Sunnydale. Home of the Hellmouth. Hot Spot #1 among the demons of
the world. A place which, in its own unique way, was the home of Willow's
heart.
Her friends were there. And now she was able to rejoin them. And most especially, she could rejoin Tara.
She stood outside Giles' door. With the destruction of the high school and library and all, his place was the current Scooby Central. It seemed to be the best place to temporarily dump her new 'friends' until something better came up. Joy.
Magneto stood behind, along with a several of his followers?subordinates?borderline minions? Unfortunately, that included Mystique and Marcie (mask on, thankfully). On the plus, Pyro, Avalanche, and Toad were there, too. Those three were the only mutants of Magneto's Brotherhood who had really warmed up to her. Willow suspected that a few more of the Brotherhood might have slipped into town, but these five were the official escorts.
Willow rang the bell. The door opened.
"Giles!"
"Willow," he said with a sigh of relief, "how good to have you back." Giles peered over her shoulder, noticing her companions, "But would you mind telling me exactly who is standing behind you?"
Willow sent up a prayer to the Goddess that this would all work out. "Um, this is my cousin. The one I went to visit? Erik? 'Cept he calls himself Magneto," Giles visibly tried to control his reaction to that name, "and he decided to come along, with the whole military bad guys out to get us and all." Giles was now raising an eyebrow about the other five people. "And um, he also brought some of his friends along. So yeah. More people to fight the evil demon!"
Okay. The last part fell flat. There was a weighty pause.
"Will this situation be a problem for you, Mr. Giles, I believe it is?"
Magneto's remark shook Giles out of his momentary reverie. "No, I don't think so. It would have been helpful to have some warning, but with the Sl'kanith predicament...Do come in. And it is Giles by the way, Rupert Giles."
"Erik Lehenserr."
Everyone filed into the house. Thankfully, everyone was quiet. Willow was amused to note, however, Giles' reaction to Mystique. That woman probably delighted in disturbing everybody. Though he didn't have to stare quite so much, in her opinion.
The silence continued. No one seemed to have a clue as to what to say. Willow sensed that Giles wanted to yell at her for bringing strangers into Slayer business, but couldn't do so in front of said strangers. Magneto looked like he wanted to say something, but was at the moment willing to let the host speak first. Or maybe he just thought he was being intimidating. And since the rest of the Brotherhood barely trusted her, Willow doubted they'd relax enough to chit chat for a while.
Willow almost jumped for joy when she heard Buffy come in.
"Giles, we have to do something about this Slinky demon. I actually had to break up at least two fights at Willy's just to get close enough to talk to him and you know what? I still got nothing. Nada. All he knows is that all the demons seem to be in the midst of a major free for all every night. No idea where Slinky is."
By now Buffy noticed the mini convention going on in Giles' living room. Her eyes bugged out in a way that would almost be amusing if it wasn't immediately followed by her Demon!Evil! look.
Uh-oh. Demon!Evil! was usually followed by Slay!Now!. Time to intervene and make presence known.
"Hi Buffy! I'm back from my trip."
"Willow? When did souvenirs come in people sized packages?"
Magneto started to look huffy. A dignified huffy, of course, since he was a proper gentlemanly gray zone not so good guy, but it was definitely quick talking time before Slayers and mutants found out who could kick who's butt.
"Oh, well, you see, this is my cousin Erik and his friends and they followed me home 'cause of the big mess I was in. Am in." Buffy started to calm down. "They might help with the Sl'kanith demon thing."
Buffy shrugged. "Okay." Pause. She directed her attention to the most imposing newcomer. "So you're Magneto, huh?"
Magneto's eyes narrowed. There was something about the flippant attitude coming from this child that bothered him. "I am."
She cocked her head to the side. "They say you're the bad guy."
"Is that what they say?"
"Don't really care what they say. You want to help, fine. If you don't, leave. There is a big enough mess going on right now."
"Willow tells me the Slayer functions as something as a peace keeper, a law enforcer of sorts."
"For demons only. At the moment, you and your friends go down as humans in my book. I'm not the law for humans. Now that we've got that cleared up, are you helping?"
Magneto held an inner debate on that. Willow had assumed when they left that he was going to offer aid and he had done nothing to stop her from doing so. While he was not inclined to play the virtuous hero, a task he left to Charles and his protegees, the apparent wanton violence of this Sl'kanith creature gave him little choice.
"Of course."
"Good. Now would you mind introducing me to the rest of the gang?" Buffy asked, waving her hand to encompass the Brotherhood.
"Indeed."
Introductions went without issue until Magneto pointed out Marcie. He was vaguely aware of some connection the invisible girl had with this town, but was surprised to see that she actually knew Buffy.
"So Marcie, done anything psychotic lately?"
What a horribly blunt girl.
Giggle. "Not really. Did you miss me? Bet you didn't."
"And I won't as long as you don't do a repeat of any of your stunts while in town."
Another giggle. "Whatever."
Magneto decided to learn exactly what had transpired the last time Marcie lived in Sunnydale.
