A/N: Before I start this chapter, I just want to make a few things clear. For those of you who have read Tobias's profile, you may notice that I haven't put in a few people. They'll come later. Secondly, I'll largely be following the TV show, but I need to fiddle with the timeline just a bit to properly fit in Tobias. Thirdly, Tobias will not be replacing Buffy as the Slayer. He'll be giving her some help with patrolling and the killing of various demons, but Buffy will still be the "boss" of the Scooby gang. Now, on to the story.
Tobias had been in Sunnydale for about four days and had developed a fairly good "life" in the short time.
Joyce had put him to work around the house, helping to clean, organize, cook, and whatever else needed doing, including but not limited to:cleaning the gutters, painting the fence, helping her catalog things for her exhibit and whatever else she needed help with. None of which had proven difficult or even time consuming with him. She had also been remarkably accepting of his powers, once he had used it to dry the fence's new coat of paint instead of letting the sun do its job. She was also a perfect mother figure, normal, friendly, and making sure he was ok. It was...nice.
After getting his "chores" for the day done, he'd head over to Giles house to talk to him and learn more about demons in general, but also about Buffy, Willow, and the rest of the gang and their past adventures. As such, he had drawn similarities between him and the others.
Buffy was the strongest physically, but he already knew that from their few fights. She was also extremely protective of the people close to her and would go to any length to keep them safe. She had also had some relationships with several people, the first one being Angel, a two-hundred-year old vampire with a soul. He, Tobias found out, was indirectly responsible for one of the apocalypses Buffy had mentioned. Turned out Angel had really been named Angelus when he had first started out, and had been a ruthless and sadistic killer, toying with people before killing them like a cat toying with a mouse. He had then run into a group of gypsies who had cursed him with a soul, resulting in him regaining reason and humanity while remembering all the pain and suffering he had caused. He would forever, and if he ever experienced a moment of "true happiness" he would lose his soul, becoming the monster he had been again. That had happened with Buffy, and Angelus had kept pushing and pushing until she didn't have any choice but to kill him. Unfortunately, just before she had delivered the final blow, Willow had recreated the ritual that had given Angel his soul in the first place, allowing him to say goodbye before Buffy killed him.
Then, for reasons that still weren't fully understood, Angel had come back from the dimension where he was supposed to be suffering an eternity of punishment. But whatever had been between him and Buffy had been destroyed and he had departed for Los Angeles, where he was now running a private investigation firm. He hadn't been seen since then.
Willow was the highly intelligent upbeat, friendly, social person of the group, but in high school she had been a painfully shy and bullied teenager, resulting in low self esteem and nerves until she had meet Buffy. She was the one who had come up with the idea of the Scooby gang and it had stuck. She slowly gained confidence over the years until she had enough to start trying witchcraft, which according to Giles, she was remarkable talented at.
Xander was the heart of the gang and the goofball, always making jokes to lighten the mood and make people feel better. He was also uncomfortable around monsters and vampires, but he could be counted on when it mattered. Anya, his girlfriend, was a former revenge demon who had granted the vengeful wishes of woman who had had their hearts broken by men, until she had had her power source destroyed by an alternate Giles, resulting in her becoming mortal, and, through a series of events Giles still didn't fully understand, ending up with Xander. She was still learning how to behave in society and what was acceptable and what wasn't though.
So Buffy was the leader that had suffered heartache and loneliness because of her destiny as the Slayer. Willow was the friendly and smart person who was always happy to make a new friend. Xander was the friendly guy always good for a joke or someone to talk to, and Anya was the misfit trying to learn how to fit in. Tobias figured he could make friends with them easily now that he knew what kind of people they were.
After talking with Giles, he would either look around Sunnydale and see the sights or drop in on Buffy and/or Willow between their classes to talk with them. Buffy was still on guard around him, but considering what her past experiences were, Tobias couldn't blame her. Willow was slowly starting to accept him and he found it fun talking with her. Her cheerful attitude was infectious and her way of talking just made it easier to like her.
As for his spare time, he found a way to occupy that too.
Flashback
Tobias was walking down one of the main streets just looking in the shop windows and taking in the sights to pass the time. He'd talked to Giles for the day and he had figured he'd leave Buffy and Willow alone for the day so that left sightseeing. He was also looking for way to occupy his time.
Reading was out, since all his favorite authors either didn't exist or weren't old enough to start writing, and while reading about demons was interesting, it wasn't how he wanted to occupy all his time. Training was also out, since he couldn't do his normal regime with the equipment available. A job...he had no proof he even existed here, so that was out before it could even be considered.
'Wish I had a hobby outside of fighting and reading, maybe then I could...' Tobias stopped before backing up to look at the shop he had just passed. It was an art shop, the window full of canvas stands, paintbrushes, paint containers, and several other kinds of tools for drawing and painting.
Tobias bit the inside of his lip. He'd never tried drawing before, but maybe it could help. Joyce had given him a bit of an allowance to buy clothes and anything else he needed, but he still had a bit left over. And he had something in mind he wanted to draw. Two somethings he might not see again for a long time otherwise...
Mind made up, Tobias stepped into the shop.
