" What!"
That was the general reaction of everyone currently inside Rupert Giles' apartment upon hearing the object of Doyle's newest vision. There was an aftershock, and everyone fell silent.
" The poof's coming here?" Spike wanted to confirm, face conveying his disbelief. When Doyle nodded, the expression quickly changed to annoyance and disgust. " This town just can't get any worse can it?"
" Did you see Angel, or Angelus?" Giles asked, taking off his glasses to wipe on a piece of cloth. Doyle squinted owlishly at the Watcher, frowning.
" Is there a difference?"
Willow nodded enthusiastically, almost too eagerly. " Yes, there is actually. You see, in the eighteenth- no, nineteenth- century, Angelus was cursed by this group of Gypsies with a soul, so he became Angel and became a good guy. But there was a catch, which we didn't know of until it happened. The catch is that when Angel's achieves perfect happiness, he would lose the soul and become Angelus again. That's what happened three years ago, when Buffy had sex with Angel and he became Angelus and then Angelus killed Cordelia and made Xander really pissed,"
Doyle looked at her in disbelief, wondering how she had managed to fit that entire litany in one single breath. " Huh?"
" What Red meant to say is, Angel has a soul, Angelus doesn't. Which one did you see?" Spike explained in terms easier to understand. And a pace easier to catch. Doyle looked enlightened briefly then frowned again.
" How do you tell them apart?"
" Well… Angel broods, Angelus goes on killing sprees,"
" That's bluntly put, but it's in the character. I believe Angelus almost always has his demon face revealed," Giles added. He waited. " So?"
" I don't know, first he was normal, then he was a vampire. He was fighting this other vampire… and he… had a friend with him… a male, short, glasses… that's all I can say for sure,"
Giles mused in silence, while Spike patted himself down for cigarettes. " Is he really coming here?" the vampire suddenly said after a moment's silence. Doyle nodded and Spike groaned.
" So what do we do now, Giles?" Willow favored the Watcher with a worried look, but the Englishman didn't notice her. " Doyle?" she tried, after Giles gave no response, lost in his thoughts.
The Irishman shrugged. " Guess I'll have to go meet him and find out,"
++++++
" Hey Willie,"
Faith sauntered up to the bar and slammed her balled fists onto the countertop, surprising the bartender enough to make him drop the glass he had been cleaning. He glanced at the shattered remnants, then looked at Faith, shying away as soon as he looked at her eyes.
" Do I know you? I don't think I've seen you before," he stalled, squinting at her like he was trying to recall her face. Xander then came up to bar and leaned on it, drumming his fingers impatiently on the polished wood.
" Doesn't really matter, Willie. We just want to know some stuff, then we can go," he said, smiling amiably. Willie turned his gaze onto the young man and beamed in recognition.
" You were the Slayer's friend, weren't you?" he asked, as if trying to make small talk. Stalling was more like it. Already, Faith could sense several demons sneaking up on them- if sneaking was the word to be used that is.
" Still am," Xander replied, jerking his head towards Faith. Willie blanched and cowered, scuttling backwards. Faith's arm shot out, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him forward.
" Where's Tristan?" she whispered, her voice so cold it could have frozen the sun. Willie was visibly trembling, sweat pouring down his forehead in rivers. He shook his head nervously, and Faith shook him. " Where?"
" I don't know!" he screamed out loud. " I swear, I don't know!"
Faith growled, then twisted around, arm whipping down. Willie was lifted over the bar and thrown across the room, landing right in the middle of three demons trying to sneak attack them. Xander surged into action, vaulting across the bar and grabbing two hard bottles of tequila. Faith ran forward, on collision course with a demon twice her size and came out the victor.
Xander leapt onto the countertop, smashing the bottles on one demon head each. The odds were five-to-one, but no one was complaining. He slammed the shards of the bottles into the belly of one demon, then slammed his foot into the head of another. As if by magic, a butterfly knife appeared in each hand, slashing out at the demons converging on him.
