Out of Sight...(Homecoming part III)
Another ongoing fanfic by Joe Stakem
Dave walked through the cemetery. He didn't have time for stopping to look at gravestones, that wasn't what he was there for He drew a stake from his bag. Three long years of cemetery hunts have taught him to always draw before stopping. He was interrupted by a voice. "Who goes there?" This was an Englishman too, but this one was drunk. "I said who the bloody hell goes there?!?!?" A man stood up from behind a grave stone. He could barely stand, and he reeked of Jack Daniels. He was blonde, he was wearing a long black coat, there were about six bottles of Jack at his feet. "So, some bloke comes to get the drop on ol' Spike, bullocks to that!!" The man stumbled toward Dave, and took and swing, he stopped dead. He fell down grabbing his head, "Bullocks!!!!" He screamed. Dave walked over to the stone he was on, and looked at it. The inscription below the name read, "She saved the world a lot..."
Dawn and Willow were up late, talking. They were drinking cocoa, as they did on Friday nights, it was the only thing that made them both feel better. Dawn had been quiet the whole time, looking out the window. "Dawny, wouldn't you like some marshmallows, they're chock full of marshmallowy goodness." Willow was trying to cheer Dawn up, but it wasn't working. Nothing had been the same since Buffy died, and it probably wouldn't ever be. Dawn had become more quiet these days, she didn't speak at all some times. Aside from Giles acting as her counselor, the whole gang chipped in to help Dawn out. Willow and Tara moved into Buffy's house, it became the second headquarters for the Scoobies. Dawn desperately wanted to prove to the gang that she could be just a good a slayer as Buffy, but she's not a slayer, never will be. The last slayer called was Faith, and she wasn't much good to anyone right now...
Dave and Spike were behind a bar. They had arranged a meeting with a man who always seemed to know what was what in Sunnydale. "You sure he'll show up?" Dave said, he'd rather be at the cemetery now, than standing around waiting for some guy. "This bloke knows the low down on just about everything, if you're looking for it, chances are he knows where it's at, but it don't come cheap." Spike said, he was on his fifth Jack Dan bender for the night, he's been like this for awhile...
"I take it he's a bit of a loner, isn't he?" Xander said, after watching Dave leave the shop. "Yeah, takes one to know one," Oz said, tucking the roll of cash into his pocket. "Well I take it you're not here to reminisce," Giles said, he had shifted tones. "Actually no," Oz said, he slumped down in a chair. They were in the back room of the magic shop now, and Oz was no longer the old friend they once knew, like a full moon, he was the sad, weary traveler he had been since he left Sunnydale. It wasn't just Willow that hurt him, it was the whole thing, him being the wolf, not being attached to anyone, he needed help, or he'd have to do something drastic.
"There's a lot of nasty stuff out there." Oz said, looking out a window. "Nasty stuff that I keep finding. It's the wolf in me, it finds these things, it leads and I follow, I'm not me, probably never was. I've got these animal senses, they're not mine, it's the wolf stringing me along. I need a cure, I need a cure or I need a bullet to the skull." Xander and Giles both were shocked at Oz. "You're senses and powers are part of you, you can't just get rid of them. If you let them, the can come to help you, and countless others. Look at Angel, he uses it to help others. I can't find you a cure, but I could advise you on how to live with it. I suggest you go see angel, and talk to him, he can help." Giles said. Oz was disappointed, but Giles made sense. "I came back to see Willow, you know." He said, looking down. "But I don't think I can, not like this." Giles became the father figure. "Oz, go to L.A., see Angel, he can help..."
"A bunch of Vamps headed to L.A., word is, they're cooking up something big, the hell mouth is gonna go pop, and I'm don't wanna be around for it." Whistler was normally jittery, but he was extra antsy now. "They know the slayer's dead, and they're running with it. They got a leader, some chump named Mephisto, he rounded up three or four vamps, three I know, but one was new, and he headed for L.A., my guess is they wanna recruit some more vamps, for what, I don't know, and when I don't know about somethin', it's time to worry." Whistler said, he kept looking around shiftily. "The new guy, what did he look like?" Dave asked, Spike had gone inside for a drink. "He was wearing black, he had a scar on his chin, they called him Derwood or something, anyway he looked pretty mean, if you're looking for him, he's in L.A., but I wouldn't tango with Mephisto, two days in Sunnydale, and he's left twenty dead. The vamps snatch people off the street now, they're like a friggin' army, and they're planning a big move. I'd go to L.A., it'd be better than sticking around here." Whistler was never wrong about these things. Dave handed him a roll of cash and they parted ways. Whistler disappeared into the shadows. Dave headed into the bar. Spike was blasted as usual. "Thanks for the assist, I won't stake you for that." Dave bought Spike another drink and left the bar. He had to get to L.A. now. Had he left earlier, he would've run into Oz going in the same direction...
TO BE CONTINUED