Things That Go Bump In The Night 2
Disclaimer : Still don't own anything in the Buffyverse, still will return the characters when I'm done, still want everyone to give feedback. I need the feedback...it's like heroin !
Chapter 2 :
The Magic Box was pretty much empty by the time she arrived. It had been Willow that called everyone for a Scooby meeting, to tell her tale about the creature in the Quad, and it was she that was late. The irony of it all was not lost on Willow.
Everyone had converged around the research table and all were running through their familiar antics as they waited for the meeting to begin. Giles was searching for a volume on demons, Anya was telling Xander about the excessive amounts of money the shop made that day, and Buffy and Dawn were playfully arguing. Tara was watching the sisters and smiling, amusement twinkling in her eyes.
" Sorry I'm late, " Willow said, plunking down next to Tara, an embarrassed grin peppering her features.
" Just don't let it happen again, " Buffy teased.
" I'll try. "
" Alright, " Giles said, coming to the table and taking a seat, bringing the meeting to order, " we should begin. What happened this evening, Willow ? "
All conversations stopped, and all eyes turned to the red head. She swallowed, vaguely recalling her days in high school and her discomfort speaking in front of a group of people, no matter how big or small, in her days before she took over teaching Jenny Calender's computer class. Though she had pretty much moved past that phase, it still needled at her every once in a while. Ignoring the feeling, Willow told her story using as much detail as possible, careful not to leave anything out.
" And then she just dissappeared, " Willow concluded, shrugging.
" Dissappeared how, " Xander asked, " like ' poof, ' into thin air, or she slowly sauntered away until you couldn't see her anymore ? "
" It was more like the second choice, " she answered absently, " Ooh ! And the way she moved ! It was all stealthy and silent. If I didn't see her leave, I never would have known she was gone. "
" And you don't think she was some left over agent from the initiative, " Buffy asked, her eyebrows drawn together in concern.
Willow hesitated a moment, staring at Buffy before answering in a meak voice, " I sort of though it ' was ' Riley at first with the bullets a - flying. Then, when I realized it was a girl, " she shrugged, " let's just say my curiousity was way peaked. "
" Too bad this didn't happen before Riley decided to become one with the jungle, " Xander murmered.
" Yes, well, " Giles stammered uncomfortably, " what's done is done, Xander. " He shifted to Buffy, " We should still try to look into it. "
She nodded, " Consider me on it. "
Tara turned to Willow, a look of deep contemplation creasing her blue eyes, " What did she look like ? "
" Well, I could only see so much in the dark, baby, but I would say she was about Buffy's height. Her hair looked light brown, but then again, darkness all around, " Willow stopped a moment, lost in thought, " There was something about her eyes that struck me as odd. "
Tara looked slightly nervous, but recovered quickly, " Odd ? How so ? "
Willow thought for a moment, while everyone watched her, " I can't put my finger on it. But it was something. Something different. I don't want to say ' not human, ' because she obviously was. I just can't describe it. "
" Ok, " Xander cocked his head, " so we know she's Buffy's height, she possibly has light brown hair, and her eyes are funky. Wil, other than the eyes, you've described about half the population of females at UC Sunnydale alone. "
" It was dark, " the red head answered sheepishly.
" What kind of demon was it, " Anya asked, finally joining the conversation.
" I don't know. I've never seen one like it before. I don't think it's a local. "
Anya screwed up her face thoughtfully, searching through the inventory of her mind, " And you couldn't move after you looked at it ? "
" Not at all. It was one of the scariest things I've ever laid my eyes on. "
" Sounds like a Gramorkra demon, " she answered matter of factly, but elaborated no further.
Al eyes turned to Anya. She blinked rapidly and shook her head at the sudden attention before continuing, " No one knows what they really look like. Anyone who sees one sees something completely different, and then usually they die, so there's not too much to go on. "
" So, it's like a Chameleon, " Dawn asked, wanting to feel like part of the group, but shrunk in her chair when everyone looked at her blankly, " only really big and scary. "
" A Chameleon demon, " Buffy shrugged, impressed, " how do I kill it ? "
" Well, " Giles cleared his throat, " first thing's first, let's try to gather more information on this demon before we determine a way to end its life. "
Everyone agreed and began researching the materials in the shop. Every once and again, Buffy would scold Dawn for touching an item on one of the shelves. Anya and Xander would steal kisses as Giles poured intently over the volumes of books. Willow kept sneaking looks at Tara, who seemed to be acting strangely since she'd told her tale from the Quad. She scanned the books the same as everyone else, but seemed oblivious to Willow's scrutiny. Willow made a mental note to ask her about it later.
