𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘

It was the week of the talent show at Sunnydale High. Buffy, Willow, Xander and I walk down the hallway, headed to the auditorium. All of our other classmates were there, practicing their acts.

"I can't believe Giles was picked to organize the talent show," I said with a laugh.

"Me either," Xander agreed.

Buffy defends him. "Come on, guys. I know he's old-fashioned but I'm sure he isn't that miserable."

We walk into the auditorium and head down the center aisle. I spot Giles in one of the front seats, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. "He's not enjoying himself," I muttered to Buffy. Willow nodded.

When we make it over to him, Buffy inhales and smiles. "If it isn't the great producer!" We walk down the row and sit in seats close to Giles.

"Had to see this to believe it," Xander said.

Giles seems relieved to see us. "Oh. You four."

Buffy crossed her arms over her chest. "The school talent show. How ever did you finagle such a primo assignment?"

Giles purses his lips. "Our new führer, Mr. Snyder," he said.

"I think they call them 'principals' now," Willow reminded him.

"Snyder isn't a principal," I told her. "He's the devil reincarnate! He's only been here for two days and he's already tried to give me detention. And all I did was go to the bathroom to pee!"

"What a heartless man," Xander declared. I giggled.

"Mm. He thought it would behoove me to have more contact with the students. I did try to explain that my vocational choice of librarian was a deliberate attempt to..." Giles inhales a breath. "...minimize said contact, but, he would have none of it."

Buffy rested her hand on his shoulder. "Giles, unto every generation is born one who must run the annual talentless show. You cannot escape your destiny."

"If you had any shred of decency, you would have participated, or at least, erm, helped," he said.

Buffy shook her head. "Nah! I think I'll take on your traditional role... and watch!"

Xander grinned at me. "And mock!"

"And laugh!" Willow cried.

"Don't forget the popcorn," I added. "That really seals the deal." We all laugh.

Buffy glances at all of us and stands. "O-kay. I think maybe we better leave our Mr. Giles to this business he calls a show."

We all get up and start back up the aisle. Principal Snyder is waiting there for us. I gulp when I see how angry he looks.

"Principal Snyder!" Buffy gasped.

"So," he begins. We think school events are stupid, and we think authority figures are to be made fun of."

My blonde friend seems frightened. And who wouldn't be? He was terrifying, worse than any demon or vampire. "No! No, we don't. Unless you do."

"And we think our afternoon classes are optional. All four of you left campus yesterday," he asserted.

"Yeah, but we were fighting a demon..." Buffy trails off.

I elbow her side. "Buffy!" I hissed.

Snyder raises his brows. "Fighting?"

Buffy opens her mouth to respond, but I jump in. "No way! Not fighting at all."

"No, we, uh, left to avoid fighting." Xander looked between us and we all nodded in agreement.

"Real anti-social types. You need to integrate into this school, people." Snyder crosses his arms. "I think I just found four eager new participants for the talent show."

"What?" Buffy cried.

Xander shook his head furiously. "No!"

"Please?" Willow begged.

I sighed. "Damn it."

Snyder narrows his eyes at me. "Language, Melville. I've been watching you four. Always getting into one scrape or another."

Buffy: "Well, we're really, really sorry, but about the talent show, please, you can't make us..."

Our principal holds up his hand, cutting her off. "My predecessor, Mr. Flutie, may have gone in for all that touchy-feely relating nonsense, but he was eaten. You're in my world now. And Sunnydale has touched and felt for the last time." He starts past us down toward the stage.

We all watch him go. "Can I just mention, that detention is a time-honored form of punishment?" Xander said.

Buffy nods vigorously in agreement.

Snyder turns back to us. "I know the four of you will come up with a wonderful act for the school to watch. And mock. And laugh at." He continues down to the stage.

I sighed. I can't believe this. I wasn't talented enough to be in the talent show, nor did I have any clue of an act that I could do.

"No!" Xander called after him. He sits down in his seat with a huff.

Buffy groans. She goes back into Giles' row and sits next to him. I follow her, sitting between her and Xander, and look at Giles for sympathy. He has none to give and tries to hide a smirk. The tuba solo that was going on onstage is finally over. Willow just stands at the end of the aisle with a big frown on her face.

Giles looks down at his clipboard and then back up to Lisa. "Thank you!"

The next act sets up. It's the shy looking guy in our grade, Morgan, with his dummy, Sid.

"Ewww, dummy!" Buffy cringed.

I stare at the dummy with disgust. "Let's hope this thing doesn't hear the magic words and come to life."

"Was that a Goosebumps reference?" Xander asked with a laugh.

I shrugged my shoulders. "What? It's a good show."

Xander spots a mime from the distance and nearly jumps out of his seat. "Agh! Mime!"

Willow sits down behind Buffy and me. "I think dummies are cute. You don't?"

"No way," I responded.

Buffy turns to look at her. "They give me the wig. Ever since I was little."

"What happened?" Willow asked. Her eyes were wide.

"I saw a dummy. It gave me the wig. There really wasn't a story there," Buffy said.

Morgan sits down on a wooden chair that was placed onstage, clearing his throat. "Hi. I'm Morgan." He moves the dummy's jaw. "And I'm Sid!"

