Buffy had spoken to Xander about his spending so much time with Seo.
She got that he had a whole protective thing going on. She got that he seemed really worried that Seo was going to try to kill herself. But whatever suicidal tendencies Xander had seen in Seo, Buffy hadn't.
Buffy had met people that had killed themselves — for one reason or another. Heck, she'd met basically every dead person in Sunnydale, back when she'd been battling the First! And Seo didn't strike Buffy as the suicidal type.
She did strike Buffy as the lie-about-anything-about-myself type.
"I'm taking Seo out," said Buffy, catching Xander and Seo just before they were about to leave. She gave them a hard, challenging glare. Daring them to contradict her.
"Buffy," said Xander, very softly, "Seo's kind of… trying to get over her fear of…"
Seo, however, dropped Xander's hand and bounced over to Buffy, her face illuminating. "Can I really?" she asked. "Can I come with you? Really? Can I?"
Buffy was starting to have second thoughts about it. She could just imagine having to babysit some teenage looking kid who acted like she was five.
But… no. Buffy had busted this kid out of Torchwood. That made Seo her responsibility.
"We should go somewhere really crowded," Seo proposed. "With lots of people! Xander and I have been working really hard on the, you know, getting used to being around people thing. And… and… we definitely should go somewhere with lots of people!"
"Yeah, yeah, okay," said Buffy, who really didn't care where they actually went. "Fine. People. Let's do people."
Perhaps Buffy did what she did next because it seemed the best place to amuse someone with the maturity level of a toddler. Or maybe Buffy thought Seo was evil, and found the idea of Seo being chased by feral pigeons amusing. Maybe it was just because Buffy was finding Seo's bubbly personality really draining, and she honestly couldn't think of anywhere else.
But they wound up at the North Terrace of Trafalgar Square.
Seo rushed forwards, her eyes filled with excitement, the moment she spotted the bird-feed sellers and all the little kids, nearby, feeding pigeons.
"It's just like Mary Poppins!" Seo cried.
Okay. So… in Seo's childhood… no on the chocolate. Yes on the Disney movies.
"Yeah," said Buffy. "Except, you know, selling bird-feed in Trafalgar Square is technically illegal, trained hawks are being released to get rid of the feral pigeon population, and…" Buffy gave a half shrug, "I've killed, like, three demons, here, in the past year."
Seo's enthusiasm dropped a little. "Oh."
"So… not so Disney Musically," said Buffy. "But, still. Big on the crowds-of-people thing."
Seo hesitated. Like a little kid, waiting for permission from Buffy to run off and play.
Buffy sighed. "Oh, just go… dance with pigeons or something!" she said. "Whatever."
Seo grinned, then raced off to explore.
Xander had told Buffy about Seo's people-are-around freak-out. He'd told Buffy that Seo, as a child, had been very isolated. But, judging by what Buffy was seeing today, Seo was either a very quick learner, or a very good liar.
Because Seo immediately fell in with a group of kids. No problem whatsoever.
"Of course they can speak!" Seo was explaining to the kids. She crouched down, and made soft cooing noises to a nearby pigeon.
The pigeon, at first, did nothing.
"What did you say?" asked one of the kids.
"I'm just telling it to come over here." Seo tried again, and this time, the pigeon glanced over — almost lazily. Then shuffled towards them.
All the kids cried out in delight.
Which, of course, caused the pigeon to start, violently. And fly away.
Seo turned to the kids. "Be very quiet," she urged them. Then tried again, with another pigeon.
This one came right towards them, and then hopped on Seo's arm. The children were all enraptured, as Seo pet its feathers, a delighted grin on her face.
Okay, seriously, what part of the words 'feral pigeon population' hadn't Seo understood?
Buffy stomped over, prepared to drag Seo away and reprimand her for petting some bird that probably had all kinds of horrible diseases and stuff, then stopped. And retreated.
This kid had survived Torchwood-style poisons.
Buffy was guessing she could probably handle a few feral pigeons.
