Brikersan's lair
Brikersan sat overlooking his remaining minions, waiting for news from the Diables de Mort.
He ran his hands through a pile of ashes - those of Mander - while his followers cringed in fear...knowing they would meet a similar fate were they ever to cross him.
Suddenly Brikersan leapt to his feet. "Get out!" he bellowed, causing the minions to flinch. Still they continued to stare at him. "Move...leave...depart...how many ways do I have to say it?" he yelled. They all started to move at once, creating a panic as they all fled the room to escape their master's wrath.
As the last minion left, Brikersan sat back in his chair, his fingernails tapping on the armrest where his hand rested. His thoughts were troubled. His goal of revenge on Anyanka was proving to be a much harder task than he'd planned for.
Granted, he didn't know for sure that his current mission, undertaken by the Diables de Mort, had failed, but he had a sneaking suspicion that they would return - minus Anyanka and a few of their own kind. To top it all off, it was all thanks to her...
"The Slayer", Brikersan growled to the empty room, causing the sound to reverberate off the walls and echo back to him in a cruel taunt.
How Anyanka had come to be in the company of the slayer, Brikersan did not know - nor did he particularly care. What he did know was that the slayer was a danger he needed to be prepared for. Even if he did succeed in his revenge on Anyanka, he knew the slayer would come after him to avenge her death.
Well Brikersan planned to be ready. He knew some things about the slayer's past that would help him in his battle...stories passed along the demon grapevine as they told tales of destruction and carnage over a pint of blood. He had heard of the many battles she had faced and won, and now, thanks to that little weasel of a human at the local demon haunt, knew many of her weaknesses as well.
It was from this information that he had formulated a plan to combat the slayer, if the need arose. The more he thought about it, the more he realised he had to commence preparations for it - and soon.
*Yes*, he thought, *Thanks to Willy, I know exactly how to take care of the Slayer, once and for all*.
********************
The library
7am...
As soon as Buffy entered the library she made her way to Giles' office, calling as she went.
"Giles? Giles! You here?"
No answer.
"Oh, well...there goes my plan."
After her conversation with Willow last night, she had decided to consult Giles about their latest threat, in the hope that he had found something new. She just hoped she didn't get a lecture from him like the one Willow had given her...a lecture she had taken to heart, and had all intentions of doing something about.
*That's if my bitchy side doesn't come out first*, she thought, *something it's been doing all too frequently lately*.
She had one last look around the library in the hope of finding Giles, but he was definitely nowhere to be seen.
She looked at her watch...*Damn* she thought, *classes don't start for ages...what am I meant to do now?* Her eyes caught a pile of books lying on the table...demonology books.
"Well, I may as well do something useful since I came this early." she sighed as she sat down with the pile of books and started to research the 'Diables de mort'. *Plus, the quicker we sort out this mess, the quicker demon girl is out of our lives,* she smiled at the thought.
********************
Later that morning...
Xander entered the library and noticed Buffy sitting at the table, books spread out around her.
"Hi" she said as she noticed his presence.
"Yeah"
Buffy noticed his lack of enthusiasm at her greeting and thought perhaps that this was a better time than any to make up for yesterday.
"So...how's Anya"
"Anya's fine thanks for asking"
"I bet she is..." Buffy muttered under her breath, but not so quietly that Xander didn't pick up on it.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Never mind"
"No, Buffy. You brought it up...so out with it."
"Well with you there to comfort her and all, I'm sure she recovered."
"Buffy, she was upset...I gave her a place to stay and we talked."
"Talk...is that what they call it nowadays."
"God...what has gotten into you? Nothing happened."
"Yeah, I'm sure Miss. Perfect didn't set a hand on you."
"She didn't, well, I mean..."
"AHA...I knew it."
"Gosh, why don't you believe me? Anyway, so what if she did? I'm not allowed to have friends now...anyone would think you're jealous the way you're acting."
"Me jealous...now that's a laugh."
"Yes you!"
Buffy just glared at him. "What is your deal Xander? I'm not even slightly interested in you...and I couldn't care less who you see."
