Jenna was asleep in bed when the girls all appeared in the bedroom. Josie grabbed Jo’s clothes and then went to the bathroom to get changed, while Michelle and Sheana went down stairs to let Karen and Sandy know about Prue, while Sara sat on the edge of the bed and looked at Jenna as she slept for a bit. Sara’s heart started to beat a little faster as she saw Jenna stir and start to wake, Sara knew that any minute Jenna would open her eyes and then she’d have to tell Jenna that Prue was gone, but she’d be well looked after still, not that anything Sara could think to say would make up for the loss of her sister.

     Sara finally saw Jenna open her eyes a couple of minutes later and even though she tried to look brave as she smiled down at the sleepy girl rubbing sleep from her eyes, she still couldn’t stop Jenna seeing that something had happened.

     “What wrong Sara?” Jenna asked as she sat up in bed and looked at the tear filled eyes of the girl she saw as another big sister, just like Prue.

     “I don’t know how to say this Jen bear.” Sara snuffled. “It’s Prue, she’s...” Was all Sara needed to say before Jenna had plucked the rest of it from Sara’s mind and she let out a scream of pain.

     “No, no, no. Prue promise she never leave me, she say we always be together!” Jenna said as she shook her head from side to side like it would make what she’d just found out not be true.

     “I’m sorry sweetie, but sometimes we can’t always keep a promise.” Sara said as she pulled Jenna into her arms and hugged her.

     Sara just sat rocking Jenna in her arms for some time and she only stopped when she heard the bathroom door open and Jo stepped out and gave her a sad smile as he sat on the bed next to her. It was only a couple of minutes after that that they saw Karen and Sandy enter the bedroom with Sheana and Michelle following close behind. It looked like they had all been crying, just like her and Jenna had been.

     “How is she?” Karen asked, but already knowing the answer, but not knowing what else to say. Karen just sat on the other side of Sara and let Sara start sobbing on her mother’s shoulder as she let out all the pain she was feeling for letting her friend down and not being there to protect her.

     Sandy offered Jo a lift home due to Sara not being in any fit state to do a mind link and make sure he got home safely. Jo gave both Sara and Jenna a big hug before he left and he said he’d be back around first thing in the morning so they could all get ready for work at the cafe. None of them felt much like working, but they also knew that it would look odd for them all to not be working, and keeping up a false front for the eyes of the MIB was more important than ever now.

     Sara, Sheana and Michelle all got ready for bed and then they settled down hoping to find some sleep, but they all found themselves thinking about Prue, and what her final thought must have been just before she took her own life. Sara found herself reliving some of the fun times Prue and Jenna had together over the years as they travelled different parts of the world seeing most of it at night due to Prue being in wolf form during the day. Jenna would start to dream about how her sister might have died and then the dream would switch to a happier one. Sara smiled when she realised that Hypatia was watching over Jenna as she slept, and then helping to block out all the bad dreams about how Prue died.

     “Thank you Tia.” Sara thought towards Hypatia as she found some proper sleep herself.

     Sara woke the next morning to find Jenna cuddled up to her as she slept. Sara found it strange not to feel the heavy weight of Prue in her wolf form sleeping at the end of the bed. Sara wanted to believe that Prue had just got up early and gone down to have her daily quota of blood, but she knew that wasn’t the case, and she was just gone. She let out a heavy sigh and then wrapped her arms around Jenna, wishing that this one simple hug could make everything alright for the little girl.

     It wasn’t long before Jenna opened her eyes and started to move, but it wasn’t the same happy little girl anymore, it was just a small child trying to get from one minute to the next. Sara helped her to get up and then they walked down stairs together, each of them lost in thoughts about life without Prue.

     Sara sorted Jenna out with a bowl of cereal, but Jenna just played around with it more than she ate it. Sara couldn’t say much as she didn’t even feel like eating anything. Slowly the others all started to show up, and they all gave Sara the same look to asked how Jenna was doing, and Sara would shake her head to say not good.