The other thing was… there was something kind of… magical-Disney-fairytale about it. Seo, pigeon on her arm, surrounded by fascinated children, explaining exactly what the pigeon was saying. Using a lower, slightly more gruff voice, for the pigeon.
And more and more kids began to assemble around Seo, as she told elaborate, impossible stories about these pigeon's lives. As she pretended to converse with the pigeons, have arguments with them, and even break up some pigeon-fights happening nearby.
The kids loved it.
Most of the parents, nearby, just assumed that Seo was some tourist trap street performer, and were happy to let their kids watch. Some even gave Seo a tip, before they left.
One mother, nearby, had encouraged her son to go watch Seo's little show. A son who, Buffy couldn't help but note, had a very nasty looking black eye.
And the mom wasn't looking in such good shape, herself.
Buffy knew the moment Seo spotted the little boy with the black eye. The little boy who tried to keep in the background, who didn't want to draw attention to himself, who cowered as if in fear. Buffy knew the moment Seo had spotted him, because Seo let her pigeons fly away, and walked over to the boy. Bent down, eye to eye with him, and studied his face, carefully.
"What happened?" she asked him, in a very soft voice.
The boy didn't want to talk.
Seo asked him his name, instead, and when he told her it was Jim, she said, in a very serious voice, "Jim. Be honest with me. Are you secretly a superhero, who battles back the forces of darkness? Is that how you became injured?"
The kids around her renewed their interest in Seo's act.
"I've been told," Seo explained to the rest of them, "that there've been three demons fought off, in this very place, over the past year. And I'm guessing," patting Jim on the back, "that you've been the one fighting them off. While we're not looking."
"I want to fight off demons!" shouted a little girl.
"Me, too!" shouted a little boy.
Jim seemed to gain a little extra self-confidence, as the others all rallied to join his monster-fighting group. Buffy glanced over at Jim's mother, hoping that she'd be pleased.
But she was trying to hold back a great big, muscular guy, who looked pretty drunk.
The guy had his eyes narrowed at Seo, as he broke free from his wife and marched forwards. Buffy crept a little closer, herself, eyes trained on the big guy. Half expecting him to grab up Seo and punch her in the nose.
Instead, he just yanked Jim away, snapping something rude-sounding at Seo that Buffy couldn't quite make out.
Then, dragging Jim behind him, he stormed off.
Seo stood, for a moment, saying nothing, her eyes fixed on the retreating Jim. When one of the kids nearby whined at Seo to continue, she gave a large smile, and resumed her act with the pigeons. As if nothing had happened.
"Do you think they bought it?" Seo asked Buffy, when she'd finished.
"That you could actually talk to pigeons?" Buffy shrugged. "I dunno, but they sure liked the idea."
Seo seemed a little affronted by this. "I can talk to pigeons."
Buffy shot Seo a skeptical look. "No, you can't."
"I can, too!" Seo assured her. "I speak Bird. I just lied to the kids about what the pigeons actually said." She made a face. "Basically, all birds ever talk about is regurgitating worms. It's pretty gross."
"Yep," said Buffy, with a sigh. "You speak Bird. And you started playing cello when you were one year old. Any other fun little stories about your childhood, Seo?"
Seo seemed a little hurt by this. "You don't believe me?"
"No," said Buffy. "And I'm guessing, if I asked you about your little learning Bird episode, you'd say something absolutely insane, like… I don't know. You were out hiking in the middle of the desert, wearing snowshoes you'd woven for yourself from the nose hairs of the Minotaur, and then a pigeon came along who could speak English. And taught you."
Seo said nothing for a moment. "That's… a lot better than what I was going to say," she confessed. "Can I steal it?"
"If you promise never to tell me who taught you to speak Bird," said Buffy, "then yes. You can." She turned on Seo. "And… why would you even want to speak Bird, anyways?"
"I got really bored," said Seo.
Buffy sighed. That wasn't worth dignifying with an answer.
"And… I was five," Seo added, quietly.
