"Well, I'd say that eliminates the need for research along that line,"
Giles said later that day when Faith informed the group of Wesley's call.
"Can we just get a list of everybody Angel's ever killed? Things would go much faster," Xander said. Then he turned to Pike. "And how was it you managed to hook up with Wesley, anyway?"
"I was fighting. . . something, I don't remember, and I wasn't making any headway against it. I was getting quite the beating, however," Pike said. "So I'm standing there, my gun's empty, I've got a big axe I've found and have been hacking at it the whole time, and this thing is just not going down. So up rides this guy on a monster hog-"
"Wait a second," Buffy said. "Wesley? On a motorcycle?"
"Do you wanna tell the story, Buff?"
"Sorry, sorry," she said. "Please. Continue."
"Right. So up rides a guy on this monster hog, all tricked out, got the leather jacket, pants, hair slicked back, wicked shades. He gets off his bike, pulls a crossbow and shoots the thing once, in the back of the knee, and it goes down screaming like he's just shot it right in the family jewels. He walks over, pulls out a small knife and stabs it behind the ear, and it just up and dies. It was pretty bad ass."
The Scoobies were shocked into silence.
"Wesley did that?" Xander asked.
"Yeah."
"Wesley Wyndham-Pryce. British guy. Glasses. Same guy?"
"Same guy," Pike said. "He's really a pretty good guy."
"How is it that you manage to find people we don't like and claim them as good? If you tell me you know Ampata, I'm gonna smack you," Xander said.
"Xander," injected Willow, "Ampata's dead."
"Yeah, but so is Spike."
"But Ampata's dead dead. Fully dead. Remember?"
"I'm just covering my bases here, Will."
"What about Cain?" Buffy asked. "He's fairly scummish, and still alive, and we don't like him."
"Cain," Pike said, pondering. "Oh, you mean that werewolf hunter jackass? God, I *hate* that guy."
"Who haven't you met?" Xander asked.
"Dude, I've been doing this longer than you, and on the move, I'm bound to run into people."
"So you met Cain, then," Giles said.
"Yeah, a couple years ago, up north of San Francisco. He was a real condescending bastard, talking about how kids like me shouldn't be out doing this, leave it to the professionals, crap like that. So I knocked him out, left him in Golden Gate Park, pantsless, stole his van, put my bike in back of it, and drove to Louisiana, where I gave it to a homeless guy in exchange for a pack of smokes and a map. Sold all the werewolf and ammo stuff first. Well, all of it that I didn't keep."
"Well," Giles said. "While normally I would not approve of. . . assault, felony grand theft and the exchange of stolen property. . . I must say, well done. That man was really quite intolerable. However, I should point out we are now entirely without leads on the subject of Adam."
"Yup," Xander said. "Right back at square one."
"Well, I don't think there's anything to be done tonight. Buffy, Faith, if you could patrol, Pike, if you and Spike would check out Willy's. I know we've done that before, but you never know what someone might tell him. Willow, perhaps some sort of demon location spell? With Tara's help? Perhaps if there's a large gathering, we might find his nest?"
Everybody got up to go.
"What do you want me to do?" Xander said.
Giles smiled at him. "I have a special assignment for you."
* * * * *
"I can tell you're serious about this, by the way you just handed over all that money," Xander said as he and Giles stood in a mostly-darkened lot about half-way between LA and Sunnydale, where Xander had driven the two men.
"Yes, I am."
Xander raised his hand to his chin and stroked it. "You've done your research? Checked out fully. . . everything that's going on?"
"I have."
Xander nodded thoughtfully and crossed his arms. "Well, I can't say I disagree with your choice. It's a big change though."
"Yes, the difference is rather. . . dramatic, but I feel it's about right for this time in my life. Successful business, single man, occasionally. . . dating, even."
Xander ran his hand across the smooth, shining metal of the red, 1965 Ford Mustang convertible that had recently been refurbished and refinished.
"Who are you dating, anyway?"
"Excuse me?" Giles asked.
"Well, it's just that you don't get out much, besides being at the shop. We're all involved and everything, and so far as I know the only person near your age who you have contact with is Joyce."
"Hmm." Giles said. "Any thoughts on the car?"
Xander considered the man for a moment, before turning back to the automobile in front of him. "It's a straight shift?"
"What kind of question is that? You can't drive a car like this with an automatic. That borders on sacrilege. Give me some credit, Xander."
"I'm just making sure you bought the right car," Xander said. "You've had her checked out and everything? I mean, I'm no car expert, but this she's almost 35 years old."
"Yes, she's been completely checked out from top to bottom by an independent mechanic. He said it's in top condition."
Xander nodded. "Good."
"Yes," Giles said. "It's just. . . you don't think that people. . ."
"No," Xander said. "It's not too mid-life crisis. You'll be fine. It's a pretty car, Giles."
"Yes," the older man replied.
"Definitely better than the Citroen."
"Yes."
"We've been standing here for half an hour since the guy left, can we go now?"
"Yes. Yes, I do believe we can. I'll see you tomorrow," Giles said, pulling the keys out of his pocket.
"Just don't get a speeding ticket," Xander cautioned as he headed back towards his own car with a wave. He sat in the car for a moment, just watching the older man drive away. Xander shook his head and drove off.
* * * * *
"Hey Jeeves," Faith said, holding out the phone.
"Yes?" Giles asked.
"It's for you."
Giles pointed to his office, and Faith nodded. "Just a sec," she said into the phone. Faith waited until Giles picked up the phone, then slid out from behind the counter to help the customer who was browsing the store.
"Is there anything I can help you with, sir?" Faith asked.
"Actually, yes," he said. "I'm looking for an African monkey paw."
"Ornamental or ceremonial?" Faith asked.
"Oh, ceremonial," the man said.
Faith nodded. "We don't keep those in stock," she said, "because they're pretty volatile. We can special order for you, though."
"And how long would that take?" the man asked.
"Depending on what you want to pay for shipping, anywhere from three days to a week and a half."
"Oh, a week and a half should be just fine," the man said.
Faith nodded again, knowingly. "Yeah," she said. "Equinox isn't for like a couple months, still."