I cringe. It wasn't hard to see that he is an awful ventriloquist. Buffy raises her eyebrows and stares in disbelief.

Morgan begins talking in Sid's voice. "Hey Morgan, would you like to tell some jokes?"

He smiles nervously, and says as himself, "Would I!"

"As a matter of fact, it is! It's also a wood nose, and a wood mouth!" I can tell that Willow can't believe his act either. Morgan laughs for Sid. I look over at Giles. He takes off his glasses and sighs.

Morgan changes his voice back to Sid's voice. "I didn't sleep at all last night."

"Alright, time out. Let's stop this before someone gets hurt." Sid's voice changes and I lean forward in my seat, intrigued. "Kid, you are the worst. Even I can see your lips move."

"It's getting better," I mumbled. Buffy giggles. Giles looks up again and puts his glasses back on.

Morgan huffed. "C'mon, Sid. You're spoiling my act. I worked on these jokes for weeks."

"You call those jokes? My jockey shorts are made out of better material." A few students that had gathered at the edge of the stage laugh. "And they're edible!"

Sid's wooden teeth clack together. I laughed. Needless to say, I was impressed.

Giles points up at the stage. "There, you see? I'm sure you four can come up with something... equally exciting."

♱ ♱ ♱

It was the day of the talent tryouts. My friends and I were backstage rehearsing. I still hadn't made my decision on what I wanted to do. Behind us, Marc was frantically looking for his rabbit.

"I could do a magic act like Marc," I told them, gesturing to the babbling magician. "Let's imagine it: I throw my dagger at Principal Snyder's head while he's on a spinning wheel and see if it sticks the landing. Rip could be my assistant!"

"Katy, you know the rules," Buffy reminded me with a laugh. "No stabbing someone unless it's a supernatural being."

I rolled my eyes. "And what's the fun in that?"

Xander, Willow, and Buffy are with me, practicing a dramatic scene.

"I don't see why you want to go solo," Willow said.

"I'll come up with something," I replied. "I've always got something up my sleeve."

Xander poses with his right arm in the air to begin his line. He drops it. "I can't do this!"

Buffy sighed. "Xander, come on."

He shook his head. "I—I can't! I have my pride! Okay, I don't have a lot of my pride, but I have enough so that I can't do this!"

He goes over to the steps at the side of the stage and sits. I follow him.

I sit down at his side. "What you're doing with Buffy and Willow, it's easy. It doesn't require talent. I know you can do it, I believe in you."

Xander nodded. "Thanks, Katy. But we have talent. We can do stuff. Buffy, uh..."

Buffy, who's also sitting now, along with Willow, says, "What am I gonna do? Slay vampires on stage?"

"Maybe in a funny way!" Willow suggested.

Xander turned to Willow. "Willow, you can do stuff. Uh, the piano..."

Buffy turns to look at our best friend. "You play?"

Willow smiles sheepishly. "A little."

"Well, that's cool. You can accompany us and we can attempt to sing," Buffy said.

Willow's eyes widened. "Oh, i—in front of other people? Then, no, I don't play..."

"Maybe I can sing," I mumbled. Xander looked at me with raised brows. "I know I haven't done it in years, but it's worth a shot."

He turns to look at Willow. "Whatever happened to corporal punishment?"

From afar, Sid whistles at us. We all turn to look at him and Morgan.

"Mm, mm, mm. Look at the goodies!" I stare at the dummy in shock. Morgan looks embarrassed.

Willow gets up and goes over to him. "Morgan, you're really getting good! Where did you come up with that voice?"

Morgan shrugged. "It's kind of an imitation of my dad."

"Sounds real!" Buffy was surprised. I, on the other hand, was a little perturbed.

"It is real. I'm the one with the talent here. The kid's dead weight." The dummy looks at me with his painted eyes. "How about you and I do a little rehearsin' on our own, baby?"

"Uh, hey!" Xander cried from behind me.

Sid's grin seems to grow wider if that was even possible. "You know what they say: once you go wood, nothin's as good!"

I crossed my arms over my chest. "No thanks, I don't want any splinters," I said to the dummy.

Buffy rolled her eyes. "Okay, Morgan. We get the joke. Horny dummy, ha, ha, it's very funny, but you might wanna consider getting some new schtick. Unless you want your prop ending up like a Duraflame log."

Morgan and Sid exchange a look. My friends walk away, but I linger behind. I point a finger at the dummy.

"Say one more thing about me and I'll shove you into a wood chipper," I warned it. Morgan looks at me with wide eyes. When I see his expression I clear my throat and look down at my combat boots. Maybe I was just overreacting. "Sorry. Good luck on your act."

With that, I walk back over to where my friends were practicing their dramatic scene once more.

Something about that ventriloquist dummy seemed off. But it was all an act...right?

♱ ♱ ♱

Sometime later, as I'm preparing my lines for the scene I had decided to join with Xander, Buffy, and Willow, a scream is heard from the girl's locker room. Xander and I exchanged wide-eyed glances. I see Principal Snyder bolt out of the auditorium.

"Should we see what's wrong?" Willow asked with a whisper. Buffy nodded. We all run into the hallway to see a girl sitting on the floor, trembling. Principal Snyder was standing in the hallway with a secretary.