     Karen and Sandy set to work on some breakfast for them all, which was just toast and a cup of tea. They all ate it because they needed to, but none of them took any enjoyment out of it.

     Sara, Sheana and Michelle all went up to get ready for work at the cafe, and Karen sent Jo up when he arrived. Jo went into the bathroom with a clean pair of panties, bra and a dressing gown and the ring to make him Josie.

     Once they were all ready to leave, they had Sheana blink them over to the flat above the cafe, so it looked like Sara and Sheana had just got there early or they had just stopped the night. They were too depressed to worry about what anyone thought; if they thought anything at all.

     The cafe was just as busy as the day before and the girls were soon too busy to worry about anything except serving their next customer. Samantha turned up mid morning disguised as Maggie again, so she could help keep an eye on the place, and also make sure the girls were doing okay after the loss of Prue the night before. Samantha could tell that the girls were in pain over Prue’s death but she knew that only time would help heal it.

     Karl was getting sick of the commander handing out weird orders and then expecting him to just carry them out and try to explain to his men why they were being told to patrol areas of the town where nothing ever happened. He was still trying to think of some way to warn the slayer about the commander and this Valeck teaming up and trying to catch her and Prue when he heard the commander talking to a man on the phone in his office. Karl was glad that he’d planted the small listening bug on the commander’s jacket, so he was always in it when he went to section six or anywhere where it was important.

     “Yes Valeck is working out just fine.” The commander said to the person on the other end of the phone. Karl couldn’t hear what the other person was saying, but he got the impression that this person was the one that put the commander in touch with Valeck in the first place.

     “I thought we might have a problem with him when the slayer killed spike, but it turns out that he sired the one called Prue, and she’d been a bad girl and killed humans, which Valeck wasn’t happy about.” The commander explained to the person. “We came to a new deal, and he dealt with this Prue last night, and good to his word, he is going to help us catch the slayer for you. Valeck thinks that if the Slayer cared for Prue as much as he hopes, the fact she’s gone will throw her off her game.”

     “Valeck had killed Prue? And he thinks that this will throw the slayer off her game?” Karl said to himself. “This Valeck has no idea just what this slayer can do when she’d pissed off.” He added to the empty room.

     Karl knew now more than ever he needed to track down the slayer and talk to her about all this and point out that it was the work of the commander and this Valeck, and not the work of his team or any of the other men and women working at the base. Karl just hoped he could find some way to get the slayer alone long enough to explain everything to her.

     Sara was glad to be finished at the end of the day, she was ready to head out as the Slayer and get some answers to what happened to Prue the night before, and why she’d felt the need to take her own life.

     The Girls all looked a little shocked to find both Samantha and Hypatia sat at computers scrolling through data trying to find out some answers themselves.

     “I didn’t think you knew how to use a computer.” Sara said as she saw Hypatia tapping away on the keyboard like a professional programmer.

     “Just because I don’t care for them, doesn’t mean I don’t know how to use them.” Hypatia said as she spoke to Sara, but also looked to be reading something on the screen at the same time. “I don’t think you and Sheana should be out there tonight.” Hypatia added as she turned to give Sara her full attention.

     “Have you managed to find anything out about what happened to Prue?” Sara asked as she pointed at the screen Hypatia had just been looking at.

     “No, nothing at all, I can’t find a foot note to say they ran into Prue last night.” Hypatia sighed as she saw where Sara was taking this.

     “Well unless you can find something that explains the reason for Prue doing what she did, Sheana and I plan to go out and find some answers in other ways.” Sara said as she looked at Sheana to make sure her sister had the same thought.

     “I’m with you sis.” Sheana said looking determined to find out for herself, and also so they can face Jenna and give her some answers as well. Sheana had formed a special bond with Jenna, and seeing the little girl in so much pain was breaking her heart, and she wanted to find some answers.

     “Just be careful, and don’t go stirring up any trouble with the men in black as you call them. That may just be what the commander is hoping for.” Hypatia said with a sigh when she saw that neither girl was going to back down and take a night off.

