Chapter 4
They had run for a long time. Enough for them to get back near the middle of town. Rex wasn't surprised when Willow asked Buffy to stop. He was almost out of breath himself. They were in the middle of a park, and there was a bench near them. Buffy stopped, and Rex followed her lead over to the bench. He had picked up that she was in charge of the group in situations like this. He let the two girls sit on the bench and he bent down and caught his breath. He was startled when he heard crying, and when he looked up, he could see that Willow was bent forward and crying.
"Willow, what's wrong?" he heard Buffy ask. "You're shaking." He was glad that the two girls were ignoring him. He had no idea what to say to any of them at the moment.
"I-I almost lost her today. I almost died too," Rex heard Willow say, muffled by the crying.
"She's alright. You're alright, thanks to our friend over here," Buffy said while waving her hand in Rex's direction. "That's all that matters." Rex was put off by the situation, he still didn't know wether he should say anything or just let it go.
"We should get going if we don't want to be caught by the Council," Rex said to them. "The Magic Box? That's Magick shop on Main Street isn't it?" he asked, looking to Buffy.
"Yeah. We aren't too far from it," Buffy replied, getting the hint. She helped Willow up and they headed towards the Magic Box.
Buffy opened the door to the Magic Box, and heard the familiar ring of the bell that was attached above the door. She walked in and saw Anya nursing Xander, fixing up all his injuries. The moment touched her as she realised the look in Anya's eyes, that she really did love Xander and that it wasn't just an experimental thing that she was going through after becoming human. She felt Willow rush past her and saw her go straight to Tara. Buffy was surprised as Willow almost jumped into Tara's arms and they kissed. Buffy saw the two squeeze themselves together, and she remembered doing the same with her former boyfriend Riley. As she looked at them, she could tell that Willow and Tara were made for each other. By the way they were kissing, Buffy could tell that they were ready to die for one another, and Buffy had never before realised how much they loved each other. She looked over to the Assassin that had come with them, and realised that he wasn't too comfortable with the situation. Buffy looked back and wasn't either as she saw hands in places they weren't meant to be. She had seen Willow and Tara kiss before, but now, they were almost making love as each one melted into the other.
Tara had never been so relieved in her life. She was a nervous wreck as they waited for Buffy and Willow at the Magic Box. But, finally, she had Willow: her Willow. She noticed that people were calling her and Willow's name, but she didn't care. She was just swept up in Willow, and that was all that mattered. She had her eyes closed and her head rolled back as Willow kissed her on her most sensitive part of her neck. She finally pulled away from Willow, and her face went bright red as she noticed everyone was looking at the two.
"Uh, you know, there are rooms for that sort of thing," Xander said.
"Oh. Um. Ah. Sorry," Tara replied in a low voice. She was embarrassed as she realised that she and Willow had never displayed that much affection for each other in front of anyone before. She moved away from Willow, but grabbed her hand and threaded her fingers between Willow's. She felt Willow do the same.
Buffy looked to the Assassin that had come with them, and could see that he was uncomfortable with something. Buffy guessed that it was Willow and Tara, or just being in the same room as a whole lot of strangers that he had just helped. She looked to the other Assassin that had gone with the other group and saw that he was examining the things on the shelves of the store.
"So… Why'd you help?" Buffy bluntly asked. Both Assassins looked at her.
"Long story or short?" one of them asked.
"Long," Buffy replied.
"Okay… Well… This is my story… I was a demon hunter in Northern Australia, apparently one of the best. 'Bout a week and a half ago, I was approached by the Watchers Council and asked to go on their special team. I passed the tests and agreed. I was flown over to here with the rest of the team and we were what we had to do. Which was to capture both Slayers. We were given history on you and the other one. Faith. And we were given profiles on all of you," Rex said while waving his hand at Buffy's friends. "Yeah, well, to cut things short, after I first saw you, and read about your background, I felt sorry for you, after all you'd been through, and I was thinking of betraying the Council. But, today, after the trial on Willow…" he started.