It isn't long before the police and paramedics arrive. We were still crowded in the hallway, speaking in hushed tones. Giles comes out of the locker room and into the hall. He ducks under the yellow police tape and comes over to us.

Giles clears his throat. "It was Emily."

Willow's eyes widened. "Emily. Dancer Emily?"

Xander huffed. "I hate this school."

"Agreed," I mumbled. "Why can't we have one normal day?"

"Uh, it must have happened just after dress rehearsals. There was a cross-country meet. She never showed up for it."

"Vampire?" Buffy asked.

Giles shook his head. "I think not."

Buffy pressed him for more answers. "Giles, share! What happened?"

"How bad was it?" I wondered.

Giles exhaled. "Her heart was removed."

Willow cringed. "Yikes!"

"Does that mean anything to you? Besides—" Buffy shuddered. "Ooh?"

Giles thought for a moment. "Uh...there are various demons which, which feed off human hearts, but..."

We all look back towards the locker room and see the knife being put into an evidence bag. I gritted my teeth at the sight of the murder weapon, still covered in dried blood.

"But demons have claws. And teeth," Buffy pointed out.

Xander nodded in agreement. "They got no use for a big old knife."

"Which more than likely makes our murderer..." Giles trailed off.

"Human," Buffy finished.

"Wow," I said.

Xander frowned. "Did I mention that I hate this school?"

"So Emily was killed by a regular human person," Willow theorized.

Giles nodded. "The evidence certainly points that way."

This meant that a possible serial killer roamed the halls of Sunnydale High. The thought made me feel sick to my stomach. Sure, vampires were one thing, but...this was a sadistic, twisted human being.

"No, wait. I—I'm not buying, you guys. Remember the Hellmouth? Mystical activity is totally rife here. This to me says demon," Buffy said.

"I'd like to think you're right. A demon is a creature of evil, pure and very simple. A person driven to kill is...it's more complex." Giles sounded anxious, and I didn't blame him.

"The creep factor is also heightened. It could be anyone. It could be me!" I give Willow a bewildered look. "It's not, though," she added.

"Demon or not, we have some investigating to do. I suggest we start with your...your talent show compatriots. One of them may have been the last to see her alive."

I nodded at Giles' statement. He was right. I cracked my knuckles. "Time to interview the suspects."

♱ ♱ ♱

Xander and I decided to tag along at cheerleading practice to interview Cordelia. As much as I didn't want to be around her, I knew I had no other choice since Buffy nor Willow were eager to interview her.

"It'll be fine," he reassured me. "Maybe she won't notice you. Or me."

I smile. "Thanks for the comforting words, Xan, but we both know we'll stick out like a sore thumb."

Xander took a deep breath before we reached the doors that lead into the gym and we exchanged glances. "Okay," he muttered. "Time to face the beast."

We pushed the double doors open and greeted by the sight of cheerleaders practicing their routine. Gretchen was at the front of the line, helping with the choreography. She notices us walking in and smiles brightly. She waves in my direction. I return a small wave.

I almost expected Xander's eyes to wander, but he instead gave me a small, reassuring smile. I returned it. That made me feel better about having to interview the girl that hated my guts. At least he was on my side.

We decide to sit on the bleachers and wait until it's over. When they finally finish practice, I manage to stop Cordelia before she walks out of the gym.

"What do you want?" she asked, flipping her high ponytail over one shoulder. "I'm kind of in a hurry."

I decided that since the situation at hand was a very grim one, there wasn't any need to return the attitude. "We need to ask you a few questions about Emily."

Cordelia raises her brows. "Oh, really?"

When we nod, she sniffles and dabs her eyes. I didn't see any tears, however. "Well, I had nothing to do with it. It's just such a tragedy for me. Emma was, like, my best friend."

"Emily," Xander corrects her.

She nodded. "Right. All I can think is, it could've been me!"

"A girl can dream," I mumble under my breath. She gives me a sour look.

After a couple more questions the interview is over. Just as I'm about to leave the gym, Gretchen jogs up to me, smiling wide.

"Gretchen, hey," I greeted.

"Hi." She chewed on her bottom lip. She suddenly seemed nervous. "Um...do you have a minute to talk?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

She led me behind the bleachers. "Katy, please...don't think I'm a freak," she squeaked.

"You're not a freak, Gretchen." I see tears in her eyes and I frown. "You okay?"

She begins to cry. "Buffy won't talk to me," She blubbered. "I, I don't know if she...what if she hates me?"

"Oh, Gretchen," I said, pulling her into a tight hug. "I think she's just...afraid. Afraid of something that she's not familiar with."

"Then tell her to only kiss me when she means it," Gretchen replied softly. She walked away before I could get another word in. I sighed.

Xander and I eventually make our way back to the library. When we walk in, Willow, Giles, and Buffy are already inside, discussing possible suspects.

"Okay, next time we split up, someone else is on Cordy detail," Xander said to our best friends. "Five more minutes with her and we would've had another organ donor."

I nodded. "Yeah, it was kinda sad."

"I think I had a bit more luck. Everyone I talked to seemed to point their fingers at the same person," Willow pointed out.

We all walk into Giles' office. "Morgan?" Buffy guessed.

Willow nodded solemnly. "Morgan."

"We have a winner!" Xander said.