They stepped back and he flew forward, burying one of the knives in the soft flesh of a throat, right to the hilt. The other glimmered in a wide arc, tearing a scaly reptilian's face wide open. A demon flew out from nowhere, arms outstretched, hands latching onto Xander's neck.
The brown-haired man went with the impact, rolling with the blow, bracing his feet against the demons' chest. When he landed, on his back, the demon on top of him, he pushed his legs out with all of his might, sending the demon into the air above his head.
He was on his feet in an instant, tackling a demon to the ground, driving his forehead into its nose. He heard the satisfying sound of snapping cartilage as a result and brought his knee up into the demon's groin. The breath was blasted out of the demon, and Xander silenced its gasps with a hard right hook to the jaw.
Faith had dropped one demon by head-butting it in the stomach, then stomping on its chest repeatedly. A demon came from behind sending its fist towards her head- only she jerked it out of the way and grabbed the fist in a vise-like grip. Pulling the arm further forward, she tugged it downwards sharply, hard. The elbow connected with her shoulder and the limb snapped like a twig.
As the demon fell away, screaming, another came from the side, tackling her to the ground. Faith was no stranger to bar brawls and dirty fighting, bringing both fists onto the demon's temples. It went out like a light.
Rolling to her feet, she brought her arm up just in time to block a punch, then grabbed the arm that came with the fist. Her foot flew into the demon's shoulder, while she pulled on the arm as hard as she could. There was the 'pop' sound of bone dislocating and the bloody sound of skin tearing. Her foot came up again, this time bracing itself against the demon's head. Faith straightened her leg and in one neat move, broke the demon's neck.
By now, there was only one demon left standing and conscious, the one with the broken arm. Faith reached down and grabbed it by its scruffy collar, pulling its ugly face close. " You know something," she remarked. " Tell me what it is,"
" Never," it wheezed, clutching it's mangled arm pitifully. Faith stepped on its right foot, then kicked down on its knee with her free leg. The sound of bone snapping was dreadfully loud, and the scream from the demon was nearly drowned out by the echoes.
" Wrong answer, McFly," she drawled. " Tell me,"
" No," it stubbornly managed to say. Faith growled and knocked out its teeth with one sharp blow. It screamed again. " I'll never tell you,"
Faith held out one hand towards Xander, palm up. He slapped his bloodied butterfly knife into her hand, and her fist closed around its hilt vengefully. The blade was pressed to its groin, the tip pricking the flesh underneath the thin material of its pants, drawing blood.
" Are you sure 'bout that?" she asked, pressing a little harder. The demon whimpered, starting to shake in fear. " Tell me!" she suddenly screamed into its face and it jerked back dazedly.
" The caves… they're in the caves," it mumbled.
" Thank you," Faith replied, then drew the blade across its throat in one smooth motion. Demon blood splashed on her face, but she made no move to wipe it off as she let the body drop to the floor.
" Are you happy now?" Xander suddenly said, staring at her. She looked at him, saw his blood-splattered clothes and the specks of blood he managed to miss wiping off. She looked at his hard brown eyes and lowered her head in shame.
" I'm sorry,"
It came out as a barely audible whisper, but Xander heard none the less. He took a step closer to her, wiping some of the blood away with his jacket sleeve.
" I'm sorry too,"
He drew her into his arms, and for once, she didn't resist. When they pulled away, he was smiling, and she was too, a second later.
" Now, how about we go rescue Buffy?"
++++++
A headline caught Dannielle's eye and she leaned back for a better view. " Hey, Gunn, check this out," she called out to him. " UC Sunnydale Professor murdered," she read aloud.
" Who'd wanna kill an egghead?" Gunn asked, raising one eyebrow quizzically.
Dannielle ignored him and continued. " A project that the professor was working on was stolen from the scene of the crime. An ancient scroll, carbon-dated 6000 years. It was believed to have been written by the ancient Canaanites,"
" Wha-? A scroll? A dude was killed cause of a rolled up piece of paper?" Gunn exclaimed incredulously.
