispered in Kennedy's ear. His breath was warm against her neck and she shivered right before the vampire ran his rough tongue up her neck.

"God…I knew you would taste spicy," he growled as he inhaled the scent of her hair. "You're so tough and enticing, Kennedy. I have to admit, the chasing was good…but it gets old after a while."

"So, are you gonna keep making sick references to how I taste or are you gonna kill me?" Kennedy responded, her voice a little cracked seeing as how the vampire's hand was firmly wrapped around her neck. "Cause, gotta say, I'd much rather just have you kill me before listening to you for another second."

"Well, nice to know we're on the same page," he whispered as Kennedy felt his teeth scrape against her neck. "I've been waiting along time for this, Kennedy. Even more so since I could almost taste you on that girlfriend of yours I ate before."

"Shut the fuck up." Kennedy growled as her hands shot up to the hand grasping her throat. Getting a nice, firm, and completely running on adrenalin hold on the vampire, Kennedy cried out and pulled him over her head and on to his back.

Instead of starting anything with him, despite how much she wanted to at the moment, she remembered the one thing Cedric had taught her about slaying: don't die. It was the number one rule, and this was one time Kennedy was sure she didn't want to rebel against the rules.

Running faster than she ever remembered running before, Kennedy shot out of the cemetery, looking back over her shoulder to make sure Vladimir hadn't recovered. He hadn't, and Kennedy had managed to get into a part of the city that was populated with people.

That's where Kennedy and Carter were suddenly, watching her younger self lean against a lamppost and catching her breath. "Kennedy?" a voice ripped through the air. It was Cedric; both Kennedy's realized it right away and looked up to see Cedric running over to her.

Cedric moved the umbrella he was carrying so that it was covering Kennedy, who looked like she had just been thrown in a pool. "Where have you been? You know Vladimir has been stalking around Cornerstone," He told her sternly, but stopped suddenly and pulled her close to him. "He found you, didn't he?"

The younger Kennedy nodded guiltily, avoiding looking directly at her watcher. "Well, I'm glad you're alright."

Kennedy pulled her collar back a bit, revealing the scratch that Vladimir's teeth had caused on her neck. Without saying anything else, Cedric just hugged Kennedy closer and began to walk back to their apartment.

"Despite all the bad things happening with the vampire, it's nice to know you had someone there," Carter commented. "Speaking strictly as a big brother, I wish it was me there. That Cedric guy, though, he's a nice substitute."

"Not all the time, though…right Kenny?" Carter said as their surroundings shifted and they were standing in the middle of a club.

Kennedy rolled her eyes, instantly remembering the moment that Carter was now showing them. "Great." She muttered.

The music changed beat, but it was still pretty intense. Kennedy loved clubs, and not just because the sea of hot girls. The music was intoxicating and one of the most incredible highs she ever felt. This was exactly what she needed.

"Might wanna close your eyes," Kennedy told Carter as she watched herself dance and scan the crowd with her confidence. "I'm looking to get lucky."

"Too much information." Carter replied as he shoved his hands in his pockets and tried to look elsewhere.

Normally, when Kennedy had some excess energy to work off or when she was frustrated, like now, she'd train or something. She'd tried doing that, but it wasn't working so she decided to do this.

As her body twisted and swayed with loud beat, Kennedy scanned the crowd. She did this in a cool manner, though. If she looked around and lingered on one girl too long, they'd know she was desperate.

Confidence was key. Keeping her focus up, that was how she learned to master the game.

Almost like slaying, she thought to herself as one tall, leggy blonde made eye contact with her. Kennedy immediately looked away, acting like she was looking past her as opposed to at her.

Keeping your guard up, while making your prey believe that they are the hunter and you are the hunted. Kennedy knew the role she played, however. She was always the hunter…ess.

Sure, Kennedy had the confidence of it all, but she had another advantage: she looked innocent, and that was like a magnet.

That and the mix of confidence made her the most desirable girl in the whole club. Kennedy kept dancing, but she closed her eyes and she still knew that everyone was looking at her.

Kennedy opened her eyes, eager to see who was dancing around her and who she would end up leaving the club with, but what she got was totally unexpected.

"Cedric?" Kennedy exclaimed as she sighed and grabbed his arm, tugging him hard off the dance floor and over to the bar. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Busted." Carter said as he nudged Kennedy, who wasn't fazed and kept her eyes glued to the scene playing out in front of them.

Her watcher got stiff as he looked around, taking in the surroundings. Kennedy prepared for Cedric's speech; because this was one of the more racier clubs that London had to offer.

"I could ask you the same thing, young lady," he replied, or yelled back over the music, as a couple girls walked by him, pointing and laughing. "And, that is exactly what I am doing. Asking you, that is."

"Let's look at the facts here, Cedric," Kennedy started off, carrying her voice over the loud pulse of the music. "This is a gay bar…more importantly, a lesbian bar. I, in turn, am gay. What with being a gay woman, I am a lesbian. Hence, here I am."

Kennedy smiled up at him, but all she got back was one of Cedric's famous stern looks. "That's very humorous, Kennedy, but right now, I need you to come with me." He shouted to her.

One of he girls that Kennedy had her eyes on was still looking at her from the dance floor. Kennedy heard what Cedric had said and all, but this girl was whispering to her with her clear eyes and who was she to not pay attention?

"Yeah, great, Cedric, I totally agree," Kennedy responded, ashamed a little to admit that she hadn't been paying attention. "Just so we're clear though, maybe you should, I dunno, repeat what you just said."

Cedric was way smarter than that, though. He looked back to the dance floor, where Kennedy imagined the blonde was still looking her way. After all, she still had her confidence up. "We're leaving, Kennedy." Cedric told her as he grabbed her arm.

It wasn't like him, though. He was really pissed and squeezing her arm to the point where she winced and pushed him away with her other hand. Kennedy furrowed her brow in thought after she watched Cedric stumble back a good distance.

"Don't you ever talk to me or grab me like that again," Kennedy yelled. "I may just be a potential but I am way stronger than you and way more able to kick your ass."

"I apologize about the grabbing, however, there is serious danger going on, Kennedy," he shouted as he folded his arms over his chest. "Serious danger that merits your expertise in fighting."

Kennedy knitted her brows, "Why can't you just say that there's some vampire or demon I need to fight, Cedric? God, Brits drag everything out!"

He opened his mouth to responded, but stopped and actually thought about her question. "Look, think about it all you want, Cedric, I'm not leaving." Kennedy told him as she headed back to the dance floor.

