"Wow."
"Yeah. Wow."
The Scoobies once again sat around the research table, collectively dumbfounded.
"So…mutants, huh?" Xander attempted a conversation topic. "And here I thought our little world of demons and vampires and magic was crazy."
"Yes, I must admit it can be somewhat shocking," Ororo replied. "We do try to keep a low profile, however. The general population probably would not react well to such…revelations."
"Yeah…you should stay in Sunnydale awhile longer if you want to see the full effect of denial. Vampires? Oh, pshaw, it's just a snakebite," Xander deadpanned.
"So, Giles, how much do we know about these demons that attacked them?" Buffy asked.
"Unfortunately, not very much," he sighed. "When Charles called me all he could give me was a description, and my limited resources in England didn't prove extremely useful."
"Well, is there anything here that would help?" Willow questioned.
"Yes, that is my hope. I'd like to spend some more time researching the demon texts here at the shop, but unfortunately time is not something we have a lot of."
"What do you mean?" asked Anya. "You said you didn't know anything, so how can you know we don't have time?"
"I didn't say I didn't know anything. I said I didn't know much. But from the description I was given I believe they could be Kynshaar demons, also known as rien demons."
At this Dawn perked up. "Hey I know that word. It's French for 'nothing,' right?"
"Yes, quite right. If they are in fact Kynshaar, then these demons could cause serious damage in very little time. In addition to being very strong and extremely difficult to kill, if given the chance, a rien demon can, well for lack of a better word, suck a person's very essence out of them."
"So, they're like soul eaters or something?" Buffy asked.
"No, no not exactly." Giles removed his glasses and began cleaning them with his shirttail. Uh oh.
"Hey now, Giles. We don't like the cleaning of glasses when you're talking about something we have to fight, okay? It usually doesn't bode well for us," Xander pointed out.
Giles replaced his glasses and gazed at the group levelly. "These demons do not simply eat your soul. In fact it has nothing to do with souls at all. They can extract your very essence, what makes you who you are. You mind, your heart, your memories, your feelings. It leaves you with absolutely nothing."
"Rien," Dawn murmured.
The group was silent for some time, allowing the gravity of the situation to sink in.
Willow cleared her throat. "Well do we know why they do this? I mean, does it make them stronger? Does it make whoever they--sucked--evil? What's their purpose?"
"No, Willow, you're missing the point. It doesn't make the person anything. Just an empty shell. And it's not just people it can do this to, but also vampires and other demons. It has been speculated that they gain some kind of strength from this event, but they have so rarely been seen or heard of that no real answer has been found. The last time they were recorded was in a brief description of a Watcher in France in the twelfth century, but there was no explanation of why they were there or how they were defeated. If they were defeated."
"Well, you said they were difficult to kill," Buffy interjected. "But not impossible to, right? That's a good place to start as far as I'm concerned."
"Yes, well, the only other information I could find was a short passage in a gypsy text, talking about how their most powerful sorceress killed a Kynshaar demon with a spell that, in essence, turned the creature's power against itself."
"Hey so all we have to do is get them all really mad at each other. Shouldn't be too hard. We'll spread rumors that all their wives are cheating on them with their best friends," Xander joked.
"Yes, well, I highly doubt it will be that simple," Giles sighed. "From what Ororo told me, her teammates are all quite powerful in their own right, and were unable to defeat any one of the demons. The fact of the matter is, we all have to back to New York with Ororo and see what we can do to help."
A chorus of "What?!" resounded in the Magic Box.
"Giles, I have to go to work tomorrow! And the day after that! And who's going to watch Dawn?"
"Yeah, G-Man, I have a building site to run. And Anya has the shop."
"Yes, and I am not leaving the shop. For all I know this is some scheme to take it back from me," Anya huffed.
Giles put held his hands up in an effort to quiet them down. "Wait, wait, let me explain." When the group had calmed somewhat, he began again. "First off, when I say all of us have to go, I meant all of us. Dawn will come with us. As I understand it she's on her school vacation, as well are Willow and Tara. The Xavier Institute has agreed to financially compensate those of you who would suffer from monetary loss during your absence, and Anya, I do believe the shop can close for a few weeks without an apocalypse, and believe me when I say I have no desire to take the shop away from you."
This seemed to quell their objections, but Buffy had one more point to make. "But, Giles, I can't just leave. I'll get fired and I need to keep this job."
The former Watcher looked at his young charge. She didn't seem so young anymore. And she looked tired. He wondered how things were truly going during his absence, but now was not the time to try to discuss it.
"Buffy, there are other jobs. And if you are in fact working at a fast food restaurant, then there are also quite better jobs. I can help you after this is all said and done."
Buffy sat in silence for some moments. Slinging burgers. Serving rude customers. Double shifts. Greasy fries. She looked up with a wry smile. "Well, gee, twist my arm."
Giles gave a small grin. "Excellent."
He directed his gaze to the rest of the group. "Well then, the rest of us can stay here and gather pertinent books and supplies, and Buffy can go get Spike."
"Spike??" Buffy squeaked. She cleared her throat before continuing. "Why exactly do I have to go get Spike?"
"Yeah, I mean, Captain Peroxide's not coming, is he?" Xander asked.
"As a matter of fact, I hoped he would. These demons are incredibly strong. We need all the fighters we can get."
"Well…well what makes you think he'll go? You know, he might have something better to…do." Buffy gave a small frown. Off the others' disbelieving looks, she stood up from the table. "Yeah, yeah, I'll go get him," she grumbled. "Be back in a few." She slipped her jacket on and strode out the door.
"This Spike," Ororo said. "He is a vampire?"
"Yeah. Well, as much as he can be anyway," Xander scoffed.
"Oh yes. The government chip Rupert told me about. So he works with you then?"
"Yeah, even when we don't want him to. Nobody really likes him much around here."
"No, you don't like him much around here," Dawn pointed out. "I like him. He doesn't treat me like a kid."
"I like him too," Anya piped up. "His being a demon really is a breath of fresh air around here." Xander looked over at his fiancee. "What? Just because I'm human now too doesn't mean I don't still like a variety of company," she shrugged.
Xander slowly shook his head. "Anyway, Spike helps Buffy patrol, and can be useful in a fight."
Giles glanced up from the book he was reading. "Willow, would you mind checking into those gypsy spells I told you about? The book is there in my suitcase."
Willow stiffened in her seat, before shooting a furtive glance in Tara's direction. "Um, no."
Now Giles looked up. "What? Why not?"
"Um, I can't." His continued gaze begged explanation. "I've um, kinda sworn off magic for awhile. I kinda got into some trouble."
Giles gaze turned to a look of worry. "Is everything all right?"
"Um, short answer, no, not really. I got slightly, um…addicted to magic. But I'm getting better. No spells for thirty-two days," she smiled slightly.
Giles sighed and began rubbing his glasses. "Well I wish I could say I was surprised. I was getting rather…concerned about your magical habits. But I am glad that you seem to be working through it."
"Yeah. I'm working."
Tara caught Willow's eye and gave her a small smile that made all the work worth it.