"I come bearing cheesy goodness," Xander said as the entry bell to the Magic Box dinged. "Anyone hungry?" He held up several large pizzas for inspection. "C'mon, anyone? Anyone? Bueller?"

          Anya and the Weasleys looked up at him, their eyes tired and red from research.

          "What'd you get?" Anya asked. "And who's Bueller?"

          "Cheese and cheese and never mind."

          "Just cheese?" She whined. He had three boxes in hand.

          He waltzed over and deposited the pizzas on the table, along with a paper bag full of soda bottles. "Where's Buffy and the Dawnster?"

          "Training room. All you got was cheese?"

          "Weeellll … there may be some salami and mushroom goodness tucked away in there somewhere."

          Anya clapped her hands gleefully and jumped out of her chair, the fatigue momentarily forgotten as she threw her arms around Xander.

          "I know, I know. Who do you love?"

          She stiffened and let go of him. "Dammit, Xander," she said as tears welled up.

          "Oh god, An, I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"

          "Well, you did. You made me leak! Men!" She ducked into the staff bathroom to wipe her eyes.

          "Good work, Xander," George said from the table.

          "Remind you of Ron at all?" Fred asked with a smile. George nodded. To Xander, Fred added, "Our brother has a bit of a knack for sayin' the wrong thing. You two'd get along famously."

          "I bet," he replied, annoyed with himself.

          Buffy and Dawn walked in from the training room, both sweating and breathing heavily. "Somebody say something about cheesy goodness?" Buffy asked. "Hey, where's Anya?"

          "Yes, and bathroom."

          "What'd you say, Xander?" Dawn asked.

          "I didn't mean to … it wasn't so bad, I mean … help me out here, guys?" He said to Fred and George.

          The twins, whose eyes were glued to Buffy, Dawn and their skimpy workout wear, didn't even bother to reply.

          "Aah, you guys are no help. Look, I brought pizza. Doesn't that count for anything?"

          "It does with me, Xand," Buffy said with a smile, grabbing a stack of plates and napkins from their stash behind the counter. "Smells pretty good."

          The Weasleys tore their eyes away from Dawn, much to her dismay, and glanced at the pizza.

          "Hang on, what's that?" Fred asked.

          "What's what?"

          "In the box, Xander. For dinner. What is it?"

          The three of them and Anya, who had just emerged from the bathroom, stared at the Weasleys in shock.

          "You've never had pizza?"

          "What's pizza?"

          "They've never had pizza," Xander said to Buffy. "How can you not have had pizza?"

          "We don't get into all this American muggle food in wizard Britain," Fred answered.

          "American muggle fo – pizza is a universal form of nourishment." Xander slapped a piece on one of the paper plates and held it out. The plate immediately splotched gray with puddles of grease. "Here. Eat. Worship the cheesy goodness."

          "Universal. Hah. When was the last time you had Yorkshire pudding?" George asked, rising and taking the plate, "Or bangers and mash, or …"

          "Yech. Please stop," Dawn said. "Just try it."

          "Yorkshire pudding? That's just disgusting. I hope they kill the dogs first."

          George, the piece of pizza halfway to his mouth, stopped and stared at Anya. So did everyone else.

          "Took the words right out of my mouth, An." Xander put an arm around her shoulder. "Ex-vengeance demon Anyanka, everyone. She's here all week."

          "Don't forget to tip your waitress," Buffy and Dawn finished in unison.

          Xander frowned. "So I'm predictable. Sue me."

          George took a small bite of the pizza and his eyes lit up. "Cor! Fred, have a piece. This is brilliant." He took a larger bite, then another in quick succession.

          "See. I told you. You should try it with pepperoni," Dawn said.

          In minutes, everyone had pizza and soda and a seat around the hastily cleared research table. Fred and George were in varying states of ecstasy as they gobbled the pizza down.

          "So not to break up the cultural lesson," Buffy said, "but are we any closer to figuring out where that tiger-thingy came from?"

          "Mmmph," Fred said with his mouth full.

          "He means no," George translated. "We haven't seen anymore of 'em. That's a good sign."