"Then why are you always attacking Anya?"
"Why are you always defending her?"
"Maybe because she needs someone to, the way you're always at her. For God's sake Buffy. She's just been through a horrible ordeal which, as you know, isn't over yet, and you can't even be civil."
"But...but...she's not right for you." she blurted out.
"Oh yeah, then tell me something Buffy who is?"
Buffy looked at him confused.
He sighed. "That's what I thought. Well you know what, Buff. I'm not going to postpone my life just until I meet someone you approve of."
He turned to leave, but Buffy reached out and grabbed his arm
Xander turned back around to face her. "What do you expect from me Buffy? I just don't understand what' gotten into you lately!"
*He has so much pain in his eyes* she thought as she stared at him, unsure how to answer the question he had asked...a question she wasn't sure she knew the answer to herself.
In that moment, however, all she knew was that she wanted to ease the pain in his eyes...the pain she had caused. Without thinking about it she moved in, leaned up, and put her mouth to his, kissing him tenderly.
To say Xander was shocked was an understatement. One moment they were yelling at each other and the next she was kissing him. For a brief moment he was caught up in the magic of the kiss, until reality struck and he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away, holding her at arm's length.
"What the hell..."
Buffy, emotions torn between disbelief that she had kissed Xander, and the disappointment of his rejection, was at a loss for words. "I...uh..."
"God, I wouldn't have put it to you to stoop to these levels..." Xander exclaimed, his voice tinged with anger and underlying hurt.
She looked at him blankly.
"What? You think you can play with people's emotions and just get what you want?...well that may work for other people, may have even worked on me in the past...but as of this moment I'm jumping off the bandwagon. I can't believe you'd resort to this to try and stop me going out with Anya."
"No...Xander wait...I didn't mean..." she tried to gain some sort of coherence in her thoughts.
"No screw you...I've had just about enough...when you've worked out your issues, whatever they may be, get back to me...until then..." he left the sentence unfinished and stormed angrily out of the library, leaving a very shocked and shaken Buffy behind.
Brikersan sat overlooking his remaining minions, waiting for news from the Diables de Mort.
He ran his hands through a pile of ashes - those of Mander - while his followers cringed in fear...knowing they would meet a similar fate were they ever to cross him.
Suddenly Brikersan leapt to his feet. "Get out!" he bellowed, causing the minions to flinch. Still they continued to stare at him. "Move...leave...depart...how many ways do I have to say it?" he yelled. They all started to move at once, creating a panic as they all fled the room to escape their master's wrath.
As the last minion left, Brikersan sat back in his chair, his fingernails tapping on the armrest where his hand rested. His thoughts were troubled. His goal of revenge on Anyanka was proving to be a much harder task than he'd planned for.
Granted, he didn't know for sure that his current mission, undertaken by the Diables de Mort, had failed, but he had a sneaking suspicion that they would return - minus Anyanka and a few of their own kind. To top it all off, it was all thanks to her...
"The Slayer", Brikersan growled to the empty room, causing the sound to reverberate off the walls and echo back to him in a cruel taunt.
How Anyanka had come to be in the company of the slayer, Brikersan did not know - nor did he particularly care. What he did know was that the slayer was a danger he needed to be prepared for. Even if he did succeed in his revenge on Anyanka, he knew the slayer would come after him to avenge her death.
Well Brikersan planned to be ready. He knew some things about the slayer's past that would help him in his battle...stories passed along the demon grapevine as they told tales of destruction and carnage over a pint of blood. He had heard of the many battles she had faced and won, and now, thanks to that little weasel of a human at the local demon haunt, knew many of her weaknesses as well.
It was from this information that he had formulated a plan to combat the slayer, if the need arose. The more he thought about it, the more he realised he had to commence preparations for it - and soon.
*Yes*, he thought, *Thanks to Willy, I know exactly how to take care of the Slayer, once and for all*.
********************
The library
7am...
As soon as Buffy entered the library she made her way to Giles' office, calling as she went.
"Giles? Giles! You here?"
No answer.
"Oh, well...there goes my plan."