     Sara and Sheana were soon suited up and blinking to a location that Michelle said a MIB patrol were checking out for any sign of trouble. Hypatia, Samantha, Michelle and Josie were all sat at computers monitoring the men in black, their base of operation and also the CCTV set up around the town.

     “Are you ready to do what it takes to get some answers?” Sara asked in her Slayer voice as she looked at Sheana now dressed all in black with her face mask and black hair.

     “Let’s do this.” Sheana growled in her more adult sounding voice as she stood next to Sara in the middle of the road watching a van drive towards them with its lights on full beam.

     Sara and Sheana were hoping this was the MIB van, and not some delivery guy about to get scared to death by two sexy looking women stood in the middle of the road. The van screeched to a halt without using the horn, and then the two girls watched as the doors opened and they saw Karl and his team jump out with their guns drawn ready for action, but they were all careful not to provoke either of them.

     “Just the person I’ve been looking for.” Sara growled as she stepped forward towards Karl.

     “We don’t want any trouble from you Slayer.” Karl said trying to calm the angry sounding woman dressed all in red as she walked towards her.

     Sara heard a couple of clicks and some swearing from some of Karl’s men as they tried to fire their weapons, but Sheana had already sorted it so all their weapons were useless for the time being. Sara smiled a wicked smile as she got to where Karl was stood and she grabbed him by the throat, but just before she had a chance to say anything to him, she heard him pleading with her to stop and just listen to what he had to say, but he wasn’t speaking with her out loud.

     “Slayer! Please, let me speak with you.” Karl thought to her in a pleading tone he hoped she was listening for as he let her pick him up off the ground without him fighting back.

     “I’m listening, but you better say something I want to listen to, or you and I will take it to the next level.” Sara replied using the slayer voice and trying to remain calm.

     “I know about your friend Prue.” Karl thought back hoping this would buy him some time to explain what he knew.

     “What happened to her? Were you there when she died?” Sara snapped at Karl in his mind making him scream out in pain.

     “We had nothing to do with what ever happened to Prue, but I do know that a vampire called Valeck did, and he’s formed some secret deal with the commander to help catch you in return for him helping Valeck catch your friend.” Karl explained in a pained voice from Sara’s shouting at him in his mind.

     Karl’s men looked on helplessly as they watched the Slayer use some sort of mind torture on their captain.

     “And why are you telling me all this?” Sara asked.

     “Because the commander is doing all this for his own gain and not for the good of mankind. I know we seem to be fighting on different sides most the time Slayer, but I feel that all you want is to keep both human and demon kind safe from trouble and a war neither side would walk away from.” Karl said as he opened his mind for her to see for herself.

     “How do you know all this if he’s working on his own with this Valeck?” Sara asked, still not fully sure she should trust him or not.

     “I started to question some of his commands and so I planted a bug on him and then listened to what he was doing in a sealed of section at the base where only him and a private team were allowed to go. That is where I heard him talking to this vampire called Valeck. I was too late to warn you about their plan to grab Prue and then use her to walk you into a trap.” Karl explained what he knew.

     “I guess the plan backfired when Prue killed herself instead of being taken then?” Sara said still not feeling any better about anything. “You better scream like you’re in pain, or your men will think I broke you.” Sara added as she gave Karl a quick shake as she growled at him again for his men to hear.

     Karl did as she asked and let out a moan and then added a little begging as well to make it look good. “Please don’t do that to me again.” Karl said in a strained voice. “How was that?” Karl thought to the Slayer.

     “Very good, but what is the point of us talking now? It’s too late to save my friend.” Sara said with anger in her voice.

     “I know it’s too late to save your friend, but I just don’t want to see you get caught by Valeck and then turned into some lab experiment.” Karl thought to her.

     “How sweet an army man that cares enough to warn me that his own people want to try and catch me and then find out what makes me tick.” Sara said in a sweet mocking tone.

     “I’d rather have you fighting with us rather than against us, but I’m one man, and until I can get the proof to pass on to those above the commander. All I can do is keep an eye on him and warn you as and when.” Karl explained. “I just need to find some way to contact you when I find things out.” Karl added sounding a bit puzzled over that one.

