Warnings and disclaimer in Chapter 1. Enjoy!
They jumped apart immediately, fumbling for weapons that weren't there and screaming. Their cries brought in the others. Faith, Daniel, and Riley all entered in a fighting pose, only to relax when they saw who their visitor was.
"A good morning to you as well," D'Hoffryn said.
"You scared us to death," Joyce gasped as Spike and Angel ran in from the basement.
"That was not my intention," the demon said pleasantly, "however, given the state of things, I thought it prudent to not be seen. I assure you I would not intrude on your hospitality if the situation were not dire."
"Our situation?" Joyce asked, clutching her chest and trying to calm her heart down. D'Hoffryn nodded to the person next to him. Everyone looked and saw Anya timidly waiting behind her former boss, trying to stay as small as possible.
"Anyanka tells me you have a turned Slayer."
"Oh," Giles piped up. "That situation."
"She also tells me you have a lack of demons to fight." He stopped and examined everyone in the room. Realizing there was no threat, the vampires retreated back to the safety of the basement. Faith and Daniel stood against one wall, Riley in his full commando gear stood next to the opposite wall. Veronica and Albert were hovering in the hallway outside the living room. "You'll need more humans," he deadpanned.
"We've got four squadrons, complete with the latest in weapons technology," Riley defended himself. "It's not a stake, but it gets the job done. Just ask the hundreds of demons we've put away."
"Demon jail," D'Hoffryn laughed. "Humans are so amusing."
"I hope you're here to do more than make fun of us," Giles pushed.
"Yes," he replied, returning his attention to Giles and Joyce. "Anyanka has explained the situation. She has also come up with an intriguing solution, one that I am inclined to agree with. But I do need certain reassurances that you will not interfere."
"With what?" Giles frowned.
"The Order of Taraka," he said smugly. Giles looked between him and Anya, who was trying to shrink even smaller. "I can easily place a bounty but you must first agree to a few terms."
"Such as?" he asked.
"First, you won't kill them as soon as they arrive."
"And give them free reign of Sunnydale," Giles scoffed. "I think not." D'Hoffryn sighed.
"You've made Sunnydale a haven for demons, but you won't extend the same courtesy to those who are coming to your aid?"
"Sunnydale is a haven for demons that have chosen a life of peace," Giles countered. "And helpful or not, I will not let unruly demons ruin that life."
"Fine," D'Hoffryn huffed. "If they promise not to kill…"
"Or hurt," Anya cut in. D'Hoffryn glared at her.
"Or hurt," he repeated, "anyone in town, will you allow them to come."
"Absolutely," Giles said. "And as long as they keep that promise they may stay as long as they desire."
"Secondly," D'Hoffryn continued, "there is the matter of their payment. Anyanka has put forth the idea of a wish as payment for any that survive."
"A wish?" Joyce asked.
"One free, no strings attached wish for any demon who survives the fight."
"With certain stipulations," Giles demanded. The demon sighed again.
"Told you," Anya said from his side.
"Let me guess," D'Hoffryn said unamused. "No loss of life or limb."
"Amongst other things," Giles said.
"A wish?" Joyce repeated. "Like what Anya used to do? Don't they go horribly wrong?"
"That would be the strings," Anya told her. "A wish comes true, but in horrifying ways you never even thought about. That's vengeance demons. But there are also a branch of lesser demons known as djinns."
"Genies," Giles clarified.
"Right," Anya agreed. "Rub a lamp and get three wishes. Hollywood has made them laughing stocks in the last century or so, so they don't get much work, but D'Hoffryn can compel them to comply. And he can order the wishes to be completely straightforward. No strings, no twists, and no horrible consequences you didn't think of."
"Why would you do this?" Giles asked, studying the demon intently.
"A turned Slayer is bad for everyone," he explained. "The last time I saw one I barely made it out alive. Add your dark witch to the mix and everything is at risk until they are stopped. Most demons will fail to see the truth until it is too late, like the last time. I want to act while we can still stop them. But vengeance demons are not fighters. We are tricksters. If the only way I can help is to bring more fighters to the ring while there is still time then that is what I'll do."
"What are you getting out of this?" Joyce asked suddenly. D'Hoffryn glanced beside him.
"Anyanka can be very persuasive." Joyce frowned and turned to the crystal, which still glowed a deep red. "What if I limit the wishes to personal or financial gain?"
"Fine," Giles said after a few minutes. "I promise we will not kill any demon that comes to help, nor will we interfere in the payment process, as long as they don't deliberately attack or target any humans or peaceful demons living in Sunnydale."
"That I can agree to," D'Hoffryn said. Giles held out his hand which D'Hoffryn shook.