"You seem very knowledgeable," the man said.
"Hey, it's the job," said Faith with a sweet smile. "So, you'll probably be needing some other supplies as well. Burba root, some toad's wart, maybe a little hair of weasel. Most of that stuff's by the shelves over there," she said, pointing. "Why don't you check that out while I get the order on the monkey paw started?"
The man nodded gratefully.
"Faith!" Giles yelled, running from his office. "Faith, do we have Xander's work number?"
"No. . . why? Something bad?"
"Hmm? No, quite the opposite, actually. Where is Xander's work site, currently?"
"Um. . . four blocks west, three up? I think?" she said.
"Excellent," Giles said, rushing back to his office.
"Do you need me to go get him?" Faith asked.
"No!" Giles yelled, rushing out of his office, and the store, with his jacket and a slip of paper. "Mind the store! And see that we don't run out of newt eyes!"
* * * * *
"So you have no idea where he went?" Buffy asked that night.
"Well," Faith said. "We got a call from Queen C, and then, I assume he went to see Xan, then somewhere else, unless you peg G as the type to hang around a construction site?"
"Hey guys!" Willow said as she and Tara entered the Magic Box. "What's up?"
"Missing boyfriend and watcher," Buffy pouted.
"Actually, that's one reason we came by," Willow said. "Xander called, 'cause he couldn't find you, and said he'd be late tonight, but he wouldn't go into detail, but he said it was really important and that you shouldn't worry because it was important but not dangerous and he'd be back later tonight and that everything was fine and he loves you although he didn't say that last part but we all know that he meant it and. . ." Willow trailed off. "He'll be late, but he's fine."
"Bet the ability to go without breathing comes in handy late at night, huh Red?" Faith said.
Willow and Tara's eyes bugged, and they blushed almost in unison, eliciting a laugh from Faith.
"So he wouldn't say what it was?" Buffy asked.
"No," Willow said. "Just that it was important."
A car pulled up hard outside the Magic Box. The group turned and saw Giles and Spike get out of what appeared to be Xander's car, and lift something very large out of the trunk. Buffy ran to open the door for them, and they came in the shop and set it down in back.
"That's a big box thingy you got there, Giles," Buffy said. "Pretty pictures of animals, too."
"It is not a 'box thingy', Buffy," he said. "It is an altar to Diana, goddess of the hunt, which we shall need for the ritual we will be performing tonight."
"We're performing a ritual?" Willow asked.
"Well, more to the point," Giles said. "You are. You and Tara. If you're willing, that is."
"Why did you have Xander's car?" Buffy asked.
"His has more trunk space than mine, so I took it. My car is more suited to long distance speed than his, so he took mine."
Everybody but Spike laughed. "Giles, your car isn't suited for long distance anything," Buffy said. "Least of all speed."
"Oh, his new one is, Slayer. That's a beauty, I tell you. Watcher picked out a sweet ride," Spike said. "Fast as a mother, too. Not your mother. Your mother's very nice." He pointed to Giles. "Fast as his mother."
"That's enough, Spike," Giles said.
"I'm just sayin'," Spike said. "It's fast."
"When did you get a new car?" Faith asked. "And why haven't I seen it?"
"Last night, and because I did not drive today."
"Well. . . what is it?" Willow asked.
"A Mustang."
"Oh, not just any Mustang," Spike said. "A sweet, cherry red '65, with a canvas convertible top, shining chrome like you wouldn't believe, and, as a bonus, came equipped with the police's Interceptor engine, so it's -"
"Fast, we know," Buffy said. "You gave an exceedingly fast car to my boyfriend?"
"Well, I did need him to run an errand."
"Hey," Faith asked Spike, "where's your partner in crime?"
"Funny you should mention that," Spike said. "He's off committing a crime as we speak."
"It is not a crime, Spike," Giles said. "Or, well, technically it is, I suppose, but I can assure you no charges will be pressed. Faith, do you have those newt eyes?"
"Yeah, we still got a ton. What's this all about, boss?"
Giles grinned. "You shall all find out when the time comes. Suffice to say, it is the summation of a very lengthy project."
Nobody understood. "Oh, just. . . do whatever it is you do until Xander and Pike arrive."
* * * * *
"Hey, guys," Xander said as he entered the offices of Angel Investigations. "I hear you've got something for me."
Cordelia looked at her watch. "You must have driven really fast," she said.
"Yeah, well, Giles loaned me his new car, and I felt the need to really open it up on the highway," he said.
"Giles got a new car?" Angel asked.
Xander pointed out the window to the Mustang. Angel let out a low whistle.
"Yeah," Xander said. "Pretty much. I don't know what I topped out at, but the speedometer goes to 180, and I was smackin' up against that pretty good."
"Nice," Angel said.
"Yeah."
There was an awkward pause. "Spike says hi," Xander said.
"What the hell is his deal?" Angel asked. "Is he good now?"
"Not by choice. It's a. . . technology thing. He hasn't done much but be an annoyance, but nothing you'd really call evil."
"He keeps calling me, do you know that?" Angel asked.
"No idea, Deadboy," Xander said as convincingly as he could.
"And he said he lives in a crypt. How does he have a phone in a crypt?"
"Cable, too," Xander said. "Um. . . is there a. . . spell here, for me?"
"Yes," Cordelia said, handing him a book. "The page is marked, Giles said he has all the ingredients. I didn't want to fax it, because it's kind of really fragile, but we're going to need that book back."
"Yeah, I know, Cor. And we'll have the book back as soon as we can," Xander said.
"And you do have a second caster, right?" Angel asked. "It doesn't work without two."
"I know. And yes, we have Tara, Will's girlfriend."
Angel and Cordelia were silent. "Girlfriend?" Cordelia asked after a second.
"Oh. Yeah, we haven't talked since then. Willow's got a girlfriend. She's cute."
"Since when is Willow gay?" Cordelia asked.
"Actually, that kinda explains that vampire-her from last year," Angel said.
"Oh man, I hadn't thought about that. You're right!" Xander said. "Anyway, not important. I'll have this back to you soon, but I gotta jet, they're expecting me."