End flashback
He'd bought a black cover sketchbook and pencil set that day and had gone back to the house, sitting down on the porch with a blank sheet of paper and a pencil in his hand. The first pencil stroke was easy and all the ones after even easier. He'd spent the rest of the day doodling away, drawing faces he knew even better than his own. He hadn't let anyone see it though, not even Joyce when she had asked. It was a small piece of his life drawn on each page and until he was ready, he was going to keep it private.
Tobias knocked on Giles door. Having finished his chores for the day and not feeling like drawing, he figured he'd stop by.
"Come in." The british accented voice called.
He opened the door and stuck his head in. "Hey, is this a bad time?" He asked when he saw Xander sitting in one of the arm chairs with a book in his hands and Giles leaning over the coffee table with his back to him.
"Hhmm, hey Tobias." Xander looked up from his book. "Nah, just come in. Me and Giles were just killing time."
"Hhmm, yes." Giles said distractedly.
Tobias closed the door behind him and walked to look over Giles shoulder. He was sketching with a pencil on a pad of paper. On it was a human shape with a black ski mask and goggles, a shirt with black shoulder guards, camo pants, combat boots, and a machine gun in one hand.
"What are you drawing?" Tobias asked.
"Hhmm, people that have been seen around Buffy and Willow's school. Based on descriptions from Buffy, they look something like this." Giles explained, picking it up and showing Xander.
Xander leaned in before nodding. "The latest in fall fashion. I like it. A bit full in the hips for my taste, but otherwise..."
Tobias took the drawing while Giles said, "Well, I think we can safely assume they're human, so...no research needed." He sighed, picking up a blue coffee mug next to him and drinking from it.
"No studying?" Xander said in a mock shocked voice, closing his book. "Damn. Next thing you'll tell me is that I'll have to eat jelly donuts or sleep with a supermodel to get things done around here, I ask you, how much can one man give?" He asked, pointing at Giles accusingly.
"Not too much I'm afraid. Um, once again, I'd say you and I will not be needed to help Buffy."
Xander blinked. "Really?"
Giles shrugged. "Really."
"Ok, well how about this? We whip out the Ouija board, light a few candles, summon some ancient unstoppable evil. Mayhem, mayhem, we show up and kick its ass."
Tobias and Giles both looked at him before Tobias broke the silence.
"That has to be one of the stupidest plans I've ever heard and I've heard of some stupid plans. In fact I've been part of them."
"Not to mention a bit unethical." Giles added as the door opened and Buffy walked in.
"Hello people." She said.
"Hey," Tobias and Xander said at the same time. Buffy looked at the drawing Tobias was holding.
"Hhmm, it's my late night storm trooper."
"Yes, it's uh, it's just for reference. It's fairly accurate, wouldn't you say?" Giles asked.
"That's your man." Buffy nodded.
"Your man actually. You two are patrolling tonight, aren't you?"
"Nope." Buffy said. "I am going to a party tonight. Hopefully a no-fighting, no-biting kinda deal."
"Buffy, somebody needs to find out who these people are." Giles said, taking off his glasses.
"I can tell you right now." Tobias said, dropping the pad on the table. "US government, probably military."
"Are you sure?" Giles asked, picking up the picture and looking at it.
"Giles. I have much experience with the government. Based on what you've told me about this town and the general stupidity of the military in general, I'm surprised this town isn't locked down and quarantined already."
"And Giles, I live in a dorm now," Buffy said flatly. "The girls in my hall want to party, Willow needs some cheering up, and I am going to take her."
Giles grimaced slightly and looked away. Tobias felt like he was intruding on a private moment.
Xander cleared his throat. "How's Will doing..."
"With the black hole of despair she's been living in ever since Oz left?" Buffy shrugged. "She's dealing, I'm helping, ergo party." She addressed Giles with the last remark. "You three can go patrol tonight. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go find something slutty to wear tonight."
And with that comment, Buffy turned and walked out the door while Xander looked like he had a bunch of new images in his head thanks to that comment. Tobias looked between him and Giles.
"Dare I ask who Oz is?"
Tobias walked through the campus of Buffy and Willow's university while trying to come to terms with what he had learned. He didn't have trouble believing Oz was a werewolf. He had trouble believing that Willow was in pain and he hadn't noticed. Now he was smacking himself in the head for not trying to help her.
In any case, he was here for two reasons. One was to find Willow and apologize for not helping (even if he'd barely know her for a week, he still felt bad). The second reason was to try and find out more about those "commandos" that had been seen around. If they hung around here, that meant they had a base, either hiding in plain sight or maybe underground.
He went into one of the buildings and navigated through the crowds, but stopped when he heard "What's the scoop on Buffy Summers?" From one as he walked past. Tobias casually stopped and leaned against a pillar like he was waiting for someone while looking at the group out of the corner of his eye.
A group of guys huddled around a decent looking teen in a red shirt with a black backpack over his right shoulder. A bald African American man that looked older in a red open shirt, a black t-shirt underneath and a dark green bag over his shoulder, plus another good looking man that had brown, wavy hair, jeans, and a army green shirt.
"Buffy?" The red shirted teen asked, looking around. "Eehh, she's alright I guess. I mean, kinda whiny."
"How's that?" The African asked.