" Papyrus," Dannielle corrected him.
" Huh?"
" Ancient scrolls were made of papyrus, not paper. Anyway, that's not my point. How does a scroll survive for 6000 years and not crumble into so much dust?" she asked.
" Is that a rhetorical question?"
" Magic, Gunn, magic makes these things happen. Didn't you pay attention in demon hunter academy?"
++++++
Faith and Xander came prepared and armed to the teeth. The brunette Slayer held a heavy waraxe in each hand, her Slayer strength allowing her to wield them without popping her arms out of their sockets. Xander had on a pair of fingerless leather gloves, with metal pads sewn into the knuckles. It made up for its lack of comfort with a bone-breaking brutality. He also held a long sword in one hand, a short sword in the other. Strapped to his back was another sword.
They both had several knives and stakes tucked into their pants and hidden in their jacket sleeves. Xander also had two Desert Eagle .50s, just in case.
They made their way unhurriedly through the forest path, the cave mouth within plain sight. They didn't speak, didn't look at each other. Their gaze was focussed on the cave before them, their arms swinging with the weight of their weapons.
" You ready?" Xander asked, without looking at Faith.
" Always,"
There was a sudden rustling to their left and they had their weapons at the ready even as Riley emerged from the trees. They looked at him in bewilderment, and he favored them with the same expression.
" What are you doing here?" all three asked at the same time. They paused, then Xander held his hand up, halting further words.
" We came to get Buffy," he said.
" I came to get Buffy," came Riley's reply. " How'd you know she was here?"
" Willie told us," Xander answered. " How'd you know?"
" An old friend,"
They all nodded, satisfied with the answers they got. They weren't going to push the issue and further, happy to have another body on their side- Riley got two.
" You got weapons?" Xander asked, seeing Riley's apparently unarmed appearance. He shook his head disapprovingly, and tossed one of the swords at the ex-commander. Riley tested the heft, then nodded his appreciation.
" All set?" Faith asked, not waiting for an affirmation. " Let's motor-vate,"
++++++
The big vampire was faster than Kaine thought. The vamp's reflexes were amazing, and he had managed to evade Kaine's first two attacks despite the distraction Buffy had so thoughtfully provided. Now, Kaine stared at the vamp cautiously, the tip of his sword unwavering pointing at the vamp's left eyeball.
Then it attacked, moving with the same blinding speed it had utilized to avoid Soveliss' scything cuts. With one huge fist heading straight for his head and the another on a direct path for his kidneys, Kaine twisted aside, letting one fist flash by his head harmlessly and the other slamming into his sword hilt.
Kaine retaliated immediately, dropping his shoulder slightly and dashing forward to drive it into the vamp's muscular midsection. The impact was like hitting the stone wall, but Kaine did manage to push the vamp several feet back. As he was about to follow up with an elbow into the solar plexus, the vampire stopped all further movement by wrapping both trunk-like arms around Kaine's much smaller frame, crushing him in a bear hug.
The sound of muscle popping and cracking ribs filled his ears for a while, until he got enough leverage to bring the pommel of his sword into the vampire's jaw, loosening its hold on him just enough so he could wriggle free. He hopped back, creating space between them, disturbing as much dust as he could.
With the obscuring screen in between them, Kaine pressed forward once more, sword flowing in a wide arc meant to disembowel and separate the body into two halves. Only the blow didn't connect; the vampire managed to somehow leap back, only allowing Kaine to cut a shallow gash on his chest.
Then the booming sound interrupted them once more, a sound that was becoming all too familiar. The ground quaked beneath them and Kaine's next attack was forgotten as he looked to the tunnel and chamber he had recently vacated. Buffy turned to him with a wild look in her eyes.