     “Just think my name three times and I’ll contact you this way.” Sara answered his problem.

     “Call out your name in my mind three times?” Karl questioned.

     “Yes, three times, that way I can have a laugh as I hear you calling my name.” Sara said with a grin in her voice.

     “I could call you by your real name, if you want to tell me what it is.” Karl pushed for a little more info on this beautiful woman in front of him.

     “Slayer is fine for the time being.” Sara shot back, she planned to never let Karl or any of his men find out who she really was, or give them another name to call her either.

     “You better throw me or do something that makes it look like you didn’t find anything out.” Karl advised.

     Sara smiled as she liked the sound of this bit, so she threw Karl right into a couple of his men to give him a soft landing before turning to face Sheana and speaking to her. “They have no info on what happened to Prue, this is just a waste of time.”

     Karl looked up from the ground just in time to see the Slayer and her witch friend vanish from sight. He rubbed his throat and coughed a couple of times before letting his men help him up off the ground and then they helped the two men he’d landed on get up as well.

     “Do our weapons still work?” Karl asked as he looked at one of his men stood with a taser in his hand.

     “I’m not sure sir.” He said as he pulled the trigger and fired the prongs right into Adams’s leg and knocking him to the ground with a squeal of pain. “Yes sir! Weapons working fine.” The man added as he tried not to burst out laughing.

     Karl had to hide a smirk as he thought it was nice to see Adams get a taste of what it felt like to get shot with one of them things like he’d done to him at the school the other week. “Someone help Adams up and get him in the van.” Karl said as he gave the soldier that just shot him a look before he walked around and got in the passenger side.

     The commander was stood waiting for Karl when they got back to base and he was soon pulling Karl away from the others so he could find out what the Slayer had to say to him. It pissed Karl off that the commander never once asked how he was feeling after being dangled off the ground by his neck.

     “What did the Slayer ask you Karl?” The commander asked as they walked into his office.

     “She just kept asking me what happened to her friend Prue, but I told her we’ve not had anything to do with Prue since she told us to leave her alone.” Karl answered the Commander’s question. “Did we have anything to do with Prue’s death?” Karl asked as he watched the commanders face to see if he was going to lie or come clean.

     “Prue is dead? That’s news to me Karl.” The commander said looking smug with himself. “She must have just upset the wrong demon and paid the price for it.” He added looking even smugger.

     “I was wondering if it might have been this Valeck that showed up the other night at Armen’s place threatening Prue’s life in front of the Slayer.” Karl said fishing for more info on what they might have planned.

     “Maybe so, but what do we care. Just as long as we have one less blood sucker to worry about.” The commander said as he got up and walked Karl from his office as the commander made his way down towards section six.

     Karl went back to his office to see what the commander had to say to his team down there, but all he got was static. Karl knew that the bugs battery power had died, and he’d need to plant another one, but that could take time, time he didn’t have if he hoped to stop whatever evil plan he was hatching with this Valeck.

     Sara and Sheana morphed back to their normal clothes before they told Hypatia and the others what Karl had just told them.

     “So Prue did take her own life rather than let Valeck or the Commander use her against you.” Hypatia said with anger in her voice, and her hands smoking from feeling so angry.

     Michelle and Josie wheeled their chairs back a couple of feet looking worried that she might burst into flames at any minute. “Calm down Tia baby. You’re scaring the children.” Samantha said in a soothing tone as she pointed out the smoking hands to Hypatia.

     “I’m sorry my dears.” Hypatia said when she realised what she’d done and how scared Michelle and Josie looked.

     “What do we do now then?” Samantha finally asked.

     “I think we should sit back and wait for the commander and Valeck to make their next more.” Hypatia said.

     “I say we track down this Valeck and send him on his way to meet up with Prue, and also send the commander along for the ride.” Sara said looking angry.

     “Any action you bring down on the commander before this Karl gets the proof he needs, will just add more might to his side and start a war no one is ready for.” Hypatia said trying to make Sara stop and think before she ran off on some crazy mission of revenge.