"Trial? What trial?" Buffy asked.
"On Willow. She killed a lot of things on the Astral planes," the Assassin said.
"Huh?" Buffy asked. Giles cut in,
"After you and Faith fought, Willow sensed something wrong with you, Tara, herself, Xander, and Anya, the people that performed the spell to bring you back. She and Tara went onto the Astral planes to find out what was wrong with you, but they were attacked by demons," Giles said.
"There were also Slayers' Spirits there, and Willow killed a fair few of them," the Assassin said.
"They were tampered," Tara said. "T-The images that you saw were tampered with. There were lots and lots more demons than that," Tara said to the Assassin.
"How come you all know this?" Buffy asked.
"We talked about it while you were in the training room," Anya added in. There was a slight pause.
"Willow? Why did you kill the Slayers?" Buffy asked.
"Um. Ah- Buffy, I'm not proud of this, you understand?" Willow said to Buffy. "But, one of the demons slit Tara's throat and, well, I lost it. I killed everything that was near us. I didn't care if it was helping or not. I just didn't want anything near Tara except me," Willow said.
"Oh, so that's why…" Buffy said. She just found out the reason Tara woke up with the slit throat. There was another silence, and then Buffy remembered the original point of the conversation. "So, back to your story?"
'Oh, yeah. Well, after I saw on the screen what happened, I knew that the Council was being biased. I saw that Willow only wanted to protect her friend. I mean, girlfriend, and I didn't like that the Council was going to kill her just for that…" he started.
"You're the one that shouted out," Tara said.
"Yes, I am," the Assassin replied. Buffy saw her give the Assassin a big smile. "Well, anyway. I saw the other Slayer, and then I saw the other Assassins beating these two," he said while pointing to Giles and Xander. "I realised that you were good people, and, well, I just had to help," he said. There was a long silence as everyone thought about what the Assassin had just said.
"And you?" Buffy finally asked to the other Assassin.
"Well, it's basically the same, except I've been in the Council for eleven years," the other Assassin replied.
"Oh, how stupid of me," Buffy said while hitting herself on the forehead. "I forgot. What are your names?"
"I'm Rex Andrews, and this is Daltone Johnston," Rex said.
"I'm not clear on all of your names though," Daltone said.
"Well, I'm Buffy, obviously. This is Tara, Willow, Xander, Anya, Dawn and Giles," Buffy said.
"Ah, Rupert Giles. I'll have to talk to you later. Some of your accomplishments are outstanding," Daltone said. Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to do now. Rex saw the broken bookcase.
"What happened here?" Rex asked while looking at the bookcase.
"You Council people. They locked Buffy in the back room and took Willow," Xander said.
"Oh," was all that Rex could say.
"So, will the Council come after us?" Anya asked.
"Probably. I think that they might be looking for us right now," Daltone said.
"With what?" Buffy asked. "After me and Faith were finished with that room, there were about five people who would be walking anytime soon," Buffy said.
"The Retrieval team," Rex said to Daltone.
"Yes, they'd be after us," Daltone replied.
"Huh?" Buffy asked.
"The special team we were on. It was called the retrieval team," Rex said.
"So, what about them?" Buffy asked while moving to sit on a seat.
"They're good. Notice in the hospital how we were harder to beat down than the normal Assassins," Daltone said.
"That was you?" Buffy asked.
"Yes, that was the Retrieval Team. Highly skilled. I'd say the only way you escaped is because we didn't know your fighting technique," Daltone said.
"How big's the team?" Buffy asked.
"Six people," Rex replied. "Minus us, that makes four." There was a long silence as everyone digested the information.
"Buffy. Don't misjudge them just because they're ordinary men like us two. When anyone enters the Retrieval Team, a spell is put on them to make their reflexes quicker, and to make them stronger," Daltone explained. "And now that I guess we're not on the team any more, the spell will be taken off us."
