221: The Sunnydale Zoo, Eastside

They were as prepared as they could be for a night at the Sunnydale Zoo. The prophecy hadn’t exactly been as inviting as childhood memories of ice cream and balloons at special events. Adorable furry animals, amazing elephants, colorful tropical birds. Wild beasts and cages. Not the warm, welcoming place the zoo’s advertisements claimed.

Xander had stayed behind at the mansion with Cordelia and Drusilla. “Zoos and me? Bad history,” he’d muttered when the plan was hashed out, something about a field trip gone wrong involving hyenas and a lot of therapy he still wasn’t over. Drusilla had simply smiled and curled a protective arm around Cordelia’s shoulders. “Miss Edith and I will keep the pretty bird safe. No beasties will touch her while we’re here.”

The rest of them had come. Getting in took coordination. Angel, Spike, and Buffy cleared the high front wall in one fluid motion—vampire grace and Slayer agility making it look effortless. They dropped a rope for the others. Willow, Giles, and Wesley scrambled over with considerably more huffing, puffing, and one near-miss when Wesley’s foot slipped. Once on the ground, Willow patted her tote bag to make sure her spellbook was still safe.

“Maybe I should’ve checked for a spell to open the gate,” she muttered, brushing dirt from her jeans.

A big illuminated billboard map waited just ahead, pamphlets stuffed into plastic dispensers below it. They each grabbed one.

They divided into two smaller groups to be less conspicuous while tromping around. Not that the vampires or Slayers were anything but stealthy—it was the three humans who might not meld into their surroundings.

“Fine,” Spike cut in, already impatient. “Dibs on the Slayer and Wus-ley. Giles and little witch can stick with Peaches.”

Angel waited for Buffy to protest being paired with Spike, but she simply fell into step beside him like it was a foregone conclusion.

“Let’s meet up at the major intersections,” Angel said, tapping the map’s cross-paths. “Check in. Report anything we need to handle together.”

Wesley adjusted his glasses. “We’re not certain if this part of the prophecy points to a person or an object. Stay alert for both.”

“Hasn’t everyone else gone home for the night?” Willow asked, scanning the empty paths stretching into darkness. Low walkway lights cast long shadows, but the concession stands were shuttered and the animal exhibits mostly dark.

Giles cleared his throat, voice tight. “And we’re still one Slayer short. It’s been almost a full day since anyone’s heard from Faith. She’s gone off on her own before, but this feels different. I left a rather cryptic voicemail about the prophecy—nothing too specific, just enough to bring her in if she could. No reply.”

“Mayor business,” Buffy said flatly, exchanging a quick look with Giles. They both knew the undercover game Faith was playing. “Has to be. She’s been juggling too many secrets lately.”

The worry hung in the air for a beat, then they split.

Angel’s group moved toward the African savanna exhibits. The night zoo felt wrong—too quiet except for the occasional distant roar or restless shuffle of animals in their enclosures. Angel kept his senses wide open, the familiar prickle of magic already crawling over his skin. Every step he took was for Cordelia. She was safe back at the mansion with Xander and Drusilla—he’d double-checked the wards himself before they left—but the thought of Nico and Isobel circling closer made his jaw tighten. The crystals were already in Kalesh’s hands. The Varstrae were being collected faster than they could protect them. If this “place of cages” held the next piece, they had to find it first.

Willow walked beside him, spellbook clutched like a lifeline, her face set in that determined line he’d come to rely on. Giles scanned the pamphlet, muttering about planetary alignments and false stars. Angel appreciated the Watcher’s focus; it kept his own mind from drifting back to Cordy’s worried eyes when they’d said goodbye. One win tonight, he told himself. Just one. For her.

“The planetarium is just ahead,” Giles said, adjusting his glasses. “‘False stars’ could literally mean their night show. We should—”

Angel’s head snapped up. A furious roar tore through the night from the direction of the big-cat area—tigers, loud and agitated, nothing like the restless sounds they’d heard earlier. Then Buffy’s voice, sharp and urgent.

“That’s not normal,” Angel said, already breaking into a run. “Come on!”

They sprinted toward the sound, pamphlets fluttering to the ground behind them.

Spike’s group had already reached the tiger exhibit. Spike rolled his shoulders, enjoying the way the night air smelled of old blood, straw, and something sharper—magic. He glanced sideways at Buffy, watching the easy rhythm of her stride. No stake aimed at his chest tonight. No sharp “Don’t.” Just the two of them moving like they’d done this a hundred times. Go Team Us, he thought with a private smirk. The Slayer was finally admitting they made a hell of a pair, even if she’d never say it out loud.

Wesley trailed a half-step behind, polishing his glasses every few yards like it was a nervous tic. Poor sod looked like he was calculating escape routes and proper vampire-slaying etiquette at the same time. Spike almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

The low electric hum of magic grew stronger the closer they got. Spike’s nostrils flared. “Something’s off,” he muttered.

The two groups converged at the tiger enclosure just as Angel’s team skidded around the corner. Angel stopped first, eyes narrowing on the glowing runes painted across the glass and concrete like graffiti from hell.

“Kalesh or her men have already been here,” Giles said, adjusting his glasses. “Keep moving—”

Only when they drew closer did they see why the tigers were growling.

Faith.

She was inside the viewing cage, bruised and bloodied, moving stiffly but not tied down. The heavy gate separating her from the open tiger enclosure behind her was shut tight. Runes shimmered across the bars and the internal latch, pulsing with the same sickly light.

“Faith!” Buffy was at the bars in an instant, Spike right beside her.

“About time,” Faith rasped, limping forward. A fresh cut split her lip; one eye was already swelling shut. “Figured you’d show up eventually.”

Willow’s heart slammed against her ribs. “What happened? Who did this?”

“Bronze. Mayor’s got me running errands I don’t want to run.” Faith winced as she grabbed the bars. “Then Nico’s crew jumped me. This was supposed to be a distraction. They’re going for Cordelia right now—back at the mansion.”

Wesley’s stomach dropped. “We have to get her out.”

Willow was already flipping through her spellbook. “These runes… they’re blocking the bars and the internal gate. Same signature as the ones we tested on the mansion wards.”

“This is the same spell we could’ve used on the front gate, right?” Buffy asked, gripping the bars.

“Well, I suppose so,” Wesley said, a touch reluctant. “But we’re improvising under pressure.”

Willow nodded, centering herself. The words came quickly, power flowing through her in a rush that left her light-headed. The glowing runes flickered, then winked out with a soft crackle.

The internal latch gave an audible click.

The two Bengal tigers immediately padded forward, drawn by the sudden absence of the barrier.

Spike and Buffy didn’t wait. Vampire and Slayer strength hit the outer bars together. Metal groaned and bent wide enough for Faith to squeeze through. She stumbled out, catching herself on Buffy’s shoulder just as the tigers reached the open inner gate.

“Trap,” she repeated, voice urgent. “Nico and his cronies are hitting the mansion while we’re chasing our tails here. Cordy’s the target. Go!”

They didn’t argue. The group turned as one, racing back toward the main gate. Behind them, unnoticed in the chaos, the two Bengal tigers slipped through the newly unlocked inner gate and loped into the open zoo with silent, predatory grace, vanishing into the shadows between the exhibits.

The night had just gotten a lot more dangerous—for everyone.

222: (WiP)

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Last Updated: 11 April 2026
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