          "It could mean somebody sent it, though," Dawn chipped in. "That would be majorly bad."

          "We need to find out what it was. Giles had no idea, either. I think something's up," Buffy mused. "He seemed distracted."

          "First week of classes is hectic, eh, Fred?"

          "Mmm-hmm. Definitely."

          "So what's the deal, is Giles, like, an awesome teacher or what?" Dawn asked.

          "He's good. Real good. Everybody likes his class, an' he's the first Dark Arts prof we've had hang on for more'n a year in a long time."

          "Well, duh," Dawn said. She smiled impishly, drawing a grin from Fred in response.

          Dinner passed quickly. The Weasleys, now introduced to pizza, were fairly certain they would never eat anything else again. Fred said as much to Dawn.

          "If you like that, wait until we hit the mall. I'm a huge fan, plus if you manage a little of the hungry we can hit the food court."

          "What's a food court?"

          Buffy and Dawn traded a look. "Oh, you'll see."

          "We have to hit my house first. We're all yucky, and these clothes are not for public consumption," Buffy added.

          "I think we're gonna have to pass on that one, Buff. The mall, not the public consumption. We're gonna grab some dessert at that new place on Browning."

          "We should go now, Xander," Anya said, tugging on his arm. "I heard they sell out of the chocolate hazelnut cake really fast and I want you to purchase one for me for making me leak."

          "Good luck with that," Fred said cheerfully.

          "Might want to bring your lucky rabbit's foot along, just in case you're late," George mumbled.

          "What? What did you say?"

          "Who, me?" George feigned innocence. "I didn't say anything."

She glared at him suspiciously, then nodded.

          "Alright, An," Xander said. "We'll see you guys later, okay?"

          "Master she is beautiful a fine choice fine indeed."

          "Thank you, Recks." The blonde man reclined leisurely on the throne, his mind's eye picturing a younger Buffy in this very same cavern. "To think I nearly lost her here, Recks. Not twenty feet from this very spot, she drowned at the tender age of sixteen." He sipped from an ancient goblet of red wine. "Such a waste it would have been. I will have her. She will be mine, once we show her that she needs me."

Recks bobbed his beak up and down in agreement. The master rambled on about this one; that was a very good sign. "You love her, master?"

          "How could I not? How could I not." The blonde man smiled. "That is, after all, the only thing I can do."

          "Yes, master."

          "Tell me, Recks, where is she now?"

          Recks folded his wings across his back and closed his eyes.

          "The market master she is headed for the large market. She will be there soon."

          "Is the market crowded?"

          "It is crowded very crowded many people buying goods at the market."

          The blonde man could hear the strain in his companion's voice. "That's enough."

          Recks exhaled loudly and opened his eyes. "Thank you master sorry master I wish I could do more see more watch longer."

          "The Hellmouth interferes with your vision?"

          "It does makes it blurry and painful the binding does."

          "I figured as much. Just another reason why we need to avoid a confrontation with the Slayer right now. I fear I will not be strong enough to hold her, not while surrounded by her jabbering band of lemmings. Were they with her?"

          "The Key master the Key and her wizards, but not the boy or Anyanka."

          "Excellent." He rose from his throne. "Come, Recks."

          "Where master where are we going?"

          "Why, shopping, of course. I might not be able to buy anything just now, but I feel the need for a good browse."

          "Cor," Fred said an hour later, spinning in a circle to take it all in, "this is amazing."

          George could only nod, awed by the massive structure and the bright lights gleaming off of the whitewashed walls. This early on a Saturday night, all of the stores were packed with people, many walking from shop to shop with multicolored bags and families in tow.

          "Welcome to the Sunnydale Galleria," Dawn said, throwing her arms wide with dramatic flourish. "I'm guessing they don't have these in wizard Britain."

          "Uh uh," Fred replied. "This is amazin'. It's like Diagon Alley for muggles, but in a box. An' there are more of these?"

          "Every town in America's probably within a half-hour of one," Buffy confirmed.