"Well, you know. Clingy. I mean we got a little physical," he stopped to chuckled and scratch the side of his nose. "Well, fully physical. And then she's all over me, like we're betrothed or something."
Tobias nodded to himself. That made sense. After Buffy's relationship with Angel, she would crave love and love came from intimacy. But this guy was talking about her like he was confused by that.
"But fun was had, yeah?"
The red shirt chuckled. "Oh, yeah. The word is stamina. I mean, definitely bunny in the sack, but later on...well, you know the difference between a freshman girl and a toilet seat. The toilet seat doesn't follow you around after you use it."
The green shirt man looked like he was about to punch red shirt, but Tobias decided he'd heard enough. His green eyes flashed to silver, unnoticed, while red shirts' head snapped back like he'd been punched and hit the floor with his left cheek already started to swell.
'Insult my friend like that again smart guy, and we'll see how you do without a nutsack.' Tobias thought maliciously while he felt his eyes fade back to their "normal" color and the others helped up red shirt.
After the group part ways with red shirt, Tobias decided to follow them. He had a hunch that he wanted to check on and shadowed them, following close enough to hear but far enough to look like he was just going the same way as them.
"You guys saw that right?" Green shirt asked the African and another on of his friends with a yellow frisbee in one hand.
"Yeah, that was weird. It looked like he was punched, which it looked like you were about to do." Red shirt said quietly. "Do you have any idea how much trouble you could've gotten into if you did?"
"Yeah, well I didn't. And besides, even if I did, Parker would've been too embarrassed."
"But why did you try to hit him in the first place?"
"He...he was just being so crude."
"Oh please," redshirt said with a wave of his hand. "Joe has said much cruder things then that."
"Yeah, but most of those are about your own mother." Green shirt said, getting a good nature smack to the back of the head as a response. "I just..." They stopped walking and Tobias took a seat at a near by bench as the other two turned to green shirt. "I just didn't like hearing him talk about Buffy that way. I think...Well I guess I like her."
Tobias cocked an eyebrow as the red shirt chuckled. "You're kinda like a moron."
Green looked at red. "So you...you knew that I had feelings for her?"
"Everybody knows man." Frisbee guy said.
"'Oh, she's peculiar.' Dead giveaway buddy." Red shirt said in a 'duh' tone of voice.
Green shirt looked between them and said with a slight smile, "Always the last to know."
"So whatcha gonna do?" Red asked.
Green seemed to debate before a smile spread over his face. "Well, I guess I'm going to see a girl." He then turned and walked away, right past Tobias.
'Ah. Young love.' Tobias thought to himself, then laughed. He was too young to be saying things like that. Still this solved a nice problem he had, which was the fact he had no clue where Buffy and Willow's dorm room was. 'Guess it's time to follow the leader.' He got up and followed after green shirt, staying close behind.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Tobias learned a good number of things sitting outside the door to Willow and Buffy's room (whoever had designed these walls needed to recheck their work. He could hear everything through them.) Aside from the fascinating tidbits he heard about Buffy (she has a stuffed pig named Mr. Gordo?) and how much Willow apparently loathed herself (he made a note to help Willow get over her insecurity issues.), but how Riley, which was apparently green shirt names, really liked Buffy but needed help with talking with her. So he was recruiting Willow as an "accomplice" until she said she was not an accomplice, just helping out. He quickly got off the ground and looked like he was walking past as Riley came out of the room. He waited until he was gone, then went back to the door and knocked.
"Riley, I can't help you until tonight, so just...go away."
Tobias opened the door and stuck his head eyes immediately went to Willow who was on a bed on his left, curled up and hugging a pillow close while listening to some extremely depressing music. "I'm don't need any help tonight, but I can come back later if you want..." He made like he meant to close the door.
"Tobias? No, no, no, wait, you can come in!" Willow hurriedly said to correct herself while turning off her music.
"Thanks." Tobias walked in and closed the door behind him. He took a closer look at the room. It looked like the left side was willows and the right Buffy's. Aside from some posters, books, and some personal touches, both sides looked the same.
"So, so what brings you here? How did you even find here?" Willow asked.
"I followed Riley," Tobias jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "I heard him mention he was going to see Buffy, and I remembered that you and Buffy share a dorm room, so, here I am." He said, absently making a "air chair" to sit down on and in the process doing a fantastic mime impression.
"Ok, but...why are you here? And how are you doing that?" Willow asked as she saw him sitting on...well, nothing.
"I took mime classes. Best mime they ever saw apparently. I also do a great trapped in a box routine if you want to see."
"No, no, no thanks I'm good." Willow said. She fidgeted on her bed, unsure of how to proceed so Tobias decided to get down to business.
"Just so you know Will, I didn't just come here because I wanted to visit. But that's a plus too." Tobias added, leaning forward in his chair. "I wanted to say I'm sorry."
Willow blinked. "Sorry? B-but for what?"
Tobias sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "I was over at Giles and Buffy dropped by and...well I won't bore you with the details but I just learned about..." Should he mention the name? It would hurt hurt, but he couldn't just say he learned about just anyone. "Oz."