Giles sighs. "I fear I was led to the same conclusion."

"Well, what do we do? We don't slay him, right? We wanna bring him to justice," Xander pointed out.

"We could set up a complex sting operation where we get him to confess!" Willow cried.

Xander grinned. "Uh, I should wear a wire!"

"I like the first idea much better," I told them. They raised their brows at me. "What? Eliminate the problem entirely."

Buffy holds up her hands. "Whoa, hey, you guys, all we know is that Morgan is a grade A large weirdo. That doesn't lead directly to murderer."

"Guy talks to his puppet!" Xander noted.

"And for his puppet," Willow added.

I gave Buffy a pointed look. "Evidence. Not hard evidence, but evidence."

She nodded slowly. "Well, yeah, but what about the whole 'it's a demon' theory?"

"I'm looking into that, but, uh, my investigation is somewhat...hampered by our life in the theater," Giles said.

"Uh, priority check, Giles?" Buffy weighs the two with her hands. "Talent show, murder."

"Yeah, we can't do the talent show, it's unthinkable. I'm not able to think it!" Xander added.

"Principal Snyder is watching us all very closely. Now, if he chooses, he can make all our lives extremely difficult. A Slayer cannot afford that! We will find this murderer, but in the meantime...the show must go on."

"This is so unfair," Buffy huffed. I nodded in agreement. If the claims about Morgan were true, then we needed to take care of the threat as soon as possible. Although I didn't want to resolve to lethal force, but if it was truly needed...

"Buffy, you, uh, watch Morgan. Check his locker, see if there's anything there," Giles said.

"Like a heart?" Willow asked.

Giles purses his lips. "Or something."

Buffy nodded. "Alright. Katy, would you want to help me? I could really use an extra set of eyes."

"Nothing better than stalking someone," I said sarcastically.

"I'll pull up his locker number." Willow walks over to the PC.

Xander grins down at me. "Can I still wear a wire?"

I roll my eyes at him, but can't hold back my smile. "Sure, Xand, if it makes you happy."

♱ ♱ ♱

The next day, Xander, Willow and I all sat in the seats, watching Marc as he practiced his act onstage. "And my lovely assistant steps into the box..."

Marc's assistant steps into the box. He closes the door and turns it around.

"And... behold!" He opens the box, but his assistant is still there. "You were supposed to leave!"

I can't hold back my laughter, and neither can my friends. Marc closes the door to the box and butts his head against it.

Giles approaches us after talking to Cordelia. "Hello. You look a bit worse for, uh..."

I turn my head to see Buffy walking down the aisle to where we were sitting.

"What exactly are you the worse for?" Giles finishes.

"Where's Morgan?" She asks, sitting down beside Willow.

"Uh, I...haven't seen him," Giles said.

Xander's eyes widen. "Did he do something to you?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, it was his...Sid, the dummy."

She had my full attention. I shuddered. "I knew there was something wrong with that dummy."

"Okay, everyone look at me like I'm in a bunny suit, 'cause that's how stupid I feel saying this...I think Sid was in my room last night."

I gasped. "No way. How?"

"With Morgan?" Willow asked.

"No. He was alone. And alive," she said.

"Did you see him?" Xander questioned.

"Well, I saw something," Buffy rationalized. "I—it ran across my floor, under my bed and then it attacked me."

"Attacked you? How?" Giles pressed.

"It was like it pounced on my face," she said.

"Like a cat," Xander provided. I could tell that he didn't believe her, but I did. What she went through must've been terrifying.

"Yeah, exactly! But when I turned the lights on it was already gone." She sighed. "I—I think it went out my window."

Xander repeated his statement. "Like a cat."

"Yeah!" Buffy shook her head, realizing his statement. "No! It was Sid, the dummy."

"Or possibly the nightmare of somebody who had...dummies on her mind," Giles suggested.

Willow nodded. "You did say they creep you out."

"Excuse me? Can I have a little support here, please?" Buffy pleaded.

"I believe you," I told her, earning a look from my friends. "What? Crazy supernatural stuff happens here all the time, her story isn't that far-fetched."

She nodded. "Thanks, Katy. I'm not just some crazy person, I'm the Slayer!"

"The dummy Slayer?" Xander quips. She narrows her eyes at him. "There's nothing funny about that."

"Well, on the side of the 'Morgan's just crazy' theory there is..." Willow pauses as she watches him walk up onstage. "Well, Morgan."

I watch as Morgan opens Sid's case, and then sits down, setting Sid on his lap.

"I'd like to see Morgan without his better half for a few minutes," Buffy said. "Bet he could tell me something."

"Oh, uh, if it's any consolation, I...I may have found a possible demon culprit." Giles holds up a book. "There's a reference in here to a brotherhood of seven demons who take, uh, the form of young humans. Every seven years these demons need human organs, a brain and a heart, to maintain their humanity. Otherwise, they revert back to their original form, which is slightly less appealing."

He hands Xander the book open to a sketch of one of the demons. I feel my stomach churn when I look down at the picture. Xander and I share a disgusted glance.

"So Morgan could still be the guy, only demon Morgan instead of crazy Morgan," Willow said.

Giles nodded. "It's said that these demons are preternaturally strong, and... Morgan is, is...well, he seems to be getting weaker every day."