" Eureka, " Xander yelled, startling everyone. At their glares and Anya's quick smack to the arm, he added, " Sorry. I think I found something. "
Anya glanced over his shoulder at the text, " Wow. He really does have something. "
" Are you checking over my work ? "
" Of course not, Sweetie, " she answered a little too quickly.
" Well, " Buffy goaded, " what did you find ? "
Xander cleared his throat almost theatrically, " It's all about the Gramorkra demon. It says here, " he was quiet a moment, then rolled his eyes, snapping the book shut, " basically everything Anya already said. Nevermind. "
" Well, " Tara cut in politely, " Were not sure it ' was ' a Gramorkra demon, anyway. M-maybe we should search for other t-types of demons that are simlilar. "
" It ' IS ' a Gramorkra demon, " a new voice added.
Everyone turned to the stranger that entered the door as she spoke and as the bell jingled over the door when it closed. Giles stepped forward, putting his glasses on, a look of friendly curiousity on his face. Anya took a breath to reply, but Giles beat her to it.
" I'm sorry, M'am, but we're closed for the evening. I must have forgotten to lock the door. "
The woman smiled wryly, " That's ok, I'm not a customer. I'm here for Tara MaClay. Does anyone know where I can find her ? I hear she comes here. "
The statement made Buffy shudder internally. Just a couple of months prior, someone else had come into the store looking for Tara. It turned out to be her brother follwed by the rest of her family. The reunion had not been a pleasant one, as they'd really been there to take Tara away under the ruse that she, like all female members of the family, were part demon. When they'd all exposed the lie, the MaClays had slinked out of town, tails tucked firmly between their legs.
Buffy stepped forward, blocking the stranger's view of Tara, " I'll let her know you're looking for her. "
The woman raised her eyebrows, " She's not here ? I thought I heard her voice a second ago. "
Buffy continued to block the way, " that was me. "
The woman drew a breath to speak, but Tara stepped out from behind one of the shelves and from behind Buffy, " Buffy, it's ok. I know her. That's my cousin, Devon MaClay. "
to be continued........
Disclaimer : Still don't own anything in the Buffyverse, still will return the characters when I'm done, still want everyone to give feedback. I need the feedback...it's like heroin !
Chapter 2 :
The Magic Box was pretty much empty by the time she arrived. It had been Willow that called everyone for a Scooby meeting, to tell her tale about the creature in the Quad, and it was she that was late. The irony of it all was not lost on Willow.
Everyone had converged around the research table and all were running through their familiar antics as they waited for the meeting to begin. Giles was searching for a volume on demons, Anya was telling Xander about the excessive amounts of money the shop made that day, and Buffy and Dawn were playfully arguing. Tara was watching the sisters and smiling, amusement twinkling in her eyes.
" Sorry I'm late, " Willow said, plunking down next to Tara, an embarrassed grin peppering her features.
" Just don't let it happen again, " Buffy teased.
" I'll try. "
" Alright, " Giles said, coming to the table and taking a seat, bringing the meeting to order, " we should begin. What happened this evening, Willow ? "
All conversations stopped, and all eyes turned to the red head. She swallowed, vaguely recalling her days in high school and her discomfort speaking in front of a group of people, no matter how big or small, in her days before she took over teaching Jenny Calender's computer class. Though she had pretty much moved past that phase, it still needled at her every once in a while. Ignoring the feeling, Willow told her story using as much detail as possible, careful not to leave anything out.
" And then she just dissappeared, " Willow concluded, shrugging.
" Dissappeared how, " Xander asked, " like ' poof, ' into thin air, or she slowly sauntered away until you couldn't see her anymore ? "
" It was more like the second choice, " she answered absently, " Ooh ! And the way she moved ! It was all stealthy and silent. If I didn't see her leave, I never would have known she was gone. "
" And you don't think she was some left over agent from the initiative, " Buffy asked, her eyebrows drawn together in concern.
Willow hesitated a moment, staring at Buffy before answering in a meak voice, " I sort of though it ' was ' Riley at first with the bullets a - flying. Then, when I realized it was a girl, " she shrugged, " let's just say my curiousity was way peaked. "
" Too bad this didn't happen before Riley decided to become one with the jungle, " Xander murmered.