Cedric ran forward and stepped in front of her, holding his hands up, a clear sign that he was not touching her. "I'm not touching you, Kennedy, but do you want me to ask you to come with me without being, well how you say, British?" he asked her gently.

Kennedy shook her head. "It's not about that, Cedric," she told him. "Why don't you go get the slayer over here to take care of her business? I'm just a potential, and it's all I'm ever going to be because this current girl just refuses to freakin die."

"I know that you," Cedric started, but paused not really too sure what to say to her. "You are so much more than just a potential, Kennedy. The girl I had before you, God bless her, she was amazing, but nothing compared to you. You are different.

With a sigh, Kennedy shook her head, "Do you even mean that? When you say I'm different, you like have to say it or something, right?"

He just smiled at her as he held his hand out. Kennedy looked back to the dance floor and turned to Cedric with a smile as she put her hand in his. "Remember what I've told you before, I'm not sure if you do remember anything I say, but patience-"

"Is a virtue," Kennedy finished as she and Cedric walked out of the club. "You've only told me about a million times Cedric. Also, this whole vampire or demon thing better be really really dangerous cause I was about to get some major play."

"It's Vladimir, actually," Cedric told her reluctantly. "There have been a couple bodies found outside of Somersby Cemetery. Vladimir's handiwork, no doubt."

"OK, I'm gonna stop you right there, then," Kennedy said as she yanked her hand out of his and turned back towards the dance floor. "I think many scars, people that I'm close with being killed, and previous broken bones have prove that I can't take on Vladimir. This really is a slayers job."

Cedric ran in front of her again, standing in her way of the dance floor and the blonde that was still eyeing her up, even though Kennedy had turned off the confidence a while ago. "Both of us will be able to take him," Cedric said, having apparently sucked all the confidence from her. "We can finally stop Vladimir, stop the suffering he's caused us for all these years, Kennedy."

Kennedy sighed, looking beyond Cedric at the girl that she could be spending some quality groping time with as opposed to trying to slay her slight arch nemesis vampire. She knew what she had to do, but Kennedy was a little…well, it had been a while and there were other ways to relieve the tension she was feeling.

"Fine, I'm in," she told him as she turned and led the way out of the club. "You better pray to God, though, that that blonde is still here when I kick the dust out of Vladimir."

"Vladimir again, huh?" Carter asked as the club disappeared and they began to travel to wherever they were going next. "He gave you a hard time."

Kennedy nodded along with Carter, freezing when they were now standing in the middle of a street in London, watching the huge vampire kick Kennedy in the stomach, sending her flying a few good feet.

"Whoa, what do you mean about the candles?" Dawn asked as she went and stood over near Willow. "I thought you said they were part of the spell."

"I did," Willow insisted. "I mean, I assumed they were. I still…I just can't remember why I used them, why I thought they were a part of the spell."

Dawn furrowed her brow, looking down at the spell's required ingredients and seeing for herself that there was no mention of candles. "So…doesn't that mean we can just blow them out?"

"No," Willow said forcefully and then stopping immediately and tried regaining her composure. "I mean…yes, in theory, but something bigger made me use those candles. There's something else behind this. I think The First, or something evil, has a hand in this."

"Ha!" Dawn shouted, but composed herself and looked away from Willow's glare. "I mean…I was right and stuff, but it's still horrible. Is there a way to find out for sure though?"

Shaking her head slightly, Willow's mind was deep in thought. Mentally scanning her brain, looking for something that could be done right now to help remedy the situation. That's when it hit her: scanning minds, looking around.

"I think I may have something." Willow said as a smile began to pull at her lips.

The impact hurt a lot more than she thought it would. After the pain wore off, Kennedy felt the sting of her two recently broken ribs as she tried to push herself off the ground. It was tough, but luckily Kennedy was that stubborn brat that always got what she wanted. Aside from getting up off the ground, the one thing she wanted was Vladimir dead.

Kennedy remained low, even though she was on her feet. Vladimir was closing in, his low chuckle echoing in the cold night air. Reaching forward, Kennedy grabbed the crossbow that had been knocked out of her grasp. Wrapping her hand tightly around the handle, Kennedy turned quickly and swung it around with a primal, battle cry.

The end of the crossbow slammed into Vladimir's jaw, the end of the arrow in the bolt slashing his face as it passed. He howled in pain, clutching his face and crouching low. Kennedy smiled to herself, despite the injuries and pain, and took the opportunity she had made for herself.

The potential swung the crossbow again, connecting it with his face and sending him flying on to his back with a heavy thud. He grunted, and began to push himself up, but Kennedy was there and she shot the arrow in her bolt. It embedded itself into Vladimir's shoulder and he growled and fell on to his back.

"Damn," Kennedy muttered as she took another arrow from her bag and quickly loaded it into her crossbow, her eyes never leaving Vladimir. "I always miss the first time around. I have good aim, though. So, this is how it ends, huh Vlad?"

Kennedy raised her crossbow, taking aim as the vampire propped himself up on his elbows. She shrugged and fired the arrow, but Vladimir was faster than she thought. No sooner had she fired the arrow, Vladimir was on his feet, rushing forward and ignoring the arrow that connected close to where Kennedy had shot the other one.

He reached out and grabbed Kennedy by the throat, harshly yanking her forward and off of her feet. "Yeah," he laughed before throwing her back on to the ground. Before she could even think about getting up, Vladimir's weight was on top of her, immobilizing her. "Looks like this is how it ends."

"Should have stuck with the blonde." Kennedy muttered as she struggled trying to find a way to get the upper hand on Vladimir, but he had covered his tracks pretty well. He smiled down at her, fangs dripping with saliva.

Grabbing Kennedy's bag, he dug through her weapons, looking for the right one to use. "Cedric!" she screamed over Vladimir's laughs. Her cry echoed through the night air and she looked around to see if she could see him at all. She knew Vladimir had knocked him away, but that was all she knew. Cedric could be dead and all her cries were for nothing.

"Cedric!" she tried again, still receiving no verbal response, but Vladimir's fist pounded her jaw. The blow didn't knock her out, but Kennedy suspected that wasn't the vampire's intention. The knife he pulled out bounced the light from the lampposts on to her face and Vladimir smiled at the weapon, turning it over in his hands and running it up and down Kennedy's neck.

"I promised that I would make this as slow and excruciating as possible, Kennedy," Vladimir hissed as he bent forward and took in the scent of her neck. "And who am I to disappoint?"