After her conversation with Willow last night, she had decided to consult Giles about their latest threat, in the hope that he had found something new. She just hoped she didn't get a lecture from him like the one Willow had given her...a lecture she had taken to heart, and had all intentions of doing something about.
*That's if my bitchy side doesn't come out first*, she thought, *something it's been doing all too frequently lately*.
She had one last look around the library in the hope of finding Giles, but he was definitely nowhere to be seen.
She looked at her watch...*Damn* she thought, *classes don't start for ages...what am I meant to do now?* Her eyes caught a pile of books lying on the table...demonology books.
"Well, I may as well do something useful since I came this early." she sighed as she sat down with the pile of books and started to research the 'Diables de mort'. *Plus, the quicker we sort out this mess, the quicker demon girl is out of our lives,* she smiled at the thought.
********************
Later that morning...
Xander entered the library and noticed Buffy sitting at the table, books spread out around her.
"Hi" she said as she noticed his presence.
"Yeah"
Buffy noticed his lack of enthusiasm at her greeting and thought perhaps that this was a better time than any to make up for yesterday.
"So...how's Anya"
"Anya's fine thanks for asking"
"I bet she is..." Buffy muttered under her breath, but not so quietly that Xander didn't pick up on it.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Never mind"
"No, Buffy. You brought it up...so out with it."
"Well with you there to comfort her and all, I'm sure she recovered."
"Buffy, she was upset...I gave her a place to stay and we talked."
"Talk...is that what they call it nowadays."
"God...what has gotten into you? Nothing happened."
"Yeah, I'm sure Miss. Perfect didn't set a hand on you."
"She didn't, well, I mean..."
"AHA...I knew it."
"Gosh, why don't you believe me? Anyway, so what if she did? I'm not allowed to have friends now...anyone would think you're jealous the way you're acting."
"Me jealous...now that's a laugh."
"Yes you!"
Buffy just glared at him. "What is your deal Xander? I'm not even slightly interested in you...and I couldn't care less who you see."
"Then why are you always attacking Anya?"
"Why are you always defending her?"
"Maybe because she needs someone to, the way you're always at her. For God's sake Buffy. She's just been through a horrible ordeal which, as you know, isn't over yet, and you can't even be civil."
"But...but...she's not right for you." she blurted out.
"Oh yeah, then tell me something Buffy who is?"
Buffy looked at him confused.
He sighed. "That's what I thought. Well you know what, Buff. I'm not going to postpone my life just until I meet someone you approve of."
He turned to leave, but Buffy reached out and grabbed his arm
Xander turned back around to face her. "What do you expect from me Buffy? I just don't understand what' gotten into you lately!"
*He has so much pain in his eyes* she thought as she stared at him, unsure how to answer the question he had asked...a question she wasn't sure she knew the answer to herself.
In that moment, however, all she knew was that she wanted to ease the pain in his eyes...the pain she had caused. Without thinking about it she moved in, leaned up, and put her mouth to his, kissing him tenderly.
To say Xander was shocked was an understatement. One moment they were yelling at each other and the next she was kissing him. For a brief moment he was caught up in the magic of the kiss, until reality struck and he put his hands on her shoulders and pushed her away, holding her at arm's length.
"What the hell..."
Buffy, emotions torn between disbelief that she had kissed Xander, and the disappointment of his rejection, was at a loss for words. "I...uh..."
"God, I wouldn't have put it to you to stoop to these levels..." Xander exclaimed, his voice tinged with anger and underlying hurt.
She looked at him blankly.
"What? You think you can play with people's emotions and just get what you want?...well that may work for other people, may have even worked on me in the past...but as of this moment I'm jumping off the bandwagon. I can't believe you'd resort to this to try and stop me going out with Anya."
"No...Xander wait...I didn't mean..." she tried to gain some sort of coherence in her thoughts.
"No screw you...I've had just about enough...when you've worked out your issues, whatever they may be, get back to me...until then..." he left the sentence unfinished and stormed angrily out of the library, leaving a very shocked and shaken Buffy behind.
