Title: And the Feeling Returns
Author: Carrie aka Buffychick
Summary: After a phone call from her father sends Buffy to LA, light is shed on the theory that she came back "wrong."
Rating: PG-13
Archiving: Sure, but ask me first please!
Spoilers: Everything up to and including Season 6 for BtVS and Season 3 for AtS.
Feedback: Would make my life shimmer.
Website for more fanfic and other fun stuff: http://www.angelfire.com/mo3/fanfic/SMGMain.html
*~*~*~*
"The back room is safe," Buffy announced loudly as the front door crashed in and demons and vampires entered, one after the other in what seemed to be an endless stream. The Scoobies were ready for them, weapons held high, if not confidently, by all.
Gunn and Xander had taken point, chopping down as many demons as possible. The ones that got past them, mainly the less adept Teplir, were faced by Cordelia, who, Buffy noted, had greatly improved her skills with a sword, as well as Anya, Wesley and Giles. Willow and Tara hung in the back, chanting.
"No balls of sunshine," Buffy reminded them as she surveyed the scene, prepared to jump in with all she had.
Willow nodded, not breaking her concentration.
"Good call," Angel called to her as he tossed a Teplir over his head with ease. The tiny demons were no match for his size and skill.
She threw him a grin and went to take on a vampire that had managed to corner Anya against a bookcase. "Anya, down!" she cried and brought her sword up, beheading the demon as he leaned in menacingly to the ex-vengeance demon. Luckily, Anya lowered her head in time and avoided the swift-moving blade.
Buffy threw herself into the fight with gusto even as the demons and vampires continued to come. She seemed to be everywhere at once. Stopping for a moment to admire her, Xander couldn't help but think that the last time he'd seen her fight so well had been in the alley, right after she'd learned of Riley's unfaithfulness. Only this time her energy was fueled by life, by a zest for it, rather than anger, hate, and betrayal.
"Stay in the back, guard Willow and Tara…nothing gets into the back room," she ordered to he and Gunn, and the two men nodded, quickly dispatching the Teplir they were currently involved with. They moved to the back, assisting Cordelia against a vampire then standing in front of the two Wiccans who had, in the meantime, continued to chant.
"They're fine," Willow assured the two men with a grin. "Protection spell on the training room. No one gets in or out until we break it."
"Excellent," Xander agreed, ruffling her hair good-naturedly.
"Buffy!" Giles cried suddenly, causing everyone to look up just in time to see that some of the Teplir had banded together and were trying to force over a bookcase, prepped to fall right where the little Slayer was currently fighting two vampires at once.
Angel's eyes whipped up but he was too far from her. The bookcase seemed to fall in slow motion when suddenly there was a blur of blonde and black, pushing the Slayer out of the way and taking the brunt of the heavy case as it landed, kicking up dust.
"Spike!" Dawn cried from the back room where she'd peeked out innocently to see what was going on. She moved to go to him, only to find herself blocked by the spell.
The case fell with a crash and the vampire grunted in pain. Buffy had gone stumbling to the floor and now lay, sprawled, the vampires looming above her. Suddenly she grinned, and from behind them, Wesley and Giles quickly dispatched them with two swift stabs of their stakes. Their dust exploded over her and she jumped to her feet.
"Thanks," she smiled at them, then turned to the fallen bookcase and bent to pick it up. Grunting, she managed to get it up far enough for Cordelia and Anya to pull the slightly dented vampire from underneath and the drag him to the back of the shop.
Angel snarled to himself at the site of his loathed GrandChilde flying in to protect the Slayer…but now was not the time for bitter grievances, no matter how justified. Turning back to the fight he and the rest of the Scoobies made quick work of the demons. As more seemed to come from the outside, the voices of Willow and Tara suddenly grew much louder; in fact seemed to be all around them.
"Until this mighty spell be broken
Until the words by us are spoken
No shall enter nor shall leave
Unto these walls we do decree."
A pulse of energy flew through the shop and the demons at the front door were suddenly frozen, trapped on the outside of the building…and not at all happy about it. Angel took a moment to realize what was happening before bursting into a full-on grin. "See how you like it!" he called out with merriment that Cordelia had to admit she hadn't seen in, well…maybe in ever.