     “I owe it to Jenna; she deserves to know that the people behind her sister’s death have been dealt with.” Sara argued.

     “All Jenna needs at the minute is you and the others showing her she’s not alone and you all love her and will protect her.” Hypatia pointed out sounding like a stern mother telling off a naughty child. “Now all of you go home and spend some time with that poor small child.” Hypatia ordered.

     The girls did just that. They all went back to Sara’s and then sat playing games with Jenna, and trying to help keep her happy. Sara would sit with Jenna on her knee, or Sheana would do the same when Jenna just broke down and cried over the loss of her sister.

     Jenna started going to spend time with Hypatia through the week while Sara and the others were at school. Sheana would blink her over there first thing and then blink her back when they got home from school. The girls didn’t work in the cafe through the week, just on weekends and holidays. The girls did spend a lot of their time in the basement room where all the computer gear was though, as they tried to work out what the commander was up to.

     Sara was getting bored with just sitting around waiting for the commander or Valeck to make their move, and she was happy when they got a report of some animal attack or other weird things happening, this gave Sara something to focus on and take her mind off the fact Prue was gone.

     Life went on for the next week, and it was just life going on, none of them felt like they were living, just fighting to get through each and every day while watching Jenna struggle with the loss.

     Sara was sat down in the basement waiting for some news about something she could go out and relieve some of her anger on when Jo got a hit on one of the CCTV cameras that had found a match for Valeck. Sara was glad they would finally be able to have a chat with him before she sent him on his way to hell with a stake in his chest.

     “Don’t you think we should let Hypatia know we’ve found him and see what she thinks we should do before you go running in there Sara?” Jo asked as he watched Sara morph into her slayer armour as Sheana morphed into her black witch disguise next to her.

     “I don’t want to lose him now we’ve finally tracked him down.” Sara replied. “Check the police calls in that area and see what he’s looking around for.” Sara added just before she blinked away and Sheana soon followed suit.

     Sara opened a mind link with Jo and Michelle, so they could let her know what they found out as soon as they found anything out. Sara could see the van parked up at the entrance to a park but there was no sign of Valeck or his team. Sara reached out with her mind, but couldn’t sense anyone other than the people in their houses around the area.

     “Keep your guard up witch; I don’t like the feel of this.” Sara warned Sheana, but didn’t want to risk using her sister’s name.

     “I always do Slayer.” Sheana replied.

     “Someone called the police ten minutes ago saying that they saw some sort of a wild animal attacking a man in the park, but it was ruled as a hoax by a number that matches one of the MIB’s, so it must be the reason Valeck is in the area hunting for it.” Michelle warned.

     “Great, so I have a wild vamp and a psycho one, hell bent on revenge, to deal with.” Sara thought back to Jo and Michelle.

     Sara didn’t have time to say anymore because she heard a man’s voice screaming for help coming from the park just before it was suddenly cut off. Sara was quick to run into the park in the direction of the noise and she soon found a figure crouched over the body of a man and it sounded like the demon was sucking the life out of him. Sara ran over to the demon and pulled it off the man sending the creature flying half way across the park, but Sara could see that the man was dead when she looked down at him. He looked like a homeless man, but it still didn’t make Sara feel any better seeing a dead person at the hands of a vampire.

     “I hope you enjoyed your last mean vampire, because it will be your la...” was all Sara got out before she looked into the eyes of this feral vampire with the wild looking eyes, but the thing that stopped Sara dead in her tracks and silenced her was the fact it was Prue she was looking at, or something that looked like Prue, except for all the blood and the way she looked insane.

     “Prue?” Sara asked in her slayer voice that was cracking under the strain of what she was seeing before her. “What have they done to you?”

     “Slayer, die.” Came a voice that sounded nothing like Prue at all. It sounded like a monster speaking in a rough gravelly voice masked by all the blood that was dripping out of its mouth.

