Omake - DOOM R&R: Lurking Demon, Hidden Slayer
I think this is the second to last one now. I know I said the previous one was the second to last one, which would make this the last one, but as it clearly isn't the last one, the previous one must have in fact been the third to last one. Which means, of course, that the next one is the last one.
Unless it isn't…
We shall find out. Anyway, have wordz, read wordz, enjoy wordz.
By order of HER.
"SHE is very near the point of return to this plane of existence," a sub-bass voice rumbled from nearly next to Kendra, who emitted a sharp yip of shock having had no idea at all anyone or anything was there. She whirled around with a stake in her hand, only to stop when she spotted the same demon as the one that had surprised her the first time, and more than once since then.
It was much sneakier than you'd think possible considering how enormous it was. And it had a weird sense of humor too, she was convinced of that. The blasted thing was smirking at her even now, having apparently been amused by her jumping about six inches in the air.
"Don't do that," she snapped, lowering the stake. Not that it would have done any good at all, of course. A week ago she'd never had expected that she'd actually relax a little in the presence of something like this, but it really did seem that they were largely non-hostile, at least for now and at least to humans.
They went through vampires like a threshing machine through a kindergarten, but that was fine as far as she was concerned. And while she found the entire current situation in Sunnydale unbelievably strange, it seemed to if anything be far preferable to the previous state of affairs. Even with all these bizarre creatures wandering the night.
Looking around she saw that they were alone, as far as she could tell. Not that this necessarily proved the fact as there could be more than one of the things lurking somewhere close by and she'd probably never know unless it wanted her to, but there were no people around, certainly. Considering it was well after dark that was pretty much to be expected. The nightlife in Sunnydale had been until recently far too enthusiastic for most people's liking, even if they apparently didn't actually consciously know why. The end result was far less in the way of bystanders after the sun went down.
Sunnydale Syndrome was very real, and very peculiar. And even though it might not be necessary now with the lack of vampires prowling the night it would probably be a thing for years. Which might be good if the damn vamps actually came back, of course.
She looked back at the demon, which was casually leaning on the side of the elevator motor house on the roof of the five story office building she'd been using as a lookout position for a couple of days now, since it gave an excellent view of a lot of the downtown area. "Did you want something or are you just bored?" she asked rather acidly, not having enjoyed the sudden shock.
It grinned again with a small nod of the huge horned head. "Once SHE has returned, we will follow HER when SHE leaves this plane. I have no knowledge of whether SHE will grace you with HER presence in future, nor would I presume to speak for HER. It is possible SHE may deign to pass this way again, or SHE may not. We have enjoyed our time here and find you all quite interesting."
It looked over her head, making her follow the thing's gaze, which seemed to be on another building a few hundred meters away. After a moment it looked back to her, seeming to show a certain level of sly amusement. Which was entirely normal in her experience. "For such a small predator you show some promise. And are more patient than the other one. It has been… fascinating… to watch your methods." The demon's smile widened. "Even those of your clan who lack the infinitesimal traces of power you and the other one possess appear to show considerable courage in the face of adversity. In some ways, very limited ways, you bear some resemblance to HER at HER beginning so long ago."
It smirked down at her from several feet above her head. "Not that this in any way implies you are more significant than the dirt beneath HER glorious feet, of course."
"Of course," Kendra grated. They were like that. Almost complimentary at times, while making it abundantly clear that the only reason they didn't kill you was because SHE wouldn't want them to.
"But it does suggest that eventually you may be able to rise to the level of minor irritant," it added with a definite air of mildly malicious glee. "You might even manage to become someone SHE would personally deal with, gaining the honor of defeat at HER hands."
"I look forward to it," Kendra said as calmly as she could, while squeezing the stake hard enough to make the wood crack slightly.
"Undoubtedly," the demon nodded. It looked past her again for a moment. "As our time on this plane is most likely limited, I thought I might point out that you and your associates have been watched by those even less worthy than you are. Were you aware of this?"
She looked over her shoulder, then turned around to stare at the same building it was. After a moment she spotted a tiny motion, at this range nearly invisible, and a slight glint of light. The sort of glint that might well come from a reflection from a night scope on a rifle.
Frowning, she said, "We suspected they were there but I haven't seen them before."
"They have been observing you continuously since you arrived, and the others too. We have been observing them in turn." With a grin the demon added, "They do not realize this of course."
"That one will report you speaking to me," she pointed out.
"That one has no idea I am here, nor that you are either," it said calmly and with a note of satisfaction apparent. "We are not seen if we do not wish it, and we did not feel that showing ourselves to your observers was necessary at this time." It looked at her, smiling yet again. It seemed to be in a good mood even compared to how it normally was. "Also it is more amusing to anticipate their reaction should we reveal our presence."
She couldn't help snickering. Yes, that was something she could easily picture and rather hoped she'd see if they did it.