Buffy grinned at his enthusiasm and rejoined the fight, she and her friends making quick work of the remaining demons. When it was over the floor was littered with Teplir bodies and random Magic Box items that had become casualties…as well as a great amount of vampire dust. In the back of the room, held by a recovered and smirking Spike, cowered two of the Teplir virtually shaking in fear as their opponents surrounded them.
"You can thank me later," the peroxided vampire told the Slayer as she approached the tiny demons.
"I'm sure you'll have to remind me," she snarked back and faced the robed figures in front of her. "So. Let's get on with this, okay?" Buffy grabbed one by the thick rope around his waist and tugged, Spike mimicked with the other, and they headed to the back of the shop.
*~*~*
Willow and Tara released the spell that protected Dawn, Connor and Fred in the training room and they shoved the demons through the doorway. Saria seemed to perk up, only to realize that each and every one of her captors followed the demons.
Buffy turned to the three Teplir, now crowded together behind the Queen. "Open the portal. Go through it. Take her with you, and don't ever, ever come back here," she ordered, her eyes steely.
"You'll want to make sure you follow those instructions," Angel threatened.
"We…we can't!" one of them cried.
"And why not?" Cordelia asked, one hand on a perfectly sculpted hip. "You had no problem before. Come on! Abra-cadabra! Get on with it!"
"Be-because…she can not go with us. Even if we wanted her to," another one admitted.
Xander's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, even if you wanted her to? Why wouldn't you want her to?"
One of the demons actually snorted. "Her reign has come to an end."
"What?" Dawn asked, moving to her sister's side.
"She is no longer our queen, therefore is no longer our concern."
Willow's brow scrunched. "You're not…you're not here for her?"
"For them, of course!" the demon cried, waving an arm at Buffy and Angel. "You think we care so much for this…this human?" he asked, distaste evident in his tone. "We have been under her boot for far too long."
The group was quiet for a moment. Buffy rubbed at her eyes wearily. "Ok…it's late, and I'm tired. Maybe I'm not understanding you…so say that again, slowly."
The demon tapped his foot. "For hundreds of years our people have mindlessly followed the wishes of this…this mortal. Feeding her souls to keep her alive. But some of us are not so stupid. Some of us are not so quick to bow to her every command, to allow her tyranny to continue." He walked to where the Queen sat, tied to her chair, and stared at her. "For too long she has run our world based on the rules and whims of a human, when rightfully it should be a Teplir on the throne."
"On the throne," Xander snickered under his breath.
"Elvis died that way," Gunn joked back, 'causing Cordelia to smack them both across the back of their heads.
"He was the King, she's the Queen," the Sunnydale native quipped and they continued to giggle until the Slayer herself turned to glare at them impatiently.
Turning back to the demons she sighed. "What are you talking about? I thought you guys loved her. When we were on your plane she was all the rage. Aren't you the fickle bunch."
The demon in charge turned back to the Scoobies. "There is a growing faction that wishes to see her gone. You did us a favor when you took her with you." He turned back to the Queen and ripped the gag from her mouth. "Do you have anything to say about this…highness?"
Saria was wide-eyed at the insolence of her subject. "You will pay for this insubordination, Sulfeg. You will certainly pay. Jimnub! Ranidge! I place him in your custody."
The two demons behind her did nothing. The smile on the invisible demon's face could practically be seen. "The loathing of your rule runs deep, especially in your own court, your majesty," he snapped, sarcasm dripping. "You will not be taken back, you will not return to the Demna Plane. You will stay here, where you will die, and we will be free of you."
Saria's eyes flashed. "Fools! I created you! I built you up from a meek, insignificant people to what you are today!"
"Very impressive, I have to admit," Spike quipped from the back of the room.
"You need me, you need my leadership, you need…"
"We need nothing from you," Sulfeg hissed. "We came only for the Slayer and the Vampire. We would have settled for the Key and the Witch," he nodded, turning to Dawn then Willow, "and now because of you, we will have none. You have destroyed us, but more importantly, you have destroyed yourself."
"But…wait," Willow interrupted. "I thought she needed the souls to survive up there. So…why would you still be looking for Buffy and Angel if you don't need her any more?"
Sulfeg tapped a foot impatiently. "It is not just our queen who needs the essence of souls, despite what some of my colleagues may have led you to believe. You must forgive them. They have not been educated as I have," he told them, looking witheringly at Jimnub. "The Teplir survive on the power of souls. They fuel us. We survived for hundreds and thousands of years before the Queen came along, just as we will survive without her. Unfortunately, only a select few of us choose to look at our past for the answer to our future."