Suddenly, Cordelia screamed and started falling. In an instant, Angel was behind her, stopping her descent and leading her to a chair.
"Are you okay?" Angel asked. "What did you see?" "It... was weird," said Cordelia. "It wasn't urgent. Or violent or anything. It was that... that soldier guy you work with." "I... don't work with any soldiers, Cor," Angel said. "Not you," she said, pointing to Xander. "Him." "Me? You mean Riley? Something's going to happen to him?" "I don't know," Cordelia said. "I didn't see anything bad. I just saw him... and I got the impression... it was like words were shot into my head." "Words?" Angel and Xander asked. "Yeah. They said 'follow the vampire.'" Xander stood, silent for a moment. "That's it? Just 'follow the vampire'? What the hell kind of message from the powers is that?" "Yeah, and aren't you *my* conduit to the powers?" Angel asked, a little affronted at the message. "Since when does GI Joe get special attention?" "Hey, I just work here!" Cordelia said. "I never even signed a contract or anything." "Which vampire?" Xander asked. "Again, I just work here. That's all it said. Picture of soldier guy, 'follow the vampire'. That's all." Xander shook his head. "Okay, I'll tell him. Maybe it'll make more sense to him. Thanks for the spell." "And make sure the book stays in good condition!" Cordelia yelled as Xander left the building.
"Who are you, Giles? I'll take care of it already," Xander said. "Thanks guys!"
Xander ran out of the office and hopped into Giles' Mustang, gunned the engine and peeled out.
* * * * *
"Okay," Willow said. "We've got an altar to Diana, a bunch of spell workings here, Xander off running an errand that needs speed, and Pike doing something illegal. Why do I not have a good feeling about this ritual?"
"I-I'm sure Mr. Giles wouldn't have us do anything dangerous," Tara said.
"Tara is correct," Giles said. "Have a little faith, Willow, I merely wish to surprise you, is all."
"Giles, your surprises sometimes involve death, and vampires, and arms in boxes that later try to destroy life as we know it."
"Now, that was not my surprise, it was. . . Well, it was Drusilla's. And in no way my fault. Besides, we didn't even get to the surprise part of that party," Giles said.
"All I'm saying is, we have a seriously bad record about these things."
"Well, this shall be different, I assure you."
There was a crash from the back room.
"Dammit!" Pike yelled as he made his way into the main body of the shop. "Do you always have to move the damn practice dummy, Buff?"
"Sorry," she said. "He just kind of gets thrown around a lot, and we leave him where he ends up."
"Okay," Faith said as she came back into the shop. "We've got one veggie sub for Glinda the good witch, a meatball with extra provolone for Red, ham, Swiss, extra onions and lettuce for B, Watcher man don't want nothin', leaves a big-ass steak and cheese for me."
The others nodded thanks as Faith passed food around.
"Where's mine?" Spike asked.
"I'm not transporting blood for you, bleach boy," Faith said. "You can get that crap on your own time."
"No bloody respect," Spike muttered.
From outside, they heard a roar coming down the street, followed by a quick screech, and an immediate cessation of the roar.
"If he's hurt it, I'll kill him," Giles said.
"Now, Giles," said Pike, "I'm sure he treated it fine. Just testing her out a little, that's all."
Xander strutted in the doorway, a book under his arm. He took note of Giles' glare, and tossed the older man his keys. "She drives like a dream about warm, sticky things," Xander said.
Giles paled. "Please do not ever say something like that again," he said.
"Sure thing," Xander said. "I filled 'er up. She's a sweet ride, man, you've gotta get out and open her up on the road sometime."
"Yes, of course," Giles said. "Is that the volume?"
Xander nodded and handed the book to Giles, opening it to the book-marked page for him.
Giles read over the spell quickly. "Excellent, this is precisely what we needed. Pike, if you could get the, um, package out from the back room?"
Pike nodded at him.
"And watch out for the bleedin' dummy, mate," Spike said, smirking. "Never know where he'll show up next."
Pike shot Spike a glare before heading into the back. As the Scoobies watched Giles read over the text, they heard a crash from the back room.
"DAMMIT!" Pike yelled, to the amusement of those assembled.
Giles handed the book to Willow, so she and Tara could look over it.
"Animal transformation. . . Giles, what?" Willow asked.
"Can you cast the spell?" Giles asked.
"Sure," Willow said, "but I don't-"
"Here you go," Pike said as he came back into the main shop. He set down a large box-like object with a blanket over it.
* * * * *
The lights were flickering. Willow and Tara were surrounded by candles, sitting in front of the altar to Diana, a mixture of ingredients in between them, chanting Latin. Amy the rat was sitting happily upon the altar, sans cage, munching on a cracker.
The two Wicca's were surrounded, farther out, by the rest of the assembled group.
"Are the lights supposed to be doing this?" Pike asked quietly, leaning slightly towards Xander.
"It's not uncommon," Xander whispered. "All the energy, invoking the name of a god. It's powerful stuff. Hence drawing the shade on the window."
Pike nodded, then leaned back and watched.
A slight breeze picked up in the shop, and the lights completely went out for a few seconds, the candles extinguishing at the same time as the overhead lamps.
The overhead lights came back on after a few seconds, revealing a panting and obviously worn out couple of Wicca's, and a fully human Amy standing on the altar. A fully human, fully naked Amy.
"Um. . . hi guys," Amy said, not yet having noticed her unclothed state.
Both Pike's and Spike's jaws were hanging out lower than they normally did. Xander quickly slipped out of his jacket, and held it out to Amy, who then noticed her nudity, and gratefully accepted the garment.
"Oh. Thanks. Um. . . what's going on?" she asked.
"Well," Willow said, having recovered her breath, "you've been a rat for the last year."
"Oh," Amy said, realizing, as Giles handed her a pair of Buffy's sweatpants from a duffel bag behind the counter, that Xander's jacket did precious little to cover her lower half. She looked around the room to see Xander's arm around Buffy, and Willow giving a quick kiss to the other young blonde woman in the room. "Things have changed in a year, haven't they?"
"Um, yeah," Buffy said. "A lot of things, actually."
