Well, I'm workin' on it, slow but sure. I don't have many reviews right
now... (Ok, only 2), but I really appreciate the feedback and advice.
Thanks again! Oh, and don't be to mad about the 'Dawn being sent to
boarding school' thing. I just wanted to her out of there *wink*, I'm sure
most of you can sympathize.
Willow burst through the door and into the living room. The house that the Scoobies were living in was a lot smaller than the old house in Sunnydale. It was a basic two-story house that sat on a small suburban street, but still very close to the downtown area. Currently, Xander, Willow, Giles, Buffy, and Andrew were all living there. Dawn was away for a while at a boarding school. It was a little squishy, granted, but they all liked being close together, especially with all the hard times they were going through. They mostly had kept Andrew out of pity. Andrew lived in the basement. And although none of them would admit it, they liked having him around. Andrew's always good for a laugh.
"Giles!" shouted Willow as Xander stumbled into the door behind her. "Giles! We've got a suspect!" she said, her voice full of excitement as she jumped into the chair closest to Giles.
They filled Giles in on their conversation with Mrs. Talmen and about the red demon. "Well, that's a grand start," said Giles. "Now you two can begin research to try to find who this red demon is".
Willow and Xander groaned in unison. Just then, Buffy walked through the door. "Hey guys," she said.
"Hey there Buffers! How ya feeling?" asked Xander.
"Oh, I'm ok" answered Buffy, and then continued to walk into the kitchen.
"Shouldn't we tell her now guys?" asked Willow, concerned.
"Yes, I believe now would be a good of a time as ever to fill her in" said Giles. "I'll talk to her," said Xander.
Xander peered slowly into the kitchen. "Hey Buff, I've got some stuff to fill you in about".
Buffy looked at up at him, dully. "What would that be?"
"Well, we've found out that there's a demon around that's been responsible for the suicides going around lately", said Xander. "We haven't got a name on him yet, but we're working on it. Just thought you should know".
"Do we even need to deal with this stuff anymore" asked Buffy as she stared into the cup of coffee she had made.
"What do you mean?" asked Xander, confused.
"There are other slayers out there now. Why do we need to do anything? Let them handle it," said Buffy.
"Listen, Buff. Maybe there are other slayers now, but you're the original! You made them what they are! Buffy, the world still needs you! We still need you." Xander looked into her eyes as he spoke.
Buffy was awoken with the last words Xander said. She looked back into his eyes. "Y-You do?" she asked, beginning to choke up.
"Of course Buff", Xander answered. Buffy rapped her arms around Xander and hugged him tightly.
A few tears slid down her face as she hugged one of her best friends. "Oh Buffy" said Xander as he hugged her back
. "I don't know what I'd do without you guys," whispered Buffy.
"Same here" said Xander.
**************************************
Buffy looked up from the book she had been reading for the last three hours and watched her friends as they flipped through pages and pages, trying to find this unknown demon. Buffy smiled as she though of all the adventurous they had had together. She rested her chin on the table and studied their faces. They had always been such good friends to her, and she had treated them so badly at times. But that was how she knew they really loved her. They had been through hell and back, literally.
Buffy's eyes looked over at Willow. Willow had always been there to cheer her up. Willow and Xander really were her two best friends, no matter what they went through. Buffy thought of the evil Willow that had once tried to kill them all, and couldn't imagine all that evil coming from the Willow she looked at now. But in a way, that just made Willow even more real, that she had been able to move past it.
And Giles. She had really been neglecting Giles lately. She loved him so much, but even during the final days battling The First, she had been somewhat distant from Giles. It felt like they had never really gotten back into the swing of things since she had died, but now, slowly, things were returning to normal. Giles was the father she never had, and they both knew it, and Buffy knew Giles loved her not just as his slayer, but also as a daughter, as she loved him not just as her watcher, but also as a father.
And lastly came Xander. Xander really was the heart of the team. He was the rock of the gang. She could still see the pain in him from losing Anya, something he wasn't yet ready to get over. "Just like me losing Spike" Buffy thought mournfully. Buffy didn't let herself think about him. Not now, not here.
As she looked around at the faces that meant so much to her, she almost began to cry, but she struggled to hold back her tears, knowing it would probably shock and confuse the others a lot, who were tearing through books to save innocent people.
Buffy realized that she was horribly tired. At first she was afraid to go to sleep. She didn't want to dream about Spike anymore, about him not believing her love. But as she rested her head sideways on the open book in front of her, she felt safe, knowing she was with the people who loved her most. Except maybe for Spike.