" Run!" she shouted, and all four, human and vampire alike, followed the command. Kaine allowed the blonde Slayer to overtake him and took the rear. The two vampires disappeared beyond the radius of light Soveliss cast and they were two once more. Kaine risked a backward glance to see the two behemoths smash through a wall and start stomping down the tunnel.
/They're faster than I thought/ he commented ruefully.
/Hurry up and you might just be able to regret that mistake tomorrow/ was Soveliss' dry reply.
Kaine put on another burst of speed, coming up alongside Buffy. As if in answer to his prayer, he saw a side tunnel, probably leading to another, safer chamber. The passageway was much too small for the beasts and it would take them some time to pound their way through. As they neared, he grabbed Buffy's wrist and dragged her towards it, nearly pulling her off her feet.
When they entered the chamber, they stopped cold at the sight before them.
A huge room full of steel cages, all of which contained slobbering demons of the worst kind. They reached out with misshapen arms towards the two of them and Kaine involuntarily took a step back, blade coming up on a warding gesture.
Because right in front of them was Tristan, looking back at them with a smile of pure evil on his face. There was a switch on the wall and he had his hand on it. Kaine knew that it was the switch that would unlock and open all the cages in the room, despite his unfamiliarity with technology. It was that obvious.
As obvious as the fact that they were royally screwed when Tristan hit the switch.
++++++
" Oh God, what about Xander?"
That was Dannielle's first reaction when she heard the news Doyle had to give. She was the most unexpected person the concern could have come from, although Gunn had reason not to be surprised.
" I know, it worries me too," Willow admitted, making a moue. " Maybe we don't tell him?"
" Bad idea, Red. Nothing would piss him off more, Angel included," Doyle rejected the idea with a wave of his hand.
Willow looked crestfallen.
" What's the worse that could happen?" Spike snorted loudly. " The little idiot goes and blows his horn again, and everyone gets a tongue lashing. Just tune him out,"
" It ain't that easy, Spike," Gunn replied. " Xand would probably go looking for Angel and try to provoke him into this huge fight. One of them would end up dead, or severely maimed,"
" Well, we could all go root for Xander, maybe help him out. That way we get rid of the problem, right?" Spike reasoned. Doyle shook his head.
" Can't do that either. Angel is the Champion of Light, and he needs to be there during the apocalypse. It's one of those preordained things," the half-demon explained. Eyes widened and eyebrows rose all around, none more so than Spike's.
" Angel?" came the simultaneous exclamation, with an addition of, " The poof?" from the bleach blonde vampire. Doyle nodded, then sighed.
" Why can't life be easier?" he moaned. Gunn placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a few words of wisdom.
" Cause then it won't be any fun,"
++++++
His lungs felt like they were on fire and every breath pained his broken ribs. His arms ached from the numerous scraped he had picked up and were tired from wielding the sword for so long. Blood, dust and sweat ran down his face, getting into his eyes, but he couldn't expend the energy to wipe it away. His legs were like jelly and with every step he took, it felt like his feet got a pound heavier.
And yet he ran, because to do otherwise was to die. A horde of insanely enraged demons were on their tail, two stone behemoths a little further behind. The sound of the huge stone feet pounding the floor was deafening in the close confines of the cave tunnel. The slobbering and inhuman shrieks of the demons chilled his blood and stiffened his muscles.
Beside him, the Slayer kept pace, though she looked no better of than him. Neither looked back for fear of seeing a demon claw their face off, and neither said a word. The only sound that was important to them was their own harsh breathing and the rhythmic stamping of feet on floor.
His sword was held loose in his hand, the leather-wrapped hilt slick with sweat. The gloves he wore provided a little more grip, but a hard impact now could knock the precious weapon out of his hand. The tip of the blade dragged on the stone ground, drawing a shrill screeching that was made inaudible by the riot behind them.
And still the tunnel stretched out before them.
