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I needed to talk to Melaka Fray. Talk as in "converse with," not talk as in "get my ass kicked by."
So I decided to draw her out. With Harmony as bait.
Fray took the bait. Just as I expected. And she was totally taken aback by Harmony's appearance. Just as I'd hoped. And while Fray was gaping at Harmony's outfit from the 21st century, I managed to tag her with a garbage truck from the 25th.
For once, pink worked for Harmony. Not that she'll shut up anytime soon about me using her as bait. But she'll get over it eventually.
I wasn't concerned about killing Fray. Slayers are notoriously tough. She could handle a garbage truck. I was more focused on knocking the girl out. Seemed to be the only way to get a word in edgewise.
Once I had her tied up, I waited for her to come around. Took a while. And when she woke up, she muttered something about girders hitting her in the face.
And yeah, she was pissed.
But while she was obviously straining to break the chains I'd wrapped her in -- chains I knew she'd eventually break, given the chance -- I had a captive audience.
First I pointed out to her that even though Harmony and I are vampires, we didn't kill her. Nor did we have any intention of killing her. We just needed her to listen. This got her attention.
Then I explained what happened, as best as I could. This got her to stop trying to break the chains, which meant she was listening.
Then I asked her for her help in getting in touch with the Watchers' Council, so that we could get back to the present and, as it happened, out of her way. This got her to laughing.
Apparently, there is no Watchers' Council in this era. Or at least, a Council worth talking to. Apparently they're all crackpots sequestered somewhere. "Babbling and drooling on each other," were Fray's exact words.
Fray's Watcher? Set himself on fire. Before telling her she was even a Slayer. And then, she was trained by a demon named Urkonn, who had no ties to the Council and who eventually betrayed her.
This got me to snap the chains and free her myself. Because this was a waste of time.
Surprisingly, she didn't run. Or, better yet, try to stake us. She wasn't the friendliest girl I'd ever met, but she did offer to help, even if she wasn't entirely convinced Harmony and I weren't nuts.
So...that's it, then. No Council. No way home. And I'm still convinced we're being watched somehow.
Unless...
Fray says she has connections in the Uppers. We may need her to get in touch with them.
I need to know if there's any lawyers in the future...
So I decided to draw her out. With Harmony as bait.
Fray took the bait. Just as I expected. And she was totally taken aback by Harmony's appearance. Just as I'd hoped. And while Fray was gaping at Harmony's outfit from the 21st century, I managed to tag her with a garbage truck from the 25th.
For once, pink worked for Harmony. Not that she'll shut up anytime soon about me using her as bait. But she'll get over it eventually.
I wasn't concerned about killing Fray. Slayers are notoriously tough. She could handle a garbage truck. I was more focused on knocking the girl out. Seemed to be the only way to get a word in edgewise.
Once I had her tied up, I waited for her to come around. Took a while. And when she woke up, she muttered something about girders hitting her in the face.
And yeah, she was pissed.
But while she was obviously straining to break the chains I'd wrapped her in -- chains I knew she'd eventually break, given the chance -- I had a captive audience.
First I pointed out to her that even though Harmony and I are vampires, we didn't kill her. Nor did we have any intention of killing her. We just needed her to listen. This got her attention.
Then I explained what happened, as best as I could. This got her to stop trying to break the chains, which meant she was listening.
Then I asked her for her help in getting in touch with the Watchers' Council, so that we could get back to the present and, as it happened, out of her way. This got her to laughing.
Apparently, there is no Watchers' Council in this era. Or at least, a Council worth talking to. Apparently they're all crackpots sequestered somewhere. "Babbling and drooling on each other," were Fray's exact words.
Fray's Watcher? Set himself on fire. Before telling her she was even a Slayer. And then, she was trained by a demon named Urkonn, who had no ties to the Council and who eventually betrayed her.
This got me to snap the chains and free her myself. Because this was a waste of time.
Surprisingly, she didn't run. Or, better yet, try to stake us. She wasn't the friendliest girl I'd ever met, but she did offer to help, even if she wasn't entirely convinced Harmony and I weren't nuts.
So...that's it, then. No Council. No way home. And I'm still convinced we're being watched somehow.
Unless...
Fray says she has connections in the Uppers. We may need her to get in touch with them.
I need to know if there's any lawyers in the future...