"Sister," The huge single horned demon stepped around the boulder they had built a fire against, and squatted, tossing a bone on the glowing embers around the edge. "I feel another."
Segra snorted and fished her bone out, picking her teeth with its edges. "We knew there would be some to fight on this world. They are holed up more than a league away, shivering to keep out the cold. Let them wait wonder and worry."
"No," Serrat said. "Not them, closer, maybe ... here."
"I see no one." Segra leaned her fur clad back against the rock. "They know we are on this planet but not where. We would know if they were here."
"But I feel something."
"PAH, what you feel is excitement, the joy we both feel when we visit the places of our greatest achievements. As you will feel when we rid the universe of vermin."
Segrat nodded slowly, her horn catching in her hair, and she sat slowly, giving Warren enough time to scuttle away before he gave proof to her suspicions.
Being a ghost had its advantages. Okay, the tactics he had used against the Bolivian soccer players wouldn't work here, how could he hope to scare something that was scarier than he was. There wasn't much he could do in the fight department, but what a spy he could be. A regular invisible 007.
Which is something he decided the scoobies could use. Sure they were up on the fighting thing, even Willow, who had grown proficient with the battleth, well as proficient as possible given the time they had to work with. They had chosen well, their battle site, he thought, but there was too much of a risk that the Sisters wouldn't approach from the optimum direction. And sometimes they were too confident in their own abilities to take proper precautions. In his opinion anyway.
A good crime lord er detective leaves nothing to chance.
Which is why, when Dawn was transporting personnel and equipment, he had hitched a ride, teleport, whatever. He didn't really care, so long as it got him her. Fortunately, Dawn was so preoccupied that she didn't notice one more passenger, and as soon as he landed/materialized/whatever he had taken off for parts unknown.
One thing about being a ghost was that he could transport himself immense distances, and he could leave markers, so he'd know where he had been. He'd never figured out why that was, but it was useful when he started searching. He'd hop to a distance, near the edge of his senses, stop and extend them out as far as he could, mark his position hop to the next location. He did this in straight lines, sometimes ragged, until he had circumnavigated the globe three times in what felt like six hours. He was getting tired, being a ghost didn't mean having unlimited energy, but finally he sensed life/death/unlife/whatever and new that he had met the enemy.
Which was not what he expected. The scoobies had talked about two sisters. Not two eight footers, fully armoured and armed sisters, with red skin, broad faces and fiery eyes, and a single horn growing out the center of their foreheads. They didn't say anything about the group of lessor demons that followed them. There were twelve of them. All as tall and as well armed as the sisters.
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Willow shivered and watched as Dawn popped into view with the last of the supplies. She would be going back now for Wesley and Giles. Anya would be staying behind to man the store, and Xander had a few pick ups to make before he could get here. But the rest of them were here, atop the bluffs and Riley and Buffy were working on a fire, that had blue flames. Different chemical make up she decided, not that it mattered as long as it was warm and cooked their supper.
"Not much of a look out are you?"
Willow jumped and looked wildly about, clutching her battleth. There was no one to be seen. But, the voice sounded familiar.
"Warren," she quavered. "What are you doing here?"
"Scouting, master spy, you pick. What's important is the Sisters are getting all comfy around their own fire, which is bigger and better than what they came up with."
Willow took a fast look at their sputtering fire.
"Tell them the grass burns real well, which is what they're burning, but to keep a clear area between the flames and the rest of the stuff. Oh and while you're at it, you can tell them that the sisters are eight feet tall, well muscled and well armed. They got a horn in the middle of their heads that drips some kind of liquid, and they got twelve followers, each as big and as well armed as they are."
Willow ran over to the camp and after a hurried conversation returned with Riley in tow, while Buffy started pulling grass.
"Warren, Warren," Riley shouted. "You around here?"
"He's here," puffed Willow coming up behind him. "He's standing right beside you. You just can't see him."
Riley rounded on her. "Then maybe you can ask him. Where are they, how far are they, how long will it take them to get here from there."
Warren appeared behind Riley and placed a bloody hand on Riley's shoulder. Riley turned, his eyes growing wide as he took Warren in. He gulped, turned a wide eyed stare on Willow, gulped and returned his attention to Warren. "YUh, you do have skin don't you?"
"What you see is what you get, courtesy of a witch we both know and who shall be nameless. As for where they are, I'd say maybe twenty miles that a way. Warren pointed off to the left. They know where you are, and will come eventually, in their own good time. How long it takes them to get here is anyone's guess. Whether they'll come the way you want them to is a whole other guess. The most direct route won't head them into that canyon you hope to trap them in."
"Where then?"
"In through those hills." Warren pointed in the correct direction. "They may turn, and go down to where that city used to be, but they'll be able to see you from there, and since they know you're hear they'll be looking." Warren shrugged, causing Riley to swallow. "Depends on how sentimental they are, if they go down there first and her second, or here first and there second."
"So what would you suggest?"
"You got explosives?"
"Semtex," Riley said. "Plastique."
"Don't matter what kind. When Xander gets here, he and I can go to a small are not too very far from here. Some well placed explosives can block this path, leaving them a clear shot to where you want them to go."