++++++
They charged into the cave mouth, expecting a sharp report almost immediately. They were met by a dead silence. Only dust and sand seemed disturbed by their entrance and not a single body was in sight. Frowning, Faith walked cautiously forward, expecting an ambush once they turned the corner. Her hearing cranked up to the max, the only sound she could hear was her own breathing and the sound that Riley's boots made as he walked.
" There's no one here," Xander noted, a twinge of suspicion in his voice. Faith knew what he was thinking, and Riley had the same idea, though his subject was slightly different.
" Do we go on?" he asked, planning to do so anyway.
" Do we have a choice?" Xander replied, scowling.
They walked forward, Faith leading, Riley taking up the rear.
They reached another fork, and only the weak beam from Xander's torchlight lit their way. They turned left, choosing at random. Faith was straining her ears as hard as Slayer senses would allow, just to provide them with that invaluable split-second of warning before the attack came.
If it ever came at all.
Faith hefted the two waraxes, settling them into her grip, making sure they were comfortable. It wouldn't do for her hand to suddenly cramp up while in the thick of things.
She realized that they were heading deeper downwards; the tunnel sloped gently, so imperceptibly you almost wouldn't notice. She didn't like that fact one bit. She glanced behind, to check that her two comrades were still with her.
A good thing she did, or else Riley's life would have ended then and there.
Behind him, a demon was creeping up, almost breathing down the back of his neck. " Riley, duck!" she screamed out. Like the good soldier he was, Riley fell flat to the floor immediately- Xander did the same, out of pure reflex. Faith whirled around, her right arm rising above her head, then whipping downwards, releasing the axe she held at the same time.
The weapon twirled end over end, then buried itself blade first in the demon's head. It toppled over without uttering a sound, landing with a wet squelch.
It was like Faith had broken a dam and allowed a swelling river to burst through. From the walls, perfectly camouflaged into the rough rock, came more demons, the same type as the one Faith had killed.
The Slayer reacted, backhanding one demon with the axe, burying its head in the demon's chest with the gruesome sound of flesh tearing, bone breaking and blood spurting. She tugged it out, continued the forward momentum and slammed the blade into another demon's neck, severing the tendons and muscles all the way through.
She rolled beneath the outstretched arms of another demon and came up long enough to rip a long rent in the tough hide of a demon's chest. Then she flipped backwards, twice, thrice, then reached out to pull her other axe free of the demon's head. Now, with a waraxe in each hand once again, she charged forward.
Xander rose to his feet, swords swinging. He dismembered a demon before impaling it on the three foot long steel blade, then decapitated another with a smooth pivoting backslash. He weapons gave him a longer reach and he waved deadly patterns in the air with them, keeping the demons at bay.
Then he attacked, slicing open the throat of one demon, spilling the innards of another. Blood pooled on the floor, making his footing unsure; one wrong step might spell his doom. But he waded further into the mass of bodies, stabbing, slashing, drawing blood wherever he went. A dance of death, an intricate ritual of footwork and swordplay and blood.
Riley had one weapon, but that was all he needed. Holding the sword two-handed, he cut a wide path through the demons, not seeing them as soon as they fell. He saw them when they stepped in front of him, he saw them when they came from the side to flank him, but once they went down, bleeding, screaming, they didn't exist to him.
Defense was forgotten, as was his earlier, unhealed injuries. New wounds were opened in the unprotected flesh of his arms and chest, his legs had hundreds of little scars. A severed demon hand stubbornly clung onto his calf, fingers and claws digging deep into the muscle, but he didn't feel it.
Then he reached Faith and Xander, and the three stood back to back as they dropped demons left and right. Their defense was solid and impenetrable, and their attack was lethally accurate.
Within five minutes of the initial attack, all that was left of the demons were fifteen unmoving torsos and several heads and limbs lying far away from their bodies. They were literally drenched in blood, green and slimy. The stench was overpowering, the smell of raw sewage and rotting flesh.
Not all the blood belonged to the demons.