****************************************
"I've got it!" shouted Giles as he jumped up from his chair, knocking the table and hitting all the sleeping Scoobies as their heads rested on the table.
"Oh- waa?" said Xander, rubbing his eyes. Buffy looked up, startled, and then put her head back onto the long-ago abandoned research book and continued to sleep. Willow squinted her eyes as she looked up at Giles. Meanwhile, Andrew had come in from the kitchen when he heard the commotion. "What's going on guys?" he asked curiously.
"I found it! The demon!" said an excited Giles. "It's called an Empurra".
By now everyone had their attention on Giles. Even Buffy tried to keep her head up to hear what Giles was saying. Buffy hadn't been sleeping well recently. Since Spike died she really couldn't get any sleep. Whether she was awake or asleep, he was always in her head, but at night it upset her most.
"This creature, the Empurra, has the ability to control people through thought," said Giles
"So it's hocus pocusy?" asked Willow
"Not quite" said Giles. "The Empurra doesn't use magic, but somehow manipulates its victims in their minds, forcing them to do things they would never do in their normal state, such as killing themselves"
"Sounds creepy," said Andrew
"Unfortunately there isn't much more information about him" said Giles
Xander moaned "Ok, so we got that he's a classic big red demon with the horns and all. He's into the killing of people, which is a no-no. But how do we stop him?"
"That I'm not so sure about" said Giles wearily as he took of his glasses and began cleaning them.
"What about the library?" said Xander
"Ya! The library will have a lot more books, I'm sure we'll find something that can help us beat this demon thing!" said Andrew with excitement.
Xander and Willow looked at Andrew and then at Giles questioningly
"I suppose we can always use another researcher," sighed Giles.
Andrew couldn't hide his excitement "Cool!" he said. "I'm like Agent Mulder! Searching for the truth!"
Xander rolled his eyes
"Well, I think we've had enough truth-seeking for one day," said Giles. "Let's all get to bed".
Andrew scurried away down to the basement, and Xander helped Giles carry Buffy off to her bed, and for the first time in a month, Buffy got a good night's sleep.
*************************
So, what'd ya think? Ooh! I'm so excited to hear your opinion! I hope you liked it! Well, I've already got most of it planned in my head. I'll try to add more as soon as I can. Thanks for reading!
Willow burst through the door and into the living room. The house that the Scoobies were living in was a lot smaller than the old house in Sunnydale. It was a basic two-story house that sat on a small suburban street, but still very close to the downtown area. Currently, Xander, Willow, Giles, Buffy, and Andrew were all living there. Dawn was away for a while at a boarding school. It was a little squishy, granted, but they all liked being close together, especially with all the hard times they were going through. They mostly had kept Andrew out of pity. Andrew lived in the basement. And although none of them would admit it, they liked having him around. Andrew's always good for a laugh.
"Giles!" shouted Willow as Xander stumbled into the door behind her. "Giles! We've got a suspect!" she said, her voice full of excitement as she jumped into the chair closest to Giles.
They filled Giles in on their conversation with Mrs. Talmen and about the red demon. "Well, that's a grand start," said Giles. "Now you two can begin research to try to find who this red demon is".
Willow and Xander groaned in unison. Just then, Buffy walked through the door. "Hey guys," she said.
"Hey there Buffers! How ya feeling?" asked Xander.
"Oh, I'm ok" answered Buffy, and then continued to walk into the kitchen.
"Shouldn't we tell her now guys?" asked Willow, concerned.
"Yes, I believe now would be a good of a time as ever to fill her in" said Giles. "I'll talk to her," said Xander.
Xander peered slowly into the kitchen. "Hey Buff, I've got some stuff to fill you in about".
Buffy looked at up at him, dully. "What would that be?"
"Well, we've found out that there's a demon around that's been responsible for the suicides going around lately", said Xander. "We haven't got a name on him yet, but we're working on it. Just thought you should know".
"Do we even need to deal with this stuff anymore" asked Buffy as she stared into the cup of coffee she had made.
"What do you mean?" asked Xander, confused.
"There are other slayers out there now. Why do we need to do anything? Let them handle it," said Buffy.
"Listen, Buff. Maybe there are other slayers now, but you're the original! You made them what they are! Buffy, the world still needs you! We still need you." Xander looked into her eyes as he spoke.