"We can keep it on you," Willow said.
"No way!" Rex replied. "No offence or anything… But I learnt not to trust Magick. The less of it in my life, the better."
"I understand," Willow said.
"So? They gonna come after us or not?" Buffy asked.
"No. I don't think so. Not in the near future anyway," Daltone said.
"How much time do you think we have?" Buffy asked.
"Two weeks. Three at the maximum."
"Oh-thank-god!" Buffy exclaimed. "Rest time!" She shouted happily.
"Buffy. We have to prepare…" Giles started.
"I'm not! I'm resting!" Buffy said, excitedly. She got up and literally jumped around.
"Uhhh, Buff. What's with the little girl act?" Xander asked her.
"I get rest!" Buffy replied.
"We gathered that," Dawn said from the corner. She had been observing the meeting quietly.
"Why so happy about it?" Anya asked.
"Oh. You don't get it do you?" Buffy asked everyone urgently. "I get rest. I've never gotten rest since I came back. It was just like 'outta-the-grave, go-and-fight'," Buffy said. All the Scoobies dropped their mouths.
"Oh!" They all said in unison.
"I'm sorry Buffy. I didn't realise," Willow said to her.
"No, it's fine," Buffy said. "I'm looking forward to this. Hanging at the Bronze… Oh!" Buffy exclaimed.
"What is it Buff?" Xander asked.
"We gotta have a vidfest! Have everyone over!" Buffy exclaimed.
"Uh, what's a vidfest?" Rex asked.
"It's when you get yourself loaded up on caffeine and stay up all night watching movies," Anya explained.
"Yeah. You wanna come?" Buffy asked.
"No, I'll be right," Rex replied. Buffy looked to Daltone.
"I'll be fine too," Daltone said. Buffy quietened down a bit after that, the initial rush of the idea of getting a rest had gone passed her.
"So, whaddya say? Tonight, seven o'clock, my place, vidfest is on," Buffy said.
"We'll be there," Xander said.
"I'm doing this too! I can stay up," Dawn said from the corner. Buffy looked at her, and her initial reaction was to say no to Dawn, but she just caved in and nodded. She was happy to see Dawn actually smile at her for a change.
"Giles?" Buffy asked.
"Sorry. I'm exhausted. As much as I'd like to spend all night watching movies with group of caffeinated young adults, I need to sleep," Giles replied.
"Do you have a place to stay?" Tara asked Rex and Daltone.
"No, but I've got plenty of cash. I'll get myself into a motel room," Rex replied.
"Same," Daltone said.
"I'm actually gonna go and look for a room. I'll drop by and give whoever's here the address for where I'm staying tomorrow," Rex said. He walked out the door
"Umm, I'd better go and do the same," Daltone said as he walked out the door. Everyone watched them go, and then for a while there was silence.
"Do you think they're telling the truth?" Giles asked no one in particular.
"No, of course they aren…" Anya started.
"Yes," Tara replied with authority. Everyone looked to her. "I can tell if someone's lying. The energy coming off them is, different. It's almost like the energy is ashamed to be there. These two were telling the truth," Tara said.
"What if they're really good liars?" Dawn asked.
"It doesn't matter," Tara replied. There was another longish silence.
"I'll pick up the videos on the way over," Xander said. Everyone looked at him, even Giles.
"Don't worry. I'll get a couple for everyone," he said, but everyone was still looking at him. "Oh, okay, I won't get Apocalypse Now," Xander said. Everyone smiled.
"Give it up," Anya said while looking at Willow.
"What? Give what up?" Willow asked.
"The money," Anya said.
"What money?"
"Oh, you don't remember. In the Summer, I betted that we could get Xander not to get Apocalypse Now, and well, I just won!" Anya exclaimed.
"That was for that night. Not for the rest of time," Willow replied. Anya was silent for a while.
"Oh. So it was. But I want it down in writing next time," Anya said.