Morgan puts his hand on his head. I observe him. Whether or not Morgan was the culprit, he was definitely suspicious. And I wanted to know the reason why.

♱ ♱ ♱

I have my head in my hands as Xander and I sit in the library. He currently has Sid and is playing with him. We had to sneak into Mrs. Jackson's classroom just to get the creepy ventriloquist dummy. It was weird to have the dummy be in our presence. He reminded me of that red-haired dummy on the Goosebumps television show, Slappy. And just like Slappy, this dummy was pure evil.

"I still can't believe you got that disgusting thing," I shuddered.

Xander grinned at me and cleared his throat. His voice was high and squeaky as he moved Sid's mouth. "I like it when you call me disgusting," he teased. "It really gets me going!"

I swatted his arm and rolled my eyes. He continued to give me that same goofy smile.

"What?"

"You're worse than Morgan," I told him, attempting to keep a straight face. I couldn't hide my smile.

He scoffed. "Am not."

"Yes, you are," I replied.

Buffy, Willow and Giles come into the library. Willow and Giles have their arms full of costumes. Buffy raises her brows when she sees Xander holding Sid.

"Where did you get that?" she asked.

"He stole it," I replied.

Xander shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah, I, uh, took it out of Mrs. Jackson's cupboard. I thought you said you wanted to be able to speak to Morgan alone, and well, Morgan's alone, and, uh...Sid's with me."

Buffy stares at Sid uncomfortably.

Xander makes his voice high pitched again. "Hi, Buffy! Hi, Willow! Would you like to hear some off-color jokes?"

"I really don't think you should be doing that," Buffy said.

"That's what I told him," I told her. "He won't listen to me."

"What? C'mon..." He nudged me with the dummy's wooden arm. "I'm not real!"

Buffy shudders. "Xander, quit it!" She turns and walks a few steps away. Xander starts slamming Sid's head into the table. I give him an incredulous look. She stops and looks back.

"He's... not... real!" Xander picks Sid back up. "I think our demonstration proves that Sid..." He knocks on Sid's head several times. "Is wood. Now, why don't you go and find Morgan and prove he's whatever he is?"

Giles motioned to Sid. "I imagine he's looking for his puppet."

"Katy and I will go find Morgan." Buffy starts to leave, but stops and gives Xander a look. Then, she exchanges glances with me. "On second thought, Katy—help Xander watch the dummy."

I gave her a thumbs up. "On it."

Xander waves Sid's arm. "Bye-bye, now. I'm completely inanimate."

Xander turns to Willow, and as Sid, says, "Redrum! Redrum!"

Willow scrunches her nose at the dummy. "What do we do with him?"

Xander shrugged. "Eh, I'll keep him company."

"And I'll help, I guess," I sighed.

Giles turns to Willow. "Willow, we have some hunting of our own to do."

Willow began walking over to the file cabinet. "Once again I'm banished to the demon section of the card catalog."

Xander looks at Sid and goes over to the table with him..

"You concentrate on re-animation theory," I hear Giles tell Willow. "I'll peck about in organ harvesting. Unless, of course, you prefer..."

"That's okay, you can have the organs," Willow said, sounding a little disgusted.

Xander puts Sid in the chair at the end of the table. I continue staring at the dummy with wide eyes. "So, I guess it's just...you and me, huh?" He turns Sid's head away and pats him. "That looks more comfortable."

"He's so creepy," I told Xander.

Xander smiled. "Aw, come on!" He pointed at Sid. "He's cute."

"You say that until he kills you in your sleep," I grumbled. Xander looks over at Sid in his chair, possibly unnerved by my statement, then turns back to his homework.

I stand. "I'm gonna go see what Will and Giles are up to," He nods at me and I walk across the library, to where they were in front of a large stack of the card catalog.

"Look what I found in the section on toys and magic," I hear Willow say to Giles. "'On rare occasions inanimate objects of human quality, such as dolls and mannequins, already mystically possessed of consciousness, have acted upon their desire to become human by harvesting organs.'"

I shuddered. "Gross. Like a heart?"

They notice my presence. Giles nods. "Emily's heart."

"Morgan's dummy," Willow adds. Giles hums to himself. I decide to help them look through the large stack of cards.

"Whoa!" I hear Xander cry. He climbs onto the table. I burst from the stacks, hoping he's okay. Giles and Willow aren't far behind behind me.

"Xan," I gasped. "Are you okay?"

"What is it?" Giles asked.

"He's gone!" Xander points at the chair Sid previously sat in, which is now empty. I feel my heart sink. "Sid's gone!"

Giles is shocked. "What?"

Willow shakes her head, backing into me. "Uh..."

I shake my head, beginning to pace. "There's no way. I—he was just here! Xander, did you see where he went?"

He got off of the table. "No. One minute he was here and the next he was gone."

I sighed. "Okay. Don't panic, Katy. He's around here somewhere." I then stared at my two friends. "Wherever he is, Buffy will handle it. Hopefully."

Willow chewed on her nails. "We've got to find him. He's dangerous!"

I nodded. "We know where Buffy is. Maybe he went to find her."

It doesn't take long for Buffy to come to us first, carrying Sid in one hand. She drops him on the table. "This dummy has a lot of catching up to do."