Buffy stopped in her tracks. Closed her eyes. Seo had learned to speak a foreign language — an animal foreign language — when she was five. Because she was bored.
"I really didn't want to know that," Buffy muttered.
"Well, I wanted to be a Disney princess when I grew up!" said Seo. "You know! The kind that runs through forests and sings beautifully and speaks to animals. So… I didn't have anything better to do…"
"So you learned to speak animal languages," said Buffy.
Seo grimaced. "That was a mistake. Take it from me. Animals are weird."
Buffy didn't think she wanted to hear any more of this. No, scratch that. Buffy knew she didn't want to hear any more of this. What she wanted was for Seo to stop talking, so Buffy could continue to pretend that Seo was just… some… world-destroying demon who was trying to infiltrate her life.
And not think about who, inevitably, must have taught Seo to speak Bird.
"Did you really slay three demons in Trafalgar Square?" Seo asked. There was real awe in her voice. "Can you tell me about it?"
Buffy spun around to face Seo. "I'm not a Disney Princess," said Buffy. "My life is pain, and misery, and heartache. You understand? That's what saving the world actually means! So if you want to think that hanging out with me is going to be some kind of romantic, story-book kind of exciting, then you can stop. Go home. And keep being bored."
Buffy had meant for it to be a warning. She hadn't intended it to completely devastate Seo.
But now, Seo was staring at Buffy as if Buffy had just bludgeoned her pet puppy to death in front of her. Shock, betrayal, horror and devastation ripped through her face.
"Look, I'm just saying… real life isn't like your little stories and games and stuff," said Buffy. "You can't treat it like it's some amusement you come up with when you're really bored."
Seo said nothing. Her expression never changing.
Then she turned, and ran.
(Okay. Running away. It… doesn't mean anything. Ignore it, Buffy. Just ignore it.)
Buffy chased after Seo, both of them ducking and dodging and weaving their way through crowds of people, Buffy calling out after Seo, but Seo either not hearing, or not wanting to listen.
She darted down a back alley, and Buffy, just barely catching the movement, swore beneath her breath and followed. She could see Seo's image vanishing, as it turned a corner, and Buffy opened her mouth, to call out, again.
Her voice was silenced by Seo's shriek.
Then, the sound of an alien gun echoed through the alleyway.
Seo came skittering back around the corner, and then raced in the other direction, Buffy spinning on her heels and rushing out after Seo, once more.
"Who…?" Buffy asked.
"Torchwood!" Seo hissed, as she turned back onto the main street.
Behind them, Buffy could hear the shouts of Torchwood agents, encouraging one another to send for backup, contact Yvonne, and hurry up, because they'd just spotted their escaped prisoner.
And they weren't letting Seo escape, again.
Buffy glanced around at the CCTV cameras. Their best chance, Buffy knew, was to lose the Torchwood Agents in the crowd of people around them — but… damn it, this was Torchwood. Buffy knew what that meant. Overfunded, alien-fighting Torchwood. They'd get this area clear faster than she could imagine, saying it was police business.
In fact, Torchwood had probably already spotted Seo on the CCTV cameras.
Which meant… no losing the pursuing agents in the crowd.
Buffy skimmed her eyes across the road, before she spotted… yep. Manhole cover. That meant sewer tunnel, and that was always the go-to Buffy-escape-route.
She grabbed up Seo and dragged her towards it, prying the cover off the top. A car swerved by them, honking angrily. Buffy ignored it, and jumped down into the sewers, dragging Seo in after her.
"What…?" Seo asked, but Buffy shushed her. Too echoey in the sewer tunnels. And they had to get somewhere hidden, ASAP.
"No CCTV cameras," Buffy whispered to Seo in her sewer-hiding voice, as they got back to their feet, and ran along the outside pathways of the sewer tunnel.
Seo glanced around the sewer tunnels, as if looking for the missing cameras. "Those cameras are set up for Torchwood?" Seo whispered back.