"Oh," Amy said. She didn't really have much else to say.
"Perhaps," Giles suggested, "you would like to rest some before we fill you in on what's gone on."
Amy nodded distractedly, as she stared blankly at the wall.
The group looked around at each other, Xander, Buffy and Willow finally settling their gazes on Giles.
"Oh," he said. "Yes. Um, well, I have a spare room at my flat. If. . . you would care to accompany me?"
"Actually, I'd kind of like to look up my dad," Amy said.
"He, um. . . moved away, earlier this year," Willow said. "He stayed for a long time, hoping that you'd come back. . . he thought you had run away, after the whole. . . trying to burn us at the stake thing."
"Oh," Amy said.
"I'm. . . sorry I couldn't change you back earlier," Willow said.
"I. . . I guess I can find him, somehow," Amy said.
"We'll give you all the help we can," Giles said.
"Okay," Amy said. "I guess I should sleep, then."
"Of course," Giles said, leading the somewhat distraught young woman out of the store, taking, at Buffy's nod, the entire bag of workout clothes.
The rest of the group stood there, all worn out despite, except for Willow and Tara, not having done much. Pike turned to Xander. "Man, don't you know any ugly girls?"
* * * * *
"This is getting real old, real fast," Faith said as she dusted her fourth vampire of the last five minutes.
"Well," Buffy said with a slight grunt, as she kicked the legs out from under another vamp and slammed her stake home into its heart, "maybe they keep not expecting us to show up in pairs."
"That's pretty fucking stupid of them," Faith said as she ducked a high kick and followed through with a quick jab to the next vampire's stomach. "We don't patrol in anything *but* pairs."
"Maybe they thought this would be enough to over come us tonight?" Buffy asked, as she kicked back up to her feet and staked Faith's vampire from the back.
"That's pretty stupid of them," Faith repeated, dusting herself off. "That makes, what, nine total?"
"I think so," Buffy said. "They've been in hiding and are getting antsy. For some reason, I sense the percolation of the Hellmouth starting up."
Faith shook her head and pulled a bottle of water out of the bag she had dropped. A weapon-filled gym bag had become standard patrol equipment. After a quick drink, she tossed the bottle to Buffy.
"I don't get it. Riley's guys have had this level of action for the past couple weeks. And they haven't lost anybody, which is great, but don't' you think that's a little odd?" Faith asked. "I mean, yeah, they train with us now, they're better, but the amount of demons they're seeing. . . it's like the demons are trying to be captured."
"Why would they do that?" Buffy asked, tossing the bottle back to Faith who put it back in the bag, which she then picked up.
"Truth?" Faith said. "The only reason for that I can think of is what Jeeves said, but for whatever reason, the demons would have to be in on it."
Buffy furrowed her brow as they started walking again. "What Giles said about what?" she asked.
"About Adam," Faith said. "He's obviously a hybrid, Xan and Ri agreed on that. I've seen a lot more of the Initiative's technology than you guys have, and I think G's right. They could pull it off. What I don't get is why the demons would want to be sacrificed for it."
"Do you think Riley-"
"No," Faith said. "If it's going on there, he doesn't know about it. And I'd know if he was lying to me."
"How?" Buffy asked.
"Whenever he tries to trick me, usually like for a surprise or if something's bugging him and he doesn't wanna talk, he gets a little tic in his left eye, like it won't let him fake me out. He doesn't know."
"Okay," Buffy said. "And by the way, it's really sweet that you know little quirks about the guy you love."
"Ah, shut up," Faith said, hefting the bag.
Buffy was about to respond when the two young women heard a pair of screams from their left. As one, they took off towards the sound, sprinting at full speed. They ran through a grove of trees and came out to see two teenagers, boy and girl, being chased by a large, scaly demon. Quickly 'holstering' their stakes, Buffy and Faith grabbed bladed weapons from the bag. Faith also grabbed a small axe, which she hurled at the demon to distract it from the teens. The axe clinked off the demon's hide, but took a good sized chunk of meat with it.
With a loud roar, the demon turned towards the Slayers and charged. Buffy and Faith brought their swords up and hacked at the demon's torso, sidestepping it as it charged. The demon roared in pain, but didn't slow down. Whipping out with its claws, the demon swiped at both Slayers, who barely dodged out of the way. Quickly spinning to face them, the demon roared and charged Faith.
Faith nimbly blocked its blows with her sword as Buffy kept taking chunks out of its hide with hers with only moderate success. It didn't seem to slow the demon any. Faith landed a kick to the demon's midsection, propelling it backwards. She and Buffy both went on the offensive, hacking at the demon's torso and head, neither able to do much damage.
Buffy stepped back for a second, and inspiration hit her. She brought her sword back and rammed it straight into, and through, the back of the demon's knee, and the demon fell down, howling. Buffy ripped her sword from the demon's leg and stabbed it behind the ear, slaying it.
"Jesus," Faith said, panting. "That guy wouldn't quit."
Buffy nodded towards the two quivering teens. "Chaperone time," she said.
"You get back to your boy," Faith said. "I'll drop these two off."
"You sure?" Buffy asked, checking her watch.
"Yeah, go on," Faith said. "I'll get 'em home, then head over to Ri's. I'll be all right."
"Okay," Buffy said. "I'll see you tomorrow."
As Buffy ran off, Faith walked over to the petrified couple and leaned down. "Hey guys," she said. "You two all right?"
"W. . . what was that?" the girl asked, gripping the boy's arm tightly.
"That?" Faith said. "That was a nightmare."
"And what are you?" the boy asked.
Faith smirked. "I'm the one who wakes you up in the morning. Come on, I'm gonna take you guys back to your houses, okay?"
The two youths nodded timidly, and started to get up. Faith thought she heard something behind her, and turned around to look. Deciding it was nothing, Faith turned back to the couple, only to be met in the face with a large branch. Before she could recover, Faith was set upon by the two kids. The boy grabbed her arms and twisted them behind her, and Faith felt a slight prick in her neck, and saw the girl's face, now fully vamped out. As Faith started to pass out, she wondered how the vampires had masked their presence from her. Then everything went black.