"Oh." Willow's eyes went from confused to showing the deep and horrible pain she was feeling. Tobias was shocked he hadn't noticed it before and that she had hidden it so well until now. It was a startling difference from her normal happy, supportive attitude. "W-why are you apologizing? You didn't have anything to do with it."
"No. No, I didn't, but I still feel guilty for not noticing you were in pain and that I wasn't helping. So, I'm sorry Willow. For not helping you." Tobias said, bowing his head to look at the floor.
"Hey. Hey, don't be getting guilty on my account, I don't like that." Willow said, swinging her legs off the bed and getting up. "I prefer making people happy, not sad. And besides, you had your own problems to deal with."
"What problems Willow?" Tobias chuckled. "You mean the part where I'm stuck here, or the part where I'm currently living in Joyce's spare room at Buffy's so I have a place to stay? Don't answer that," he said when he saw Willow open her mouth. "My point is, what problems? So I can't get home, big whoop. I will eventually. So I'm living in Joyce's spare room, again, big whoop. I've stayed in worse places than a house with a mother looking over my shoulder. I don't have any pressing problems at the moment Willow, ergo, I feel bad for not helping you with your problems."
"Really, it's, it's fine Tobias, you don't have to worry about me." Willow said, looking down. "I'm nothing special."
Tobias stared at her. "Willow?"
"Hhmm." She looked up just in time to get a flick to forehead. "Ow!"
"Ok, I probably shouldn't have, but I heard your little rant about how you aren't anything special with Riley. And I'm saying right here, right now, you are something special." Tobias started ticking off the points on his fingers. "Being brutally honest, you're smart, you're extremely pretty, you're unbelievably friendly, and from Giles accounts, you're a very powerful witch. Anybody who calls you 'nothing special' is either an idiot, which you are not, or somebody who needs somebody else to talk to."
"I-I guess, but I..." Willow stuttered, looking embarrassed with the praise.
"Ok, Willow do me a favor." Tobias held his hands to stop what he had a feeling would be an excuse. "Don't think of me as a friend that doesn't need to have your problems added to his. Just think of me as someone who will listen to you."
"Like a psychologist?" Willow asked.
"If that's what'll get you to stop asking questions and start talking, then sure. Think of me as your shrink."
"Ok. Ok, um... where should I start? I've never done this before."
Tobias smacked his forehead. When a guy came looking for help to talk to/ask out the girl he liked, she could rant, but ask her to rant and she asked for help doing it. "Ok, um...bitterness, what are you bitter about? Anything at all, just tell me."
Willow opened her mouth, then closed it, glancing at the ceiling in thought. "Well...I don't like how Buffy has been lately?"
"Are you asking me or telling me." Tobias said flatly. "Willow, this is you we're talking about. There is no right answer or wrong answer. Just be honest and give me an answer."
"All right. I don't like how down Buffy has been lately." Willow said, firmer and more confidently.
"Ok, why has Buffy been down lately?"
"Ok, well, there was this really bad douchebag that Buffy meet a while ago. At first he was great, you know, fun, attractive, talked about intimacy and everything that Buffy looks for in a guy. Long story short they kinda...well, you know."
"I can guess." Tobias nodded. "And I'm also sensing a but..."
"Yeah, well, we kinda found out he was douchebag afterwards when he didn't call. Then Buffy found him on campus again and it turned out he was just looking for a good time. It really tore her up."
"Question." Tobias held up a finger. "Would this 'douche bags' name happen to be Peter? About yeh tall," Tobias held up his hand. "Black hair, eyes that drive people crazy."
"Yeah. Yeah that's him, how'd you know?" Willow asked.
"Well I heard Riley's friends asking him about Buffy and...well his description warranted an invisible punch in the face. Think I might've knocked a tooth loose too. So, tell Buffy that the next time you see her please."
"Wow. And you look like you'd never hurt a fly." Willow said, shaking her head.
"Course not, what did a fly ever do to me? But please, continue."
"Ok, um, what else what else? I don't like how fate seems to stringing Buffy along. You know,she's saved the world three four times now, but she can't even get a day off to relax?"
"Fair enough." Tobias said. Willow was getting more and more passionate, so if he subtly nudged her, he might get her to face her problem. "What about how people treat you?"
"Oh, I can't stand it sometimes." Willow said, holding her hands like she wanted to strangle something. "I ask my psych teacher to keep a spot open for Oz for when he comes back, and you know what she said? No! That she doesn't make exceptions and yet that my exception is somehow exceptional enough for her to make an exception, when I was just asking for something so my boyfriend can rejoin the class when he comes back!"
She was on the right track, now she just needed to keep going. "But you think she said no for a different reason?"
"Yeah, I do! And I think it's because life loves screwing with me!" Willow said, now getting angry. "I mean, look at me! I loved Xander, my best friend, for years without him noticing, ever! Then when I did, it was because I was seeing someone else at the time! And the only reason I went out with Oz in the first place was to make him jealous, but then I felt guilty later because I really like Oz, even if he was a werewolf! And then we got a really good relationship going and we really enjoyed each other's company. Then that stupid werewolf Veruca had to come along and ruin everything!"
Tobias noticed she was starting to tear up and her voice was breaking. "She tried to take him away, and she tried to kill me to do it. And then...and then he left. He left me."