++++++
Running on, Kaine saw the passageway branch out, straight out and to the right. Acting on pure instinct, he grabbed Buffy's sleeve and pulled her away, diverting their path the right.
And they nearly ran into Faith and Xander.
" Buffy!"
" B!"
The only reply Buffy gave was a wheezing gasp and she pushed them frantically back the way they came. They looked confused, then the first demon turned the corner, making way for five others behind it. Their eyes widened briefly and they turned sharply on their heels, taking off.
Kaine stayed at the back, letting the unexpected reinforcements take care of Buffy. A demon pulled up alongside him, slashing out. He ducked the arm and lashed out wildly with Soveliss, catching the demon just under the ribs.
The blade caught in the bone, and he had to tug hard to pull it out. The blade popped free with a jerk, and he nearly lost his balance. Stumbling, he regained his footing and continued forward.
He lost several feet of space, the demons closing without showing any signs of exhaustion. They turned another corner, some distance ahead of him and he decided that they were safely out of range. He turned and stopped in the middle of the narrow tunnel, letting it funnel the demons to him, two at a time. Bracing his feet apart, he raised his sword in a salute and beckoned them forward.
++++++
They broke through to the sunlight, wincing when the bright rays hit them. Buffy suffered the worse, and had to shield her eyes to avoid the stabbing pain. She paused outside the cave mouth, slowing to look back.
Kaine was not with them.
She turned and fled back to the cave, bumping Xander out of the way as she did so. He grabbed at her arm, but grasped only air. Not bothering to call out to stop her, he whirled about and followed.
She was weak and tired; he caught up to her easily, just inside the cave. Catching her arm, he pulled her around harshly. " Buffy! What're you doing?"
" Kaine's still in there!" she yelled back breathlessly, desperately. She strained against his grip, but couldn't summon up the strength.
" We can't go back in there, Buffy!"
" We just can't leave him there either!" she argued. Xander looked torn, then glanced back at Faith and Riley, who were jogging up to them.
" What the fuck's going on?"
" Kaine's still inside," Buffy replied, then tried to make another attempt to free herself. She didn't succeed.
" Who's Kaine?" Faith asked, puzzled. She squinted inside the gloom of the cave, then frowned. " That's weird. The demons are gone,"
" Let me go!" Buffy cried out suddenly, then elbowed Xander in the gut. Wrenching her arm free, she ran back into the dark confines of the tunnel. Cursing, Xander and Faith followed, Riley a step behind.
++++++
He didn't know how long he could keep it up. The pile of demon carcasses were growing in front of him, yet the numbers still didn't seem to decrease. Wave after wave flung themselves hungrily at him, intent on devouring his flesh and ripping him into bite-sized little pieces. Yet he stood firm, not losing an inch of ground, even though the blood was pooling at his feet, even though his swings were coming slower and slower each time.
Then the inevitable happened: his counterattack came a bit too slow, and the demon was inside his defenses, tearing large rents in his skinsuit and his flesh. He gasped in the sudden flaring of pain and staggered backwards. Howling in victory, the demons surged forward, trampling over their dead in their haste to get to him.
That was when the unexpected occurred: an axe came flying out from nowhere and caved in a demon skull. Another followed soon after, slicing a demon head from its misshapen shoulders.
And yet a demon got to him, launching itself at his feet. Kaine felt himself tumbling to the ground, saw the world tilt upside down, then felt himself hitting the ground hard, all the air blasted out of his lungs. A demon crushed him under its body, making the nearly-forgotten pain in his ribs flare up again.
Hands were suddenly pulling the demon away, feet were impeding another one's progress towards his vulnerable form. Kaine couldn't move, couldn't think. He saw what was going on around him, took note of it in a strangely detached way; a part of it but apart from it.
Faith and Buffy, were fighting side by side, holding the demons at bay. Big guy was there too, swinging a sword. And there was… Xander, hacking at the demons like a dwarven battlerager.
" Riley! Get him outta here!" Faith commanded.