♱ ♱ ♱

Xander and Giles stare at Sid in wide-eyed and open-mouthed amazement as the dummy explains why he has come to Sunnydale in the first place. Willow and Buffy just watch and listen. I, on the other hand, had my arms crossed over my chest. I still wasn't sure if we could trust that dummy.

Sid shrugged his wooden shoulders. I couldn't believe he was actually alive. It really was like I was in the middle of a Goosebumps episode. "This is what I do. I hunt demons. Yeah, you wouldn't know it to look at me. Let's just say there was me, there was a really mean demon, there was a curse, and the next thing I know I'm not me anymore. I'm sitting on some guy's knee, with his hand up my shirt."

Willow speaks up. "And ever since then you've been a living dummy?"

Sid points at her. "The kid here was right all along. I shoulda picked you to team up with. But I didn't because..."

Buffy interjects. "Because you thought I was the demon."

"Who can blame me for thinking? Look at you! You're strong, athletic, limber, nubile..." I roll my eyes when Sid goes off into his own world, then shakes his head. "I'm back! In any case, now that this demon's got the heart and brain, he gets to keep the human form he's in for another seven years."

The tea kettle whistles. Giles gets up to tend to it. Giles pours himself a cup of tea. I noticed he always had tea during stressful situations. "I must say, it's a welcome change to have someone else explain all these things," he says to Sid.

Sid's wooden teeth clacks together. "There were seven of these guys. I've killed six. If I can get the last one, the curse will be lifted and I'll be free. I'm sure it's someone in that stupid talent show."

Buffy sighs. "Yeah, but now that demon has what he wants. He'll be moving on."

"So, once we know who's missing from the show..."

"We'll know who our demon is!" Buffy cried.

Giles snaps his fingers. "The show!"

I turned to him in alarm. "Shit!"

Buffy glances between us. "What?"

Giles sets his tea cup down onto the library table. "It's gonna start! I'm supposed to be there!"

My blonde friend nods and turns to Willow. "Okay, um, start pulling everyone's addresses in the talent show. If they're not there, maybe we can catch them at home."

Sid's eyes roll in their socket as he looks over to Giles. "And you, get 'em all on stage, form the power circle. Then we can see who's a no-show."

"Erm, uh, the what?"

"The power circle. You get everyone together, you get 'em, you know, revved up."

Giles nods. "Right." I can't help but smile at his confused expression. He wasn't up to date on a lot of things, but he still leaves regardless.

"How'd he ever get that gig?" Sid asked. I shrugged.

"I guess it's up to us now, huh?" I ask Buffy.

Buffy grins.

♱ ♱ ♱

Giles claps his hands backstage. Buffy and I sat on the rafters above, along with Sid. We were waiting to see who's missing from the circle. "Fifteen minutes to curtain, everyone! Uh, fifteen minutes!"

Sid looks over at Buffy. "So, what's your deal, kid? I don't figure you for a demon hunter."

"I'm a Vampire Slayer," Buffy admits. Then she points at me. "She is too."

I smile in agreement. The dummy wasn't as bad as I thought—even though he still creeped me out. "Yeah. Not the Slayer, but I can still kick ass."

Sid is surprised, to say the least. "You?! You're the Slayer?" Buffy nods. "Damn! I knew a Slayer in the 30's. Korean chick. Very hot. We're talking muscle tone. Man, we had some times." I roll my eyes at him and he holds up his wooden hands. "Hey, that was pre-dummy, alright? Now, I was a guy!"

"So, you kill the demon and the curse is lifted, right?"

"That's the drill," Sid said.

"Easy peasy," I muttered.

Buffy looks him up and down. "You don't actually turn into a prince, do you? I mean, your body..."

Sid shrugged. "Is dust and bones. When I say free—"

I knew what he meant. "Free as in dead," I finished.

"Don't get sniffly on me, sis," he said. "I've lived a lot longer than most demon hunters. Or Slayers, for that matter."

Buffy looks down. I knew she was thinking about her life. When you commit to becoming a Slayer, you miss out on so much. I knew that first hand.

Sid puts his hand on my knee. "Of course, if you want to snuggle up and comfort me..." He raises his wooden eyebrows.

"You know, I'm starting to reconsider," I said through gritted teeth, snatching his hand off of my knee. "Maybe I should shove you into a wood chipper."

Buffy smiles at my response. "So, that horny dummy thing really isn't an act, is it?"

"Nope!"

Buffy shakes her head. "Yuck!"

I look down onto the stage. "I—is everybody here?" Giles calls. The performers gather on stage.

"Okay, here comes our line-up," Sid whispers.

"Let's hope we can find our oddball," I add. I reach down into my boot, slowly pulling out my dagger.

Sid eyes my weapon. "Nice."

I nod. "Thanks. It used to be my dad's."

Giles waves his hands "Quickly, everyone! Uh...power circle." The students arrange themselves in a circle and hold hands.

I start to scan the group for any missing members. So far, I couldn't spot anyone.

Giles seems to notice that, too. "Well, that's that, then. Everybody, get ready!" The circle breaks up quickly as they scramble to get ready. I was completely and utterly confused, and I knew Buffy was too.