----------
End Chapter 16
"Can we just get a list of everybody Angel's ever killed? Things would go much faster," Xander said. Then he turned to Pike. "And how was it you managed to hook up with Wesley, anyway?"
"I was fighting. . . something, I don't remember, and I wasn't making any headway against it. I was getting quite the beating, however," Pike said. "So I'm standing there, my gun's empty, I've got a big axe I've found and have been hacking at it the whole time, and this thing is just not going down. So up rides this guy on a monster hog-"
"Wait a second," Buffy said. "Wesley? On a motorcycle?"
"Do you wanna tell the story, Buff?"
"Sorry, sorry," she said. "Please. Continue."
"Right. So up rides a guy on this monster hog, all tricked out, got the leather jacket, pants, hair slicked back, wicked shades. He gets off his bike, pulls a crossbow and shoots the thing once, in the back of the knee, and it goes down screaming like he's just shot it right in the family jewels. He walks over, pulls out a small knife and stabs it behind the ear, and it just up and dies. It was pretty bad ass."
The Scoobies were shocked into silence.
"Wesley did that?" Xander asked.
"Yeah."
"Wesley Wyndham-Pryce. British guy. Glasses. Same guy?"
"Same guy," Pike said. "He's really a pretty good guy."
"How is it that you manage to find people we don't like and claim them as good? If you tell me you know Ampata, I'm gonna smack you," Xander said.
"Xander," injected Willow, "Ampata's dead."
"Yeah, but so is Spike."
"But Ampata's dead dead. Fully dead. Remember?"
"I'm just covering my bases here, Will."
"What about Cain?" Buffy asked. "He's fairly scummish, and still alive, and we don't like him."
"Cain," Pike said, pondering. "Oh, you mean that werewolf hunter jackass? God, I *hate* that guy."
"Who haven't you met?" Xander asked.
"Dude, I've been doing this longer than you, and on the move, I'm bound to run into people."
"So you met Cain, then," Giles said.
"Yeah, a couple years ago, up north of San Francisco. He was a real condescending bastard, talking about how kids like me shouldn't be out doing this, leave it to the professionals, crap like that. So I knocked him out, left him in Golden Gate Park, pantsless, stole his van, put my bike in back of it, and drove to Louisiana, where I gave it to a homeless guy in exchange for a pack of smokes and a map. Sold all the werewolf and ammo stuff first. Well, all of it that I didn't keep."
"Well," Giles said. "While normally I would not approve of. . . assault, felony grand theft and the exchange of stolen property. . . I must say, well done. That man was really quite intolerable. However, I should point out we are now entirely without leads on the subject of Adam."
"Yup," Xander said. "Right back at square one."
"Well, I don't think there's anything to be done tonight. Buffy, Faith, if you could patrol, Pike, if you and Spike would check out Willy's. I know we've done that before, but you never know what someone might tell him. Willow, perhaps some sort of demon location spell? With Tara's help? Perhaps if there's a large gathering, we might find his nest?"
Everybody got up to go.
"What do you want me to do?" Xander said.
Giles smiled at him. "I have a special assignment for you."
* * * * *
"I can tell you're serious about this, by the way you just handed over all that money," Xander said as he and Giles stood in a mostly-darkened lot about half-way between LA and Sunnydale, where Xander had driven the two men.
"Yes, I am."
Xander raised his hand to his chin and stroked it. "You've done your research? Checked out fully. . . everything that's going on?"
"I have."
Xander nodded thoughtfully and crossed his arms. "Well, I can't say I disagree with your choice. It's a big change though."
"Yes, the difference is rather. . . dramatic, but I feel it's about right for this time in my life. Successful business, single man, occasionally. . . dating, even."
Xander ran his hand across the smooth, shining metal of the red, 1965 Ford Mustang convertible that had recently been refurbished and refinished.
"Who are you dating, anyway?"
"Excuse me?" Giles asked.
"Well, it's just that you don't get out much, besides being at the shop. We're all involved and everything, and so far as I know the only person near your age who you have contact with is Joyce."
"Hmm." Giles said. "Any thoughts on the car?"
Xander considered the man for a moment, before turning back to the automobile in front of him. "It's a straight shift?"
"What kind of question is that? You can't drive a car like this with an automatic. That borders on sacrilege. Give me some credit, Xander."
"I'm just making sure you bought the right car," Xander said. "You've had her checked out and everything? I mean, I'm no car expert, but this she's almost 35 years old."
"Yes, she's been completely checked out from top to bottom by an independent mechanic. He said it's in top condition."
Xander nodded. "Good."
"Yes," Giles said. "It's just. . . you don't think that people. . ."
"No," Xander said. "It's not too mid-life crisis. You'll be fine. It's a pretty car, Giles."
"Yes," the older man replied.
"Definitely better than the Citroen."
"Yes."
"We've been standing here for half an hour since the guy left, can we go now?"
"Yes. Yes, I do believe we can. I'll see you tomorrow," Giles said, pulling the keys out of his pocket.
"Just don't get a speeding ticket," Xander cautioned as he headed back towards his own car with a wave. He sat in the car for a moment, just watching the older man drive away. Xander shook his head and drove off.
* * * * *
"Hey Jeeves," Faith said, holding out the phone.
"Yes?" Giles asked.
"It's for you."
Giles pointed to his office, and Faith nodded. "Just a sec," she said into the phone. Faith waited until Giles picked up the phone, then slid out from behind the counter to help the customer who was browsing the store.
"Is there anything I can help you with, sir?" Faith asked.
"Actually, yes," he said. "I'm looking for an African monkey paw."
"Ornamental or ceremonial?" Faith asked.
"Oh, ceremonial," the man said.
Faith nodded. "We don't keep those in stock," she said, "because they're pretty volatile. We can special order for you, though."
"And how long would that take?" the man asked.
"Depending on what you want to pay for shipping, anywhere from three days to a week and a half."
"Oh, a week and a half should be just fine," the man said.
Faith nodded again, knowingly. "Yeah," she said. "Equinox isn't for like a couple months, still."
"You seem very knowledgeable," the man said.