The thing studied her for a few seconds, then held out an enormous hand, opening it. "Because we find you entertaining we thought it appropriate to give you this," it said as she looked at the small silvery object in the demon's hand. It was oddly difficult to focus on and seemed to have a faint pink-purple glow coming from somewhere inside it, the overall effect being that of a weird little almost-ball about one and a half centimeters across. It was attached to a chain that seemed to be meant to go around the neck.
"What is it?" she asked warily.
Hooking a talon on the forefinger of the other hand through the chain, the demon held it up. "A very small amount of power designed to conceal the user and the user's companions from those who might wish them ill. It may help you survive long enough to become good sport for HER." It gave her another smirk. "As it would be a shame should you meet your end through some mere accident of fate rather than in glorious if pointless battle."
"Of course," she replied, suppressing a sigh. Considering the thing in the demon's hand, she wondered if it was a good idea for close to a minute, but finally held out her own hand. He dropped it into her palm, the metallic object warm and sending a tingling through her entire body. She'd handled a couple of magical artifacts in the past, one that was supposedly a force for good and one that very definitely wasn't, and neither of them produced anything close to the level of eerie power this little thing did.
Sam would probably shout at her, possibly with good reason, she thought as she slipped the chain over her head and tucked the small widget into her shirt, but for some reason she genuinely believed the demon was being helpful. Most likely because he saw some amusement value to giving her such a powerful and useful artifact, of course, but it was still likely to be something that would come in handy sooner or later.
"It does not work on us, of course," he commented as he watched her, a small smile still present. She gave him a look which made him chuckle. "However you will likely discover it works on various lesser beings. Which almost all are, clearly."
"Clearly," she repeated, shaking her head.
He glanced over at the hidden Council observer, then looked back to her. "Until we meet again, small predator," he said, taking a step back into the shadows. She blinked and he was gone, again without a trace or any indication of how.
The damn things were unnervingly good at that, she grumbled to herself as she peered around, then turned to stare hard in the direction the not-quite-as-hidden-as-he-thought man was lurking.
After a moment or two, she lifted the thing around her neck into view and inspected it, before a grin nearly as nasty as the big demon's one crossed her face. Slipping it back into place, she quickly headed for the fire escape down to street level, and a practical test of her little toy.
Leaning back in his office chair, Giles put the pen down with a faint sign of relief, opening and closing a hand near the point of cramp. He glanced around at the sound of his office door opening then closing again, to see Jenny studying him. She looked at the leather-bound book he'd been writing in, then him flexing his hand, before smiling a little.
"You do realize that there are things called computers now, English?" she asked with a look of mild amusement. "Or even typewriters, if you insist on being stuck in the nineteenth century. Either would be faster than doing it the hard way."
He smiled back, opening one of the drawers and pulling out a bottle and two small glasses, then filling both of them. "Infernal machines are not my forte, as you know," he retorted, putting the bottle away then picking up both glasses, handing her one. She took it with a small laugh.
"Even the mechanical ones?"
"Especially the mechanical ones," he muttered, sipping some very decent whiskey for something made in the Colonies. She giggled and followed suite, wandering over to peer at his book. Reaching past him she flipped back a page which he didn't prevent, then nodded slowly.
"How much of this are you going to pass on to Tweed Central," she asked. He sighed, as Xander's name for the Council seemed to amuse her far more than ideal, and she seemed to enjoy saying it as much as she could get away with. That aside it was a decent question.
"I am currently unsure," he admitted. "The information Xander and Cordelia brought us is… unnerving. Assuming it's true."
"it's even more unnerving if it's not because it leaves us totally in the dark as to what these new demons are, or where they come from," she pointed out, sitting on the end of his desk and taking another sip of spirits while watching his face. "Assuming that it is true we at least have a working explanation, even if that explanation is completely terrifying in a way."
"Indeed," he replied with a nod after a moment. He looked down at his notes, turning back a number of pages with one hand as he thought. "Combining all that we have directly seen, what Xander and Cordelia were told, and what Sam and Kendra have learned, does seem to give a picture that holds together in a reasonably internally consistent manner, I agree. I don't like it but it's probably less disturbing than assuming that it's all entirely wrong. And it would shed some light on all the other odd occurrences we've noted over the last few weeks. If we admit they're all connected to this Doom Queen, Taylor Hebert, it makes the situation slightly less puzzling if no less worrying."
"Have you found out more about Wolfram and Hart that might explain why they seem to have been targeted so much?" she asked, watching him.
He grimaced. "As it happens, yes, I have," he said, shaking his head. "It turns out that they are definitely in some manner connected with true evil. More so than most law firms, certainly." She grinned momentarily at his words then looked serious again. "Angel has done a lot of digging and called in a number of favors from some unusual sources," he went on, finishing the scotch then idly turning the glass in his fingers while looking at the light reflecting from it. "With the information he provided I made some inquiries of my own once I knew what to ask. I strongly suspect that the company is actually a front for one or more high level demons. And may well have been responsible for a very large number of horrific occurrences throughout a significant amount of history."
