Faith dropped to the ground, rolled onto her back and searched the skyline. She then crawled over to Xander, who had ducked into an alcove.

"Damn it!" Xander yelled as he pulled a crossbow bolt out of his shoulder. "That hurts!" Xander placed his hand over his wound and concentrated for a moment.

"You okay?" Faith asked, leaning against the wall next to him.

"Yeah," he said, touching the wound and wincing. "That's gonna hurt for a while, though. Did you see where it came from?"

Faith shook her head. "Nope. Not a clue. Behind us, though."

Xander rolled his eyes. "I got that much. I think it was aiming for you, too," he said.

"Why's that?" Faith asked.

"I stepped behind you for a half second," he said. "If I'm feeling my wound right, and I think I am, then it would have gotten you right in the heart."

Faith frowned. "But I'm not a vampire," she said.

Xander chuckled. "You'd be surprised how many things a stake to the heart kills."

Faith winced.

"Oh, shit, Faith, I'm sorry, I didn't mean -"

"No, it's okay," she said, shaking it off. "What are we gonna do about this crossbow guy out there?"

"Hope he's a crappy shot when we're not moving in a straight line?" Xander asked.

Faith rolled her eyes. "You seriously got nothing?"

Xander shrugged. "We could break into this store and hope he goes away, or we could make a run for it, try to figure out where this guy is, and take him out."

"I vote for that one, the taking him out one," Faith said.

"Okay," Xander said. "Lemme go first."

Xander stood up and rolled his neck. "I'm going to head for that dumpster over there," he said. "Poke your head out and see if anybody pops up. If you don't see anyone, then pick a place and run to it and I'll watch for crossbow guy."

"What if I do see something?"

"Point it out, and we'll go from there."

Faith nodded and stood as well. Xander backed up and then ran as fast as he could towards the dumpster up the road about a hundred feet from the alcove. He hit the ground hard as soon as he got behind the dumpster and looked back to Faith. She pointed to her eyes, then the sky, and made a circle with her hands.

"The Sun," Xander said to himself. "Pike should be here, but no, mister perfect aim guy has to be out doing things with his pet vampire."

Xander poked his head up, and saw a form moving around behind the lights of The Sun theater. Faith chose that moment to head for another shop alcove. Xander watched as two more figures popped up on shop roofs and took shots at her, one of which barely missed her foot.

"Okay, think, Xander," he said to himself. "Three guys on roofs, no way out without getting shot. What to do, what to do. . ." Xander saw their salvation through the window of one of the shops.

"Don't go anywhere, Faith!" he yelled. Xander then set himself and sprinted across the street. He dove head first through the window, shattering it. He landed, rolled, and came up right by the counter. He snagged the phone and dialed.

"This is the Magic Box, Ru-"

"Giles, it's me," Xander said.

"Oh, Xander good, I wanted to ask you-"

"Not now," Xander said. "Faith and I are pinned down on Main Street. There's at least three crossbowmen on the roofs. I broke into a store to get to a phone. Get here, quick, with backup."

Xander slammed the phone down and looked around for something he could use as a weapon. It was then that he realized he was in a lingerie store. Xander paused a second. 'Wow, Buffy would look. . . Focus!' he thought. He looked behind the counter and found bags. He went to the back, forced the supply room door open, and found a coffee machine, some clothes hangers, and more lingerie than he had ever seen.

"No," he said to himself. "Nothing for me back here. Mental note: bring Buffy shopping here."

Finding nothing, Xander sprinted back outside, hiding behind the dumpster again. A crossbow bolt ricocheted off the dumpster just as he got his head down.

"You find anything?" Faith asked from inside the dumpster.

"Ah!" Xander yelled, startled. "I thought I told you to stay put!"

"Got bored," Faith said. "Thought I'd take a trash dive. You find anything in your size?"

"Nope," he said. "But I was just browsing anyway. There wouldn't happen to be any weapons in there, would there?"

"Nope," Faith said. "Just me, some nasty ass hamburgers and a box of. . . green stuff. I don't want to know what that is."

Xander shook his head. "Guess we're waiting for the cavalry."

"Keep your eyes peeled," Faith said. "See if they move."