"No!" They both looked to the sound of the scream when suddenly Giles was pushed away from the demon. He fell hard to the floor. He was disoriented so it took him a few seconds to figure out Sparky was laying on top of him, panting slightly. Dash followed her brother and was standing protectively in front of them, glaring at the demon.
"Don't you touch him," she snarled, fists curling even though she was clearly terrified. A second later Sparky got to his feet and joined his sister. His lower lip trembled in fear, but he was trying to be as brave as possible.
"Sparky? Dash?" Joyce asked. "Why did you run over Giles?"
"The demon was hurting him," Sparky said. D'Hoffryn was slowly getting over the shock and was regarding the children curiously.
"We won't let demons hurt anyone else in this family," Dash added bravely.
"I am so sorry," Joyce said as she helped Giles to his feet.
"No need to apologize," D'Hoffryn said, taking a step back. "I appreciate loyalty. It is a rare trait." He turned to Anya. "I've decided to disregard my earlier provisions. Do whatever you have to do to protect your family." She nodded, looking slightly relieved. He looked back to Giles. "I shall arrange the bounty at once and return to do my part in the fight."
"Thank you," Joyce said. He bowed to her and disappeared. She turned to the kids. "What do you think you were doing?" she asked, crossing her arms in front of her.
"He was hurting Giles," Dash mumbled, looking down at the floor.
"D'Hoffryn is a family friend," Giles told her. "He wasn't hurting me."
"But the crystal is red," Sparky defended their actions. "That means there's an unknown demon around." They turned to look at the crystal, still showing a deep red.
"That doesn't give you the right to push Giles, or anybody, to the ground like you did. You could have really hurt him."
"But the crystal," Dash started.
"Is clearly broken," Joyce finished. "There are no unknown demons here. I'll have Tara take a look at it. Now, why don't you apologize to Giles?" They mumbled an apology. Joyce looked back at the crystal. "Why is the crystal still red?" she asked. "D'Hoffryn is welcome. It knows his essence." She was pondering the question when Giles inhaled sharply.
"Anya," he asked in barely controlled rage, "what did you do?" Joyce turned toward the young blonde who hadn't moved. But her whole demeanor had changed. Instead of the self-assured young woman she was becoming, she stood there like a teenager who had been caught breaking curfew and sneaking back into the house.
"You knew it was only a matter of time," she said quietly, looking anywhere but at her pseudo parents.
"What was?" Joyce asked, glancing between her and the crystal when she suddenly understood. "Oh."
"How long?" Giles asked.
"Just now," she said. "Part of the deal to get the demons we need to save everyone."
"Did you do it so you can save Xander?" Joyce asked. Anya glanced up before focusing on her shoes again.
"No," she admitted before sighing loudly, "though this situation did speed up my timetable somewhat." They were quiet as they took in everything until finally Anya couldn't stand the silence anymore. She peaked her head up just enough to see them. "Do you hate me now?"
"No," Joyce said without even needing to think about it. She opened her arms and Anya fell into them, just like a scared child. "You will always be a part of our family." Anya glanced at Giles. He went over and picked up the crystal, carefully weighing it in his hand. When they broke apart, Anya went and stood in front of him. He regarded her for a moment before holding out the crystal. She smiled as she took it, wincing as it zapped her but looking happier than she had been in a long time.
"What are these provisions D'Hoffryn spoke about?" Giles asked, setting the clear again crystal back in its spot by the door.
"We're having some contract negotiations," she told them. "I'm not allowed to use my powers unless I'm doing a job. But now, apparently, I can use them if any member of the family is in danger." She turned to the kids. "You really impressed him. I think he's taken a liking to you. Maybe he'll offer you a spot as a vengeance demon in a few years."
"I'll pass," Dash said in disgust. "I don't want anything to do with demons, let alone become one." Sparky nodded his head.
"How many jobs will you have?" Giles asked seriously.
"That's still under negotiations," she told him. "But I've told him I won't kill unless it's in self defense." She turned to Joyce. "Besides, I'm thinking of a whole new line. Justice demons. For anyone who is wronged but can't get justice in the current system. And killing people is giving vengeance demons a bad name so I'm thinking of a different form of punishment. The never ending one. I've learned that killing people is just too easy on them, the only ones it hurts is their friends and family. But, making them live with themselves knowing what they did, that is real punishment." She went silent for a second before turning sheepish. "I kinda got the idea from your ex husband and the chaos mage."
"Ethan?" Giles asked, trying to follow what she was saying.
"Right," Anya agreed, "him. Hank Summers will be suffering for the rest of his hopefully long life. What better justice can there be?" She turned thoughtful. "Of course, there's still a lot of logistics we need to work out, but D'Hoffryn promised to listen to my pitch once the crisis is over. So let's get moving people." She turned and stormed out of the room.
"May God have mercy on their souls," Giles mumbled as he turned and followed her. Joyce followed, smiling for the first time in days.