"Hey, it's the job," said Faith with a sweet smile. "So, you'll probably be needing some other supplies as well. Burba root, some toad's wart, maybe a little hair of weasel. Most of that stuff's by the shelves over there," she said, pointing. "Why don't you check that out while I get the order on the monkey paw started?"
The man nodded gratefully.
"Faith!" Giles yelled, running from his office. "Faith, do we have Xander's work number?"
"No. . . why? Something bad?"
"Hmm? No, quite the opposite, actually. Where is Xander's work site, currently?"
"Um. . . four blocks west, three up? I think?" she said.
"Excellent," Giles said, rushing back to his office.
"Do you need me to go get him?" Faith asked.
"No!" Giles yelled, rushing out of his office, and the store, with his jacket and a slip of paper. "Mind the store! And see that we don't run out of newt eyes!"
* * * * *
"So you have no idea where he went?" Buffy asked that night.
"Well," Faith said. "We got a call from Queen C, and then, I assume he went to see Xan, then somewhere else, unless you peg G as the type to hang around a construction site?"
"Hey guys!" Willow said as she and Tara entered the Magic Box. "What's up?"
"Missing boyfriend and watcher," Buffy pouted.
"Actually, that's one reason we came by," Willow said. "Xander called, 'cause he couldn't find you, and said he'd be late tonight, but he wouldn't go into detail, but he said it was really important and that you shouldn't worry because it was important but not dangerous and he'd be back later tonight and that everything was fine and he loves you although he didn't say that last part but we all know that he meant it and. . ." Willow trailed off. "He'll be late, but he's fine."
"Bet the ability to go without breathing comes in handy late at night, huh Red?" Faith said.
Willow and Tara's eyes bugged, and they blushed almost in unison, eliciting a laugh from Faith.
"So he wouldn't say what it was?" Buffy asked.
"No," Willow said. "Just that it was important."
A car pulled up hard outside the Magic Box. The group turned and saw Giles and Spike get out of what appeared to be Xander's car, and lift something very large out of the trunk. Buffy ran to open the door for them, and they came in the shop and set it down in back.
"That's a big box thingy you got there, Giles," Buffy said. "Pretty pictures of animals, too."
"It is not a 'box thingy', Buffy," he said. "It is an altar to Diana, goddess of the hunt, which we shall need for the ritual we will be performing tonight."
"We're performing a ritual?" Willow asked.
"Well, more to the point," Giles said. "You are. You and Tara. If you're willing, that is."
"Why did you have Xander's car?" Buffy asked.
"His has more trunk space than mine, so I took it. My car is more suited to long distance speed than his, so he took mine."
Everybody but Spike laughed. "Giles, your car isn't suited for long distance anything," Buffy said. "Least of all speed."
"Oh, his new one is, Slayer. That's a beauty, I tell you. Watcher picked out a sweet ride," Spike said. "Fast as a mother, too. Not your mother. Your mother's very nice." He pointed to Giles. "Fast as his mother."
"That's enough, Spike," Giles said.
"I'm just sayin'," Spike said. "It's fast."
"When did you get a new car?" Faith asked. "And why haven't I seen it?"
"Last night, and because I did not drive today."
"Well. . . what is it?" Willow asked.
"A Mustang."
"Oh, not just any Mustang," Spike said. "A sweet, cherry red '65, with a canvas convertible top, shining chrome like you wouldn't believe, and, as a bonus, came equipped with the police's Interceptor engine, so it's -"
"Fast, we know," Buffy said. "You gave an exceedingly fast car to my boyfriend?"
"Well, I did need him to run an errand."
"Hey," Faith asked Spike, "where's your partner in crime?"
"Funny you should mention that," Spike said. "He's off committing a crime as we speak."
"It is not a crime, Spike," Giles said. "Or, well, technically it is, I suppose, but I can assure you no charges will be pressed. Faith, do you have those newt eyes?"
"Yeah, we still got a ton. What's this all about, boss?"
Giles grinned. "You shall all find out when the time comes. Suffice to say, it is the summation of a very lengthy project."
Nobody understood. "Oh, just. . . do whatever it is you do until Xander and Pike arrive."
* * * * *
"Hey, guys," Xander said as he entered the offices of Angel Investigations. "I hear you've got something for me."
Cordelia looked at her watch. "You must have driven really fast," she said.
"Yeah, well, Giles loaned me his new car, and I felt the need to really open it up on the highway," he said.
"Giles got a new car?" Angel asked.
Xander pointed out the window to the Mustang. Angel let out a low whistle.
"Yeah," Xander said. "Pretty much. I don't know what I topped out at, but the speedometer goes to 180, and I was smackin' up against that pretty good."
"Nice," Angel said.
"Yeah."
There was an awkward pause. "Spike says hi," Xander said.
"What the hell is his deal?" Angel asked. "Is he good now?"
"Not by choice. It's a. . . technology thing. He hasn't done much but be an annoyance, but nothing you'd really call evil."
"He keeps calling me, do you know that?" Angel asked.
"No idea, Deadboy," Xander said as convincingly as he could.
"And he said he lives in a crypt. How does he have a phone in a crypt?"
"Cable, too," Xander said. "Um. . . is there a. . . spell here, for me?"
"Yes," Cordelia said, handing him a book. "The page is marked, Giles said he has all the ingredients. I didn't want to fax it, because it's kind of really fragile, but we're going to need that book back."
"Yeah, I know, Cor. And we'll have the book back as soon as we can," Xander said.
"And you do have a second caster, right?" Angel asked. "It doesn't work without two."
"I know. And yes, we have Tara, Will's girlfriend."
Angel and Cordelia were silent. "Girlfriend?" Cordelia asked after a second.
"Oh. Yeah, we haven't talked since then. Willow's got a girlfriend. She's cute."
"Since when is Willow gay?" Cordelia asked.
"Actually, that kinda explains that vampire-her from last year," Angel said.
"Oh man, I hadn't thought about that. You're right!" Xander said. "Anyway, not important. I'll have this back to you soon, but I gotta jet, they're expecting me."