Xander nodded and trained his eyes on the rooftops visible to him. After about three minutes, four quick gunshots rang out, followed by two screams of pain, which were quickly silenced.

"Clear!" yelled a familiar voice. Xander and Faith both poked their heads up and saw Pike checking his pistol.

"Clear?" Xander asked. "There were three."

"Yeah," Pike said. "We've got the other one."

"You were at the Magic Box?" Faith asked.

"I was there, too," Spike said, coming around the corner dragging a struggling vampire. "Picked up this bloke creepin' around on the roofs. Figured we might torture him."

"You mean interrogate," Xander said.

"I said what I said."

Buffy ran up, stake in hand. "You really shot those guys good," she said. "How'd you know they were vampires from so far away?"

"I didn't," Pike said. "That's why I shot them in the legs."

Buffy raised an eyebrow.

"Hey," Pike said. "It wouldn't have killed them, anyway."

"Looks like the Ikes save the day," Xander said.

"Ikes?" Pike asked.

Xander nodded. "Pike and Spike. Ikes."

Buffy chuckled.

"Wow. Guess you're beating up Tina and I'm president," Pike said.

"No can do, mate. I got a chip," he said. Spike tugged on his lapels. "President Spike. I like the sound of that."

"Can't happen," Xander said. "You're not a natural born citizen, thank God."

"Does that mean I get to beat up Tina and be President?" Pike asked.

"Nah," said Faith, hopping out of the dumpster. "I don't think she's human, anyway."

"I get to beat up Tina?" Spike asked hopefully, as he punched the still- struggling vampire.

"Don't sound too excited," Buffy said.

"Oh, I've been looking forward to this ever since what she did to 'Proud Mary.' Bloody sacrilege, that was."

* * * * *

"You know, I have to admit," Xander said as he bit into an apple while sitting on the couch in the back room of the Magic Box, "I really don't like the guy, but he knows how to get answers."

Buffy took a sip of her Diet Coke and nodded thoughtfully. "I think interrogation is a lost art form. But he's like over a hundred years old, so maybe he picked it up somewhere along the way."

"Actually," Spike said, turning away from the vampire they had tied down, "this type of interrogation is just an extremely mild form of torture where you ask questions. Angelus taught me how to do it."

"So, okay, so far we have that somebody told him to come after Faith. Just Faith, right, not both of us?" Xander asked.

"Right," Spike said. "Whoever this bloke is, he instills some loyalty. Most vampires would give up the goods right off."

"Why do you assume it's a he?" Buffy asked.

Spike looked confused. "'Scuse me?"

"I am offended by your sexist sensibilities, Spike. You fail to grasp the concept that the big bad here could very easily be a girl."

Spike looked to Xander for confirmation that he was hearing correctly. Xander just shrugged.

"Look, bitch," he said. "I'm evil. Evil means I can be sexist. I don't have to be. . . whatsit. . . politically correct. Do you know why?" he asked.

"Is it. . . cuz you're evil?" Buffy asked sarcastically.

"Too bloody right," Spike said. "Now if you'll give me a minute, I'll get the name of the big bad MAN out of this here minion."

Buffy rolled her eyes.

"Now Spike," Xander said, "you're not actually torturing this guy, right? I mean, beating him up a little is okay, vampire and all, but you're not like. . . really, really hurting him, right?"

"Do you want to coddle him, or do you want the information?" Spike asked indignantly.

"Well, I don't think coddle is the right term," Xander said. "But torture is definitely out of the picture. We don't sink to their level."

"I'm on their level, mate," Spike said. "No where to sink to."

"Okay," Xander said. "Then we don't want to sink to your level. Get the information, but don't torture him."

Spike rolled his eyes, then turned back to the vampire and punched him in the head. "Talk!" he yelled.

The vampire rolled his head backwards to look at Spike. "He'll kill you," it said. "It doesn't matter what you do, he'll kill all of you, and his army will rule the world."

"Yeah?" Spike asked, hitting the vampire in the face again. "Mind telling me who 'he' is, or would you like me to start with the sharp instruments?"

"No," the vampire said. "You are irrelevant. You don't matter. None of you do. Adam. . . will be victorious."

"Oh, great, that guy. Hey, find out why he was after Faith," Xander said.