" Yes, well, " Giles stammered uncomfortably, " what's done is done, Xander. " He shifted to Buffy, " We should still try to look into it. "
She nodded, " Consider me on it. "
Tara turned to Willow, a look of deep contemplation creasing her blue eyes, " What did she look like ? "
" Well, I could only see so much in the dark, baby, but I would say she was about Buffy's height. Her hair looked light brown, but then again, darkness all around, " Willow stopped a moment, lost in thought, " There was something about her eyes that struck me as odd. "
Tara looked slightly nervous, but recovered quickly, " Odd ? How so ? "
Willow thought for a moment, while everyone watched her, " I can't put my finger on it. But it was something. Something different. I don't want to say ' not human, ' because she obviously was. I just can't describe it. "
" Ok, " Xander cocked his head, " so we know she's Buffy's height, she possibly has light brown hair, and her eyes are funky. Wil, other than the eyes, you've described about half the population of females at UC Sunnydale alone. "
" It was dark, " the red head answered sheepishly.
" What kind of demon was it, " Anya asked, finally joining the conversation.
" I don't know. I've never seen one like it before. I don't think it's a local. "
Anya screwed up her face thoughtfully, searching through the inventory of her mind, " And you couldn't move after you looked at it ? "
" Not at all. It was one of the scariest things I've ever laid my eyes on. "
" Sounds like a Gramorkra demon, " she answered matter of factly, but elaborated no further.
Al eyes turned to Anya. She blinked rapidly and shook her head at the sudden attention before continuing, " No one knows what they really look like. Anyone who sees one sees something completely different, and then usually they die, so there's not too much to go on. "
" So, it's like a Chameleon, " Dawn asked, wanting to feel like part of the group, but shrunk in her chair when everyone looked at her blankly, " only really big and scary. "
" A Chameleon demon, " Buffy shrugged, impressed, " how do I kill it ? "
" Well, " Giles cleared his throat, " first thing's first, let's try to gather more information on this demon before we determine a way to end its life. "
Everyone agreed and began researching the materials in the shop. Every once and again, Buffy would scold Dawn for touching an item on one of the shelves. Anya and Xander would steal kisses as Giles poured intently over the volumes of books. Willow kept sneaking looks at Tara, who seemed to be acting strangely since she'd told her tale from the Quad. She scanned the books the same as everyone else, but seemed oblivious to Willow's scrutiny. Willow made a mental note to ask her about it later.
" Eureka, " Xander yelled, startling everyone. At their glares and Anya's quick smack to the arm, he added, " Sorry. I think I found something. "
Anya glanced over his shoulder at the text, " Wow. He really does have something. "
" Are you checking over my work ? "
" Of course not, Sweetie, " she answered a little too quickly.
" Well, " Buffy goaded, " what did you find ? "
Xander cleared his throat almost theatrically, " It's all about the Gramorkra demon. It says here, " he was quiet a moment, then rolled his eyes, snapping the book shut, " basically everything Anya already said. Nevermind. "
" Well, " Tara cut in politely, " Were not sure it ' was ' a Gramorkra demon, anyway. M-maybe we should search for other t-types of demons that are simlilar. "
" It ' IS ' a Gramorkra demon, " a new voice added.
Everyone turned to the stranger that entered the door as she spoke and as the bell jingled over the door when it closed. Giles stepped forward, putting his glasses on, a look of friendly curiousity on his face. Anya took a breath to reply, but Giles beat her to it.
" I'm sorry, M'am, but we're closed for the evening. I must have forgotten to lock the door. "
The woman smiled wryly, " That's ok, I'm not a customer. I'm here for Tara MaClay. Does anyone know where I can find her ? I hear she comes here. "
The statement made Buffy shudder internally. Just a couple of months prior, someone else had come into the store looking for Tara. It turned out to be her brother follwed by the rest of her family. The reunion had not been a pleasant one, as they'd really been there to take Tara away under the ruse that she, like all female members of the family, were part demon. When they'd all exposed the lie, the MaClays had slinked out of town, tails tucked firmly between their legs.
Buffy stepped forward, blocking the stranger's view of Tara, " I'll let her know you're looking for her. "
The woman raised her eyebrows, " She's not here ? I thought I heard her voice a second ago. "
Buffy continued to block the way, " that was me. "
The woman drew a breath to speak, but Tara stepped out from behind one of the shelves and from behind Buffy, " Buffy, it's ok. I know her. That's my cousin, Devon MaClay. "
to be continued........