Chapter Nine
Dawn entered the house quietly, trying not to disturb anyone who was still sleeping. Oz followed.
"Hey." Willow whispered, nodding her head toward the various people sleeping in the living room. "You guys okay?" She checked a small gash on Dawn's cheek.
"Yea." Dawn said, "Just a scratch."
Willow smiled to Oz, who looked as though he would pass out at any moment. His pants were torn in places and his shirt shredded at one side.
"Busy night." Oz said in way of explanation.
"Where's Faith?" Dawn asked.
"She's not back yet." Willow replied, pulling Dawn into the kitchen. "Let's get you cleaned up."
Willow had just finished cleaning Dawn's injury when Faith, Vi and Chloe entered through the back door. Faith's face was covered in little cuts and her clothes were covered in grass stains. Chloe limped a little, but went right to Dawn to check her wounds. Vi entered last and moved to a nearby chair.
"You guys okay?" Oz asked from his place at the counter.
Faith shook her head silently.
"We're okay." Vi answered. "Just beat."
"But tired beat, not losing beat." Chloe added.
"Crazy night?" Angel asked as he entered the kitchen.
"Yes." Everyone answered at once.
"It's extra demony out there." Dawn added, describing the demons that attacked her and Oz.
-
Giles wrote quickly as everyone gave an account of their night's activities. Everyone had returned safely, if not a little sore, from the evening's patrol. Buffy oversaw the morning's patrol leaving the house and ensured that everyone was well armed and carrying at least one cell phone per group. Wesley quickly looked up the demons in his books as Giles wrote down the number and how they were killed.
Angel sat silently on the floor in the corner as the group spoke.
"Hey." Buffy said, joining Angel. "Is this floor taken?"
"No." Angel said, his voice deep.
"You okay?" Buffy asked.
"It would have been easier." Angel said. "If I were still a vampire, it would have been easier to kill that demon."
"Well duh." Buffy said, punching Angel lightly on the arm.
"No, really Buffy." Angel sighed. "If Gunn and the girls hadn't been there."
"That's why we patrol in groups." Buffy said.
"Yea." Angel said. "But if I were still a vampire."
"If you were, you'd still be in a group." Buffy said firmly. "And you'd still need help every now and then."
Angel smiled. "Every now and then."
Buffy leaned her head on Angel's chest. "And besides, I love this sound." She tapped his heartbeat on his chest.
"Buffy." Angel started.
"Don't." Buffy stopped him. "Let's just, sit here. Okay?"
Angel nodded and put his arm around Buffy's shoulders.
Giles continued taking accounts from the evening's patrol then nodded to Wesley.
"Mr. Giles and I have been researching The First." Wesley began. "We've also been working with the little girl that was taken from The First's grasp."
"Any ideas on that Wes?" Buffy asked from the floor.
"Several." Wesley said. "However, nothing we can back up with any kind of research. The mystical texts make references The First Evil, but very little is written about it. Most of it has to do with the bringers."
"We're still researching with the texts we have available here. And we've tried to contact some of the Watcher Council's outside contacts." Giles added.
"But we haven't had much luck." Wes added grimly. "What we do seem to have is a demon infestation. They seem to be coming from all over. Some left over from the tourism when L.A. lost its sun, others seemed to be drawn directly to the Hellmouth and to The First Evil."
"Is The First planning to open the Hellmouth?" Willow asked from her seat on the couch.
"That' bad right?" Kennedy asked, from the seat next to Willow.
"Oh yea." Buffy and Willow said together.
"The last time the Hellmouth opened." Buffy shook her head.
"I remember." Angel said. "It was all we could do to hold the demons back."
"And it showed for weeks." Faith said.
"So, we know if The First opens the Hellmouth, it'll be a ghastly thing." Giles said.
"We assume that opening the Hellmouth is the plan." Wesley said. "But we can't be sure."
"And the girl?" Faith asked. "Do you know why she was being kept alive?"
"We believe her to be a slayer." Giles said. "Or more accurately, another potential slayer. We think The First may have been holding her until you all are dead. The girl becoming the slayer - under The First's care -."
"Could be evil." Buffy guessed.
"Or could be held against her will until she died." Wesley offered. "There's no way to know for sure."
"It's one theory." Giles added. "Unfortunately, it's our only solid theory."
"How were the demon haunts?" Wesley asked.
"Jumping." Spike answered. "All of them, filled to the rim with demons, demons and more demons."
"And not very chatty." Lorne added. "Everyone I ran into was all Crush, Kill Destroy. Never mind any other thoughts."
"You have any luck reading any of them?" Gunn asked Lorne.
"Not really." Lorne replied. "No one's really singing out there."
"Okay." Buffy sighed. "We need to regroup. Morning Patrol is out already. Evening patrol needs to rest. It's nine in the morning now, let's meet again at three for training and tactics for tonight."