Spike looked at the vampire, eyebrow raised. "You gonna answer the whelp's question, or shall I start with the beating again?"

"No," the vampire said. "I will answer. Even he answers. There is another. Higher."

"Well WHO?" Spike asked, punching him again, this time in the chest. Xander and Buffy both winced when they heard bones crack.

"She is. . . Mother. She is. . . the creator."

Spike looked at the vampire, the shook his head. "That's all we're gonna get out of him. Can I stake him now?"

Xander and Buffy exchanged glances, then shrugged. "You're sure?" Buffy asked.

Spike nodded. "That's all he knows. Mother. I'd guess, based on your description of this Adam bloke, that Mother is whoever put him together."

"Mother, huh?" Buffy said. "Sounds like the big bad could be female after all."

Xander sighed, then flipped a stake to Spike, who caught it midair and slammed it into the chest of the vampire, dusting it.

"Well, that was fun," Spike said, lighting up a cigarette.

"Don't smoke," Buffy said.

"Why? Can't 'urt me."

"You I don't care about. My sister comes in here, do you think I want her to smell that crap?"

Spike shrugged and put the cigarette out on the floor.

"And pick up your trash," Xander said as he and Buffy got up.

"No respect," Spike muttered. "I save their arses, I get the info, still get no bloody respect."

Buffy and Xander ignored his mumblings as they re-entered the main part of the shop.

"I'll just let myself out the back, then," Spike called out. "Wankers."

"What'd we find?" Faith asked as she helped Giles count out the register receipts for the day.

"Adam sent the vamps, after you specifically," Xander said.

"Fun," Faith said, her eyebrows creased.

"Anything else?" Giles asked.

"Yup," Buffy said. "Adam's got an army, or at least something he calls an army. And he's got somebody he answers to. The vamp said something about 'Mother,' who is apparently Adam's boss, and ordered him to get Faith. Spike thinks that's going to be whoever put Adam together."

Giles' brow furrowed. "Mother?" he asked. "That rings a dim bell."

Giles walked over to a bookshelf, searched for a minute, then pulled out a volume, and flipped through the pages.

"Yes, here we go," he said. "Mother, or The Mother, was a witch of enormous power. She was a blood mage, and thus sacrificed many humans for her rituals, often children."

"Sounds like a boatload of fun," Xander said.

"Yes," said Giles. "It says here that she disappeared sometime around 1800, and hasn't been heard from since. She is presumed dead."

"Well, somebody killed a kid, and that vamp referenced Mother," Buffy said. "Votes on who thinks she's actually dead?"

Nobody raised their hands.

"Okay, Jeeves, so how do we find her?"

"I don't know," he said. "And of course, the girl at Xander's site was not sacrificed, so we may be barking up the wrong tree. I suppose we'll just have to do some research."

"Maybe in the morning," Xander said. "Too tired tonight."

Giles checked his watch. "It's only 11 pm, Xander. You're usually up much later than this."

"Yeah, and you usually go to work, too," Faith said.

Xander whined. "But I don't wanna research! How come Willow doesn't hafta research?"

Giles rolled his eyes. "You're perfectly welcome to call her," he said.

Xander pouted until Buffy leaned back into his chest and whispered in his ear. Xander's eyes slowly opened as wide as he could make them go. He looked at her incredulously, and when she nodded, he sprinted out of the chair, knocking her to the floor, and grabbed the phone.

Faith shook her head as Buffy got herself back in the chair. "Guys are all the same," Faith said, grabbing a book and a chair, and propping her feet on the table.

Giles looked at Buffy for a second, then shook his head. "Never, ever tell me."

Buffy smiled at him and picked up a book for herself.

"Hi, Willow?" Xander said into the phone. "We've got a research party going on. Wanna join? Great! I'll come pick you up. Yeah, ten minutes. Okay, see you!"

Xander grinned, ran back over to Buffy, kissed her and ran out of the store.

Faith glanced at the table. "He's gonna need those," she said.

Buffy leaned over and picked up the keys just as Xander came sliding back in through the door.

"Forget something, babe?" Buffy asked.

"Uh. . . car-make-goers," he said.