Suddenly, Cordelia screamed and started falling. In an instant, Angel was behind her, stopping her descent and leading her to a chair.
"Are you okay?" Angel asked. "What did you see?" "It... was weird," said Cordelia. "It wasn't urgent. Or violent or anything. It was that... that soldier guy you work with." "I... don't work with any soldiers, Cor," Angel said. "Not you," she said, pointing to Xander. "Him." "Me? You mean Riley? Something's going to happen to him?" "I don't know," Cordelia said. "I didn't see anything bad. I just saw him... and I got the impression... it was like words were shot into my head." "Words?" Angel and Xander asked. "Yeah. They said 'follow the vampire.'" Xander stood, silent for a moment. "That's it? Just 'follow the vampire'? What the hell kind of message from the powers is that?" "Yeah, and aren't you *my* conduit to the powers?" Angel asked, a little affronted at the message. "Since when does GI Joe get special attention?" "Hey, I just work here!" Cordelia said. "I never even signed a contract or anything." "Which vampire?" Xander asked. "Again, I just work here. That's all it said. Picture of soldier guy, 'follow the vampire'. That's all." Xander shook his head. "Okay, I'll tell him. Maybe it'll make more sense to him. Thanks for the spell." "And make sure the book stays in good condition!" Cordelia yelled as Xander left the building.
"Who are you, Giles? I'll take care of it already," Xander said. "Thanks guys!"
Xander ran out of the office and hopped into Giles' Mustang, gunned the engine and peeled out.
* * * * *
"Okay," Willow said. "We've got an altar to Diana, a bunch of spell workings here, Xander off running an errand that needs speed, and Pike doing something illegal. Why do I not have a good feeling about this ritual?"
"I-I'm sure Mr. Giles wouldn't have us do anything dangerous," Tara said.
"Tara is correct," Giles said. "Have a little faith, Willow, I merely wish to surprise you, is all."
"Giles, your surprises sometimes involve death, and vampires, and arms in boxes that later try to destroy life as we know it."
"Now, that was not my surprise, it was. . . Well, it was Drusilla's. And in no way my fault. Besides, we didn't even get to the surprise part of that party," Giles said.
"All I'm saying is, we have a seriously bad record about these things."
"Well, this shall be different, I assure you."
There was a crash from the back room.
"Dammit!" Pike yelled as he made his way into the main body of the shop. "Do you always have to move the damn practice dummy, Buff?"
"Sorry," she said. "He just kind of gets thrown around a lot, and we leave him where he ends up."
"Okay," Faith said as she came back into the shop. "We've got one veggie sub for Glinda the good witch, a meatball with extra provolone for Red, ham, Swiss, extra onions and lettuce for B, Watcher man don't want nothin', leaves a big-ass steak and cheese for me."
The others nodded thanks as Faith passed food around.
"Where's mine?" Spike asked.
"I'm not transporting blood for you, bleach boy," Faith said. "You can get that crap on your own time."
"No bloody respect," Spike muttered.
From outside, they heard a roar coming down the street, followed by a quick screech, and an immediate cessation of the roar.
"If he's hurt it, I'll kill him," Giles said.
"Now, Giles," said Pike, "I'm sure he treated it fine. Just testing her out a little, that's all."
Xander strutted in the doorway, a book under his arm. He took note of Giles' glare, and tossed the older man his keys. "She drives like a dream about warm, sticky things," Xander said.
Giles paled. "Please do not ever say something like that again," he said.
"Sure thing," Xander said. "I filled 'er up. She's a sweet ride, man, you've gotta get out and open her up on the road sometime."
"Yes, of course," Giles said. "Is that the volume?"
Xander nodded and handed the book to Giles, opening it to the book-marked page for him.
Giles read over the spell quickly. "Excellent, this is precisely what we needed. Pike, if you could get the, um, package out from the back room?"
Pike nodded at him.
"And watch out for the bleedin' dummy, mate," Spike said, smirking. "Never know where he'll show up next."
Pike shot Spike a glare before heading into the back. As the Scoobies watched Giles read over the text, they heard a crash from the back room.
"DAMMIT!" Pike yelled, to the amusement of those assembled.
Giles handed the book to Willow, so she and Tara could look over it.
"Animal transformation. . . Giles, what?" Willow asked.
"Can you cast the spell?" Giles asked.
"Sure," Willow said, "but I don't-"
"Here you go," Pike said as he came back into the main shop. He set down a large box-like object with a blanket over it.
* * * * *
The lights were flickering. Willow and Tara were surrounded by candles, sitting in front of the altar to Diana, a mixture of ingredients in between them, chanting Latin. Amy the rat was sitting happily upon the altar, sans cage, munching on a cracker.
The two Wicca's were surrounded, farther out, by the rest of the assembled group.
"Are the lights supposed to be doing this?" Pike asked quietly, leaning slightly towards Xander.
"It's not uncommon," Xander whispered. "All the energy, invoking the name of a god. It's powerful stuff. Hence drawing the shade on the window."
Pike nodded, then leaned back and watched.
A slight breeze picked up in the shop, and the lights completely went out for a few seconds, the candles extinguishing at the same time as the overhead lamps.
The overhead lights came back on after a few seconds, revealing a panting and obviously worn out couple of Wicca's, and a fully human Amy standing on the altar. A fully human, fully naked Amy.
"Um. . . hi guys," Amy said, not yet having noticed her unclothed state.
Both Pike's and Spike's jaws were hanging out lower than they normally did. Xander quickly slipped out of his jacket, and held it out to Amy, who then noticed her nudity, and gratefully accepted the garment.
"Oh. Thanks. Um. . . what's going on?" she asked.
"Well," Willow said, having recovered her breath, "you've been a rat for the last year."
"Oh," Amy said, realizing, as Giles handed her a pair of Buffy's sweatpants from a duffel bag behind the counter, that Xander's jacket did precious little to cover her lower half. She looked around the room to see Xander's arm around Buffy, and Willow giving a quick kiss to the other young blonde woman in the room. "Things have changed in a year, haven't they?"
"Um, yeah," Buffy said. "A lot of things, actually."
"Oh," Amy said. She didn't really have much else to say.