That being said, Vladimir took the knife and shoved it into Kennedy's left side. She yelled in pain, feeling the life begin to slowly drain out of her. "Oh, I never get tired of hearing you scream," Vladimir commented as he gripped the handle and drove the blade deeper inside Kennedy.

The taste of copper rushed into her mouth and she felt it hard to get air down her throat. Kennedy coughed; hacking up some blood that began to slowly find it's way into her mouth. "Cedric." Kennedy managed, but it was barely above a whisper.

"Not tonight, Sweetheart," Vladimir whispered. "Now, it's just you, me, and death covering you like a blanket."

The vampire didn't even have the chance to turn around before Cedric brought his ax down on to Vladimir's back. The vampire howled in pain, letting go of the knife that was still embedded inside Kennedy.

Using the best of her second opportunity, Kennedy gritted her teeth, shot her hand out and gripped the one arrow sticking out of Vladimir's left shoulder. Kennedy yanked it out, and the vampire howled again, turning his attention back to Kennedy.

That was what she waited for, Vladimir facing death by her hands. With all the strength she could muster, Kennedy drove the arrow into Vladimir's chest. His eyes went wide with shock before his body turned gray and exploded all over her. The sudden lack of weight and the dust circling around her caused Kennedy to cough more, but she couldn't move because it hurt too much. The knife was still in her side, and she felt as if she were still slipping further and further away from this life.

"Kennedy!" she heard Cedric call out as she felt the vibrations of his footsteps running towards her. The watcher dropped to his knees, shoving his jacket under Kennedy's head as gently and as quickly as possible.

The whole thing was hard to watch again. Kennedy's hand instinctively went to her side. She still had a scar there, and every time Kennedy had to shower or went out for a run, the scar was there for the world to see. So far, no one really noticed it; but she always noticed it.

"Why so sad, Kenny?" Carter asked, nudging her slightly with his elbow. "We both know how this whole thing turns out. Unless, you know, you're dead for real or something."

"I'm not dead," Kennedy replied. "But…you can't understand. Cedric, he helped me, saved me, and when he was murdered, there was nothing I could do. It's not fair; he's done so much for me in my life. I should have died right there."

Carter smiled to himself, like he had some inside joke that Kennedy wasn't in on. He moved on though, before she had the chance to give the feeling anymore thought. "Life ain't fair, Kenny," he told her as he watched Cedric look over Kennedy, check her vitals, apply pressure to the wound, cry. "I mean, I died, that's not fair. I think I have a pretty good idea, too, about what it's like to die and then be brought back."

Kennedy arched an eyebrow at Carter, but he continued. "I've seen a lot of those kinds of movies. What I learned the most is that everything happens for a reason, Kenny. Like that," he said, pointing to Cedric leaning over Kennedy, crying out for help. "You're a survivor, Kennedy. That's the reason you made it through this."

"Cedric's the reason I made it through," Kennedy said as she shook her head. "He's the reason I got through all the tough times."

"Then how come, after he died, you still found ways to make it? To get through things, Kenny?" Carter asked as he raised his eyebrows knowingly. "From what I've seen, you've been doing pretty well."

Kennedy hung her head low, ashamed because everything that she was for the past six months was an act. She was trying her damndest to get by, and she was still barely making it through the day. Willow helped a lot, but there was a time between Cedric's death and meeting her in Sunnydale when she didn't know if she could get through the next day.

"I've been doing the best I can to make it through the day," Kennedy corrected. "I'm a sham."

"You have to stay with me, Kennedy," Cedric sobbed as he brushed her hair out of her face, gently cradling her head in his hands. "Just hold on a little longer."

The watcher looked up, seeing people gather around the street, someone pulling out a cell phone. "See?" he said gently, looking into her half-open lazy eyes. "Someone's calling for help now…you're going to be fine."

"Not…not too sure…about that," Kennedy choked out, coughing between words. "I'm…I'm sorry-"

"Shut up!" Cedric shouted, lowering his tone immediately and apologizing. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean…it's just, you're not going to die…you understand? You did well, Kennedy. You took care of Vladimir, and now you can go back to that horrid club of yours."

Kennedy laughed, which soon turned into a round of coughs as the sirens began to wail in the distance. "You better hope…" Kennedy began in a hoarse voice. "That…that, the blondes still…still there."

"See?" Kennedy told Carter, gesturing to her and Cedric. "How would I have gotten through that without him?"

"You would have gotten through," Carter told her. "It's what I'm telling you, what the other ghost tried telling you, what you have to tell yourself…you're strong, Kennedy."

The people, the arriving ambulance, the street, herself and Cedric. Trees and grass replaced the pavement, and suddenly Kennedy heard a cry from the distance. She recognized it immediately.

Kennedy turned, watched herself take a leap and tackling the fleeing vamp. She flipped him on to his back before pulling back her fists and hitting him in the head repeatedly, over and over again.

The way she was, her manner in dealing with the vampire, perfectly illustrated how she felt inside: hunting down the demons and monsters, killing them, vengeance. Over and over again, night after night, face after every different face, it didn't matter. Before going to Sunnydale, Kennedy trained and traveled a little with Mr. Giles. She killed a lot of vampires and demons in that time, knowing that they didn't kill Cedric but imagining they did anyway.

"No, it wasn't right," Kennedy told him. "I beat the shit out of them before killing them. I did it for revenge and with every vampire or demon I killed, I only needed more. It never satisfied anything. I was an emotionless machine."

Carter furrowed his brow, "The bad guys died because of you? Who cares if you beat the crap out of them before killing them? They still end up as dust."

"It was killing me, Carter," Kennedy told him forcefully. "That's no way to live."

"Maybe, but look at how strong you are," Carter told her as he turned Kennedy's head so that she could look at the scene. Kennedy had just pulled back her fist, and it was covered in blood. Kennedy examined it, not sure if it was the vampire's blood or her own from punching him so many times.

Either way, she took out her stake and twirled it in her hands a few times as she looked down at the vampire. It was dazed and confused, still conscious but not too aware of what was going on. Kennedy looked down at the vampire in disgust. She spit on the vampire's face before lifting the stake and ramming it into the vamp's chest.

Kennedy fell to the ground as the vampire turned to dust underneath her. The potential patted herself down, remaining knelt on the ground a little while longer with a cold, distant look in her eyes.

"It takes a strong person to keep going after all you've been through, Kenny," Carter told her. "You were, and still are, just a normal girl. You maybe a whiz on the crossbow and have an equivalent to a black belt, but there's no slayer strength, speed, or senses inside of you yet. Look at all you accomplished…who the hell put all that stuff in your head that told you what you were doing was wrong?"