Then hands were under his armpits, pulling him to his feet. He stubbornly gripped his sword in his hand, wanting to die with it. Only then did he realize that he was being pulled out of the cave, towards the light.
As the light hit his face, the warmth of the sun resting on his skin, Kaine allowed the darkness to take over him, allowed himself to slide into a peaceful unconsciousness.
++++++
Tristan scowled as he paced the cavern floor. Things were not going the way he expected. First, Faith and two of her cronies had showed up, somehow managing to get Buffy and the newcomer out of the tunnels. And then Faustus had blamed him- him of all people, when it was Faustus' own overconfidence that allowed the Slayers to flee.
The two stone behemoths had crumbled to dust and sand once the sunlight hit their bodies. Faustus had feigned indifference when he heard the news, but Tristan had seen the veiled fury in his decaying face.
When Tristan had voiced his aim to go after the Slayers himself, Faustus had flat out forbade him to go- even after Tristan had offered to bring the Ravagers as backup. The mere thought of the memory enraged him and his fist clenched around the hilt of his sword.
Tristan halted abruptly and smashed his fist into the wall. As futile as the gesture was, it provided him with a small measure of comfort and made him suddenly calm once more. If only he had a decent sparring partner, it would take the pressure of this kidnapping Slayers business and allow him to think clearly.
Then he thought of the five Angels and wondered if any of them would be able to stand up to him in a fair fight. He walked out of his chambers and grabbed a passing vampire. Now that the Angels had gotten into full hunting mood, the place was crawling with the creatures.
Not that it did any good in stopping the Slayers.
" Where's… Azrael?" he demanded, fist on the minion's collar. He had no idea where to start, but decided that the Angel of Death was a good place to start as any. The vampire managed to blanch and stutter a few inaudible words. Tristan shook the thing, lifting its feet clear off the floor.
" In his room, two turns down!" the vampire gibbered, pointing with one shaky finger. Tristan was already walking in that direction, tossing the vampire into the wall.
" Get a bath," he muttered, wrinkling his nose.
++++++
Rupert Giles didn't know which emotion was foremost in his mind when the battered and weary combatants/rescue team appeared on his doorstep, drenched in blood and sweat, covered in dust. First had come surprise, to see such a sight in front of him. Albeit being a Watcher for so long tempered that reaction somewhat.
Then had come anger, for Riley, Faith and Xander to have gone on such a reckless expedition without informing any of them beforehand.
That was quickly followed by shame, for assuming to be responsible for Faith and Xander. Especially Faith, because of what he'd said to her earlier. Either way, both of them had obviously done this before, and without any supervision. He would expect them to know their business.
Relief flooded his mind and drowned out all other thoughts when he saw Buffy leaning heavily on Riley. Beaten, tired, but alive. Alive. She had her eyes closed and her breathing was deep and steady, even enough to assure him that she was merely unconscious.
Then came horror when he saw the unmoving form of Kaine, held in Faith's arms. His thought at first that the man was dead, but saw the faint rising and falling of his chest, showing that he was alive, though just barely. The very sight of him pained Rupert Giles. His face was swollen and bruised, bleeding from a cut near his left temple. His arms had numerous scrapes and gashes, visible even through all the dust and blood. His stomach was worst off, suffering three deep cuts, open and bleeding still.
Giles shuddered when he thought of the infections that the man might have suffered.
That was two hours ago. Two hours to tend to the wounds, two hours to get a debrief. Much of it was still sketchy, for most of the story lay in the minds of Buffy and Kaine, both of whom were deeply asleep. Even now, Giles sat by Kaine's sleeping form, lying in Giles' own bed, checking his condition every now and then, hoping that he would live. The signs seemed well, but anything could happen.
The young man lay naked, covered only by a thin blanket. Undressing the man had proved to be an interesting task. The peculiar suit he wore slid off at the merest touch, pooling at a corner. That had left him in his belt, gloves and boots. The belt was revealed to have several hidden compartments, holding a myriad of small weapons and items he couldn't recognize. " It's like Batman's utility belt," Xander had quipped, eyes wide in amazement.
