She's Gone (14B/?)
Xander hurriedly dialled his cell from memory, remembering the fruitless times he'd rang his ex in the months after she'd gone to ask for another chance. After a dozen rings the phone was picked up by the person he wanted to speak to the least but needed to the most. "Yeah Dea-," he bit his lip, play nice. "Yeah it's a pleasure to be speaking to you too. I need your help, well Faith does anyway. But you can't tell her I've rung or she'll kill me. Yes," he groaned at the reply. When had Deadboy developed a sense of humour? He supposed you'd have to to work with Cordy. "That's meant to be an incentive to keep quiet. I'll be at the Crawford Mansion, yeah your old place. Thanks." He hung up. Faith was going to skin him alive for this. If the demon didn't kill him. "That's what I like about you Harris, always looking on the bright side."
"Faith! Calm down!" It was times like this, when confronted by a terrified Slayer who'd already killed in a very similar mood to this that Giles wished he'd done something rather safer for a living. Crash test dummy perhaps.
"Calm down!" the look Faith shot him was murderous even if her intentions weren't. "Xander's gone out there to do something heroically stupid and you don't even care -."
"SHUT THE BUGGER UP!" Giles roared. Satisfied the Slayer was shocked into silence, he continued, his tone lower but no less angry. "Never, ever, suggest I don't care about any of your welfare again. Do I make myself clear?""Sorry," Faith muttered.
Taking the half-hearted apology as all he'd get, he nodded brusquely. "Xander is reckless at times but I believe he's quite safe. The Malltac's primary and only food is Slayers. It will only kill humans if they get in the way of its ultimate prey, namely you. I'm sure Xander will have a sideways plan to defeat this monster rather than coming at it head on," he turned to the Wicca. "Tara can you produce a spell that will mask Faith's essence from the Malltac? Only until daybreak, being made by a vampire it can neither enter without invitation or survive in daylight." The Wicca nodded. "Thank you.""You just want us to sit tight and leave Xander out there?" Faith scowled.
"Faith, by tomorrow night, I'm sure Xander will be back with a fully functioning plan to work with. Until then, the safest option is wait here." He groaned as he noticed something. His car-keys were missing, the bugger had taken his car.
"You're sure they'll come Xander?"
"I'm sure," Xander nodded at Clem's question. "Angel's an obnoxious ass with the personality of cardboard but he's always cared about Faith." He smiled at his friend. As soon as he mentioned the threat to Faith, the floppy-eared demon had jumped into the car, declaring that 'no-body was going to hurt his movie buddy'.
Hearing the sound of a car door opening, Xander peeked out of the window and sighed with relief as he recognised the tall, good-looking man hurrying towards the house, although not the two men and green-skinned demon accompanying him. "Lorne!" Clem rushed out to pick up the, Xander's eyes widened, Armani-suited demon in a bear hug.
"Oh put me down you big Barry White look-alike!" the green-skinned demon giggled girlishly. Xander blinked. "I see you took my advice then?"
"I did," Clem nodded enthusiastically. "And you were right!"
"Of course I was," the other demon nodded. "You find I usually am."
"What's all this?" Xander asked, his head swimming with confusion.
"Lorne," Clem pointed at the demon in case he was in any doubt as to who he was referring, "owns a LA. Club." Xander raised an eyebrow, he knew that LA was weird, but this? "If you sing for Lorne he advises you on what to do for your future. He told me to come to Sunnydale to end my loneliness."
"And it worked?"
Clem nodded at Lorne's question. "Oh yeah, tons. Tara and Dawn are like my little sisters, Xander, Giles, and I play cards together once a fortnight. Although," Clem pouted, "they won't play kitty poker." The saggy-skinned demon's face brightened. "And on Wednesday nights and Sunday afternoons, Faith comes round and watches old movies with me!"
"Ah," Lorne beamed, "another satisfied customer. Shall we Angelcakes?"
Angel shook himself. "Yeah." Xander grinned, obviously the vampire was stunned at the thought of Faith and Clem being 'popcorn pals'.
"Who are they?" Xander nodded towards Angel's human companions as they hurried into the house without invitation, obviously Angel had continued paying rent on the place in case of emergencies. Which was disturbing.
"This is Gunn," Angel nodded towards the shaven-headed African-American. "And this," the Irish vampire nodded towards the white guy who looked like a dental commercial escapee, "is Groo, the champion of his and Lorne's home dimension. Cordelia got kidnapped and taken there. They made her queen -."
"A dimension where Cordy was queen, stop it," he shuddered theatrically. "Now that's what I call a hell dimension."
"Do not insult the princess!" the dimensional traveller started towards him but Angel stepped into his path, muttering something indistinct into the man's ear. Princess? Xander raised an eyebrow, he bet Cordy loved him. After a second the inter-dimensional champion nodded and stepped back."I assume you didn't just invite us here just to insult me?"
"God no," he shook his head. "That's what phones are there for." His face darkened, his heart beginning to clench with fear for his girl-friend. "You heard of the Malltac?"
Angel's brow furrowed. Finally the Irish demon shook his head. "Heard the name, can't place it though."
"Short story, 15,000 years ago a vampire mage created the Malltac specifically to kill the Slayer. Its really strong, has quick arms," Xander winced, his rapidly swelling face was testimony to that, "but most of all is invulnerable to attacks from a Slayer, they just bounce off it. At the time, mages banished it but the banishing ritual has disappeared. "
"Sounds like a toughie to me Angelcakes," Lorne commented.