Kennedy furrowed her brow at Carter. What he was saying…it sounded wrong somehow. It couldn't be, though. The spell…it couldn't be wrong. "Why are you saying these things?" she asked Carter, confusion laced in her tone. "Is this what you're supposed to help me with?"

"You're hurt because you felt that what you did to those demons was wrong," Carter told her. "I'm here to help heal your wounds, Kenny. I'm doing my job, building up your strength."

Carter stood behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders, smiling to himself as he playfully shook his sister. "How could it be wrong, Kennedy?"

He could feel her giving in, and he knew it was only a matter of time, and one more ghost before Kennedy accepted what they were feeding her. "I guess it can't," she replied. "I mean, Willow did the spell. I guess this is how it should be playing out."

"It's playing out perfectly." Carter told her with a devilish smile on his face that Kennedy couldn't see.

The doors separating the dining room from the living room was pulled open by Willow, and Carter retracted his hand from Kennedy. He had been tracing the veins on his little sister's neck, fighting the urges. He was still relatively new to this type of life, and it was his nature to kill, to feed. Carter didn't have a good grip on his control.

Willow eyed him suspiciously, but he just gave her a big, polite smile. She didn't know anything, and that's how it was gonna stay until he got the word to do otherwise. "Everything OK?" he asked, acting casual.

"Still working things out," she told him honestly. "I just…actually I was wondering if you'd be willing to give me a minute with Kennedy?"

Carter looked down at Kennedy before shrugging and pushing himself off the sofa. "Yeah, not a problem," he told her. "Just, in all curiosity and all, you doin anything spell wise?"

Willow just shrugged, acting casual herself as she lied, "Not at the moment. Just…was wondering if you'd be willing to maybe let me have a turn. I mean, I'm sure you're tired from your travels, or whatever."

"Well, no I'm fine," Carter told her with a knowing smile. "But I'd be willing to let you have a little alone time with Kenny. Gotta make sure everyone has a turn."

Nodding, Willow walked over and took the seat that Carter had been sitting in. She looked back at Carter, an uncomfortable look on her face. "So…" she said as she smiled and shifted her head from side to side.

Getting the hint, Carter chuckled and clapped his hands together. "Kitchen's this way, right?" he asked with raised eyebrows.

Willow nodded and kept her eyes on him as he backed out of the living room, clicking his tongue and pointing at Willow before disappearing into the kitchen. "OK, little creepy." She muttered to herself as Dawn poked her head into the living room.

"Just…if he tries to come in, keep him busy," she told Dawn as she looked over her shoulder and towards the kitchen. "I don't really want him to see what's gonna happen."

Dawn went to leave, but stopped and looked at Willow with concern in her eyes. "You know, Willow, aside from the spell you did on Kennedy, what your attempting is big," Dawn told her. "I mean, even before you went all dark you were worried about doing this spell to Buffy."

The words weighed heavy on the witch's shoulders, but when she looked down at Kennedy, she knew she couldn't hesitate. "I have to try, Dawnie." Willow responded as she looked up at Dawn and gave her a reassuring smile.

This was it, just Willow and Kennedy now. Taking deep breaths, Willow grabbed Kennedy's hand and laced their fingers together. "Just wanted to apologize ahead of time," Willow whispered. "I mean…first I do this spell on you, now I'm gonna invade your head. Just…you know, sorry."

With one last look at Kennedy, Willow closed her eyes and concentrated. The spell she was doing, the mind walk, was tricky. There wasn't a real art or technique to doing this, just concentrating and hoping that when your eyes open your where you want to be.

She felt a slight jolt of power surge through her and Willow's eyes shot open. Willow gasped for air and coughed a bit as she placed a hand on her chest, trying to calm herself. Well, she wasn't in the house. She wasn't sure if she was in Sunnydale, all she knew that she was in some kind of park. Willow looked around not sure about what was going on or where she was exactly.

Kennedy kept her eyes on Willow, breaking away from Carter's grasp and taking a couple of steps forward. "You see it too?" Kennedy asked Carter, not taking her eyes off Willow who was staring back at her. "I mean…her. Willow. It can't be…"

They were pretty close now, looking only at each other with soft, cautious smiles on their faces. Kennedy was afraid that it wasn't really Willow, and Willow not sure what was actually going on with Kennedy right now.

"Is it really you?" Kennedy asked quietly as she reached her hand out to grab Willow's. When she connected their hands, brushing her fingers over Willow's, Kennedy's smile brightened and she threw caution into the wind and threw her arms around the witch's neck.

After getting over the shock, Willow's arms wrapped around Kennedy's waist and pulled the girl closer. The potential sighed into Willow's neck. "God, I never thought I'd feel you again," she told Willow. "I missed you so much."

Not knowing what was going on, what to possibly say, Willow just hugged Kennedy close, silently comforting her. She tensed, however, and pushed Willow away suddenly with wide eyes. "Wait…" she began, looking Willow up and down. "You're one of them. My last ghost…Oh, God! You're dead!"

"No, no," Willow said immediately as she shook her head. Kennedy was freaking out, and she had to calm her because, as far as she knew, Willow wasn't dead. "Kennedy, sweetie, I'm fine. Really, I did a spell-"

"Spell?!?!" Kennedy questioned. "Great…another spell. Saw how well the first couple did and decided to do another one?"

"Hey," Willow said defensively. "Sarcasm hurts…and this isn't a spell that can hurt you. I…I wanted to see how you were. If you were OK."

Kennedy stared back, an unreadable expression on her face. "I'm great," she said coldly. "You know, stuck in my own head, drowning in my memories, being led around by dead people, not being able to touch anything, and not knowing why. Yeah, I'm peachy."

"Look, I'm sorry, I am, I don't want you to be mad at me," Willow began as she took a couple steps forward towards Kennedy, who backed away. Willow pressed on, walking faster and snatching Kennedy's hand. "When I did this spell, I thought I was helping you, and I've spent all day trying to figure out what's happened. I have a better idea, now, but I spent all day trying to figure this out."

"Sorry," Kennedy shrugged after a moment of letting the words sink in. "You'd be surprised how much not touching anything can piss you off. Kinda getting why The First is trying to destroy everything. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

Kennedy's hand squeezed Willow's, and she reveled in the feeling of not just anyone, but Willow's hand in her own. "No, you should," Willow said in a guilty tone. "I did this spell, Kennedy, sent you here. It is my fault."

"Your heart was in the right place," Kennedy told her, calming down a bit. "That's what counts and I get that. Just…you know me, speak first ask questions later."