"We really need to spread patrol a little better, Buffy." Giles said. "Two patrol groups patrolling in twelve hour shifts, you aren't getting enough rest. Or training."
"And the majority of the skilled fighters are on the night shift." Wesley added.
"Because the majority of the demons and vampires seem to come out at night." Buffy said.
"But we can't assume it'll stay this way." Willow jumped in.
"I have to agree." Wesley said. "There is no way to be sure that the demons won't start coming out in force during the day."
"We can go to three shifts with fewer people to each shift." Buffy said.
"But we're all engaged and swamped at night." Faith said. "Our groups are splitting into groups just to make our sweeps before sun up."
"And it's pretty hairy out there." Chloe jumped in.
"Last night was a little rough." Buffy added. "Every team got a little action."
"And some of those demons weren't the hit and chop the head off kind." Angel said.
"Yea, some were hit, hit, hit, chop, chop, chop and hope to hell it didn't come back again." Gunn added.
"How are you doing reaching your friends?" Buffy asked.
"I've left message for Rondell everywhere I could think of." Gunn replied. "Told people that if they saw him to let him know the demons are moving this way and we could use the help."
"That adds a few semi-trained people to our ranks." Wesley said. "It may not be enough."
"You have a better idea, Wes?" Buffy snapped.
"No." Wesley said calmly. "And I wasn't insulting the merits of untrained people. They want to fight. They can fight. It's a matter of getting everyone together and on the same page. Spreading our resources so that everything is held together."
Buffy began to speak as the phone rang. She dashed to the phone, fearing the morning patrol was in danger. "Hello?" She answered.
"Miss Summers?" The voice on the other end said. "This is Mrs. Clark from Social Services. It's been brought to our attention that Dawn has not been attending school."
"She's been very ill." Buffy lied, covered the phone and mouthed the words "Social Services" to Giles.
"I am sorry to hear that." Mrs. Clark said. "However if Dawn isn't back in school, or an acceptable doctor's note in our office by Friday, we will be forced to send someone out to the house to check Dawn's situation."
"Yes, ma'am." Buffy said, hanging up the phone. "Get dressed, Dawn, we're going to school."
"Oh great, send the little bit back to the Hellmouth." Spike scoffed.
"We'll go talk to Wood." Buffy said. "I'm sure he'll understand."
"Great." Spike scoffed again and went to the basement.
"Dawn." Buffy started.
"Going to get dressed." Dawn finished, going up the stairs. Buffy followed.
Dawn entered the house quietly, trying not to disturb anyone who was still sleeping. Oz followed.
"Hey." Willow whispered, nodding her head toward the various people sleeping in the living room. "You guys okay?" She checked a small gash on Dawn's cheek.
"Yea." Dawn said, "Just a scratch."
Willow smiled to Oz, who looked as though he would pass out at any moment. His pants were torn in places and his shirt shredded at one side.
"Busy night." Oz said in way of explanation.
"Where's Faith?" Dawn asked.
"She's not back yet." Willow replied, pulling Dawn into the kitchen. "Let's get you cleaned up."
Willow had just finished cleaning Dawn's injury when Faith, Vi and Chloe entered through the back door. Faith's face was covered in little cuts and her clothes were covered in grass stains. Chloe limped a little, but went right to Dawn to check her wounds. Vi entered last and moved to a nearby chair.
"You guys okay?" Oz asked from his place at the counter.
Faith shook her head silently.
"We're okay." Vi answered. "Just beat."
"But tired beat, not losing beat." Chloe added.
"Crazy night?" Angel asked as he entered the kitchen.
"Yes." Everyone answered at once.
"It's extra demony out there." Dawn added, describing the demons that attacked her and Oz.
-
Giles wrote quickly as everyone gave an account of their night's activities. Everyone had returned safely, if not a little sore, from the evening's patrol. Buffy oversaw the morning's patrol leaving the house and ensured that everyone was well armed and carrying at least one cell phone per group. Wesley quickly looked up the demons in his books as Giles wrote down the number and how they were killed.
Angel sat silently on the floor in the corner as the group spoke.
"Hey." Buffy said, joining Angel. "Is this floor taken?"
"No." Angel said, his voice deep.
"You okay?" Buffy asked.
"It would have been easier." Angel said. "If I were still a vampire, it would have been easier to kill that demon."
"Well duh." Buffy said, punching Angel lightly on the arm.
"No, really Buffy." Angel sighed. "If Gunn and the girls hadn't been there."
"That's why we patrol in groups." Buffy said.
"Yea." Angel said. "But if I were still a vampire."
"If you were, you'd still be in a group." Buffy said firmly. "And you'd still need help every now and then."
Angel smiled. "Every now and then."
Buffy leaned her head on Angel's chest. "And besides, I love this sound." She tapped his heartbeat on his chest.
"Buffy." Angel started.
"Don't." Buffy stopped him. "Let's just, sit here. Okay?"