"What do you mean?" Buffy asked.
"The Queen is a figure head. There is no need for her, we can rule ourselves as we did before she stumbled into our realm. You see, when she arrived on the Demna Plane, we had just undergone a period without a ruler. Our King, of a long-standing Teplir family, had passed on without an heir and different members of a Senate of sorts ruled us for several years. It didn't work well for us…jealousy and corruption took over, all but drained us of our light, our strength as a people. When Saria fell into our hands, so different, so…new…a group of dissatisfied Teplir took it upon themselves to declare her the Prodigal. A Messiah, to put it in your terms, when really she is just an ordinary human being."
He paused. "What they failed to realize is that she requires much more of the soul-strength than expected. Our people had a ruler, yes, but one who drained us of our source quite quickly. She too, realized the problem early on, and began forming organizations to hunt down souls for her. Shortly into this operation, she came across a mystical person, a sorcerer with a powerful soul, like yours," he said, nodding to Buffy and Angel. "His soul was stronger than anything she'd yet felt…and it left her bitter and craving for more. Soon, only the most mighty of souls would satisfy her. By then, she had us under her thumb. We would do anything for her…at least, some of us would. Over the years…her influence has waned."
He paused again and turned, pacing the room as everyone watched. "One soul can last us for years…if you are one of us. If you are human, you require more. One soul may only last a matter of weeks. By keeping her around, we waste power that could go for us, to give us strength, and we endanger ourselves by hunting down powerful souls throughout the universe. And now…my group, which has grown from the dozens of unsatisfied citizens to hundreds of thousands, we…we will have our turn."
Saria stared at him, and then to her horror, she began to cry. "I don't understand…I did everything for you…" she sobbed.
"You will pay for this, Sulfeg," Jimnub growled. "You may be powerful here, but at home, you will answer for your crimes."
The demon sighed, untouched, and turned back to the Scoobies. "We will leave you now, and we will not return, do not fear. We respect your fighting abilities too much to think we may be able to overcome you. I must admit. We've never had this much trouble securing souls before."
He collected his friends and neared the group of Scoobies when Angel snarled.
"If you come back," Angel growled, advancing on the tiny demon who all but shrank as the vampire approached, "your people will know the wrath of mine. What happened here today was child's play, barely more than a routine exercise. Do not toy with the Slayer again. Do not come near her friends or her sister…and if you consider approaching me or mine…consider praying to whatever God your people worship."
The terrified demon trembled and practically sunk into the floor under the heavy, furious gaze of the vampire. He nodded repeatedly, quickly.
"Wait," Buffy called. "What are we going to do with her?"
Before anyone could answer there was a shriek from the front of the shop, muted, but definitely terrified. Exchanging concerned glances with Angel, Buffy pushed her way to through her friends and headed out into the main room of the shop. Her father was frantically trying to get into the shop, surrounded by several of the Teplir.
"Get off me! What's wrong with this door? Hello? Buffy? Dawn?" Hank cried, banging on the invisible barrier. He looked up to see his daughters enter from the training room and his eyes lit up. "Buffy! Dawn! Help me! There's something wrong…and there are…monsters…as stupid as that sounds."
"There are still vampires out there, Buffy," Dawn reminded her fearfully.
"They probably went looking for alternative entrances," Angel muttered, looking above even as the sounds of feet on the roof sounded.
"Will? Tara?" Buffy called only half-heartedly.
The witches nodded and clasped hands, mumbling something under their breath. A moment later there was another pulse of energy and Hank Summers fell flat on his face in the entryway of the shop.
Dawn hesitated, unsure if she should go to him or stay away from the impending dangers that were making their way into the shop.
Sulfeg pushed his way around the Scoobies and held up a robed arm to the advancing Teplir. "Stop," he ordered. "Our business here is concluded. We have no quarrel with the Slayer or the vampire."
"Or their friends!" Cordelia added.
The Teplir stopped in their tracks, the few of them that remained. "What do you mean Sulfeg? Their souls?"
"Are not ours to have, sad as I am to admit that. They have bested us, twice now, and to pursue this will mean the loss of more of our brothers and sisters." He glanced around at the bodies of their fallen comrades. "I do not wish for any more of our people to die."
There were murmurs of agreement that were punctuated with the snarls of vampires from the outside, realizing the barrier had been broken.