They had run for a long time. Enough for them to get back near the middle of town. Rex wasn't surprised when Willow asked Buffy to stop. He was almost out of breath himself. They were in the middle of a park, and there was a bench near them. Buffy stopped, and Rex followed her lead over to the bench. He had picked up that she was in charge of the group in situations like this. He let the two girls sit on the bench and he bent down and caught his breath. He was startled when he heard crying, and when he looked up, he could see that Willow was bent forward and crying.
"Willow, what's wrong?" he heard Buffy ask. "You're shaking." He was glad that the two girls were ignoring him. He had no idea what to say to any of them at the moment.
"I-I almost lost her today. I almost died too," Rex heard Willow say, muffled by the crying.
"She's alright. You're alright, thanks to our friend over here," Buffy said while waving her hand in Rex's direction. "That's all that matters." Rex was put off by the situation, he still didn't know wether he should say anything or just let it go.
"We should get going if we don't want to be caught by the Council," Rex said to them. "The Magic Box? That's Magick shop on Main Street isn't it?" he asked, looking to Buffy.
"Yeah. We aren't too far from it," Buffy replied, getting the hint. She helped Willow up and they headed towards the Magic Box.
Buffy opened the door to the Magic Box, and heard the familiar ring of the bell that was attached above the door. She walked in and saw Anya nursing Xander, fixing up all his injuries. The moment touched her as she realised the look in Anya's eyes, that she really did love Xander and that it wasn't just an experimental thing that she was going through after becoming human. She felt Willow rush past her and saw her go straight to Tara. Buffy was surprised as Willow almost jumped into Tara's arms and they kissed. Buffy saw the two squeeze themselves together, and she remembered doing the same with her former boyfriend Riley. As she looked at them, she could tell that Willow and Tara were made for each other. By the way they were kissing, Buffy could tell that they were ready to die for one another, and Buffy had never before realised how much they loved each other. She looked over to the Assassin that had come with them, and realised that he wasn't too comfortable with the situation. Buffy looked back and wasn't either as she saw hands in places they weren't meant to be. She had seen Willow and Tara kiss before, but now, they were almost making love as each one melted into the other.
Tara had never been so relieved in her life. She was a nervous wreck as they waited for Buffy and Willow at the Magic Box. But, finally, she had Willow: her Willow. She noticed that people were calling her and Willow's name, but she didn't care. She was just swept up in Willow, and that was all that mattered. She had her eyes closed and her head rolled back as Willow kissed her on her most sensitive part of her neck. She finally pulled away from Willow, and her face went bright red as she noticed everyone was looking at the two.
"Uh, you know, there are rooms for that sort of thing," Xander said.
"Oh. Um. Ah. Sorry," Tara replied in a low voice. She was embarrassed as she realised that she and Willow had never displayed that much affection for each other in front of anyone before. She moved away from Willow, but grabbed her hand and threaded her fingers between Willow's. She felt Willow do the same.
Buffy looked to the Assassin that had come with them, and could see that he was uncomfortable with something. Buffy guessed that it was Willow and Tara, or just being in the same room as a whole lot of strangers that he had just helped. She looked to the other Assassin that had gone with the other group and saw that he was examining the things on the shelves of the store.
"So… Why'd you help?" Buffy bluntly asked. Both Assassins looked at her.
"Long story or short?" one of them asked.
"Long," Buffy replied.
"Okay… Well… This is my story… I was a demon hunter in Northern Australia, apparently one of the best. 'Bout a week and a half ago, I was approached by the Watchers Council and asked to go on their special team. I passed the tests and agreed. I was flown over to here with the rest of the team and we were what we had to do. Which was to capture both Slayers. We were given history on you and the other one. Faith. And we were given profiles on all of you," Rex said while waving his hand at Buffy's friends. "Yeah, well, to cut things short, after I first saw you, and read about your background, I felt sorry for you, after all you'd been through, and I was thinking of betraying the Council. But, today, after the trial on Willow…" he started.