Xander sniggered, that nickname was just so funny. "But others, non-Slayers, can injure it. I did, but it beat the shit out of me.""Can't be all bad then." Angel smirked at him. "So you're figuring somebody close to a Slayer's speed and strength might have a chance?"
"Something like that, yeah," he took a breath. "What do you think?"
"Could work," Angel nodded. "Especially with Groo's help, he's almost my match. One thing, how do you plan to keep Faith from confronting this thing before us?"
"You want me to do what?" Giles whispered into the phone, deeply conscious of the Slayer in just the other room. "Are you insane? Faith will kill us both!"
"I'm not exactly leaping for joy about this either," Xander replied, his strained tone showing the stress his surrogate son was under.
"Let's get this straight," Giles hissed. "You want me to use my Slayer as a lure in a trap. Then drug her, run off with her and leave you and Angel's team to fight the Malltac? Do you realise how betrayed she'll feel?"
"We'll deal with Faith's feelings afterwards," Xander declared. "My concern is keeping her alive."
"And mine," Giles sighed. "You do realise our life-spans will be measured in seconds when she awakens?"
Xander chuckled. "Ah, she wouldn't hurt her Cuddles."
"Cuddles?" Giles shook his head. "Forget it, I don't want to know.""But you'll do it?" Xander's tone had tightened again.
"I'll do it," he sighed.
"You really care about her don't you?"
Xander looked over his shoulder at the vampire stood behind him as he hung up the phone. "Is this where I get the talk?"
"No talk," Angel sat down beside him. "You don't like me and that's fine. I think you're a childish buffoon, but I also know you're loyal, brave, kind, and honest, just the sort of man that Faith's always deserved but never had. I know you'll look after her. Anything else," the demon shrugged, "is down to you two."
"You know," Xander started haltingly. "Sometimes she'll smile at me, not her usual smirk, but something soft, tender, and I see the girl she should have been, if she'd had a proper childhood, the one who didn't think she needed this armour of toughness to survive the world. And I get so mad...." his voice trailed off. "Damn it Angel, we've only just found one another, I can't lose her."He was surprised when the vampire squeezed his shoulder. "You're not going to."
Faith was frustrated and pissed, but more than that she was fucking scared. Xander hadn't been seen all day. And G, she cast her Watcher a sideways glance as the two of them and Tara patrolled the shadowy graveyard, was way too calm about everything. The crafty old bastard was up to something and she wanted to know what.
And then there was the unshakeable feeling of being followed. She'd doubled-back twice but nothing. Still..... "Oh good lord."
She swallowed as the Malltac appeared out of the shadows before them. "Hey G, Slayers are like buses, they'll be another one in a minute," she joked even as she thought about how much she wanted to live. Six months ago she couldn't have given a shit, but now... She didn't want to lose everything she'd -.A strong voice interrupted her thoughts. "We'll take it from here Giles."
Angel, but? Suddenly her mind went blank and she pitched face-first to the ground.
Xander grimaced as Giles caught his girl-friend, picked her up, and hurried away. Man, she was going to be pissed when she awoke. "I'll take point," Angel instructed. "Goo and Gunn flank me. The rest of you stay back."
Without waiting to see if his orders were obeyed, the Irish demon leapt forward, sword jabbing towards the Malltac's gleaming eye only to be met by a thudding right to the temple that sent him sailing through the air to land in a heap at Xander's feet. Xander grinned down at his one-time arch nemesis. "Told you he could hit.""You were right," Angel grimaced before rising.
As Xander watched the vampire leapt back at the demonic behemoth, ducking under the monster's flailing arms to thrust his blade deep into the monster's side while at the same time Groo slammed his blade into the beast's right hip. The hulk screamed but didn't go down, although its blood leaked onto the ground. It lashed out wildly, catching Angel on his shoulder but although the ensoulled vampire was knocked back a step he managed to keep his feet. Sensing a potential advantage, the monster lunged at the Irish demon but Groo tackled him, knocking them both to the ground, just beneath its flailing attack.
At that moment Gunn attempted to dip in beneath the creature's guard. Unfortunately, the former gang-leader didn't have the speed and reflexes of a demon and was caught with a back-hander that snapped his head back and knocked him to the ground. "Xander!"
"Got him!" Xander acknowledged the vampire's bellow by dragging the stunned African-American back from the fight. Noticing that the Malltac now had his back to a near-by crypt, Xander hurriedly clambered on the resting place's roof and drew his sword. Angel looked up at him and nodded in understanding before slamming a heel into the monster's mid-section, knocking it back the step Xander needed for the monster to be right where he wanted it. Instantly his sword flashed out, tearing through the massive demon's neck. "Ugh gross!" Any feeling of victory Xander might have had dissipated instantly when he was showered by flying maggots. "Ah crap.""So," he looked down to see a grinning Angel looking up at him. "Willy's to celebrate?"
Xander thought for a second, drinking with Deadboy or going home to face a furious Faith? It wasn't even a choice. "I'd love to!" He sighed. "I'd better ring the missus first."
"It failed! You said it would kill her!"
"Calm down Strawberry," Rack counselled. "There's other things we can do."
"The Nullifier's ready General."
"And it's been tested?"
His subordinate nodded. "Yes sir. We tested it on a trio of human wiccas, a mage, and a empath, it took their power completely, any human within a 100 miles of it loses any magic they posses."
"Excellent," he beamed. The Slayer would just be a helpless little girl, back in her rightful place, prey for his kind. "In that case, tell the troops to ready themselves. We march on the Hellmouth!"