"Stop!" Sulfeg cried, raising his hand to the vampires. "Our business with you is completed. Take leave."
The vampires, perhaps a dozen of them, hesitated before glancing at the humans in the back. "Uh…sure," the self-appointed spokesman sneered. "We'll just go on home now, like good dogs."
Sulfeg nodded with satisfaction and turned his back to them.
"Sarcasm, you idiot. Heard of it?" Cordelia hissed and shoved the demon behind her, ready to face the vampires.
Buffy grabbed her sword off the table and tossed Angel his. "Get my father out of here," she commanded to anyone listening. Giles and Xander bounded to the front and pulled Hank out of the way as half a dozen vampires made their way in the shop.
"Slayer," one of them hissed.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "How original. You know? I've got a name. Buffy. Bu-ffy," she annunciated slowly.
The vampire stared at her blankly and Spike smirked. "She's a bitch to battle with, verbally or otherwise, in't she?" he asked before tossing a stake end or end. It landed square in the vampire's chest. With a shriek and a whoosh what remained of the vamp floated in the air.
"Stop helping me!" Buffy ordered before heading into the fray with Angel, Gunn and Cordelia at her side.
Spike rolled his eyes and ignored her, beginning to pummel the first vamp he came across. Giles and the others remained in the back with Hank and Dawn, now seated at the table.
"Dad," Dawn said simply, as if speaking to a child. "Those are vampires."
"Vampires," Mr. Summers repeated blankly.
"Vampires," she confirmed. "And that," she pointed to Buffy, whirling with the speed and dexterity of her birthright, "is Buffy. The Vampire Slayer." With her words Buffy spun in mid-air and beheaded a vamp, moving through his dust to assist Gunn.
Hank stared at his daughter. "The Vampire Slayer."
"Uh-huh." Dawn grinned at Willow over her father's head and returned to watching her sister fight.
"How...? How can she?" Hank began, looking from Dawn to Giles to the others, then gave up. "I don't get it."
"We've got maps and graphs and many boring texts that can explain it all," Anya assured him with a stiff pat on the back.
Dawn smiled brightly and leaned down to her father, murmuring next to his year. "All that stuff you saw in LA? Nothing compared to what she pulled off today."
"No…it was…tricks of light…and…and…" Hank stammered.
"It was vampires, Dad," Dawn assured him with a pat to the shoulder. "And some demons, but don't worry. They're sorta on our side now, so that shouldn't be a problem."
Hank moved green eyes to stare into his youngest's blue ones. "You really believe all this. You…you all really believe it. These…fairy tales."
"Fairy tales," Anya scoffed. "Fairies are horrible story-tellers, first of all…" she began.
"Mr. Summers…I assure you," Giles jumped in, "your daughter is telling you the truth. And if you can just give us a few moments to finish this," his hand waved to the battle at the front of the shop, "all will be explained."
Hank nodded uneasily and returned to watching his daughter and her friends. The slender brunette grabbed a piece of wood, a stick, and punched it in the chest of one of the attackers. A moment later, the man exploded into dust. Hank swallowed. The large, glowery man in the corner was holding off two at a time, punching one, then the other before grabbing one by the collar and head-butting him. The man stumbled back and landed on the other, knocking them both to the ground, one on top of the other. With a smirk the glowery man grabbed a broom stick from the corner, snapped in half across his knee, and stabbed it through the chest of both men. The same thing happened to them…a whirlwind of dust.
Hank rubbed at his eyes.
There was a blonde guy and a black man as well…they seemed to be trading off blows with a female and another male. The black man tossed the blonde a sword, then hit the floor on his knees as the blonde grinned, in a sick sort of way, really, before swooping around in a circle and beheading both attackers. Dust.
Hank squeezed at the bridge of his nose, warding off the headache he could feel coming on.
When he looked up again he saw his daughter. Buffy. Helpless, hapless Buffy…she was…well, she was…fast was the only word that came to his mind at the moment. In a dizzying array of moves she was fighting two males at once, tossing back punches and kicking up in ways that made his own muscles ache. And she seemed to be enjoying it. A lot. Delivering some sort of kung-fu move she managed to pin one of the attackers arms behind his back and kicked at his knees, knocking him to the floor.