She sat down on the bed, sobbing into her hands while Tobias quietly went to sit next to her, then put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close. The redhead clung close to him while she let out all her pent up frustration and despair. He could tell she had needed this desperately, but she had been keeping it locked up inside so she didn't worry her friends. And he spoke from experience when he said that was not healthy and could lead to some very bad thoughts or actions. Last time that had happened to him, he had almost killed himself from sleep deprivation.
"It's ok, it's ok. Just let it out," Tobias said quietly, slowly rubbing her shoulder comfortingly. "Nobody else is here. You can just let it out."
He let Willow have as long as she needed, and it was a good thing he didn't have any plans on going anywhere, because it took half an hour before she stopped. She went from sobbing to quiet crying and to sniffling and finally to the occasional hiccup.
"Better?" He asked when she finally stopped.
She sniffed before pulling away. Her eyes were bloodshot and she had tear tracks that were slightly black from her makeup. His shirt had a large wet spot from all her tears.
"Better," she whispered, wiping her eyes with her sleeves and looking...lighter. "Sorry about your shirt." She said, noticing the mess she had made on him.
"Don't be. If it helped you cope, I was fine with it." Tobias said, waving off the apology. "I could tell you needed to let out that grief you were carrying."
"Yeah. Yeah, I guess I did." She said, pulling herself back together. She hadn't had a chance to properly mourn Oz's leaving because things kept coming up. Demons attacking, vampires trying to kill them, school work, details in her friends life that needed addressing. Plus she hadn't wanted to add to their burdens with her own problems. It had been hard, keeping it bottled up and out of sight. Now that she had let it out though, she felt better. Lighter, like she had dropped boulders she had been carrying without even realizing it. She then realized something. "Hey...you planned this!" She said, pointing at him accusingly.
"You mean I planned to have you let out your feelings of self hate, grief, anger, and depression by asking you seemingly innocent questions before slowly moving towards your real problems? And that I came up with how to do this when I was sitting outside and happened to hear your little rant with Riley?" Tobias asked innocently. "In what, the five minutes it took to get in, get comfortable and start talking? That plan?"
"Yes." Willow said simply.
"Oh darn, you caught me." Tobias said flatly before chuckling at her expression of rage. Which did not look at all frightening considering she still had bloodshot eyes and her teeth were bared in a childish way. "Willow, you needed it. And if you wouldn't do it on your own, then I needed to give you a push so you would. I had good intentions for this."
Willow's anger deflated with each point he made until it went from being a balloon the size of the Hellmouth to a deflated piece of rubber the size of the Hellmouth.
"Remind me to not introduce you to Professor Walsh. You two could...brainwash the entire class or something."
"Walsh?"
"Uh, yeah Maggie Walsh. She's my psychological teacher. She's actually a world renowned psychologist, but she took a class here this year. We're pretty lucky to have her."
Tobias's alarm bells were starting to ring. A undercover military presence at Buffy's college, and a famous psychologist just happened to take a class the same time that they arrived? He smelled something fishy, and he was going to do some digging.
"I bet. I actually might have to meet her, she sounds like an interesting person." He stood up and smiled. "I'm glad you're feeling better Willow. And if you ever need to talk, don't hesitate to ask please."
"Ok." She said, nodding.
"I mean it Will, if you need to talk about something, then come find me."
"Ok, ok, I promise. That satisfy you?" She said, rolling her eyes.
"For now. I'll see you later." He walked to the door and opened it, then stopped. "By the way, I heard there's going to be a party tonight. Is that private or can anyone join?" He looked over his shoulder.
"What? Oh. Oh, no, no, it's...yeah, anyone can go. It's uh, at 8 at the..."
"Just needed the time. I can probably find the place by the sound of loud music and things breaking." He smirked. "See you tonight then. Oh, and don't think I'm hitting on you either please. I already have a girlfriend."
He walked out and closed the door before he could hear her response, but he had a feeling she was blushing and maybe debating about throwing something at the closed door. His smile slipped out his face as he thought about what she had told him about Professor Walsh.
'I wonder...' Tobias looked quickly and saw a few people in the hall. He took a breath and closed his eyes. He tapped into his power and fired an Air Pulse, the same ones he had been using on patrol to find vampires. He had a hunch he was hoping was dead wrong, or they were all in deep trouble.
The pulse raced outwards, giving him exact details and outlines close to him and getting blurrier the farther away it went. He saw the buildings, basements, rooms, people, everything with varying degrees of sharpness. As the pulse kept getting farther and farther, he started relaxing. Maybe, just maybe, the universe wouldn't prove him...
Wait a minute. One of the buildings had a large amount of air underneath it, and it wasn't from a basement. For one thing, he didn't see any cleaning supplies or anything like that in it. For another...the air indicated the space it was occupying was larger than the building above. Stomach sinking, Tobias concentrated his powers on that specific spot for more details.
The area was large alright, large enough to house the building above it and have room to spare. It also had tunnels that snaked all over campus and towards the nearby woods and town. There were a lot of people walking around, or maybe running. Like they were looking for something. Regardless, he had found what he was looking for. The universe had proved him right.
"I really hate it when I'm right." He said, opening his eyes to show silver in them. He had just found a military base that was hidden directly under Buffy and Willow's school. And that spelled TROUBLE in giant red letters.