"It's one of you better qualities," Willow joked as her other hand reached up to push back some of Kennedy's hair. The witch stopped though, looking up and beyond Kennedy at the figure in the background.

It was Carter, staring back at Willow with daggers for eyes. Kennedy turned to look at her brother, silently wondering why he was looking at Willow the way he was. "Something isn't right." Willow said, bringing Kennedy's attention back to her.

"I have to get you out of here," Willow said urgently, ignoring Kennedy's question and pulling her away from Carter.

After getting a few steps away, Willow began to pick up her pace. Too fast to be considered walking, yet not running, with Kennedy in tow. "Willow, stop," Kennedy said as yanked hard on Willow's hand, forcing her to stop. "What the hell is going on?"

Willow opened her mouth to explain, but Carter appeared before them, shooting his arms out forward and separating the two. Kennedy and Willow stumbled back a few steps away from each other.

"You don't belong here." Carter simply told her as his hand reached out and touched Willow's forehead. She instantly disappeared and Kennedy cried out, rounding on Carter and sending her fist into his face. He flew back, landing on his back with a hard thud.

"Getting the feeling you don't belong here either," Kennedy told him as he tried to prop himself up, but she kicked him and he fell back again. "Where's Willow?"

No more than a minute after she came back, Dawn burst through the doors and knelt down beside her. "Willow? Are you OK?" Dawn asked, helping the witch into a sitting position. She rubbed her head before looking at Kennedy, then back at the kitchen.

"Dawn, you need to listen to me and just trust me, OK?" Willow said quietly and waited a second, continuing after Dawn nodded. "We have to grab Kennedy, and get out of here."

"Did you just miss the no questions part of my plan?" Willow hissed as she nodded over to Kennedy. Dawn followed, helping Willow turn the potential over before grabbing her feet, preparing herself to lift while Willow was ready with Kennedy's shoulders.

The two snapped their heads up at Carter who stood at the dining room table and had his arms crossed over his chest. "Something happen with Kennedy?" he asked in a concerned tone.

Willow knew better though, knew the truth about what he was. Or, to be more accurate, the only thing he could be after she saw him in Kennedy's head. If he was there, he was dead. If he was dead, and standing here before them, then it could only mean one thing.

"Like I said, she didn't belong here," Carter choked out, coughing a little before laughing. "So…jig is up then? I don't have the whole ghost thing working for me anymore?"

"So…what are you?" Kennedy asked. "Gotta be The First. You're into the whole tormenting thing, aren't you?"

"Can't be The First," Carter said as he kicked his leg into hers, toppling Kennedy to the ground. "Not if I can touch you anyway."

He kicked himself up off the ground in a lightening fast motion and was now straddling Kennedy, pining her arms to the ground, all of his weight on top of the potential. "I mean…could The First do this?"

"So then what are you?" Kennedy asked, stopping her struggles against her brother. "Some big bad force set upon me to royally piss me off?"

"Stupid, silly girl," Carter smiled before exhaling heavily and shrugging. "Oh, what the hell, I'm The First. Couldn't think of anything better because…well, frankly, there isn't really anything better than me."

"Just like all of you have to realize that I am everything, inside everyone," Carter told her. "You can't just get rid of me. And, pretty soon, I'll be able to take corporeal form. From there, I'll be able to carry out my own plans personally."

"Well, that's pretty simple, Kenny," Carter told her as his one hand grabbed her throat and began to squeeze. "See? I've decided to use your body. Once I kill you here, in your mind, my presence will take over your body. Congratulations, potential, you're going to be my new vessel."

Kennedy gasped, her free hand reaching to Carter's, nails digging into his flesh. He flinched, but kept on squeezing, determined. Kennedy watched him, he didn't move, blink, Carter wasn't even breathing.

That's when it hit her. She relaxed, moving her hand away from his and just lay there, staring back up at him. The squeezing continued, hurting a bit, but she didn't have to breath. Not here, not in her mind.

"Should be," Kennedy agreed as she kicked her legs up, smacking her boots on both sides of his head, causing Carter to loosen his grip and teeter slightly. Kennedy took the opportunity, and connected her fist with chest. "But I don't need to breath, dumbass." She told him as he flew off of her.

Kicking herself up on to her feet, raising her fists and preparing for Carter's inevitable attack. "Well, there's more than one way to skin a cat," He said as he pushed himself to his feet. "Besides, you're just some girl. Your body is so mine."

"I'm more than just some girl," Kennedy shot back. "What the hell kinda powers do you have? So far, all I've seen is that you have the power to show painful memories. Kill me now, stop the suffering."

"I'm The First Evil!" Carter shouted. "God! Why don't any of you people get that? I have powers you can't even dream of…you should be worshiping me!"

"Please!" Kennedy responded with a laugh. "You're all talk! How many times have we heard the whole First Evil speech? Can we please just fight and get this over with?"

"Want me to kill you faster, do you?" Carter smiled. "Guess you really are scared, huh?"

"Tired of hearing you talk, to be more accurate," Kennedy corrected. "Not to mention the fact I wanna see what you got."

Carter nodded, looked Kennedy up and down for a second before charging forward with a primal battle cry. Kennedy braced herself, preparing for his attack. Carter pushed her back, and kept with her as she stumbled back. He sent a punch to her face and then a few to her stomach before Kennedy blocked his one punch and used her free hand to punch Carter back.

He blocked her other hand, linking them together and leaving them with no other hitting options. "Looks like we're a little stuck," Carter laughed. "Matched, even?"

Kennedy shot her leg up, forcing it between them before kicking Carter back. He stumbled back, tripping over something and falling on to his back. "The fact that you suck," Kennedy told him. "The only thing you're good at is tormenting people, but it's not gonna work on me."

Growling slightly, Carter pushed himself up off the ground and eyed up Kennedy. "You know, I think you have a problem with understanding things," he told her. "I'm going to win, little girl. When your body wakes up, I'm gonna be in the driver's seat."

"Oh, jeez, get over yourself," Kennedy shot back. "You can't do anything! And, hello, we're evenly matched, and-"

Kennedy stopped, a thought dawning on her as she looked back at Carter with a curious look. "Lost the good comeback?" Carter taunted with a smirk

"Actually just kind of figuring out your plan," she told him with a smile. "You need me."

For a second, a very brief second, Carter's face fell, getting a sort of deer in the headlights look that instantly faded. "What?" he asked, keeping his cool. Kennedy knew better though.