I follow her lead as she slips underneath the catwalk railing. Buffy turns back to Sid. "Hold on." She drops to the stage below. She lands squarely on her feet, while my landing isn't as graceful as hers. We walk over to Giles.

"No one's missing," he confirms.

"So the demon isn't in the show." Buffy chews on her bottom lip.

"Well, where the hell are they?" I wondered aloud. "We can't risk anyone else dying."

Giles nods. "Tell the others. Look, it's nearly curtain. I must get the show rolling."

"Right," I agreed. "The show must go on."

"Right," Giles repeats. He disappears backstage.

I look at the catwalk, and Buffy does too. Sid was gone.

"Sid?" Buffy calls out.

I follow close behind, my dagger still in a tight grip. It seemed so strange for Sid to disappear. But maybe he was looking for the demon.

"Sid?" She repeats. She stops next to a workbench, looking around.

I glance up at the rafters. Something warm and wet drips onto my forehead. I wipe it off in disgust, and then glance down at my hand to see that the liquid was a bright, crimson red.

"What the..." I muttered.

"What?" Buffy asks.

I point up at the rafters. "Something dripped onto me. I think it's blood."

She pales. Then, she reaches up to a shelf to see what's dripping. I groan in disgust when a veiny, pink brain falls from the shelf and into her hands. Buffy lets out a startled yelp and drops the brain. It splats when it hits the floor.

♱ ♱ ♱

When we make it back to the library, I tell Xander the whole story. His reaction was what I expected it to be. "Oh, that's foul!" he blanched, shaking his head.

Willow is at the PC, and I watch over her shoulder as she types on the keyboard, looking at file after file. Buffy walks up to us, staring at her hands. "I'm never gonna stop washing my hands."

Xander crosses his arms over his chest. "So, the dummy tells us that he's a demon hunter. And we're, like, fine, la la la la. He takes off, and now there's a brain. Does anybody else feel like they've been Keyser Soze'd?"

She shakes her head. "Sid's on the level, I'm sure of it. But why would the demon have rejected the brain? I—I mean, I thought Morgan was the smartest kid in school."

Willow nodded, pointing at the student file she had pulled up onscreen. "He was, look at his grades: all A's. He was even taking college classes. Wait a second."

"What is it?" I ask, peering over her shoulder. My eyes narrow as I scan the document.

"All these sick days," Willow informs.

"He was off for, like, half the year!" Xander gasps.

Buffy chews on her bottom lip, clearly deep in thought. "Check the school nurse's file."

Willow types on the keyboard. "Look at this! 'In case of emergency, contact Dr. Dale Leggett, California Institute of Neurosurgery, Cancer Ward.'"

Xander's eyes widen. "Brain cancer?"

"Poor guy," I mumbled. He had been going through so much, and we all accused him of being a murderer...I feel my heart pang at the thought.

Willow sighs in realization. "That's why he had all the headaches."

I chew on my bottom lip. "This means that this demon still needs a healthy and super smart brain," I realize.

Xander smiles. "In other words, I'm safe!" He jokes.

Buffy nods at my statement. "And it's gonna be looking for the smartest person around."

I realize what she means and we all look at Willow. She looks back and forth between the three of us.

"What?" she asks fretfully. "What could a demon possibly want from me?"

I chew on my bottom lip, hesitant to answer. I didn't want to tell her the truth and frighten her more than she already was.

Xander is quick to prove our point. "What's the square root of eight hundred and forty one?"

"Twenty-nine," Willow blurts, not even taking a second to add it up in her head. Her head hangs low. "Oh, yeah."

"Don't worry, Willow. As long as you're with us there's absolutely no way that demon is gonna get what he wants." Buffy places a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"If it does—" I pause, pulling my dagger up for everyone to see. It was covered in vampire ashes, and I wipe the blade on my pants leg, leaving a reddish-gray smear. "We'll handle it."

Buffy begins to pace. I watch her movements, beginning to bite my black-polished nails in frustration. "This is ridiculous. We can't just sit here and wait for him to come to us. We have to figure out who we're dealing with."

Xander raises his hand. "I still vote dummy."

I roll my eyes at his statement. "No, I think we can trust him. Buffy and I ruled out all the people in the talent show..."

Willow nods. "That's because they were all there. But that's before we found the brain."

"Right. So it probably is one of them." Buffy stops in her tracks, and her eyes widen. "And Giles doesn't know! He's with them all right now!"

Xander dismissed her with a wave of a hand. "Giles can handle himself. I mean, he is really..." he trails off, and it clicks for all of us. Giles was intelligent, with a book knowledge unlike no other. He was the perfect victim.

"Smart," I finish. "Damn it!"

Buffy bolts to the library door, slamming it open and running down the hall. "Giles!" she screeches. I'm hot on her trail, my dagger in hand. Xander and Willow aren't far behind.

When we make it to the auditorium, I skid to a stop. To my horror, Giles was strapped to a guillotine onstage and Marc held a hatchet in his hand.

"This is so bad," I said under my breath.

Marc continued to circle Giles, reciting some big speech about there being a trick to his act. Then, he lifts the hatchet, and hacks at the rope once. Twice.

Before he can take a third and final swing, Buffy lunges at him and tackles him to the floor. I rush to her aid and leg sweep him as he tries to climb to his feet. He falls back onto the floor, and I hold my dagger in front of me, wielding a fighting stance. My eyes narrow as I focus on him.