No one had been able to take off Kaine's boots. They remained on his feet, under the blanket. A strange sight, but nothing that moved or affected Giles much.
This is the Hellmouth, he reminded himself.
Rupert Giles stood and stretched, knowing he would do his young charges no good if he didn't get his own rest. Dusk had nearly fallen, and the others were still outside, talking and discussing the strange slew of events that had occurred so suddenly. Xander seemed to have taken over the conversation, bringing up useful points and rationalizing their importance. Somehow, the marine sergeant Ethan Rayne had turned young Alexander Harris into several years ago had resurfaced once again. He wondered how.
This is the Hellmouth, he thought again.
Walking for the door that led to his study, his eyes caught on the small pile Kaine's strange suit had made on one corner of the room. Its dark color, especially in the dim light, had made it look like a puddle of oil to Giles' vision. Frowning, he walked over and gingerly picked it up in one hand. He nearly dropped it when he realized that it had become a mere puddle, though of what he couldn't tell.
He poked and prodded at it, but nothing happened. He pulled it, trying to see how far it would stretch, but it resolutely remained a circle of about two feet in diameter. He poked a finger in its center, then let it hang down his arm. It did so like a limp rag.
The material was tough and smooth, like a liquid not quite solidified. If there was a state of matter between liquid and solid, this was it. It flowed, but remained definite in its shape and volume. Retrieving a pair of scissors from his drawer, he attempted to cut off a small section of the material. No matter how much pressure he exerted, he simply could not bring the two blades together.
" Whatcha doin' there, G?"
If it wasn't the complete surprise of hearing someone talk, it was the voice itself that made Rupert Giles drop the material. He turned, willing himself not to flush and looked rather guiltily at the dark-haired Slayer. " Faith,"
She remained at the door, not outside, but not quite inside either. Her arms were folded on her chest, she was leaning on the doorjamb, her body making a perfect S-curve across the doorway.
" About what I said ear-earlier. I-I just wan-wanted to s-say that I was—" he had no idea why he was stuttering so badly, and was absurdly relieved when Faith cut him off. The fact that the reason for her interruption might not be in the best of his interests didn't escape him, but he felt it none the less.
" Sorry?" she finished for him, raising a lascivious eyebrow. She shrugged, the move somehow managing to convey both acceptance of his apology and an offer for her own as well. " I guess I am too. I wasn't on by best behavior,"
" Th-that's putting it mildly," Giles replied, wiping his glasses. Faith cracked a smile, though she didn't laugh.
" Did Giles just make a joke?" she asked, not waiting for an answer. " You've changed G,"
" So have you," he acknowledged.
Both held the other's gaze for a while more, then nodded. This seemed to satisfy whatever rites for the ancient ritual that was two people apologizing. Faith jerked her chin at the puddle of material on the floor.
" Science experiment?"
Giles did flush this time, though he had no idea why- nor did he have reason to. He stooped to retrieve it, then held it in both hands like a ring-boy's pillow, scrutinizing it with squinted eyes.
" This… was, Kaine's clothes," he explained, turning to her and holding it out.
" You're shittin' me!" she exclaimed, bouncing forward to grab it out of his grasp. If Giles felt any disapproval for her language, he didn't let it show on his face. Faith was likewise inspecting the strange circle, scraping at it with her fingernail.
" Wonder what it is," she mused, then abruptly handed it back to the Watcher, shaking her head. " Not my jurisdiction. I actually came here to get you,"
" Get me? What for?"
" Xander wants to talk to you, the whole gang does actually. Sent me as if I was donut girl, not him," she snorted, rolling her eyes. Though both knew the reason why Xander had sent the second Slayer, Giles wasn't going to bring it up if she didn't want to.
" Well, let's go then," he gestured to the door, laying the material on his desk.