TITLE: There's Banging Outside My House
AUTHOR: Ben is Glory
PAIRING: Buffy/Riley, Tara/Willow
RATING: R in later chapters
SPOILERS: Set before "Into the Woods"
DISCLAIMER: Mega props to "The Man" Joss Whedon
FEEDBACK: We'd love it. Send to: XBen_is_Glory@yahoo.com

It was a warm summer day. Willow and Tara had stopped by the Magic Box to help Anya and Giles while Riley, Buffy and Dawn were at the amusement park. Business was slow, so Tara and Will sat around researching the latest demon to hit Sunnydale.

"His name is Mequilera. He's the mutt of a demon. Like Adam, with lots of different characteristics." stated Willow. "He was assembled in the 1680's but was killed around four years later. I guess somebody must have re-assembled him."

"Does he have any special powers?" asked Tara.

"Yeah, he can breathe fire and has sharp buzz saw thingies for hands."

"Oh, I think I know him!" said Anya. "He cheated on his girlfriend once so she wished that he…"

"OK," interrupted Giles. "What else does it say? Anything about what he's attracted to or how to kill him?"

"He goes after babies and elderly. Things that can't defend themselves."

"So he feeds on them?" wondered Tara.

Willow continued reading from the book, "He kills and then drains the blood. That's his vampire trait. It doesn't say how to kill him although I assume we have to dismember him. I'll keep looking."

Just then, Xander walked in after a long day at the construction site. "Hey guys! Whoa, what's the what? Why the long faces?"

"We're fighting an Adam wannabe." answered Tara.

"One that I possibly cursed!" Anya exclaimed proudly.

Xander gave her a smile and a kiss on the forehead. "So what's the big deal? We call Buffy, Scoobies assemble. Job well done."

"Well, the problem is, we don't know how to kill him yet." explained Willow.

"Hopefully we won't have to do another spell like we did for Adam." Giles said blandly.

"But we did good!" Xander shot back.

"Yes, but we almost did not complete it in time. And spells like that can have serious consequences." retorted Giles.

The door popped open and Dawn peeked in. "We're back!"

"How was the park?" asked Tara.

"Too much cotton candy," said Riley walking in the door with his hand on his stomach. "I should have stopped after four."

"I told you the fifth one would catch up with you!" exclaimed Buffy as she strolled through the door. "So what's the sitch? Store seems pretty quiet."

"Unusually quiet," Giles replied. "We've hardly had a customer all day. I can't figure it out."

"Maybe Bob's Magic Emporium is having a sale?" joked Buffy.

"Whatever it is we haven't got time for it. Willow found out about that demon Spike saw last night on patrol."

"I hope you bag it tonight. I am not letting a mutt demon get in the way of me making money!" cried Anya.

"A what demon?" Buffy asked, confused.

"Like a dog," explained Willow. "You know, a mix of different types of dogs. This is a mix of different kinds of demons." Willow showed Buffy the picture of Mequilera.

"That's him?" He had six inch horns, fangs, a big muscular body complete with two arms. One arm had a buzz saw attached to it and the other was a machine gun. It had thick legs with talons and scales. It looked like it weighed about 400 pounds. "Well, I'm always up for a challenge."

"Now Buffy, we don't know how to kill this thing. I don't want you on patrol until we find out," Giles stated.

"Then who will?" inquired Dawn.

"We could always send Spike. Nobody cares if he gets toasted, right?" polled Xander.

"Spike is a possibility," Tara agreed.

"With that chip in his head, I bet he's dieing for a little violence." pointed out Anya.

"So it's settled. Spike patrols and I get a fun filled vacation in Research Land."

"Just until we find out how to kill it. Then you can hit the streets and patrol again," responded Giles.

"Alright. If you guys don't need me then, I'm going to go find our lucky contestant and tell him what he's won." With that, Buffy was out the door and on her way to Spike's crypt.

*************************************

By the time she got to Spike's, the sun had begun to set. He should be getting up soon, Buffy thought. But she had no qualms about waking him up a little early.

"Bloody hell!" Spike yelled as Buffy burst through his door. She walked in and closed the door so as not to set the half asleep vamp on fire. Not that anybody would miss him. She hesitated as the thought lingered in her head. If it wasn't for that damn demon, he'd be dustville.

"Slayer, why am I not surprised?"

"Spike, why am I not repulsed? Oh wait, I am," she replied with a grin.

"Is that what you've come for? A cheap shot at me before nightfall? I must say, I think you're losing your touch."

"Actually, I've come to talk business. You know that buzz saw guy you found last night? Seems like he's worse than we thought. Giles wants me off duty until we find out more about him. Guess what that means?"

"Means you'll be leaving soon?" he tried as he lit a cigarette.

"It means while we're researching, you'll be patrolling."

"Oh yeah? What git gave me that job? Just because the Big Bad is a little bigger and badder that we thought you get to slack off while I could potentially get killed?"

"We would only be so lucky. Oh, look at the time. Gotta fly. Giles hates it when I'm late, they'll start the meeting without me!" she said, overflowing with sarcasm.

"Sod off!" Spike replied angrily.

"Have fun tonight, don't do anything I wouldn't do!" Buffy turned and walked down back through the cemetery. She brimmed with the satisfaction of knowing she could annoy Spike like nobody else.