"Buffy!" Angel's voice rang from across the room where he and Gunn stood, appreciatively watching the Slayer. He gracefully tossed a stake end over end in her direction. Buffy looked up at the same time her hand shot out, anticipating his move, and plucked the stake from the air. In one fluid motion she brought her arm around and plunged the stake into the vampire's heart before spinning around and kicking out at the other, knocking him to the ground as well. In a moment, it was over.
"Well," Buffy said, dusting herself off. "Are we done now?"
"Looks like it," Angel acknowledged, glancing around the room.
She nodded and then ticked her head towards the Teplir, standing to one side. "Let's get these guys out of here, then."
"We—we can find our way out, I assure you," Sulfeg told her quickly. "We will take our leave now, thank you."
A manicured eyebrow shot up. "Remember what he said," she told Sulfeg, her eyes ticking to Angel, then back again. "If you come back? I won't hesitate to take you out."
"We desire no trouble from you, Slayer," Sulfeg announced with a sigh. "I swear it."
"Wait!" Cordelia cried. "What are we supposed to do with her royal pain in the assness back there?"
Sulfeg shrugged. "She is not our concern."
"She's not ours, either, buddy," Xander said menacingly. "But you break it, you buy it."
"She can not return with us," Sulfeg reminded him.
"And it's not like they can exactly set her up in a deluxe apartment in the sky," Gunn nodded gravely.
"Take her to a shelter, then," Buffy shrugged.
"There are plenty of them in LA," Angel suggested. "I'm sure we can find a women's shelter there that will take her in for a nice hot meal…"
"…a nice psychiatric evaluation," Cordelia chimed in as the Queen began to scream from the back room.
"Somebody make her stop," Buffy pleaded wearily. "Someone who isn't Spike," she added when said vampire rose to his feet and headed to the back, wicked grin on his face.
He stopped short of the door and frowned. "Never let me have any fun."
"Dad?" Dawn asked softly, nudging him. "Are you okay?"
Hank blinked. "Uh…yeah, sweetheart. I'm just fine," he told her, patting her hand, still on his shoulder.
"'Cause you look a little…freaked."
He let out a short laugh. "Well…I suppose that's a good word for it. I mean…I'm standing here…surrounded by a…a vampire," he nodded at Angel. "And my daughter, who's a Slayer."
"Two vampires, actually…albeit, one of them neutered," Anya added cheerily.
"Hey!"
She rolled her eyes at the protest that came from the back of the room, and pointed to herself. "Vengeance demons, too. Former."
"Seer," Cordelia announced, raising her hand with a wink.
"And Key!" Dawn giggled.
"Watchers," Xander pointed out, looking from Wesley to Giles.
"Witch," Tara and Willow chimed together, then smiled at each other happily.
"And then there's Connor," Fred rattled on, getting into the spirit of things. "I mean, the human son of two vampires is pretty special."
"W-witches," Hank stuttered. "And…seer? I don't even know—Key? Dawn, you're a…key? Are these code names or something?"
Everyone chuckled a bit and Gunn leaned down to look Mr. Summers in the eye. "I'm just a street thug, if that helps."
Hank blew out a shaky breath.
"Okay, guys…let's give my dad a break here," Buffy announced, coming to her father's rescue, despite enjoying watching him so flustered. The group reluctantly began to break up, Angel heading to the training room. Buffy followed him.
"So…" she began as they worked to untie the queen. "What are you going to do now?"
Angel sighed and shook his head. "I don't really know. I guess we'll pack up and head back to LA."
She nodded, her eyes solemn. "For tonight? You could use some rest…I know I can."
He chuckled wearily. "I won't argue with that."
Tugging at the ropes around Saria's hands, Buffy freed the Queen's hands, then added casually, "You can stay at the house, if you want."
He considered. "I might take you up on that…the mansion doesn't have any heat…not a problem for me so much, but Connor…"
"And Cordelia," she teased. "I'd hate to have to listen to her complain all night."
"Right," he smiled briefly, and helped the Queen stand.
Saria ripped off her gag. "They left me?" she hissed angrily.
Angel nodded.
"Wh—what am I to do?"
She looked very lost, and very young at that moment. Her eyes were huge, red with the silent tears she had been crying while the outer room had raged with battle. Buffy almost felt sorry for her. Almost. "You're going to LA with Angel tomorrow. He'll hook you up with a nice women's facility there. I'm sure you'll make friends real fast," she snarked.
Saria's eyes welled with tears. "And…for now?"
"I guess you're coming back to my house," Buffy sighed, resigned.