"Perhaps," Giles suggested, "you would like to rest some before we fill you in on what's gone on."
Amy nodded distractedly, as she stared blankly at the wall.
The group looked around at each other, Xander, Buffy and Willow finally settling their gazes on Giles.
"Oh," he said. "Yes. Um, well, I have a spare room at my flat. If. . . you would care to accompany me?"
"Actually, I'd kind of like to look up my dad," Amy said.
"He, um. . . moved away, earlier this year," Willow said. "He stayed for a long time, hoping that you'd come back. . . he thought you had run away, after the whole. . . trying to burn us at the stake thing."
"Oh," Amy said.
"I'm. . . sorry I couldn't change you back earlier," Willow said.
"I. . . I guess I can find him, somehow," Amy said.
"We'll give you all the help we can," Giles said.
"Okay," Amy said. "I guess I should sleep, then."
"Of course," Giles said, leading the somewhat distraught young woman out of the store, taking, at Buffy's nod, the entire bag of workout clothes.
The rest of the group stood there, all worn out despite, except for Willow and Tara, not having done much. Pike turned to Xander. "Man, don't you know any ugly girls?"
* * * * *
"This is getting real old, real fast," Faith said as she dusted her fourth vampire of the last five minutes.
"Well," Buffy said with a slight grunt, as she kicked the legs out from under another vamp and slammed her stake home into its heart, "maybe they keep not expecting us to show up in pairs."
"That's pretty fucking stupid of them," Faith said as she ducked a high kick and followed through with a quick jab to the next vampire's stomach. "We don't patrol in anything *but* pairs."
"Maybe they thought this would be enough to over come us tonight?" Buffy asked, as she kicked back up to her feet and staked Faith's vampire from the back.
"That's pretty stupid of them," Faith repeated, dusting herself off. "That makes, what, nine total?"
"I think so," Buffy said. "They've been in hiding and are getting antsy. For some reason, I sense the percolation of the Hellmouth starting up."
Faith shook her head and pulled a bottle of water out of the bag she had dropped. A weapon-filled gym bag had become standard patrol equipment. After a quick drink, she tossed the bottle to Buffy.
"I don't get it. Riley's guys have had this level of action for the past couple weeks. And they haven't lost anybody, which is great, but don't' you think that's a little odd?" Faith asked. "I mean, yeah, they train with us now, they're better, but the amount of demons they're seeing. . . it's like the demons are trying to be captured."
"Why would they do that?" Buffy asked, tossing the bottle back to Faith who put it back in the bag, which she then picked up.
"Truth?" Faith said. "The only reason for that I can think of is what Jeeves said, but for whatever reason, the demons would have to be in on it."
Buffy furrowed her brow as they started walking again. "What Giles said about what?" she asked.
"About Adam," Faith said. "He's obviously a hybrid, Xan and Ri agreed on that. I've seen a lot more of the Initiative's technology than you guys have, and I think G's right. They could pull it off. What I don't get is why the demons would want to be sacrificed for it."
"Do you think Riley-"
"No," Faith said. "If it's going on there, he doesn't know about it. And I'd know if he was lying to me."
"How?" Buffy asked.
"Whenever he tries to trick me, usually like for a surprise or if something's bugging him and he doesn't wanna talk, he gets a little tic in his left eye, like it won't let him fake me out. He doesn't know."
"Okay," Buffy said. "And by the way, it's really sweet that you know little quirks about the guy you love."
"Ah, shut up," Faith said, hefting the bag.
Buffy was about to respond when the two young women heard a pair of screams from their left. As one, they took off towards the sound, sprinting at full speed. They ran through a grove of trees and came out to see two teenagers, boy and girl, being chased by a large, scaly demon. Quickly 'holstering' their stakes, Buffy and Faith grabbed bladed weapons from the bag. Faith also grabbed a small axe, which she hurled at the demon to distract it from the teens. The axe clinked off the demon's hide, but took a good sized chunk of meat with it.
With a loud roar, the demon turned towards the Slayers and charged. Buffy and Faith brought their swords up and hacked at the demon's torso, sidestepping it as it charged. The demon roared in pain, but didn't slow down. Whipping out with its claws, the demon swiped at both Slayers, who barely dodged out of the way. Quickly spinning to face them, the demon roared and charged Faith.
Faith nimbly blocked its blows with her sword as Buffy kept taking chunks out of its hide with hers with only moderate success. It didn't seem to slow the demon any. Faith landed a kick to the demon's midsection, propelling it backwards. She and Buffy both went on the offensive, hacking at the demon's torso and head, neither able to do much damage.
Buffy stepped back for a second, and inspiration hit her. She brought her sword back and rammed it straight into, and through, the back of the demon's knee, and the demon fell down, howling. Buffy ripped her sword from the demon's leg and stabbed it behind the ear, slaying it.
"Jesus," Faith said, panting. "That guy wouldn't quit."
Buffy nodded towards the two quivering teens. "Chaperone time," she said.
"You get back to your boy," Faith said. "I'll drop these two off."
"You sure?" Buffy asked, checking her watch.
"Yeah, go on," Faith said. "I'll get 'em home, then head over to Ri's. I'll be all right."
"Okay," Buffy said. "I'll see you tomorrow."
As Buffy ran off, Faith walked over to the petrified couple and leaned down. "Hey guys," she said. "You two all right?"
"W. . . what was that?" the girl asked, gripping the boy's arm tightly.
"That?" Faith said. "That was a nightmare."
"And what are you?" the boy asked.
Faith smirked. "I'm the one who wakes you up in the morning. Come on, I'm gonna take you guys back to your houses, okay?"
The two youths nodded timidly, and started to get up. Faith thought she heard something behind her, and turned around to look. Deciding it was nothing, Faith turned back to the couple, only to be met in the face with a large branch. Before she could recover, Faith was set upon by the two kids. The boy grabbed her arms and twisted them behind her, and Faith felt a slight prick in her neck, and saw the girl's face, now fully vamped out. As Faith started to pass out, she wondered how the vampires had masked their presence from her. Then everything went black.
----------
End Chapter 16
