CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO: ETHAN (III)
Thursday: 2pm
3rd September 1998
California: Los Angeles
Giles paced his apartment, worry stretched over his face. He had been searching for nearly a week and a half for his missing Slayer, and still there was no sign of her. When Ethan and Faith had arrived only a few days ago to find Buffy missing, the three of them had set out in a meticulous search of the city only to find absolutely nothing that could lead them to Buffy.
"Shouldn't the Council be able to find her?" Faith asked desperately.
Giles shook his head. "They can tell you which city, but not the exact location," Giles said sadly.
Faith sighed and leant back in her chair. She'd never been so worried in her life. Her best friend was missing, and she knew that Buffy wasn't dead. Faith would have felt it, she was certain of that.
"Well, we know she's still alive," Ethan said. "It's a small comfort."
"Except that we still have no clue where the hell she is," Faith snapped. "She could be anywhere and with anyone! Who knows what they're doing to her."
Ethan and Giles both paled at the thought of the young girl being taken and used in horrible ways by thugs from LA. Ethan swallowed hard.
"We don't know that for certain," Ethan said, trying to remain calm.
Faith rolled her eyes, not allowing herself to be optimistic. She was panicked, and she intended to stay that way.
"Maybe I can try one of my contacts again," Giles said.
"You're tried every single one of them," Faith said. "Twice. None of them know anything about her or that stupid fighting arena that the Council sent you guys here for."
"Maybe we'll get lucky," Ethan said.
There was a knock on the door. The three of them exchanged looks and scrambled towards the door, Faith using her youth and agility to get there first. She flung open the door and grinned when she saw her best friend standing on the other side. She quickly pulled Buffy into a hug.
"Geez B, what the hell you trying to do to us, huh?" she asked, trying desperately not to burst into tears of relief.
Buffy was then pulled from Faith's arms into Ethan's embrace. He just held her tightly, placing a kiss to her forehead.
"You're trying to send me to an early grave, girl, I know it," he whispered.
He pulled away from her and Buffy turned to look at Giles. She offered him a nervous smile. He returned it easily and stepped forward, pulling his Slayer into a hug. She sighed happily, thankful that she was back where she belonged. With her family.
Ethan looked towards the young man who loitered in the doorway.
"Who might you be?" Ethan asked.
"Name's Gunn," he replied. "I work for Donngel Investigations."
"Donngel?" Faith repeated. "What kind of a screwy name is that?"
Gunn just chuckled and stepped into the apartment when Ethan motioned for the young man to enter.
"Three of us run the agency, we kinda combined our names to make it into one," he explained.
Giles and Buffy finally pulled away from each other, the group walking into the living room.
"So, do you care to tell us exactly where you've been all this time?" Ethan asked.
"It's a long story," Buffy replied.
The group sat down and all just looked at her. She sighed softly and made herself comfortable beside Ethan, curling up next to him. Gunn looked on in astonishment, wondering whether the two of them were together.
"Alright, so I was out patrolling," Buffy began. "I was jumped by a couple of demon guys. Killed about half of them, went to turn on the others, but they were just gone. Vanished into thin air. I turn around again, and BAM! There they are. Knocked me unconscious. Next thing I know I'm waking gup in some prison or something, surrounded by demons, being told that the only way I can walk outta there is after my twenty-first kill."
Ethan rubbed her arms comfortingly and she nestled closer to him, thankful for the warmth of human contact. That was what she had been desperately craving whilst she was down there. Angel had been terrific, but she had always noticed how cold he had been.
"Anyways, long story less-long, this vamp gets pushed into the cage a couple of days in. The weird thing is, he's got a soul."
"A soul?" Giles asked, sitting up with interest. "I wasn't aware that vampires could have souls."
"He explains that it's a curse, a punishment. Anyways, he works with these two other guys, helping those who need help in LA. His two buddies work out where he is and come to the rescue, which caused something of a coup in the demon petting zoo. We eventually get the hell outta hell, and after either passing out or falling asleep, I wake up in this weird but strangely well-furnished apartment with some little Irish guy watching me sleep. Said Irish guy was nice enough to make me breakfast and buy me a new outfit and find out your address, and…well, here I am," she finished.