Buffy was awoken with the last words Xander said. She looked back into his eyes. "Y-You do?" she asked, beginning to choke up.
"Of course Buff", Xander answered. Buffy rapped her arms around Xander and hugged him tightly.
A few tears slid down her face as she hugged one of her best friends. "Oh Buffy" said Xander as he hugged her back
. "I don't know what I'd do without you guys," whispered Buffy.
"Same here" said Xander.
**************************************
Buffy looked up from the book she had been reading for the last three hours and watched her friends as they flipped through pages and pages, trying to find this unknown demon. Buffy smiled as she though of all the adventurous they had had together. She rested her chin on the table and studied their faces. They had always been such good friends to her, and she had treated them so badly at times. But that was how she knew they really loved her. They had been through hell and back, literally.
Buffy's eyes looked over at Willow. Willow had always been there to cheer her up. Willow and Xander really were her two best friends, no matter what they went through. Buffy thought of the evil Willow that had once tried to kill them all, and couldn't imagine all that evil coming from the Willow she looked at now. But in a way, that just made Willow even more real, that she had been able to move past it.
And Giles. She had really been neglecting Giles lately. She loved him so much, but even during the final days battling The First, she had been somewhat distant from Giles. It felt like they had never really gotten back into the swing of things since she had died, but now, slowly, things were returning to normal. Giles was the father she never had, and they both knew it, and Buffy knew Giles loved her not just as his slayer, but also as a daughter, as she loved him not just as her watcher, but also as a father.
And lastly came Xander. Xander really was the heart of the team. He was the rock of the gang. She could still see the pain in him from losing Anya, something he wasn't yet ready to get over. "Just like me losing Spike" Buffy thought mournfully. Buffy didn't let herself think about him. Not now, not here.
As she looked around at the faces that meant so much to her, she almost began to cry, but she struggled to hold back her tears, knowing it would probably shock and confuse the others a lot, who were tearing through books to save innocent people.
Buffy realized that she was horribly tired. At first she was afraid to go to sleep. She didn't want to dream about Spike anymore, about him not believing her love. But as she rested her head sideways on the open book in front of her, she felt safe, knowing she was with the people who loved her most. Except maybe for Spike.
****************************************
"I've got it!" shouted Giles as he jumped up from his chair, knocking the table and hitting all the sleeping Scoobies as their heads rested on the table.
"Oh- waa?" said Xander, rubbing his eyes. Buffy looked up, startled, and then put her head back onto the long-ago abandoned research book and continued to sleep. Willow squinted her eyes as she looked up at Giles. Meanwhile, Andrew had come in from the kitchen when he heard the commotion. "What's going on guys?" he asked curiously.
"I found it! The demon!" said an excited Giles. "It's called an Empurra".
By now everyone had their attention on Giles. Even Buffy tried to keep her head up to hear what Giles was saying. Buffy hadn't been sleeping well recently. Since Spike died she really couldn't get any sleep. Whether she was awake or asleep, he was always in her head, but at night it upset her most.
"This creature, the Empurra, has the ability to control people through thought," said Giles
"So it's hocus pocusy?" asked Willow
"Not quite" said Giles. "The Empurra doesn't use magic, but somehow manipulates its victims in their minds, forcing them to do things they would never do in their normal state, such as killing themselves"
"Sounds creepy," said Andrew
"Unfortunately there isn't much more information about him" said Giles
Xander moaned "Ok, so we got that he's a classic big red demon with the horns and all. He's into the killing of people, which is a no-no. But how do we stop him?"
"That I'm not so sure about" said Giles wearily as he took of his glasses and began cleaning them.
"What about the library?" said Xander
"Ya! The library will have a lot more books, I'm sure we'll find something that can help us beat this demon thing!" said Andrew with excitement.
Xander and Willow looked at Andrew and then at Giles questioningly
"I suppose we can always use another researcher," sighed Giles.
Andrew couldn't hide his excitement "Cool!" he said. "I'm like Agent Mulder! Searching for the truth!"
Xander rolled his eyes
"Well, I think we've had enough truth-seeking for one day," said Giles. "Let's all get to bed".
Andrew scurried away down to the basement, and Xander helped Giles carry Buffy off to her bed, and for the first time in a month, Buffy got a good night's sleep.
*************************
So, what'd ya think? Ooh! I'm so excited to hear your opinion! I hope you liked it! Well, I've already got most of it planned in my head. I'll try to add more as soon as I can. Thanks for reading!