"Trial? What trial?" Buffy asked.
"On Willow. She killed a lot of things on the Astral planes," the Assassin said.
"Huh?" Buffy asked. Giles cut in,
"After you and Faith fought, Willow sensed something wrong with you, Tara, herself, Xander, and Anya, the people that performed the spell to bring you back. She and Tara went onto the Astral planes to find out what was wrong with you, but they were attacked by demons," Giles said.
"There were also Slayers' Spirits there, and Willow killed a fair few of them," the Assassin said.
"They were tampered," Tara said. "T-The images that you saw were tampered with. There were lots and lots more demons than that," Tara said to the Assassin.
"How come you all know this?" Buffy asked.
"We talked about it while you were in the training room," Anya added in. There was a slight pause.
"Willow? Why did you kill the Slayers?" Buffy asked.
"Um. Ah- Buffy, I'm not proud of this, you understand?" Willow said to Buffy. "But, one of the demons slit Tara's throat and, well, I lost it. I killed everything that was near us. I didn't care if it was helping or not. I just didn't want anything near Tara except me," Willow said.
"Oh, so that's why…" Buffy said. She just found out the reason Tara woke up with the slit throat. There was another silence, and then Buffy remembered the original point of the conversation. "So, back to your story?"
'Oh, yeah. Well, after I saw on the screen what happened, I knew that the Council was being biased. I saw that Willow only wanted to protect her friend. I mean, girlfriend, and I didn't like that the Council was going to kill her just for that…" he started.
"You're the one that shouted out," Tara said.
"Yes, I am," the Assassin replied. Buffy saw her give the Assassin a big smile. "Well, anyway. I saw the other Slayer, and then I saw the other Assassins beating these two," he said while pointing to Giles and Xander. "I realised that you were good people, and, well, I just had to help," he said. There was a long silence as everyone thought about what the Assassin had just said.
"And you?" Buffy finally asked to the other Assassin.
"Well, it's basically the same, except I've been in the Council for eleven years," the other Assassin replied.
"Oh, how stupid of me," Buffy said while hitting herself on the forehead. "I forgot. What are your names?"
"I'm Rex Andrews, and this is Daltone Johnston," Rex said.
"I'm not clear on all of your names though," Daltone said.
"Well, I'm Buffy, obviously. This is Tara, Willow, Xander, Anya, Dawn and Giles," Buffy said.
"Ah, Rupert Giles. I'll have to talk to you later. Some of your accomplishments are outstanding," Daltone said. Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what to do now. Rex saw the broken bookcase.
"What happened here?" Rex asked while looking at the bookcase.
"You Council people. They locked Buffy in the back room and took Willow," Xander said.
"Oh," was all that Rex could say.
"So, will the Council come after us?" Anya asked.
"Probably. I think that they might be looking for us right now," Daltone said.
"With what?" Buffy asked. "After me and Faith were finished with that room, there were about five people who would be walking anytime soon," Buffy said.
"The Retrieval team," Rex said to Daltone.
"Yes, they'd be after us," Daltone replied.
"Huh?" Buffy asked.
"The special team we were on. It was called the retrieval team," Rex said.
"So, what about them?" Buffy asked while moving to sit on a seat.
"They're good. Notice in the hospital how we were harder to beat down than the normal Assassins," Daltone said.
"That was you?" Buffy asked.
"Yes, that was the Retrieval Team. Highly skilled. I'd say the only way you escaped is because we didn't know your fighting technique," Daltone said.
"How big's the team?" Buffy asked.
"Six people," Rex replied. "Minus us, that makes four." There was a long silence as everyone digested the information.
"Buffy. Don't misjudge them just because they're ordinary men like us two. When anyone enters the Retrieval Team, a spell is put on them to make their reflexes quicker, and to make them stronger," Daltone explained. "And now that I guess we're not on the team any more, the spell will be taken off us."