Jenny looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"There are old stories about three demons, the Wolf, the Ram, and the Hart," he added. "Those names appear in many places dating back to prehistory. I find this… more than a coincidence."
She slowly nodded, thinking over his words. "I have to admit that the names are definitely suspicious. So if these demons set up a demonic law firm centuries ago, why did they do that? And what have they been doing? And, of course, why are they suddenly having a very hard time?"
"I would imagine that the first point is to allow them to more directly interfere in the affairs of humanity, and the second point is most likely answered by the word 'evil.' If even a fraction of the stories and rumors I've collected are correct, they're behind a number of the worst atrocities in history in one way or another. Always very discreetly, and behind the scenes, but the links are there if you know where to look and how. And I suggest that the third point is down to our 'Doom Queen' deciding that they made a suitable target for her attentions."
"Or possibly her… minions? Subjects?" Jenny searched for the right word. "Followers, maybe. But perhaps those guys decided to do something about the demonic law firm all by themselves. We do seem to have reports that match what's wandering around Sunnydale coming in from all over the world now. They get around."
"They do, yes," he agreed heavily. "Far too well and far too easily. I find myself very puzzled as to precisely how they manage that, but I may well never know for certain."
They looked at each other for a few seconds, then both turned to look out the window into the dark of the night. "On the other hand, normal evil seems to be having a very bad time of it since she jumped into the Hell Mouth," Jenny commented quietly. "Which would seem to in fact be a good thing."
"True," he nodded.
"And we've all encountered at least one of these things without anything other than it being somewhat of a shock," she added thoughtfully. "Xander has met several of them and that one the other night appeared from what he said to be quite helpful if anything. And finding all this entertaining to boot. Not to mention Buffy has actually attacked them at least six times without anything worse happening than getting embarrassed when they laugh at her."
Giles winced a little. His Slayer had not been happy about that. Her pride had taken something of a hit. "Also true," he replied.
"So, even if they're not actually on the side of the angels, perhaps they're at least on our side?" she remarked. "Or worst case they're on their side and it happens to coincide with an outcome we'd be all right with? I'll take hideously dangerous but non-hostile demons from literal hell over vampires running around all over the place eating people any day."
"Only in Sunnydale would that comment not mark one as a complete lunatic," he sighed. "However, I can't dispute your words. I only hope that there isn't an unpleasant sting in the tail..."
She shrugged, shaking her head. "I can't say one way or the other. I suppose all we can do is wait to see what happens. But at least a lot less people are getting killed at the moment, so there's that."
"Quite." He reached out and closed the book, picking it up and locking it into the drawer of his desk. "I'm going to have to carefully consider how much of this I report to the Council. I fear that if I pass on everything verbatim we'll be up to our necks in annoyingly obtuse Council forces within hours. I strongly suspect that there are certain people who would seize on this as something that either needs stamping out, or attempting to turn to their advantage. Neither option fills me with a sense of joy as I fear the result would be somewhere between horribly embarrassing to utterly catastrophic."
"I can't see it working out they way they'd want myself either," she chuckled. "Do you really think they'd think they could subvert the forces of Hell to their own ends?"
He gave her a look. "Considering what has happened in the past with the Watcher's Council, and indeed how it began in the first place, I wouldn't like to assume that they would be sensible enough to leave well enough alone," he sighed. "There are certainly people in the group who are… less cautious… than they should rightly be if they see a situation they believe could be helpful to their own goals, and some of those people have more ambition than genuine common sense. And they tend to see people aside from them as rather more disposable than I like."
Jenny studied his face, then looked out the window again for a moment. "That could end very badly."
"And extremely quickly," he replied with a small nod. "Which is probably not in anyone's best interests, so I suggest we need to be very careful what we tell to whom. We're going to need to have another talk with Sam, I believe, and discuss our options before either one of us files another report. And we have to work out to do about that blasted special operations team I am certain is lurking out there somewhere."
"Assuming that a demon didn't eat them," she snorted, smiling.
"We are unlikely to have been so fortunate," he grumbled, standing up and retrieving his jacket. "Are you able to work that impressively effective spell once more?"
"I think I can manage," she smiled.
"In that case, would you like to accompany me to see an old friend?" he asked, offering his arm.
She hooked hers through his and laughed. "It would be my pleasure, English."
Feeling somewhat pleased under the omnipresent worry, Giles turned out the lights as they left.