***
"So you see, the Sl'kanith demon is quite powerful. Provided that the spell Willow and Tara will perform will work, we should be able to curtail the demon's activities enough to search for a more long term solution. By my understanding of the Sl'kanith, we have approximately two days before its empathic manipulations spread to the human population. Unfortunately, the dampening spell cannot be cast until the new moon, which doesn't occur until the end of the week."
"And where does my Brotherhood fit in your plans?"
"It is my hope that during the five days before we can cast the dampener, you would aid us in maintaining order. According to Anya, the effects of the Sl'kanith can be quite debilitating on a population; any help in preventing the resultant chaos would be useful."
"So what you're saying Giles, is that we get to be the riot police?"
"In essence, yes. Similar to your actions during the Gentlemen's visit to town."
"And that was soo much fun. But hey, voices now."
"Quite right."
Willow tried to hide a yawn as Giles, Buffy, and Magneto hashed out the plan of attack. Though it was more defensive than anything. 'Cause of the whole don't know how to kill it thing. Which made planning very annoying. And hard. And would they just finish up already? She was back in Sunnydale and still hadn't seen her girlfriend yet. This was no fair. "I wonder what your basis for comparison is". Whose idea was it to watch the Labyrinth on the flight over? And what was up with that movie anyway?
Self, you are so tired you are reduced to mind-babbling now, Willow thought as she stifled another yawn. She wondered if anyone would notice if she snuck out to find Tara.
Willow was just about to test that theory when Buffy finally noticed how wiped she looked.
"Guys, I think we're done for the night. Will looks like she's about to crash and a few of your people seem two steps behind her."
Pyro looked blearily up from the couch. "Make that one step." The others around him nodded. Except Mystique, who had been coolly monitoring the planning session and occasionally offering her own remarks.
Willow smiled wanly at Buffy, "I think I've got jet lag. Definitely not on Scooby time yet."
Magneto personally felt perfectly alert, but was forced to admit that the majority of his people were in dire need of rest.
"Giles, where would you suggest my people and I go?"
Giles, who was feeling a bit weary himself, was fortunately saved from saying "I have no idea" by Buffy.
"There's an abandoned mansion on Crawford Street. It's big and in fairly decent shape. You could go there, no problem. I can point it out on my way home, if you want."
"That would be most welcome."
After Buffy and the Brotherhood filed out, Willow and Giles were left alone in the house.
"Drive me to Tara's?"
"Of course."
Ten minutes later, Willow was holding her girl in a tight embrace. Whatever happened, it would be okay now. She and Tara could do anything together.
Her friends were there. And now she was able to rejoin them. And most especially, she could rejoin Tara.
She stood outside Giles' door. With the destruction of the high school and library and all, his place was the current Scooby Central. It seemed to be the best place to temporarily dump her new 'friends' until something better came up. Joy.
Magneto stood behind, along with a several of his followers?subordinates?borderline minions? Unfortunately, that included Mystique and Marcie (mask on, thankfully). On the plus, Pyro, Avalanche, and Toad were there, too. Those three were the only mutants of Magneto's Brotherhood who had really warmed up to her. Willow suspected that a few more of the Brotherhood might have slipped into town, but these five were the official escorts.
Willow rang the bell. The door opened.
"Giles!"
"Willow," he said with a sigh of relief, "how good to have you back." Giles peered over her shoulder, noticing her companions, "But would you mind telling me exactly who is standing behind you?"
Willow sent up a prayer to the Goddess that this would all work out. "Um, this is my cousin. The one I went to visit? Erik? 'Cept he calls himself Magneto," Giles visibly tried to control his reaction to that name, "and he decided to come along, with the whole military bad guys out to get us and all." Giles was now raising an eyebrow about the other five people. "And um, he also brought some of his friends along. So yeah. More people to fight the evil demon!"
Okay. The last part fell flat. There was a weighty pause.
"Will this situation be a problem for you, Mr. Giles, I believe it is?"
Magneto's remark shook Giles out of his momentary reverie. "No, I don't think so. It would have been helpful to have some warning, but with the Sl'kanith predicament...Do come in. And it is Giles by the way, Rupert Giles."
"Erik Lehenserr."
Everyone filed into the house. Thankfully, everyone was quiet. Willow was amused to note, however, Giles' reaction to Mystique. That woman probably delighted in disturbing everybody. Though he didn't have to stare quite so much, in her opinion.
The silence continued. No one seemed to have a clue as to what to say. Willow sensed that Giles wanted to yell at her for bringing strangers into Slayer business, but couldn't do so in front of said strangers. Magneto looked like he wanted to say something, but was at the moment willing to let the host speak first. Or maybe he just thought he was being intimidating. And since the rest of the Brotherhood barely trusted her, Willow doubted they'd relax enough to chit chat for a while.
Willow almost jumped for joy when she heard Buffy come in.