Xander groaned as he regained consciousness. His head throbbed from before and everything was kinda blurry. Not a good sign. He reached out, exploring with his hands only to knock something to the floor. It rolled away from him but he still managed to catch it. He brought it closer to his head, frowning when his eyes focused enough to see it clearly. "Stupid water bottles." He let his arm drop to the ground, but didn't relinquish his prize. Eventually his head began to clear and he was able to make out a bit of his surroundings.
He was in some sort of basement or cellar. Behind him was a stone wall, probably made when Columbus landed but reinforced with modern construction techniques since then. The other three sides were bars. A rough cage made as quickly as possible. Beyond the bars the area opened up into a large room. A desk stood directly opposite the cage door. On the desk a laptop hummed quietly. Several lamps were placed around the room, leaving a dim constant light. He couldn't see any windows, but the dampness of this place reeked of underground.
Turning his sight inside the cage he saw straw lining the stone floor, a pile of blankets in the middle of the cell, and Buffy mirroring his position on the opposite side. "Buffy!" Xander reflexively headed toward her when he noticed the last feature of their prison. He was shackled. A chain flowed through the bars on the left where it met with the largest pole he had ever seen. Attached to the pole was a crank, with the chain looping around an attached spool, just like an oversized fishing rod. Glancing over at Buffy he saw she had the same set up. He gave an experimental tug on the chain. Surprisingly, it moved easily. He slowly made his way to Buffy, half expecting to be stopped just short of his goal, but to his delight he made it all the way to his friend. He glanced back. The chain was nearly out. He wouldn't be able to make it to the far bars, but he was grateful he could reach Buffy. He also realized it would be a quick and easy way to separate them. If they were to crank it up or lock it there would be nothing he could do.
He did a quick check before deciding she was just unconscious, the drugs still affecting her weaker system. But she was shivering slightly. He rubbed his arms, realizing he was shivering too. "Do you think it's too early for bed?" he asked as he grabbed the blankets and began making a rudimentary mattress for them. Once he was done, he gathered Buffy in his arms and brought her to the bed. He laid her down and covered her up. He was about to join her when he remembered the water bottle. He detoured just long enough to grab it, and the one he saw where she was laying, and then climbed into bed.
The floor was hard as rock, the few blankets underneath them doing little to cushion the hardness, but it wasn't leaching their body heat like it was before. He pulled Buffy close to him and immediately started to feel warmer. He tried to keep his eyes open, but the events of the last few hours were catching up to him. It wasn't until he heard whimpering that he was able to force his eyes open again.
"Buff?" he called quietly, easily recognizing one of her nightmares. "It's okay. It's time to wake up. You're okay." After a few minutes of coaxing, she opened her eyes. She smiled at him before her eyes widened as she took a good look around. "I know it's not much to look at, but as far as cesspools go, this one isn't so bad." She looked back at him, a smile on her face. He smiled back and sat up, moving so she could recline against his body. He eyed the water bottles nervously. He was getting thirstier by the minute, but was wary the water was drugged again. "You only live once, right," he mumbled to himself as he grabbed one of the bottles.
He took a tiny sip then waited. Then he took another sip and waited even longer. Then he took an entire gulp and waited. Then he capped the water and put it away. "The last time they drugged the water we felt the effects pretty quickly," he told Buffy, who was eying the water longingly. "I'll get you some as soon as we know it's safe." Buffy nodded and settled in closer to Xander's side. He started an entirely one sided conversation to pass the time. Finally he decided it was safe. "Here," he said, handing Buffy a water bottle. "Just a bit. I don't know how long these will need to last us for." She took the same amount as Xander then handed it back. With nothing else to do, they settled in to wait.
They had no way of tracking time, no idea how long they were down there by themselves. It was a bit of a shock when a door opened up in the corner of the room and a man came inside. "Hey!" Xander shouted. "Where are we? Who are you? Why did you take us?" Xander continued to yell, but he just ignored them. He went to the bars and threw a couple of those same pre-made sandwiches at them and another couple water bottles before leaving the room. "I guess they don't want us to starve," he told Buffy as he inspected the sandwiches. Buffy nodded and reached for her sandwich. They finished quickly and settled in for more waiting. Hours, days, weeks, even months could have passed. There was no way to mark time in this dungeon. "Don't worry," Xander kept up the encouragements, "they'll find us." Buffy nodded.
Time continued to pass. The same man delivered more sandwiches, and the most exciting thing to happen was a different man coming with a bucket. Xander was half tempted to just pee on the wall, but he remembered Buffy was completely helpless and needed him to protect her and curbed the impulse. Finally, after years of monotony, something happened. The door opened. Xander looked up expecting to see sandwich guy. Instead, he was completely shocked when someone else entered the room.
"You?" he asked in shock, pulling Buffy closer.
"Me."