"No sighting of Slayer Young yet," Overwatch One reported quietly, scanning the building he knew the girl had made use of several times in the last few days. There wasn't a trace of the younger Slayer, and in fact no movement at all at that location. Carefully shifting the bipod-mounted weapon to the left, he focused on the second high point she'd been seen using, but that was also clear. "She may have changed her pattern. Shall I relocate to the beta site and check there, or should I hold position here in case she turns up?"
After a few seconds, his earpiece produced the reply. "Roger, Overwatch One. Hold position for a further ten minutes. If she is a no show by then, move to beta location and resume observation. Overwatch Three reports Watcher Giles and Janna Kalderash left gamma location fifteen minutes ago but he lost track of them shortly after that. We don't know where they are at this point in time. If you sight them report in immediately."
"Roger, Team Leader. Do they take priority over Slayer Young?"
"Negative, Overwatch One. Overwatch Three and Overwatch Four are tasked with their surveillance. Merely report any sightings of them, we will handle the rest. Slayer Summers and the Vampire Angelus are known to be on the move, apparently patrolling, with Overwatch Five observing. Be warned that based on their previous patrol patterns there is a small chance they will pass by the gamma site within one hour, so ensure you stay well out of sight if they do. Remember your training."
Overwatch One rolled his eyes. Talk about teaching your grandma to suck eggs…
"Confirmed, Team Leader." After a moment's thought, he added, "Are we interested in the movements of any other local contacts of Slayer Summers?"
"Not at this time, Overwatch One. All remaining contacts are known to be at home and are likely to remain there until morning. Concentrate on Slayer Young's movements. We don't want her meeting up with Watcher Giles or Slayer Summers. There has been no obvious indication that Xander Harris mentioned his encounter with her to them, but we can't assume this to be the case. It's possible they will try some clandestine counter-operation. Keep alert for anything out of the ordinary."
"In Sunnydale?" he asked, almost smirking for a second. There was a snicker over the channel, although not from Team Leader, who was famous for not having the faintest hint of a sense of humor.
"The irony is not lost on me, Overwatch One. Team Leader out."
Shaking his head, Overwatch One panned the rifle back to the first building, flicking to thermal imaging mode to make sure nothing was hiding in the shadows too deep for his night scope to peer through. Seeing nothing, he slowly scanned down the building, spotting a few small bright spots that were clearly rats, and one slightly bigger one that was probably a cat. Motion caught his eye and he quickly panned to the side at ground level, seeing a human sized form walking rapidly along the sidewalk, then switched back to night vision only to see it was some random pedestrian who was looking around nervously and nearly running.
Mildly amused at the expression on the man's face, he watched until he disappeared around the corner, then raised the rifle again to reinspect the roof for the umpteenth time. Still no sign of the blasted girl. Where the hell was she?
Eventually the time in his scope clicked over to the ten-minute mark, so he carefully and silently packed everything away into his innocent-looking case, closed it, and wriggled out of the observation post he'd set up between two air conditioning stacks. Quickly brushing himself down, he made sure he hadn't left anything identifiable behind, scuffed out any traces of his presence on the gravel covering the roof, and left. He'd be at the beta site in five minutes, and with any luck would pick up Slayer Young's trail again.
This whole exercise was somewhat tedious in his opinion, although he'd do his duty without fail. No one had yet seen a trace of the alleged 'unknown demonic presence' and he was beginning to wonder if it even existed. Demons were tricky things, he knew that full well, but it was suspicious that not one sign of them had been encountered. Possibly this entire exercise was ultimately a futile one sparked off by one of the higher-ups getting a bee in his bonnet about some random misunderstanding. It had happened before.
Well, it wasn't his place to question the mission, only to fulfill it, so that's what he'd do. It paid well after all and he was keeping the world safe from the forces of evil, which was a nice bonus.
Kendra watched the black-clad man disappear over the edge of the roof, his cased weapon slung over his back, and smiled grimly. He hadn't had a clue she was there and she'd heard some interesting things from mere feet away.
Turning her head she looked at the clawed horror that was squatting on the other side of the roof. She nodded to it.
It nodded back, then moved to follow the Council wet-works guy. Smirking to herself she went the other way. Sam needed to know what she'd learned.
"And if we do this, like so, we should be able to increase the firing rate by nearly six percent," Fred explained, quickly drawing a diagram. Taylor examined it closely, then checked the equations the young woman had written out.
"Not bad. Checks out," she nodded with a smile. "Want to try it?"
"I do, yes," Fred replied firmly. "There are still a few left after all."
"Fine by me," her new friend and savior told her, picking up the energy gun and handing it to her along with a tool kit. "Go for it."
Grinning savagely, Fred quickly stripped the weapon and started making careful changes to the innards, illuminated from below by a bluish glow from the fusion cell and whistling under her breath.
Taylor watched, feeling a sense of satisfaction how well things had worked out on this vacation. It would be time to go back shortly, but Fred was having fun too, so there was no sense rushing it.