"We can keep it on you," Willow said.
"No way!" Rex replied. "No offence or anything… But I learnt not to trust Magick. The less of it in my life, the better."
"I understand," Willow said.
"So? They gonna come after us or not?" Buffy asked.
"No. I don't think so. Not in the near future anyway," Daltone said.
"How much time do you think we have?" Buffy asked.
"Two weeks. Three at the maximum."
"Oh-thank-god!" Buffy exclaimed. "Rest time!" She shouted happily.
"Buffy. We have to prepare…" Giles started.
"I'm not! I'm resting!" Buffy said, excitedly. She got up and literally jumped around.
"Uhhh, Buff. What's with the little girl act?" Xander asked her.
"I get rest!" Buffy replied.
"We gathered that," Dawn said from the corner. She had been observing the meeting quietly.
"Why so happy about it?" Anya asked.
"Oh. You don't get it do you?" Buffy asked everyone urgently. "I get rest. I've never gotten rest since I came back. It was just like 'outta-the-grave, go-and-fight'," Buffy said. All the Scoobies dropped their mouths.
"Oh!" They all said in unison.
"I'm sorry Buffy. I didn't realise," Willow said to her.
"No, it's fine," Buffy said. "I'm looking forward to this. Hanging at the Bronze… Oh!" Buffy exclaimed.
"What is it Buff?" Xander asked.
"We gotta have a vidfest! Have everyone over!" Buffy exclaimed.
"Uh, what's a vidfest?" Rex asked.
"It's when you get yourself loaded up on caffeine and stay up all night watching movies," Anya explained.
"Yeah. You wanna come?" Buffy asked.
"No, I'll be right," Rex replied. Buffy looked to Daltone.
"I'll be fine too," Daltone said. Buffy quietened down a bit after that, the initial rush of the idea of getting a rest had gone passed her.
"So, whaddya say? Tonight, seven o'clock, my place, vidfest is on," Buffy said.
"We'll be there," Xander said.
"I'm doing this too! I can stay up," Dawn said from the corner. Buffy looked at her, and her initial reaction was to say no to Dawn, but she just caved in and nodded. She was happy to see Dawn actually smile at her for a change.
"Giles?" Buffy asked.
"Sorry. I'm exhausted. As much as I'd like to spend all night watching movies with group of caffeinated young adults, I need to sleep," Giles replied.
"Do you have a place to stay?" Tara asked Rex and Daltone.
"No, but I've got plenty of cash. I'll get myself into a motel room," Rex replied.
"Same," Daltone said.
"I'm actually gonna go and look for a room. I'll drop by and give whoever's here the address for where I'm staying tomorrow," Rex said. He walked out the door
"Umm, I'd better go and do the same," Daltone said as he walked out the door. Everyone watched them go, and then for a while there was silence.
"Do you think they're telling the truth?" Giles asked no one in particular.
"No, of course they aren…" Anya started.
"Yes," Tara replied with authority. Everyone looked to her. "I can tell if someone's lying. The energy coming off them is, different. It's almost like the energy is ashamed to be there. These two were telling the truth," Tara said.
"What if they're really good liars?" Dawn asked.
"It doesn't matter," Tara replied. There was another longish silence.
"I'll pick up the videos on the way over," Xander said. Everyone looked at him, even Giles.
"Don't worry. I'll get a couple for everyone," he said, but everyone was still looking at him. "Oh, okay, I won't get Apocalypse Now," Xander said. Everyone smiled.
"Give it up," Anya said while looking at Willow.
"What? Give what up?" Willow asked.
"The money," Anya said.
"What money?"
"Oh, you don't remember. In the Summer, I betted that we could get Xander not to get Apocalypse Now, and well, I just won!" Anya exclaimed.
"That was for that night. Not for the rest of time," Willow replied. Anya was silent for a while.
"Oh. So it was. But I want it down in writing next time," Anya said.