First, there was one girl in all the world.

For centuries, one girl in each generation, the Slayer, fought the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness.

NOW, there ARE many.

The Slayer of her era, Buffy Summers, and her friend, the witch Willow Rosenberg, gave the power of the Slayer to every “potential” in the world. Then there were thousands of slayers, overseen in their fight against evil by the reborn Watchers Council.

The Council must hold together.

But the edges are fraying. Zorgy, the Empress of Vor, has a plan to take the Council out of the game before invading Earth, and it’s well underway. Chairwoman Grace Hatherley must deal with this threat while simultaneously dealing with her secret separation from her own husband, Jeff Lindquist, and an ongoing feud with the Council’s Head Priestess, Willow Rosenberg. Willow herself now finds her own marriage, to watcher Rowena Allister, troubled after her sudden meeting with a very familiar-looking scientist.

And the Prodigal Slayer returns.

Now, they all have a new problem, the sudden return of Faith Lehane, the world’s most famous slayer. A member of the “Original Two” along with Buffy Summers, Faith has suddenly re-enlisted with the Council after a decade away. But why has Faith returned now? How will her return affect her ex-husband Robin Wood and their daughter, Nikki? Just as the Council seems on the verge of falling apart, its past seems to be coming back around. Even the Watchers Council is subject to…

Recursion

 

Fade In:

Int.

Pizza Place – Night

“…and the Cleveland Slayers will try to continue their four-game winning streak tonight on the road against the Tigers with Triston McKenzie on the mound. Slayer pitching is currently ranked fourth in the league, helping the team to…”

As sports radio continued to drone on in the background, a blue demon, two antennae on top of his head, wiped down the counter of a small pizza parlor. He hummed an unidentifiable tune as he worked. The sign painted on his front window, visible, if backwards, from his perspective, read “Fiznark’s Pizza.”

The demon looked up at the sound of the bell above his front door ringing. A group of women in light spring jackets filed through the door, including Buffy and Emma. His eyes widened when he saw the dark-haired figure bringing up the rear of the group.

“Faith Lehane!” the demon exclaimed. “Here! In my store!”

Buffy rolled her eyes, but Faith smiled and reached out to shake the demon’s hand. He took it enthusiastically.

“I’m just shadowing B’s patrol group here,” she said. “Trying to ease back into things.”

“I heard on news you were…but I didn’t…” The demon shook his head as he released Faith’s hand. He pointed to himself. “Fiznark.”

“I hear you’re one of B’s favorite stool pigeons,” Faith said.

“He’s a community partner,” Emma corrected, a slight edge in her voice.

“And can we not call people pigeons?” Buffy asked. “Hits a little too close to home these days.”

Faith raised her hands in apology, a small smile on her face.

“Would you girls like pizza?” Fiznark asked.

“We don’t have time for…” Buffy began, but she trailed off when the smiling demon produced a box from behind the counter and opened it to reveal a hot pie. The active slayers in the group immediately rushed forward and grabbed slices before she could say anything further. “I mean, thanks, I guess. Look, Fizz, we’re just here looking for something, anything on this Ziggy person.”

“Zorgy,” Emma corrected through a mouthful of pizza.

“Zorgy,” Buffy agreed. “Evil Empress lady. We’re hearing she’s got big plans. Ringing any bells?”

“I know who this is,” Fiznark replied. “Many come from Vor to escape her.”

Emma swallowed. “We’re looking more for future plans. Any word about what’s coming?”

Fiznark shrugged, and his antennae wiggled. “I am here, she is there. How could I know?”

“I mean…the internet?” grumbled Faith under her breath.

Buffy ignored her. “Don’t worry about it, Fizz. Thanks for the pizza.”

With that, the Council group filed back out the door, Emma shooting a final smile over her shoulder as it closed behind her and the bell signaled their departure. As Fiznark went back to his cleaning, the only sound was the still-blaring radio.

“...looking forward to listening for how many times the national announcers in Sunday’s broadcast will still call the Slayers by the old name, the Indians. I tell ya, I’m still getting used to it myself, but if they were gonna pull the trigger on that change, I’m glad they’re at least honoring the girls on the front lines…”

Cut To:

Ext.

Alley Behind Pizza Place – Minutes Later

Fiznark emerged into the alley behind the pizza parlor carrying a large black garbage bag. He walked over to a nearby dumpster and tossed the bag in with a heave.

As he turned back toward the back door of the restaurant, a brief sound, maybe a can getting kicked across the asphalt, came from somewhere down the alley. He stopped and peered into the darkness.

“Hey, anybody there?” he called.

Cautiously, he moved toward the sound.

“If you’re the homeless man,” he called, “I called cops once. I will call again.”

Out of nowhere, Fiznark took a hard kick to the chest. He stumbled backward, wheezing, and found his back was now to the brick wall of the alley. “You!” he gasped. “What…what you want?”

Faith stood in front of him, her face expressionless, training a small handheld crossbow directly at his forehead.

“Look, Fizzy, you got two choices here.” She crept up next to the cowering blue demon, speaking softly into his ear. “Behind door number one, I hurt you. I haven’t tortured anybody in a while, but I hear it’s just like riding a biker.”

Fiznark whimpered.

“Or, behind door number two, you tell me what I need to know, and the two of us’ll be five by five.”

“I-I not understand.” His stammer grew increasingly terrified. “What you want to know?”

“I think you know exactly what I’m talking about,” Faith said. She reached up and ran a hand, almost casually, over one of the demon’s quivering antennae.

“I only know pizza!” he cried out. “I not understand!”

“Oh, Fizzy,” Faith sighed, shaking her head. Then her expression hardened. “Wrong answer.”

Her fingers closed around Fiznark’s antenna and pulled. With a squelch, it came off in her hand. He let out an ear-splitting scream.

Faith looked down at the blue appendage in her hand and wrinkled her nose. “Gross.” She tossed the antenna over her shoulder and turned back to the demon, who had by now quieted down to a low whimper. “I don’t know what you’re whining about, you’ve still got one. For now.”

“Please,” he begged.

Faith’s expression was hard. “I know that you know things. But I’m missing a few pieces that you’re gonna fill in for me. I know you’ve got spawns and if you give me wrong information, lead me in the wrong direction or tell anyone I was here, I’ll be back, and I promise they’ll lose much more than an antenna. Got it?”

He only nodded furtively.

“Great. So, let’s try this again.”

She grinned at him.

Black Out

 

 

End of Teaser