"That's gotta be the only reason why you chose me," Kennedy explained. "You planned this all along: the books, the bringers, the spell book, Willow…All that just for me, am I right?"

"And you're telling me to get over myself?" Carter merely responded. He began to sweat, or at least looked a little nervous. "You're just a girl. A potential, sure, that makes you enough to be my vessel."

Kennedy wasn't buying it, though. She knew she was right. "You keep saying that," Kennedy observed. "Keep saying I'm just a girl. That's not true is it?"

"Why am I different than the other potentials?" Kennedy asked. "There's at least twenty other girls-"

"There whiney," Carter interrupted. "Not to mention the fact that your past is so messed up that I could just play on that."

"Fine, you want a reason?" Carter shot back. "Maybe you just had a little more potential than the other potentials. Maybe I wanted to use you to breach the slayer's inner circle. Hey, maybe I just think you're really cute and want to walk around in your hot body."

The potential shrugged. "Well, who could blame you?" she shrugged, but then stopped, something new catching her mind. "But you told me, didn't you? It's because I have more potential than the others. I'm next in line, aren't I?"

"There's no way to determine that," Carter said forcefully, emphasizing each word. "You don't know what you're playing at."

"I think I'm getting it," Kennedy said, seeing through his cover. "And I think that it's not gonna happen."

"Get away from us." Willow told Carter as she reached over and grabbed a cross off the table. Carter retracted instantly, finally setting in stone that he was a vampire. His smile shone through his fear of the cross, however, and he kept up the polite attitude he had since they met him.

"Finally figured it out then," he asked. "Took you long enough. You know, I thought the best friend and little sister of the slayer knew better than to invite strange people into a house."

"I knew it," Dawn shouted, but then fell silent. "Sorry, it's just…I'm always right and I get tired of no one listening to me."

"Well, you won't have to worry about it anymore," Carter told her. "See, after I eat you all, you won't have to worry about anyone listening."

"Get out!" Willow shouted, her voice deepening slightly. She thrust the cross forward again, this time letting a little power slip through and it crackled out of the cross. Carter jumped back more, but his smile never faltered. He was confident and cocky, and it was pissing Willow off.

"Now why would I go and do that?" he responded, shifting his gaze between Dawn and Willow before it looked past them and narrowed on Kennedy. "I still have some business to attend to."

"No, you're right, I'm not gonna touch her," Carter agreed, relaxing slightly and nodding along with Willow. "It's funny, though, thinking you're going to be able stop me. No, see, I'm gonna touch two though. I am a little parched."

Realizing that Carter was ready to attack, Willow straightened and began to push Dawn towards the door. "Get out of her," she shouted to Dawn. "Get out, find Buffy." Under normal circumstances, Willow knew that Dawn and herself could handle one vampire, but she had a hunch that with all the weird things going on, Carter wasn't just your run of the mill vampire.

Before Dawn could reach the door, Carter was grabbing her by the neck in an instant. He zipped across the room like lightening and now held on to Dawn, jerking her body back towards his and made her into a human shied. She yelped, but that was all the noise he would allow her to make.

"Not so fast, little girl," Carter said. "Can't have the slayers bursting in too early. Don't worry, I'll be playin with big sis, too. You guys just get to go first."

Everyone whipped their heads around to see Buffy at the other end of the living room, just coming back from a night of slaying with Faith and Spike backing her up. "I'm right here, we can play now." Buffy told him.

"Kennedy's brother," Willow answered. "He's a vampire. Sorry I invited him, Buffy, I didn't-"

"It's OK Will, it doesn't matter now," Buffy told her, narrowing her eyes at Carter. "There's one of him and three of us."

"Yes, and let's not forget," Carter said as he tightened his hold on Dawn's neck, causing her to grunt in pain as a reminder that he had her as a hostage. "The one of me has your sister by the neck. Now, I maybe thirsty, but I've found that I do so love the sound of a teenage girl's neck snappin."

Buffy clenched her jaw. He had her in a position that she hated: using someone she loved as leverage. She remained silent as this unsettling shift of power weighed in on everyone in the room.

Carter nodded for Willow to move over towards Buffy and the others. She began to do so, but as she kept her eyes on Carter and Dawn, she didn't watch her feet and where she was walking. Her foot knocked over one of the candles, the middle one, blowing it out instantly. The remaining flame rose high in the air, almost building a wall between Kennedy and everyone else as it knocked back Willow along with Carter and Dawn.

"I'm waking up now," Kennedy told Carter. "There's no way I'm letting you wake up in my body. I'm not so easy to kill."

"Right," Carter scoffed. "Cause you needed your witch bitch to cure you form a scratch."

The words sent a shiver down Kennedy's spine as her hands balled into fists. She wasn't really sure what was going on, what The First's plan was, but if it was to get her pissed it was working. "I'm not gonna let you out." She told It.

"And what are you gonna do, potential?" he shot back. "Click your heels three times and say 'There's no place like home?' Try again Dorothy."

"How'd you plan on getting out then?" she asked, figuring he'd maybe slip up and tell her how to get out of her head.

The story wasn't sitting right with Kennedy. Something was missing, and she had to figure out what. Willow recognized Carter, and she was worried enough to get into Kennedy's mind, so she figured something was going down back home. Especially since Carter had to have been dead if The First could take his form, which to Kennedy meant only one thing:

"Jeez, even dead you're still cocky," Kennedy muttered. "Look, I don't know that much about what's going on, but I do know that you can't kill me. I also know this is my mind and what I say, goes."

"Fine," Carter shrugged. "Go, wake up. I'll just hang out inside of your head and drive you insane."

Kennedy was ready to fight, fight for her mind and so that she could get the hell out of this place. She wasn't going to fight though. Carter's face went pale as a light began to omit from his body. It engulfed him in an instant, and he vanished from Kennedy's mind.

Still not sure what was going on, Kennedy's eyes grew wide when she realized that the light wasn't stopping with just Carter. The light passed through her, and she was flown back, but the light was so blinding she had no idea where she was going.

She felt her body slam against…well, something. Kennedy jolted instantly, pushing her body up and trying to adjust her eyes to the light. It took a second before she realized she was back in the Summers' home, and the light was now a wall of flame separating herself from the rest of the living room.

"What the…?" she muttered to herself as she squinted her eyes and saw Buffy, Faith, and Spike through the flames. The two slayers looked puzzled, not sure what to do. Spike kept his distance from the flames that were burning bright yet not out of control. The flames were mystical, Kennedy knew that much. What she wanted to know, however, was if she was corporeal again.