"No, Torchwood just hacks them," Buffy replied. She could hear pursuing Torchwood Agents, climbing down into the sewers after them. They sounded like they were on the phone with Hartman. Calling for backup.
"I thought this was a faraday cage," Seo whispered.
"I call it a Buffy Tunnel," said Buffy, turning another corner. "Who's Faraday and why does he need a cage?"
Seo clanged her foot against the metallic sides of the sewer, and Buffy, swearing under her breath, yanked the girl away before she could attract enough attention to herself to get caught.
"I was right!" Seo whispered. "It is a faraday cage!"
"Good for you," said Buffy. "Now be quiet!"
"But how can their phones be working," Seo continued, "if we're in a faraday cage?"
Buffy thought answering that question would be a lot easier if she knew what a 'faraday cage' actually was.
"Archangel works everywhere," Buffy told Seo. She still remembered the commercials — a kid playing, getting trapped in a bomb shelter, calling for help on his cell phone, and being rescued. And then there was that one about the guy who can call 9-9-9 after getting stuck in an avalanche. Yep. Archangel worked everywhere.
Buffy yanked Seo around another corner, then stopped. As she realized it was a dead end.
Damn it.
She shushed Seo, hoping that maybe the Torchwood Agents would pass them by. But… damn, damn, damn, they must have all kinds of bio-scanning equipment and things, because the agents were getting closer and closer to them. Their flashlights shining through the darkness, trapping Buffy and Seo in their hiding place.
Buffy held her breath, as they paused, just outside their alcove.
Please pass them by. Please. Please. Please!
"In here!" one of the agents shouted, stepping forward to shine his flashlight into Buffy's hiding spot.
Damn.
Buffy turned to Seo, trying to reassure her that everything was okay and they should just go with it and surrender, then try to escape later — probably when Buffy got around to alerting Giles and the others that she needed a rescue.
But Buffy didn't have the chance.
Because Seo grabbed Buffy by the arms, and, with an angry yell, threw her against the side of the sewer. Buffy landed with a heavy thud that shook through her whole body.
A myriad of flashlights fixed on them.
The hurried rush of footsteps, and a shout of angry Torchwood people, giving chase, as… Buffy assumed… Seo escaped.
Good going Buffy. Way to put your faith in someone you're pretty sure is going to wind up stabbing you in the back the first chance she gets, and then be surprised when she stabs you in the back the first chance she gets.
Buffy felt herself propped up, checked over for injuries.
"Civilian appears to have no serious injuries," the Torchwood Agent checking her over started. "She…" Then the agent stopped. "Oh."
And noticed the dagger in Buffy's hand, the exact same moment that Buffy did.
"That's not a civilian," said another Torchwood agent, approaching. "It's Buffy Summers. She's on our side." The Torchwood agent offered Buffy a hand, and got her to her feet.
Buffy was still trying to figure out how this dagger — her dagger, which she'd very carefully hidden on her before going off with Seo — had wound up in her hand. And whose blood was on the blade.
"Rick Poltar," the Torchwood agent introduced himself. He nodded over at the other one. "That's Jane Linkold. Torchwood London."
Jane pried the dagger out from Buffy's hand, examining the blood.
"Judging by the color," she said, "I'd say it's our prisoner's."
Buffy felt a little overwhelmed. As she realized that Seo must have cut herself, then thrust the dagger into Buffy's hand. That Seo — by attacking her and then ditching her — hadn't been turning on Buffy. But had been demonstrating to Torchwood that Buffy wasn't on Seo's side.
"So you've been hunting her down, too?" said Rick. "Bet you've had better luck than us. That alien just doesn't want to get caught."
Jane, in the meantime, activated her headset, and checked back in with Hartman and the other teams, spread out around the sewer.
"Yeah," said Buffy. "Yeah. You know. Aliens that wander around, looking just like me, and giving people my name. That's sign number one that they're up to no good."
"You're right," Rick confirmed. "We don't know what she wants, but that girl's definitely up to no good. No good at all."
From Jane's conversation, Buffy thought it sounded like the Torchwood agents had just lost Seo, somewhere in the sewer system.