"Giles, we have to do something about this Slinky demon. I actually had to break up at least two fights at Willy's just to get close enough to talk to him and you know what? I still got nothing. Nada. All he knows is that all the demons seem to be in the midst of a major free for all every night. No idea where Slinky is."
By now Buffy noticed the mini convention going on in Giles' living room. Her eyes bugged out in a way that would almost be amusing if it wasn't immediately followed by her Demon!Evil! look.
Uh-oh. Demon!Evil! was usually followed by Slay!Now!. Time to intervene and make presence known.
"Hi Buffy! I'm back from my trip."
"Willow? When did souvenirs come in people sized packages?"
Magneto started to look huffy. A dignified huffy, of course, since he was a proper gentlemanly gray zone not so good guy, but it was definitely quick talking time before Slayers and mutants found out who could kick who's butt.
"Oh, well, you see, this is my cousin Erik and his friends and they followed me home 'cause of the big mess I was in. Am in." Buffy started to calm down. "They might help with the Sl'kanith demon thing."
Buffy shrugged. "Okay." Pause. She directed her attention to the most imposing newcomer. "So you're Magneto, huh?"
Magneto's eyes narrowed. There was something about the flippant attitude coming from this child that bothered him. "I am."
She cocked her head to the side. "They say you're the bad guy."
"Is that what they say?"
"Don't really care what they say. You want to help, fine. If you don't, leave. There is a big enough mess going on right now."
"Willow tells me the Slayer functions as something as a peace keeper, a law enforcer of sorts."
"For demons only. At the moment, you and your friends go down as humans in my book. I'm not the law for humans. Now that we've got that cleared up, are you helping?"
Magneto held an inner debate on that. Willow had assumed when they left that he was going to offer aid and he had done nothing to stop her from doing so. While he was not inclined to play the virtuous hero, a task he left to Charles and his protegees, the apparent wanton violence of this Sl'kanith creature gave him little choice.
"Of course."
"Good. Now would you mind introducing me to the rest of the gang?" Buffy asked, waving her hand to encompass the Brotherhood.
"Indeed."
Introductions went without issue until Magneto pointed out Marcie. He was vaguely aware of some connection the invisible girl had with this town, but was surprised to see that she actually knew Buffy.
"So Marcie, done anything psychotic lately?"
What a horribly blunt girl.
Giggle. "Not really. Did you miss me? Bet you didn't."
"And I won't as long as you don't do a repeat of any of your stunts while in town."
Another giggle. "Whatever."
Magneto decided to learn exactly what had transpired the last time Marcie lived in Sunnydale.
***
"So you see, the Sl'kanith demon is quite powerful. Provided that the spell Willow and Tara will perform will work, we should be able to curtail the demon's activities enough to search for a more long term solution. By my understanding of the Sl'kanith, we have approximately two days before its empathic manipulations spread to the human population. Unfortunately, the dampening spell cannot be cast until the new moon, which doesn't occur until the end of the week."
"And where does my Brotherhood fit in your plans?"
"It is my hope that during the five days before we can cast the dampener, you would aid us in maintaining order. According to Anya, the effects of the Sl'kanith can be quite debilitating on a population; any help in preventing the resultant chaos would be useful."
"So what you're saying Giles, is that we get to be the riot police?"
"In essence, yes. Similar to your actions during the Gentlemen's visit to town."
"And that was soo much fun. But hey, voices now."
"Quite right."
Willow tried to hide a yawn as Giles, Buffy, and Magneto hashed out the plan of attack. Though it was more defensive than anything. 'Cause of the whole don't know how to kill it thing. Which made planning very annoying. And hard. And would they just finish up already? She was back in Sunnydale and still hadn't seen her girlfriend yet. This was no fair. "I wonder what your basis for comparison is". Whose idea was it to watch the Labyrinth on the flight over? And what was up with that movie anyway?
Self, you are so tired you are reduced to mind-babbling now, Willow thought as she stifled another yawn. She wondered if anyone would notice if she snuck out to find Tara.
Willow was just about to test that theory when Buffy finally noticed how wiped she looked.
"Guys, I think we're done for the night. Will looks like she's about to crash and a few of your people seem two steps behind her."
Pyro looked blearily up from the couch. "Make that one step." The others around him nodded. Except Mystique, who had been coolly monitoring the planning session and occasionally offering her own remarks.
Willow smiled wanly at Buffy, "I think I've got jet lag. Definitely not on Scooby time yet."
Magneto personally felt perfectly alert, but was forced to admit that the majority of his people were in dire need of rest.
"Giles, where would you suggest my people and I go?"
Giles, who was feeling a bit weary himself, was fortunately saved from saying "I have no idea" by Buffy.
"There's an abandoned mansion on Crawford Street. It's big and in fairly decent shape. You could go there, no problem. I can point it out on my way home, if you want."
"That would be most welcome."
After Buffy and the Brotherhood filed out, Willow and Giles were left alone in the house.
"Drive me to Tara's?"
"Of course."
Ten minutes later, Willow was holding her girl in a tight embrace. Whatever happened, it would be okay now. She and Tara could do anything together.