"This isn't right." A familiar voice said to her right. Kennedy looked over and saw Dawn scramble up and over towards Buffy as Carter pushed himself up. It wasn't really him though. For the first time, his face was taken over by the monster from within. His forehead was bumpy now, his eyes shone with a blazing, yellow glow, and his teeth had extended into fangs that he had bared at the flames that he was keeping his own distance from.

Kennedy wanted to kill the monster that stole her brother away, but her mind tugged her gaze closer to the flames, trying to catch a sign of Willow. "Willow," Buffy called out, but Kennedy still couldn't see the witch. "What the hell is going on?"

That's when she finally saw her. Kennedy watched as Willow crawled backwards towards Buffy and away from the flames. "I'm…I don't know," Willow shouted back, the roar of the flames drowning out her voice, slightly. "The spell was altered by something more powerful. Something that took me over when I performed it."

"This isn't supposed to happen like this," Carter yelled out, his voice deeper and altered somehow when in his vamp face. "You're not supposed to be back like this! You're supposed to be It's vessel!"

Kennedy wasn't sure what to do. The flames were still burning, Carter was raving on about something, and Kennedy had no way of getting out. Through the flames, she saw Dawn push back, past Buffy and Faith. Willow had gotten to her feet by then, and Kennedy saw that her lips were moving, but she couldn't hear anything.

"Willow, don't!" she shouted to her, but Willow continued with whatever she was doing and wouldn't stop. Kennedy backed up against the window, away from the flames as much as she could get.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Kennedy began to mutter something under her breath as well. She was praying, or at least hoping, that whatever Willow did, it would work and everything would turn out all right.

The warmth she was feeling from the fire began to lessen. Kennedy slowly opened her eyes, and realized that the fire was out, and now all that separated her from everything else was a wall of smoke.

It made it's way into her system, and Kennedy coughed it out as she waved her hand around so that she could she everyone. They were doing something very similar to what she was doing.

The smoke began to thin, and Kennedy's eyes met Willow's. She smiled, proud that one of Willow's spells worked. "I didn't do anything…" Willow muttered quietly as she held Kennedy's gaze and smiled back.

"I did," Dawn said, holding up an extinguisher. "Sorry…I was tired of the whole, 'Don't put out the flames' thing."

Faith sighed, "Do you mean to tell me this whole thing could have been averted if we had just blown out the damn candles in the first place?"

The dark slayer glared at Willow who took her eyes off of Kennedy and shrugged sheepishly at Faith. "I think we should be focusing on the spell being over, as well as other things," Willow said quickly before her eye grew wide when she looked back towards Kennedy. "Like Carter, for instance."

The vampire that was once Kennedy's brother wasn't making any moves, but his eyes shifted over everyone as he mentally weighed his odds. "Well this sucks," he laughed as Buffy held up the stake she had been carrying from patrol. Carter looked over at Kennedy and smiled. "We're gonna have to catch up later, Kenny."

Carter ran out the door, and before anyone could do anything Kennedy was up and chasing after him. The potential didn't know why she was running after him, but it was her first instinct. Kennedy loved her brother way too much to let this monster use his body.

The blazing yellow eyes turned around and Carter stopped immediately when he noticed that Kennedy was the only one chasing him. He turned around, smiling brightly as Kennedy stopped as well. She a little out of breath and feeling kinda drained from whatever the hell happened to her, but she knew she couldn't let Carter get away.

She rested her hands on her thighs, doubled over slightly as she tried to catch her breath. "I'm the only one you wanted." She responded.

"Got a point there," Carter nodded. "You sure you wanna do this? I mean, you had trouble wrestling when I was alive. I'm a vampire now…you're just-"

"Say that I'm just a potential and I won't even fight you. I'll just stake you," Kennedy interrupted. "You know that I'm not gonna let you get away like this."

"That's cute," Carter responded. "Still trying to do the right thing…how about I help you, Kenny? Make it so that you don't have to feel that obligation? You can be free."

"Vamp me?" Kennedy asked, eyeing Carter a bit. "You've got to be kidding me…I don't wanna be all gross like you."

Carter sighed as he tisked and shook his head. "OK then, we fight," he decided as he ran forward and tackled her. "Go ahead, Kenny. Kick my ass."

A few punches connected with her jaw and ribs before Kennedy managed to grab one of Carter's fists and punch him back. He wasn't fazed, however, and Kennedy had to keep reminding herself that Carter was now a vampire and he had the strength of one too.

In fact, after a few punches, Carter kicked Kennedy in the stomach. She hugged herself tightly as the pain went through her. The potential's legs gave out and she fell back with a hard thud. Carter walked up to her, slowly and taking his time. Kennedy looked up at the towering figure standing over her.

"Did you honestly think you could beat me?" Carter asked her. "I know what happened inside your head, you know? I know your history, know that you never beat anything yourself. I also know that it's not gonna start with me."

"You're right." Kennedy responded quietly after pausing a moment. Carter ran his tongue over his fangs as he went to bend down, but he didn't make it all the way down. He stopped. Kennedy watched him as he tried to grab her, but wouldn't move.

Actually, he couldn't move. He stared down at her with confused eyes, but she looked beyond her brother and at Willow. The witch was focused on the vampire, and she knew that Willow was holding him back from her.

"I got someone to help me this time, too," Kennedy told him as she produced a stake from her belt. "I'm sorry Carter."

The stake clattered to the ground, and Kennedy managed to push herself into a sitting position. She felt numb, and tears threatened to pour from her eyes, but being her true self she held them back, until Willow ran up and crouched down in front of her.

There wasn't anything to say, mainly because neither knew what to say after the events that had taken place. Willow's hand reached up and brushed Kennedy's hair back. Her hand lingered on the girl's cheek, and Kennedy leaned into Willow's hand, missing the sensations she felt when Willow touched her.

Not being able to help herself, Kennedy flung her arms around Willow's neck. She clung to Willow, acting as if she needed her. Except, it wasn't an act. Kennedy did need Willow and she was no longer afraid of letting her emotions out for the world to see.

Kennedy lowered her shield, let her emotions out, and silently sobbed into Willow's shoulder.

That was fine with Kennedy. She was going through a lot of emotions at the moment due to the experiences in her head. They still hadn't figured out what exactly happened, how The First got in her head, why Willow did the spell, how Carter fit into the whole thing, none of it.

All they had were pieces, and Kennedy needed time to figure out how these pieces led to her mind trip into her own memories. After the whole day by herself, lying in bed and falling in and out of asleep, Kennedy was only sure of one thing after all she had been through in the past couple days: No matter what happened in her past, no matter how bad almost everything in her past was, Willow made up for it.