Faith whistled softly, wondering how her best friend always seemed to be so good at finding all sorts of trouble. She wondered if it was a Buffy Summers thing or a Slayer thing.
"And this…vampire with a soul," Giles said, unable to move on from such a fascinating topic. "He helps people?"
"Yup. Angel, Gunn and Doyle, they run Donngel Investigations," she explained.
"Angel?" Giles repeated. "Angelus?"
Buffy's eyes widened. She hadn't made that connection.
"Wait…Angelus as in the 'Scourge of Europe' Angelus?" she asked.
Buffy looked towards Gunn who just shrugged. He had only ever known Angel to be a good vampire with a soul. He'd been reluctant about joining up with Angel at first, but he found that he truly liked the dark vampire. They were friends.
"Angelus was…brutal, from what I remember," Buffy said quietly.
"A violent and vicious demon on all accounts. I knew that something had happened to him over a century ago, but…the thought of him having a soul never once occurred to me," Giles said.
"Why a soul?" Faith asked. "I mean, what's the point?"
"To make him feel guilt over every kill that he ever made," Giles explained.
"But it wasn't him that did it," Buffy protested. "The demon has control, your soul is completely gone. Whoever it was that cursed him were screwed in the head when they thought that one up."
"But he's good now," Gunn interjected. "He helps people. That's gotta be worth something, right?"
"Perhaps," Giles conceded. "I don't doubt that he is good. If he weren't…Buffy wouldn't have made it out of that arena alive."
Buffy glared at her Watcher. "As though I don't already have enough nightmares," she said.
He had the grace to look sheepish, going a slight shade of red. He shook it off and looked at his Slayer seriously.
"Do we need to do anything about the creatures running this demon fighting ring?" he asked.
"They were people," she replied. "And no. They're dead."
Giles' eyes narrowed. "People? Humans were in charge of this?"
"Yup. And the crowd was all human too," she said. "And can I just add, killing with people cheering you on, not as simple as it looks."
"I should feel worse about the thought of those humans being dead," Giles said softly. "Yet I can't bring myself to really give a damn."
"Join the club," Buffy said, stifling a yawn. She stood up slowly, her muscles aching. She bent down and kissed Ethan's cheek.
"Now, if you don't need me for anything else, I have major plans to sleep for the rest of the week," she said.
She turned towards Gunn who stood up as well. She engulfed him in an impromptu hug.
"Tell Doyle and Angel I said thanks," she said. "I'll probably swing by in a couple of days."
He nodded and watched her give a small wave to Faith and Giles before turning and walking into the bedroom she had set herself up in the previous week.
Gunn looked at the small group. "I gotta head out people," he said. "Was nice meeting you all."
The group nodded, and Giles stood to escort him to the door.
"Thank you for returning her to us," he said.
Gunn grinned. "No problem. Just helping those who need it."
"Well, I'm certain that Beth would have problems with needing the help, but…we are grateful. We'll probably be seeing more of each other in the next few days."
Gunn nodded and the two men shook hands. Gunn could only hope that he would see the small blonde girl again.
Well, guess what ppl? Next chapter begins the B/A alternates. YAY! Who's excited?! *ahem* ignore me. I got sunburnt and I'm all kinds of sore, so…I'll just hush now. Actually, while I'm on a roll…I might just answer some stuff:
Why not B/A: cos I ain't a B/Aer. I've got nothing against B/A, but it's too melodramatic for my tastes.
B/S: There will be a B/S alternate, but it won't be at all fluffy.
B/G: there will be B/G alternates, and they will be fluffy.
B/Gunn: Uh…no. Sadly not. I was gonna, but…I just didn't.
The final ship: well…that's just gonna be a surprise I think. It's REALLY not important who she gets with…it's about the journey. (oh dear lord, somebody shoot me…I'm souding like a fricken philosopher now…) Alright. I think I'm done now.
Oh…no. I'm still here. HAPPY NEW YEAR (well…almost.) Don't be too trashed, drive safely, and don't swim without any water. It's really hard to do without looking like a real moron!
Toodles.
K.