Buffy tossed him his keys. "Drive careful. You may be super-powerful, but a multi-thousand pound vehicle can still damage you."

Xander flashed a reassuring grin. "If you think I'm taking any chances after what you promised, you're nuts!"

Xander whirled on his heel and ran back out the door.

Faith shook her head again. "All exactly the same. What the hell did you promise him?"

Giles chose that moment to make an emergency inspection of the back room, slamming the door on the way back.

Buffy laughed. "I promised him I would get up in the morning and make waffles if he was too tired."

"That's it?" Faith asked.

Buffy smiled coyly. "Well, I might have made some mention how I would make him tired."

Faith raised an eyebrow.

"A lady never tells," Buffy said, cracking a book.

"So what's stopping you?" Faith asked.

Buffy stuck her tongue out at her friend and started to reading.

* * * * *

Xander walked into the Magic Box ahead of both Willow and Tara, doing his best impression of a train.

"Chug-a-chug-a-chug-a-chug-a woo wooo! Sunnydale Express, last stop! All Wicca's must disembark," he said as he walked over to the table and placed a pink box on its top. "Donut boy rides again."

Faith all but attacked the box, grabbing a powdered sugar donut leaking jelly filling. Giles came up to get one as well.

"Oh, God," she said. "That's heaven."

"Yes," Xander said, striking a ridiculous super-hero pose. "I am indeed a God among men."

A book thudded into his stomach, and he turned to look at Willow, who was, suspiciously, looking innocently around the shop.

"I know it was you, missy," he said, pointing an accusing finger at his long-time best friend. "Just because you can move things with the power of your mind doesn't mean. . ." Xander paused. "Uh. I don't know what it doesn't mean, but when I think of it, you're gonna be insulted."

"Xander, you haven't significantly insulted me in years, I don't think you're going to start now," Willow said. "Besides, if you do, I'll just tell Buffy about that time at the pond."

"You wouldn't!" Xander said.

"Try me, buster, I dare ya!"

"Oh, I wanna hear this!" Faith said, leaning forward.

"Yeah, Will, spill," Buffy said.

"Okay, well, we were-"

"AH!" Xander said, interrupting. "You were sworn to secrecy on that. That was, if I recall, a pinky swear. Do not lightly violate the pinky swear!"

Willow's shoulders sagged. "Foiled!" she said, balling her hand into a fist. "Sorry, guys, I can't. Not unless he does something really bad."

"Damn," Faith said. "I don't have anywhere near enough dirt on him to have blackmail power."

"Why would you wanna blackmail me?" Xander asked.

"Well, why wouldn't I?"

"She raises a good point," Buffy said.

"You wanna blackmail me too?" Xander asked. "What for?"

"Well, how else am I going to get you to do things at my whim?" she asked.

"You couldn't just count on my love for and devotion to you?"

"I *could*," she said. "But that wouldn't be nearly as entertaining."

"They're out to get me," Xander said, conspiratorially. "I see how it is now. Tara, you're the only one I can trust. What do you say, you and me, we run away together, they'll never find us."

"I- I, um. . ." Tara looked a little bewildered.

"Ah, you're probably right," Xander said, winking at the shy young woman. "They'd track us down wherever we went. Will's stubborn like that."

"You better believe it, mister," she said, with an emphatic nod. "I'm not about to let this one out of my sight."

"Besides," Buffy said. "If you left with Tara, you'd never get to taste my waffles."

"Oh, God, I hope that's not something sexual," Willow said. "Cuz that's just ick."

"She's making me waffles tomorrow, Will. Mind *out* of the gutter," Xander said, following up with a muted, "You're blocking my view."

"Can you really make good waffles?" Faith asked.

"It's about the only thing I *can* make. Except for microwave popcorn."

"Which you managed to burn last week," Xander said.

"Hey!" Buffy protested. "I wasn't paying attention and accidentally hit six minutes instead of three. My popcorn is usually light and fluffy like a cloud, instead of dark and imposing like a. . . darker cloud."

"While I'm sure all of this conversation about foodstuffs is enlightening and necessary for the survival of the world, would it be possible for us to focus on the current task at hand?" Giles asked.

Amidst various rumblings and grumblings, the Scoobies did indeed get to work.

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End Chapter 12