Tobias spent the next few hours sitting under a tree out in the courtyards, looking like he was taking a nap to the rest of the world. When in fact he was tracing the paths to and from what seemed to be the nerve center of the base, located underneath the dorm house. He tried to get accurate looks at everything, the best he could with his Air Pulses.
The room under the dorm was the nerve center all right, but it seemed to be more. It had a large depression several hundred feet long, wide, and deep. It had several people crowding around tables that seemed to have demons restrained to them. He could tell they weren't humans by their shapes, and the horns, claws, and various other physical quirks. Outside the pit were military vehicles, some weapon storage areas, and several computer stations. Other rooms seemed to be smaller rooms but built along the same lines. Weapon and uniform storage, changing rooms, what looked like surgery rooms, research and computer rooms. The tunnels were what he expected, but some led to the forest before opening to the air, deep within the woods. Maybe a back door, or the place where they had started building this base. Another entrance was an elevator shaft to the inside of the dorm. One more thing he noticed was there was holding cells, and the occupied ones were holding demons he'd never seen or vampires.
'You've been very busy haven't you?'
Tobias took a breath and yawned, looking like he was waking up. He had learned all he could from long distance and air pulse observation, there was no point in staying here longer. Besides, a quick look at the sun showed that the party was due to start in a hour or so. A party that would be held, if he wasn't mistaken from what he saw, in the dorm with the base hidden under it. This just kept getting better and better.
He got up and brushed off his jeans. The night life tonight promised to be interesting, and he wanted to be ready for any surprises that came his way.
Willow and Buffy both stepped into the dorm and the party. As expected with a college party, it was loud, crowded, and if one looked close enough, you could see they all had drinks in their hands or close by. Most likely alcohol or spiked with it. As for the layout, there was a carpeted dance floor directly in front of them that was full of people that were dancing. On the far side was a wall and a staircase that went to the second floor. To the right of the dance floor was a fireplace that had flames flickering away. Behind the fireplace was a sitting room and then a kitchen across from that. Trays of snacks were scattered here and there.
Buffy looked around and smiled at Willow. "Looks cool."
"Uh-hu." Willow said, pulling at her sleeves. She was wearing shirt that was decorated with a yellow and brown pattern that looked like maple leaves, red jeans, and her normal sneakers.
"Look, we can go." Buffy said, seeing that Willow looked uncomfortable. She was dressed differently that Willow, in a brown halter top, black dress pants, and attractive but practical shoes. He hair was also up in a bun and she had applied very light makeup.
"No, no. We came here to have fun, and that's what we're going to do." Willow said. She refused to let her insecurities get the best of her. Like Tobias had said earlier, she was not nothing and she refused to let people go around saying she was anymore.
"Ok. Well." Buffy responded, still not totally convinced Willow was ok with this. "Oh look, some of the guys are here already." She pointed across the room near the staircase.
"Um, I'm going to grab a soda. I'll come find you guys." Willow excused herself. She needed to find Riley and let him know how to act.
"Ok." Buffy said back before heading towards the group. Willow looked around and spotted Riley leaning against a banister near the boundary of the kitchen and living room with a cup. She casually walked over and put her back to him, arms crossed.
"Okay, she's wearing the halter top with sensible shoes. That means mostly dancing, light contact, but don't push your luck. Heavy conversations is out of the question." Willow said quickly.
Riley nodded nervously "So what do I do?"
Willow rolled her eyes. No wonder he needed help.
"Ask her to dance."
"Right. Dance. Wait. No." He said, sounding vaguely panicky and turning to look right at Willow, who turned to do the same.
"What's the matter?"
He swallowed nervously. "I can't dance."
Willow thought quickly and nodded. "Then talk. Keep eye contact. Funny is good, but don't be glib." Riley nodded again and looked towards Buffy. Before he could leave, Willow added with a determined face. "And remember, if you hurt her, I will beat you to death with a shovel." The blonde looked at Willow, not having expected a threat like that from the friendly redhead. She shrugged. "A vague disclaimer is nobody's friend. Have fun." She said with a smile, patting his shoulder in support.
Riley nodded and took a shaky breath, then drank from his cup before he went to talk to his crush, looking slightly sweaty.
"So do you say that to all the guys that try and date Buffy or is he just special?"
Willow jumped and looked to see Tobias standing right behind her with an amused look on his face.
"Don't do that, you scared me!" She said, brushing her hair out of her eyes.
"Should I be worried about getting a death threat then? Or maybe being turned into a rabbit or blasted through a wall." Tobias laughed at the childishly angry look on her face. Willow just couldn't pull off a serious angry look. Or maybe she could and he just didn't want to see it. "You look nice by the way."
"Oh, thanks. You...look like you." Willow said. She couldn't really say he had dressed up. His clothes always seemed to consist of black shirt, long and short sleeve, and jeans. The only constant was his leather gauntlet/bracelet. "Did you just go out and buy the same outfit over and over?"
"No, had to stop at a few stores to find comfortable jeans." Tobias said. "I can't help it. This is what I'm comfortable in. Any really bright colors make me feel exposed."
"You need a new fashion sense." Willow shook her head, acting sad.