     All logic had left Sara as she stood looking at this thing that looked like Prue, but most of her hair was gone and there was a metal plate on the side where the hair was missing completely. Sheana was soon stood at Sara’s side and she too was shocked to see Prue alive, but not looking anything like her old self as she looked ready to pounce at Sara.

     “Oh god, what have they done to her.” Sheana asked feeling ill as she looked at what used to be their friend and Jenna’s sister.

     Sara couldn’t find the words to speak at the minute, so she reached out searching for any sign of Prue left in that body, but all she found was empty space where Prue’s soul use to be. Whatever sick and twisted thing Valeck had done to Prue, it had left her nothing but a mindless killing machine, and Sara did think of her as a machine now she could see the wires and flashing lights attached to the metal plate on the side of her head.

     “That’s not Prue anymore.” Sara said as she felt the anger building up inside her. Before Sara had time to say anymore though, the thing that was once Prue leapt at her and Sara was soon in a fight to the death with her old friend.

     Sheana kept looking for a way to break up the fight and stop Prue from attacking, but it was all going on to fast and she didn’t want to risk hurting Sara, and putting her off.

     “Keep your guard up Witch!” Sara shouted to Sheana at a point when she’d just thrown Prue off into a small cluster of trees. “I think they did this to try and catch us, so they must be watching from someplace close.” Sara added as she took a quick look around to see if she could spot anything.

     Sheana could see that Sara knew what she needed to do, but she just couldn’t bring herself to take that final step and kill her. “You have to end this Slayer!” Sheana screamed with tears in her eyes as she saw the wild way Prue was attacking Sara. “That isn’t Prue anymore, so please just end it.” Sheana pleaded.

     Sara was making silly mistakes as her eyes filled up with tears of her own. She knew what she had to do, but how would she be able to face Jenna after she did. Prue came at Sara again and Sara was to slow to deflect the slash and Prue knocked Sara off her feet and was on top of her in a flash clawing at Sara’s cat suit with her bloody nails. The armour was much stronger though, and Prue was doing no damage to it.

     “I’m sorry Prue, please forgive me?” Sara sobbed as she suddenly grabbed Prue’s head and twisted it until it spun all the way around. Sara then grabbed a silver stake out her boot and slammed it through Prue’s chest before stepping away and watching it turn to flames and finally ash. Sara and Sheana coughed as they found a plume of smoke blow right past them.

     Sara fell to the ground sobbing with Sheana kneeling at her side trying to help calm her down when they heard someone clapping from just behind them. They both jumped to their feet and looked over to see Valeck and his army stood there looking at them smiling.

     “What did you do to her you bastard?” Sara growled as she felt her sorrow being replaced by anger now she looked at the man clapping with the smug look on his face.

     “I simply let you see what she really was, and then let you decide what to do with her.” Valeck said in a cold heartless tone as he looked at the spot where Prue had just been lying, but now was just a pile of ash and some metal and wires.

     You let her become that monster and then you allowed her to kill, just to prove a point?” Sara asked in total shock at just how insane this Valeck was.

     “Collateral damage. The man was homeless and wouldn’t have lived much longer anyway.” Valeck said it like he really didn’t care about the man that had just died.

     Sara went to say something else, but she was distracted by a sudden wave of dizziness coming over her. When she looked at Sheana for help she saw that Sheana was also acting like she’d come over all dizzy as well. “What did you do to us.” Sara got out as she fell to her knees and tried to stand again, but couldn’t.

     “Just a little sleeping gas that I implanted in your friends body.” Valeck said as he stepped up beside Sara and knelt down to look at her now laying on the floor looking up at him. “I knew you’d have to kill her, and then the heat from her burning to ash would release the gas knocking the two of you out long enough for me to get you safely delivered to the commander.” Valeck explained looking pleased with him.

     Sara and Sheana both felt their eyes getting heavier and finally they closed them. Sara could hear the blood rushing through her body as it made a thumping sound like a large set of wings flapping over and over again just before all went dark and soundless as she fell into a deep sleep.

To Be Continued Next Tuesday  

Story by SaraUK

Edited and Posted by SamanthaK