Angel nodded and put his arm around Buffy's shoulders.
Giles continued taking accounts from the evening's patrol then nodded to Wesley.
"Mr. Giles and I have been researching The First." Wesley began. "We've also been working with the little girl that was taken from The First's grasp."
"Any ideas on that Wes?" Buffy asked from the floor.
"Several." Wesley said. "However, nothing we can back up with any kind of research. The mystical texts make references The First Evil, but very little is written about it. Most of it has to do with the bringers."
"We're still researching with the texts we have available here. And we've tried to contact some of the Watcher Council's outside contacts." Giles added.
"But we haven't had much luck." Wes added grimly. "What we do seem to have is a demon infestation. They seem to be coming from all over. Some left over from the tourism when L.A. lost its sun, others seemed to be drawn directly to the Hellmouth and to The First Evil."
"Is The First planning to open the Hellmouth?" Willow asked from her seat on the couch.
"That' bad right?" Kennedy asked, from the seat next to Willow.
"Oh yea." Buffy and Willow said together.
"The last time the Hellmouth opened." Buffy shook her head.
"I remember." Angel said. "It was all we could do to hold the demons back."
"And it showed for weeks." Faith said.
"So, we know if The First opens the Hellmouth, it'll be a ghastly thing." Giles said.
"We assume that opening the Hellmouth is the plan." Wesley said. "But we can't be sure."
"And the girl?" Faith asked. "Do you know why she was being kept alive?"
"We believe her to be a slayer." Giles said. "Or more accurately, another potential slayer. We think The First may have been holding her until you all are dead. The girl becoming the slayer - under The First's care -."
"Could be evil." Buffy guessed.
"Or could be held against her will until she died." Wesley offered. "There's no way to know for sure."
"It's one theory." Giles added. "Unfortunately, it's our only solid theory."
"How were the demon haunts?" Wesley asked.
"Jumping." Spike answered. "All of them, filled to the rim with demons, demons and more demons."
"And not very chatty." Lorne added. "Everyone I ran into was all Crush, Kill Destroy. Never mind any other thoughts."
"You have any luck reading any of them?" Gunn asked Lorne.
"Not really." Lorne replied. "No one's really singing out there."
"Okay." Buffy sighed. "We need to regroup. Morning Patrol is out already. Evening patrol needs to rest. It's nine in the morning now, let's meet again at three for training and tactics for tonight."
"We really need to spread patrol a little better, Buffy." Giles said. "Two patrol groups patrolling in twelve hour shifts, you aren't getting enough rest. Or training."
"And the majority of the skilled fighters are on the night shift." Wesley added.
"Because the majority of the demons and vampires seem to come out at night." Buffy said.
"But we can't assume it'll stay this way." Willow jumped in.
"I have to agree." Wesley said. "There is no way to be sure that the demons won't start coming out in force during the day."
"We can go to three shifts with fewer people to each shift." Buffy said.
"But we're all engaged and swamped at night." Faith said. "Our groups are splitting into groups just to make our sweeps before sun up."
"And it's pretty hairy out there." Chloe jumped in.
"Last night was a little rough." Buffy added. "Every team got a little action."
"And some of those demons weren't the hit and chop the head off kind." Angel said.
"Yea, some were hit, hit, hit, chop, chop, chop and hope to hell it didn't come back again." Gunn added.
"How are you doing reaching your friends?" Buffy asked.
"I've left message for Rondell everywhere I could think of." Gunn replied. "Told people that if they saw him to let him know the demons are moving this way and we could use the help."
"That adds a few semi-trained people to our ranks." Wesley said. "It may not be enough."
"You have a better idea, Wes?" Buffy snapped.
"No." Wesley said calmly. "And I wasn't insulting the merits of untrained people. They want to fight. They can fight. It's a matter of getting everyone together and on the same page. Spreading our resources so that everything is held together."
Buffy began to speak as the phone rang. She dashed to the phone, fearing the morning patrol was in danger. "Hello?" She answered.
"Miss Summers?" The voice on the other end said. "This is Mrs. Clark from Social Services. It's been brought to our attention that Dawn has not been attending school."
"She's been very ill." Buffy lied, covered the phone and mouthed the words "Social Services" to Giles.
"I am sorry to hear that." Mrs. Clark said. "However if Dawn isn't back in school, or an acceptable doctor's note in our office by Friday, we will be forced to send someone out to the house to check Dawn's situation."
"Yes, ma'am." Buffy said, hanging up the phone. "Get dressed, Dawn, we're going to school."
"Oh great, send the little bit back to the Hellmouth." Spike scoffed.
"We'll go talk to Wood." Buffy said. "I'm sure he'll understand."
"Great." Spike scoffed again and went to the basement.
"Dawn." Buffy started.
"Going to get dressed." Dawn finished, going up the stairs. Buffy followed.