"Speaking of new, I think Riley is choking over there." Tobias brought up, nodding in the direction of Buffy and the older teen. He couldn't see them since there was a fireplace in the way, but he could tell he was nervous. Air going in and out of his lungs faster and his heart rate had increased. A honed application of Air Pulse turned him into a human lie detector, or in this case, nervousness detector.
"Really?" Willow quickly moved to find a place to watch, Tobias following just for the fun of it. They looked around to see Riley sweating and trying to talk while Buffy was apparently confused.
"He's choking alright. And it's about to come to a head..." Tobias trailed off as he saw Riley's lips move. "He choked. He just asked Buffy if she did the reading for chapter nine?"
"Oh, he's professor Walsh's TA." Willow told him as Riley picked up a piece of cheese with a toothpick in it and offer it to her.
"Oh, poor guy," Tobias shook his head. "Probably the heartthrob of several girls on this campus and he can't talk to the girl he likes."
"Hey, it's hard. Buffy isn't your normal girl, and besides, I bet you weren't the smoothest guy when you asked out your girlfriend for the first time."
Tobias looked at her before he started snorting. He put a hand to his mouth to keep in his amusement. "Willow, if you knew how I met my girlfriend, you wouldn't believe it."
"Try me." Willow said, crossing her arms.
"No, don't think I will. Not yet anyways. But I will tell you I met her, and things went from normal to crazy." Tobias chuckled. Willow saw his eyes turn from amused to nostalgic. He sighed. "I admit, I do miss her though."
Willow didn't know what else to do other then pat his shoulder. She spotted Riley walking away from Buffy and towards them looking depressed. "Hey, Tobias, do you want me to..." She stopped when she looked to see Tobias had disappeared. She looked around but between the people and not knowing which direction he went, she didn't see him. "Well, that was weird."
Tobias had ditched Willow for a good reason. Aside from not quite being ready to meet Riley, he wanted to get a look around the dorm and find out how they were hiding that elevator he'd sensed earlier. Firing several pulses as he walked down deserted hallways helped him locate it. He didn't have to worry about anyone seeing his silver eyes because they were all back at the main party dancing and having a good time. He eventually stopped in front of a full length mirror. It reached from the floor to the ceiling and was several feet wide. Tobias looked it over.
'Ok, so if I was hiding an elevator behind a mirror, how would I make it so some people can get in but not others?" Tobias thought to himself. He ran through a few ideas but discarded them, either due to impracticality or being too absurd. Getting frustrated, he sent out a pulse focusing on a ten foot radius around him. But he still didn't find a thing. 'How, how, how would you let someone in? It's not like they can see them...through... Oh crap.'
If this was a two way mirror with some sort of camera behind it, then he had just flashed his eyes at them for a split second. Hopefully they wouldn't spot it on tape, otherwise he just gave himself away to a military base.
He didn't want to take chances and quickly moved through the hallways back to the party. Once he was there, he looked around. Buffy was dancing on the dance floor seductively, Riley was making his way to her, and Willow...he saw a glimpse of red hair go through the front door before vanishing. He quickly moved through the crowd and left the building, spotting Willow heading back to her dorm.
"Willow!" He called, jogging to catch up with her.
"Oh, hey." She said quietly. "Didn't see you at the party so I thought you left."
"No, just looking for the bathroom. Hey, are you ok?" In the dark night, she looked depressed again.
"Yeah, just some...bad memories." She hugged herself like that would ward off said memories.
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"No, if it's ok with you, I'm just going to go back to the dorm."
"Sure. I guess I'll see you when I see you then."
"Thanks." Willow smiled slightly before she turned and kept walking.
"Ok," Tobias sighed, running a hand through his hair. So over the course of a day, he'd learned that the military had a secret base hidden on the university, Willow's heartache and helped her deal with it, evere himself to said military, and now had nothing to do with it being the middle of the night. "I need to get a real social life."
With that sentence, Tobias made sure he was alone before vanishing into the night sky, flying back towards Buffy's house.
"I'm home!" Tobias called as he opened the door to the house. It has been locked and he had no key, but there were remarkably few things that couldn't be opened with air powers. All he had to do was make the lock open from the other side and voila.
"I'm in the kitchen!" Joyce called back as he slipped off his shoes.
"I can tell, something smells good." Tobias sniffed as he walked. "I'm guessing...lasagna."
"And you'd be right." Joyce said as she pulled out the pan from the oven and setting it on the stove. "Did you finish cleaning the gutters today?" She asked while pulling off the oven mitts.
"Took me five minutes and I put the decomposing leaves in your flower bed. And I made sure not to damage said flowers." Tobias responded as he pulled out plates and utensils.
"Thank you, but I still don't know how you do everything so fast."
"I've done things that were much harder than cleaning out gutters Joyce. Not to mention it helps when you blow them out if you know what I mean."
"I still find it amazing that you can do things like that." She shook her head in disbelief.
"Well, it can be like that from time to time, but you'll get used to it." Just to prove his point, Tobias let go of the dishes he was holding so they could float, along with the utensils and dinner, into the kitchen and be set down, with the placement looking completely normal. "Besides, I wouldn't give them up for anything." He smiled as his eyes faded to green. "Shall we?"