          The Weasleys continued to gape at the scope of the shopping. Even though most of the available goods seemed mundane, there were so many of them that the boys were stunned. Buffy and Dawn led them to the clothing section of the mall, doing their best to narrate the contents of each store and, when necessary, lead them past certain establishments without a visit. Victoria's Secret in particular caught George's eye, but Buffy marched him past.

          "Aww," he whined, "just a peek."

          "So not happening. Sorry, George," Buffy said. Fred and Dawn both smirked. "Now," Buffy said, "see this one?" She pointed to a K-Mart. "Everything you need will be in there. Dive in, grab what you need, then one of you come back out and get us, and we'll introduce you to the wonderful world of the American dollar."

          "An' it works just like the places in Britain, right? Gather what you want, then pay?"

          "Yup," Dawn said. "Universal shopping etiquette in full effect."

          "Sounds good," Fred replied. He grinned at Dawn. "We'll be done in a jiff, alright?" The two boys left them and headed for K-Mart.

          Buffy watched her sister watch Fred walk away. An evil grin crept onto her face.

          "Nice view?"

          "Oh, yeah, whatever," Dawn said. "YOU shouldn't be looking. It's creepy."

          "Why not? They're of legal age, I'm of legal age…"

          "Eew eew eew eew eew!" She covered her ears. "I'm not hearing this, I'm not…"

          Buffy laughed, patting her sister's shoulder. "Don't worry, Dawn. I'm just kidding you."

          Dawn's hands came down. "I know, but it's still icky."

          "They are big with the cute, though, huh? I know you think so. I've seen you checking them out."

          "I-I was only trying to figure out which is which," Dawn huffed indignantly.

          "So which one did you want to figure out?"

          "Fred … I mean … hey!"

          Buffy started laughing again.

          On the skywalk above, Recks watched them from behind his master's invisibility spell. The blonde man observed soundlessly as the crowd filtered around the Slayer and the Key.

          Are you certain you can accomplish this, Recks? If you fail, I will be most displeased.

          He felt Recks's hesitation in his mind.

           For … for a short time only master long enough to force them to leave but not enough to cause damage.

          That will be sufficient. Those outside know their tasks.

          This is a different plan master different than our usual plans much different.

          She is too strong with her followers at her side. In our current condition, we do not have the leverage we need. She is a Slayer, but one with family and friends. They make her resistant beyond anyone we have faced before. It will make her a good match when she is finally broken, but first, we must isolate her. Do you understand?

          Yes master of course yes I agree.

          Good. He turned and looked Recks in the eye. Then do it.

          "So, Fred, huh?" Buffy said when she had finished laughing.

          Dawn pouted. "I'm not saying another word."

          "Uh huh."

          "It's none of your business."

          "None at all."

          "Stop smirking."

          "Who, me? Dawnie, why would I …" Buffy trailed off.

The flow of mall traffic had suddenly come to a startling halt. In unison, a score of shoppers all turned their heads to look at Buffy and Dawn. Packages and shopping bags dropped to the floor with a staccato of thumps. Men, women, and children from every age bracket moved into a loose circle around the Summers woman.

          "Okay, this is disturbing," Dawn said.

          "In a very Vote Republican kind of way," Buffy agreed. "Let's get the boys."

          Dawn nodded. Buffy grabbed her hand and took a few steps towards the store.

          The shoppers followed them.

          "Uh, Buffy?" A note of fear ran through Dawn's quavering voice. "I really, really wanna go home now."

          They took two more steps toward the store. The shoppers did the same, still staring at the two girls with blank, emotionless faces.

          "You will give us the Key and you will not be harmed," they said in unison.

          "Sorry, guys. Your doors are staying locked." Buffy pulled Dawn closer to her. "She's leaving with me, so just back off and tell Donald Sutherland to take his creepy aliens out of my town. I don't want to hurt any of you."

          Each of the shoppers took a step forward, closing the ring.

Buffy darted towards a sturdy looking guy in a Sunnydale High letter jacket and dropped him with hard elbow. As the circle collapsed onto them, she pulled Dawn through the gap.

          "Doesn't mean I won't," Buffy muttered.