Segra snorted and fished her bone out, picking her teeth with its edges. "We knew there would be some to fight on this world. They are holed up more than a league away, shivering to keep out the cold. Let them wait wonder and worry."
"No," Serrat said. "Not them, closer, maybe ... here."
"I see no one." Segra leaned her fur clad back against the rock. "They know we are on this planet but not where. We would know if they were here."
"But I feel something."
"PAH, what you feel is excitement, the joy we both feel when we visit the places of our greatest achievements. As you will feel when we rid the universe of vermin."
Segrat nodded slowly, her horn catching in her hair, and she sat slowly, giving Warren enough time to scuttle away before he gave proof to her suspicions.
Being a ghost had its advantages. Okay, the tactics he had used against the Bolivian soccer players wouldn't work here, how could he hope to scare something that was scarier than he was. There wasn't much he could do in the fight department, but what a spy he could be. A regular invisible 007.
Which is something he decided the scoobies could use. Sure they were up on the fighting thing, even Willow, who had grown proficient with the battleth, well as proficient as possible given the time they had to work with. They had chosen well, their battle site, he thought, but there was too much of a risk that the Sisters wouldn't approach from the optimum direction. And sometimes they were too confident in their own abilities to take proper precautions. In his opinion anyway.
A good crime lord er detective leaves nothing to chance.
Which is why, when Dawn was transporting personnel and equipment, he had hitched a ride, teleport, whatever. He didn't really care, so long as it got him her. Fortunately, Dawn was so preoccupied that she didn't notice one more passenger, and as soon as he landed/materialized/whatever he had taken off for parts unknown.
One thing about being a ghost was that he could transport himself immense distances, and he could leave markers, so he'd know where he had been. He'd never figured out why that was, but it was useful when he started searching. He'd hop to a distance, near the edge of his senses, stop and extend them out as far as he could, mark his position hop to the next location. He did this in straight lines, sometimes ragged, until he had circumnavigated the globe three times in what felt like six hours. He was getting tired, being a ghost didn't mean having unlimited energy, but finally he sensed life/death/unlife/whatever and new that he had met the enemy.
Which was not what he expected. The scoobies had talked about two sisters. Not two eight footers, fully armoured and armed sisters, with red skin, broad faces and fiery eyes, and a single horn growing out the center of their foreheads. They didn't say anything about the group of lessor demons that followed them. There were twelve of them. All as tall and as well armed as the sisters.
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Willow shivered and watched as Dawn popped into view with the last of the supplies. She would be going back now for Wesley and Giles. Anya would be staying behind to man the store, and Xander had a few pick ups to make before he could get here. But the rest of them were here, atop the bluffs and Riley and Buffy were working on a fire, that had blue flames. Different chemical make up she decided, not that it mattered as long as it was warm and cooked their supper.
"Not much of a look out are you?"
Willow jumped and looked wildly about, clutching her battleth. There was no one to be seen. But, the voice sounded familiar.
"Warren," she quavered. "What are you doing here?"
"Scouting, master spy, you pick. What's important is the Sisters are getting all comfy around their own fire, which is bigger and better than what they came up with."
Willow took a fast look at their sputtering fire.
"Tell them the grass burns real well, which is what they're burning, but to keep a clear area between the flames and the rest of the stuff. Oh and while you're at it, you can tell them that the sisters are eight feet tall, well muscled and well armed. They got a horn in the middle of their heads that drips some kind of liquid, and they got twelve followers, each as big and as well armed as they are."
Willow ran over to the camp and after a hurried conversation returned with Riley in tow, while Buffy started pulling grass.
"Warren, Warren," Riley shouted. "You around here?"
"He's here," puffed Willow coming up behind him. "He's standing right beside you. You just can't see him."
Riley rounded on her. "Then maybe you can ask him. Where are they, how far are they, how long will it take them to get here from there."
Warren appeared behind Riley and placed a bloody hand on Riley's shoulder. Riley turned, his eyes growing wide as he took Warren in. He gulped, turned a wide eyed stare on Willow, gulped and returned his attention to Warren. "YUh, you do have skin don't you?"
"What you see is what you get, courtesy of a witch we both know and who shall be nameless. As for where they are, I'd say maybe twenty miles that a way. Warren pointed off to the left. They know where you are, and will come eventually, in their own good time. How long it takes them to get here is anyone's guess. Whether they'll come the way you want them to is a whole other guess. The most direct route won't head them into that canyon you hope to trap them in."
"Where then?"
"In through those hills." Warren pointed in the correct direction. "They may turn, and go down to where that city used to be, but they'll be able to see you from there, and since they know you're hear they'll be looking." Warren shrugged, causing Riley to swallow. "Depends on how sentimental they are, if they go down there first and her second, or here first and there second."
"So what would you suggest?"
"You got explosives?"
"Semtex," Riley said. "Plastique."
"Don't matter what kind. When Xander gets here, he and I can go to a small are not too very far from here. Some well placed explosives can block this path, leaving them a clear shot to where you want them to go."