Kennedy's strength was drawn from the witch, and the events only made her realize how important Willow was to her. Staring up at the ceiling, Kennedy marveled at the fact that it took her a day to realize that all she wanted was to see Willow.

Almost as if the witch sensed that, Willow entered the room quietly. It was dark, and Kennedy imagined that Willow was squinting through the dark and trying to tell if she was awake or not.

Deciding not to make Willow guess and risk having her leave, Kennedy greeted her, "Hey." The potential's voice was hoarse from not speaking all day, but she cleared her throat and smiled as Willow made her way over to the bed and sat on the edge.

"Hey," Willow replied, keeping her distance, which bummed Kennedy a little, but she knew that Willow was just being polite. "I figured you'd be asleep."

"I was," Kennedy told her. "Kinda fell in and out of it. Sorry I took up the whole bed for a day."

"Oh, no, it's…that's fine," the witch stammered as she reached forward and patted Kennedy's leg. "After what you've been through, it's the least I could do. I'm just glad you could get some rest…you, um, you did rest, right?"

"I did," Kennedy assured her, placing her hand over Willow's. "I'm, um, I'm glad you're here now though. I've been thinking a lot about things, Willow, and-"

"I'm sorry," Willow blurted out as she jumped off the bed and pulled her hand away from Kennedy's. "You have to know that I would never do anything to intentionally hurt you. I'm also sorry that I just interrupted you and dumped all this apology stuff on you right now-"

"Will, hey, Willow," Kennedy gently interrupted, getting up and grabbing Willow's hands. "Shh, it's OK. Look, all this stuff has made me realize how important you are to me. I'm not gonna let magic get between us."

There was nothing left to say. Words just muddled everything up, and the past events only made Kennedy realize that actions were stronger than words. Breaking their hand contact, Kennedy wrapped her arms around Willow's neck and pulled her down.

Their lips met, and both let the kiss linger, enjoying the feel of their lips being together, hands holding on to each other, and their bodies being pressed against one another. Kennedy was the first to pull back, looking up at Willow's eyes briefly before they were both pulled back together by some unseen, magnetic force.

It had been a while since they had this type of contact, and Kennedy was about to take full advantage of this alone time they had. Kennedy opened and closed her mouth against Willow's, taking her time so that they got back into their rhythm. It had only been two days since Kennedy had kissed Willow, but with the mind trip it had felt like years.

From the way Willow kissed her back and how her hands began to roam to new places that Kennedy thought she wouldn't touch on her own unless the world was ending, Kennedy knew she felt the same way. In fact, Willow was the one that deepened the kiss, running her tongue over Kennedy's lips and asking for permission.

Kennedy welcomed Willow, enjoying the familiar feel of the witch's tongue massaging her own. The kiss was getting better and better by the second, and Kennedy felt that she could keep this up forever.

Willow pulled away, resting her forehead against Kennedy's before turning to Dawn. "Dawnie," Willow began. "Did you need something?"

"Buffy needs you, actually," Dawn corrected. "If I had known you two were gonna be eating each other's faces I would've told her to wait."

Dawn scoffed, letting her mouth hang open as she stared at Kennedy. "You're calling me kid, too? You're, like, three years older than me…"

Dawn mock glared at Kennedy before leaving the two of them alone again. Willow looked apologetically at Kennedy. The potential merely shrugged though, leaning up and kissing Willow lightly on the lips. "I'm sorry." Willow told her.

"It's fine," Kennedy assured her. "Just so long as you make sure to come straight back here for some much needed ravaging and making out."

Willow laughed. "Well, when you put it that way," she joked before smiling down at Kennedy. "I will be back. I promise."

Their hands remained locked together as Willow began to walk away. They only released each other when they were completely out of grasp. Kennedy flashed Willow a smile before the witch disappeared from her vision.

Even though they were interrupted and Kennedy still had an itch that she needed someone to scratch, she was glad things were good between them and they had gotten past this obstacle.

Feeling completely content and better than she had felt in a long time, Kennedy jumped on to Willow's bed and stretched out. The potential tried a few seductive looking positions before just lying back and smiling to herself.

"Wow," a voice said that snapped Kennedy into a sitting position. "Things look like they're really looking up for you." Kennedy looked back with wide eyes and a confused look on her face.

Carter was standing at the door, leaning against the frame. "Looks like your dumb luck has worked out real well for you."

"Hello?" Carter responded. "You killed Carter last night. He can live forever through me, however."

"The First," Kennedy groaned as she stood, walking up to meet Carter halfway in the idle of the room. "Come back to torture me again? Try to steal my body?"

"No, I'm over that," Carter smiled. "You may have won that battle, Kenny, but the war is mine."

"Hey, you might wanna try originality," Kennedy replied. "Look, you're not scaring anyone here, OK? You're all talk."

Carter scoffed, chuckling heartily before sighing and looking down at Kennedy. "Little girl, I did make my move," he reminded Kennedy. "Remember the spell? I think that was action."

"Wow, you tapped into magic, like you haven't pulled that before," Kennedy said with mock fear. "Look, you couldn't have done anything without that spell. What did you expect? One more ghost and then I'd be ready to turn my body over to you?"

"I think so," Carter admitted, his features shifting as he morphed into another person.

"The third ghost," Cedric responded. "If Willow hadn't got into your head, broken my hold on you, I would have had you. Tara, Carter, and Cedric…they were the three that could break you down."

"And you failed," Kennedy reminded Cedric, putting on her tough exterior and crossing her arms over her chest. "I'm still standing, in control of my own mind, so get the hell out of here."

"I'm sorry, did I touch a nerve?" Cedric asked before leaning down and getting close into Kennedy's face. "I'll leave, but I just want you to know that what I put you trough is cake compared to what I have planned for the final showdown."

Keeping up her tough guy façade, Kennedy just stared back at Cedric without blinking or showing any sign of fear. He disappeared from the room, and Kennedy sighed, shaking her head a she took a few steps back and flopped down on to the bed.

The words echoed in her head before a breeze blew through the room and Cedric's voice whispered in her ear, "You don't wanna miss how it ends."

Author's final note: I just wanna thank everyone for their patience and support while I wrote this.

Just to say, now that "Buffy" is over, this story now takes place in the middle of 'Dirty Girls' Obviously, I'm changing how Faith came back and the Caleb introduction a bit, but this is where it fits.

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Three Ghosts

By Coll

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