"So you know something about her?" Buffy asked.
"She trusted us, when she first showed up," Rick said. "Told us a few things about her past." He gave a short laugh. "The surprising thing is that she was completely shocked when we convicted her and locked her up based on her testimony."
"Why?" asked Buffy. "What did she do, before she wound up with you guys?"
"No idea," said Rick. "But she was in prison. A very high security prison. Impenetrable — her words. Nothing could get in, nothing could get out." He reflected. "Except for her, I suppose. Since she escaped."
Buffy felt herself growing a little colder. "She was in prison?"
"And was there for a very long time," Rick agreed. "I don't know what she'd done, but it's got to be bad. Solitary, probably. Get ten other people around her, and she panics."
Buffy swallowed. Remembering what Xander said about Seo and crowds.
Jane sighed, turning to Rick and Buffy. "She's vanished," she reported. "I told Yvonne about Buffy, here, and Yvonne's given permission for us to use her tracking skills. Otherwise…" Jane gave a shrug. "We might as well give it up and go home."
Buffy frowned. "I thought you guys had serious alien tracking technology."
"None of it works down here," said Jane. Tapping on the metal walls. "Faraday cage. Blocks every transmission except Archangel."
Rick muttered something under his breath, but didn't bother repeating it loud enough for Buffy to hear.
"I guess I can try," said Buffy. "If she's as dangerous as you say. But…" She paused. Bit her tongue. What Buffy wanted to ask was whether Hartman was planning to kill Seo, if they caught her. But… on second thought… not the greatest idea to ask something like that. Not when Buffy was usually the one slicing up aliens.
"But?" asked Rick.
"It won't be easy," Buffy continued. "She's hard to track."
"Yeah, well, like I said," said Jane. "It's either you, or pack up and go home. With this alien, it's not like we can just…"
Jane stopped in mid-sentence. Blinked. Then, ignoring Buffy completely, turned to Rick.
"Nothing?" Rick asked Jane.
"Nothing," confirmed Jane. "We lost her. No trace. Better just pack up and head back to base."
Rick nodded, and then the two of them turned on their heels, grumbling about how they were so sure they'd been that close to catching the alien, when she'd slipped through their fingers. Then they climbed out of the sewers, and closed the manhole cover.
Never giving Buffy a second glance.
"Okay," said Buffy, to no one. Had she been hit by another invisibility ray? Or had Torchwood just gone completely crazy?
"Did it work?" whispered a voice from the shadows. "Did they think… you were on their side?"
Buffy jumped, a mile high, and spun around. But was unable to see anything in the pitch blackness. Still, she could recognize the voice.
"Seo," Buffy said.
The girl who'd been bored out of her mind, who'd been isolated from other people and places, who'd been terrified at the idea that Buffy might send her back.
Because 'back' didn't mean back to a life of decadent luxury where everything was either boring or some kind of game.
'Back' meant back to prison.
"Did that whole Torchwood ignoring me thing have something to do with you?" asked Buffy.
Seo said nothing for a few moments. Then, "I don't think so."
Buffy crossed her arms. "Seo…" she chided, trying her best to sound like an angry parent. Because if Seo was going to play at being her kid, at least Buffy could play at being her mom.
Seo didn't answer.
Buffy sighed, then decided to get out of the sewers. She reached into her pocket, to dig out her cell phone and call Giles, let him know to get the manhole cover off the sewer outlet nearest his house, because she was coming up.
Except… Buffy's phone wasn't there.
Buffy swore. She ventured back into the dead-end sewer pipe where Seo had thrown her against the wall, feeling out against the ground, searching for her phone. Trying to work out where it might have fallen.
"What's wrong?" asked Seo.
"I dropped my phone," said Buffy. "Can you…?"
A light flashed on, just behind Buffy. A soft, glowing light, from a cell phone display.
Buffy turned, to discover Seo, holding out her phone, a sheepish expression on her face. "I… was just borrowing it," Seo said.