They both sat down and Joyce cut up the food before asking, "So how was your day?"
"As well as could be expected in a town that's set over a mystical portal to Hell." Tobias replied as he ate. The lasagna was homemade, since it was far too good to be frozen and he could taste some spices that he knew companies rarely put into their food. "Buffy is doing fine by the way."
"That's good. Keeping up in her classes?"
"Didn't ask her, but I assume so. I've learned some rather interesting things about her school though. Like the fact at the military has apparently set up shop underneath it."
Joyce choked on the drink of water she had taken. "What?"
"Oh yeah. Set up right under one of the dorms and has a secret elevator down to it. And it must've been there for a while because the place is huge and set up pretty well. I think I might also have an idea on what they're doing here."
"And why is that?"
Tobias sighed and set down his fork. "Past experience says that they're here for one of two reasons. Reason one, the people running the base are a secret faction that broke off from the government for reasons unknown but most likely center around world domination or terrorist methods. I doubt that, so that leaves option two, and that one says that the government is somehow aware of the demon population in Sunnydale and are looking to somehow harness them to make their armies stronger and more effective. That being said, I don't think they're aware of Buffy at all."
"How do you know that?"
"If they were, they would've tried to recruit her already." Tobias said simply. "But I'll keep an eye on them and Buffy, make sure she stays safe. Well, as safe as she can be." He added, mostly to put Joyce at ease.
"Thank you." Joyce sighed. She knew Buffy could look after herself, but it was her duty as a mother to worry about her. And finding out that the military was hidden in her hometown just increased her worry and paranoia.
"It's nothing. So how was work?" They chatted about things of increasing triviality until they had finished the small lasagna and we're putting the dishes in the sink when the phone rang. Joyce went to answer it as Tobias started the dishes.
"Hello? Buffy, hi, what's...uh-huh...yeah, he's here. Ok, give me a moment. Tobias? Buffy is on the phone, she's says she needs to talk to you." Joyce called.
"Coming." Tobias dried off his hands with a towel and took the phone from Joyce as he arrived. "Hello?"
"Hey, it's me."
"Really, I couldn't tell." Tobias replied sarcastically.
"Stuff the sarcasm, I need you to get over to campus right away. Spike is there and he's looking for me. I want to bring the fight to him."
"Ok, we have any ideas on where he'll look for you?" Tobias asked as he started getting his shoes on.
"We think he'll look for me on campus buts that's all we really got."
"Ok, I'll be over there in five." Tobias hung up.
"Something wrong?"
"Vampire is roaming on campus and Buffy wants my help tracking it. She doesn't know where he is, but if he's on campus then that only leaves a few..." He stopped suddenly as he realized there was a handful of places Buffy would be at on a school night. At a party, with her friends, or in her...
"What's wrong?"
"Will." Tobias ran out the door and blasted into the night sky, hoping he wasn't too late.
Willow was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling as the same music she had been listening to earlier was playing from her radio/CD player next to her.
The night had been going great. She had been comforting Riley after his disastrous first attempt to flirt with Buffy, saying how he was not asking her to marry him but was just making contact and getting a feel if she was interested or not. Unfortunately the next song that started playing had been one that Oz's band had played and that made her sad all over again. So she had left, having Riley tell Buffy she had, and came back her to be all mopey on her own.
The door knocked and Willow looked at it. "Come in."
The door opened and Spike walked in, holding the door open. Willow instantly scrambled off the bed and stood up, pulse racing. "Spike!"
He smirked and closed the door behind him, slowly strolling towards her while Willow's mind scrambled.
"W-w-what do you want? A-a spell, I can do that." She said weakly. Spike looked at her before looking around the room, walking slowly towards Buffy's side of it. Willow saw her chance and ran for the door. Spike quickly grabbed her and threw her back, causing her to stumble and hit her bed stand as something fell and broke. She breathed in and out shakingly, pushing aside her bangs, as Spike smiled with slight bloodlust.
"I'll give you a choice." He said conversationally. He slowly walked towards Willow while she tried to back farther away from him. "Now I'm going to kill you. No choice on that. But, I can let you stay dead. Or..." He stopped in front of her. "Bring you back." He kept going, face changing to his vampire state. "To be like me." He smiled threateningly.
"I-I'll scream!" Willow threatened half heartedly.
"Bonus." He hissed before moving to bite her neck. Willow did scream until Spike covered her mouth with his left hand. He then turned up the sound on her radio so it drowned out everything else before throwing her on the bed. Willow struggled and clawed at everything she could as the blonde vampire straddled her and tried to grab her flailing arms. He managed to grab her wrists and hold them down as she kept trying to move. He smiled evilly before baring his fangs and bitting her neck. Willow screamed in pain but nobody outside the hall could possibly hear it over the loud music.
A/N: so, big chapter but I figured I'd go big with this one. Now, I'm going to be shifting things slightly in the next chapter but I'm not giving out spoilers, so you'll just have to be patient and wait. Also, I know this chapter might be a bit ridged but that's my writing style. I start firm and then loosen up as the story progresses and I get more comfortable with my writing. So just stay with me and I promise it will get better. In the meantime, please favorite, follow, and review!