"Come on," I teased the demon. "You're not going to give up without a fight, are you?"

Marc growls and tries to get up again. Buffy throws a kick to his face, and he goes down. I see that the skin on his face is beginning to turn back into its demon state.

"Ewww!" Buffy cries in disgust.

I shudder. "You're ugly—have you ever considered plastic surgery?"

Marc takes advantage of Buffy's distraction and jumps up and punches her. She spins around and falls to the floor.

I climb onto Marc's back and attempt to stab him with my dagger, but I miss when he thrashes, trying to get me off of him. The blade sinks into his arm and with a roar, he successfully flings me off of his back. I land right in front of the guillotine, my head cracking against the wooden surface. I shake my head, seeing stars.

The rope above stretches and snaps, and the blade begins to fall. Giles yells out and clamps his eyes shut.

I watch with wide eyes as Xander grabs the rope from midair and stops the blade. I sigh in relief when he pulls the rope back up, holding it in place.

Buffy tries to gets up, but is punched by the demon and collapses. I climb to my feet, preparing to lunge at him once again, but he senses it, sending a roundhouse kick to my face.

I stumble back, blood instantly pouring from my mouth. I spit out the bitter crimson liquid and cry out in shock when I see one of my molars hit the stage, covered in blood. "You—ugh!" I groaned. "That was my tooth!"

"Serves you right," he responds, venom lacing his words. I let out a low growl and surge forward, ripping the dagger out of his arm. He howls in pain and clutches the wound.

I twirl my blood-soaked dagger. "Maybe I should rip your fangs out. See how you like it."

Buffy gets up and rushes over to Marc. I watch, feeling proud as she grabs him and falls backward, pulling him down with her and flipping him over onto his back. She's up and facing him in an instant. When he gets up she punches and kicks repeatedly, dazing him.

He staggers backward and stumbles into his disappearing-act box, and the door closes on him. Behind us, Willow keeps hacking at the lock on the guillotine.

"How do you lock this thing?" Buffy hisses, holding the door shut with her hands. I shrug and press my back against it as well, hoping the added force would hold him in.

Our efforts wouldn't have made any difference, because Marc just punches through the box and reaches for Buffy. I fall onto my butt, knocked down by the sudden force as Marc kicks and punches his way out of the box.

He growls at me and faces Buffy. He has completely reverted to his demon form now. He comes at her, grabs her by the neck, and lifts her from the floor.

"No!" I yell. I prepare to climb to my feet but he shoved me back. I collide with what's left of the wooden disappearing box and it crumbles, taking me down with it. I groan in pain, holding my already throbbing head in my hands. Surely I had a concussion, if not that then brain damage.

"What's happening?" Giles calls out.

The demon slams Buffy up against a wall with his hand around her throat. I watch in horror as he does it over and over again. Buffy's face was turning purple.

Willow finally gets the lock to break and quickly pulls it off. I clamber to my feet and help her and Giles push the head restraint up. He gets out as fast as he can, and reaches down to undo the restraint at his feet.

Sid jumps onto the demon's back and begins stabbing it repeatedly with his knife. The dummy had shown up just in time. "I found you!"

The demon ignores Sid and continues slamming Buffy into the wall. Giles finally gets himself loose and I help him to his feet. I watch as Sid forces the demon to let go of Buffy.

He jumps off of his back, and Buffy decks the demon right in his face. I join in, kicking his gut as hard as I possibly can, making him stagger back onto the bench and land with his neck in the guillotine.

"That's what you get for knocking out my tooth!" I yell in triumph. Xander gives me a surprised look and I smile, showing him that my teeth are red from the blood. He cringes and shakes his head.

"Let go!" Buffy cries to Xander. He does just that, and the blade falls, chopping off the demon's head. It lands in the basket with a quiet thump. Its body slumps lifeless on the bench.

I smile at the sight, whilst Willow shudders in disgust. We all stare at what's left of the demon.

Giles turns to face us. "Erm...I must say, all of you...your timing is impeccable."

Sid steps up to the demon's lifeless body. "And now for the big finish." He positions himself over the demon's chest, holding his knife high in the air.

"What are you doing?" Buffy asks.

Sid's wooden eyes focus on hers. "It's not enough. He'll come back. You have to get the heart. Then all of this'll be over."

Buffy holds out her hand for the knife. "Let me." I knew she had sympathy for the ventriloquist dummy. Admittedly, I did too.

Sid shakes his head. "I got it. Thanks." He wields back with the knife and plunges it into the demon's heart. He pulls back to do it again, but his aim was true the first time. I watch sadly as he slumps over onto the demon with the knife still in his wooden hands, now a lifeless puppet.

Buffy lets out a deep breath. Giles takes off his glasses, wiping the lenses with his tweed jacket.

She kneels in front of the dummy and scoops it into her arms. Then, she walks offstage, leaving the rest of us behind.

I sigh, meeting Xander's eyes. Then I follow behind Buffy. Xander, Willow, and Giles do the same.

"So much for a curtain call," I mumble. We exit the theater, and the door swings shut behind us. I guess there wasn't any use in having a talent show tonight.