Once again, this is a joint writing project from Isoner and MK. We do not own any part of Buffy The Vampire Hunter, Vampire Hunter D. Bubblegum Crisis, or Twin Peaks. This story is of course about Buffy and the Scoobies and D.
Again, a slight reminder to those who have been following this story, please make sure you read the corrected version of chapter 2, and not the one that was originally posted.
And now back to the fanfic as it takes a completely unplanned twist.
Chapter 3: Respite
Xander walked into the tavern. It was dark and dingy, with the thick smell of cigarette smoke and beer hanging in the air. He walked over to the bar and took a seat on one of the hardwood chairs and pulled himself up close. He subtlety looked around, trying to feel out which one he was looking for, from the varied clientele.
"Can I help you"? The bartender came over to stand in front of Xander.
"Yeah, I'll have a beer." Xander told the man, and soon he had a pint of beer in front of him.
Taking a sip he checked his watch. Just as he looked back up he saw a man in a nice business suit come in carrying a briefcase. He watched as the man sat down at a table in the corner. He waited a few minutes, and then he got up from the bar and walked over to the pool tables near that were located nearer to the table where the man sat. He leaned up against the wall, seeming to watch the pool game going on in front of him.
Twenty minutes later another gentleman walked in, and slowly made his way over to the corner table. He pulled the seat out and sat across from the man in the suit. "Mr. Towagowa, lovely to see you here."
"Your late, Mr. Rois. My boss doesn't like to have his time wasted in such a manner." Towagowa said in an annoyed tone.
"I am a very busy man, Mr. Towagowa, and in my line of work, things don't always go on schedule. I have taken care of my part of the business arrangement to remove your problem, so if you could just take care of your part, you can be on your way." Mr. Rois spoke in a cheerful tone.
"Taken care of the problem? Right now some old man, and a group of children are going all over the place, snooping where they shouldn't be. I would hardly call that taking care of the problem. Therefore we are only paying half of what we were to pay you" Towagowa whispered angrily.
"I beg to disagree, Mr. Towagowa. We had a contract that specifically said I was to take care of the man that was a threat to your boss. One man, one specific man, Mr. Towagowa. I have taken care of that man. Nowhere in the contract did it say I had to do anything else, after I completed the task." Rois continued, his voice never losing its pleasant, almost laughing tone. "Now Mr. Towagowa, you and your boss will pay me what I am owed, or I will take it off of you in pieces. You must understand, nothing personal, but a deal is a deal."
Unnerved, Towagowa pulled a phone out of his breast pocket and made a phone call. He spoke quickly in Japanese, and then hung up the phone. "Very well, I can have the rest of your money here in two hours. But before I go, I would like to discuss another proposition, about the ones snooping around."
"No." Rois said even before the man was done speaking.
"I can triple the price…"
"No. An old man and a group of children are beneath me." Rois answered. "Now, Mr. Towagowa, bring me the rest of my money." He watched as the man walked away, then turned around and spoke to the man's back, "Oh, by the way. Don't be late." Chuckling he watched the man walk out the door. Rois sat back amused. 'An old man and children indeed, Mr. Towagowa.' He thought to himself. 'You have no idea what you are in for.' Rois knew that the children were of course the slayer, two powerful witches, and Anyanka, who was one time the favorite of D'Hofferin, now nothing more than a mortal. Pity, he had enjoyed seeing her work.
A slight part of him wished he had taken the job, thinking of the challenge that it would be; after all they were truly worthy opponents. Shaking his head he dismissed the idea. This one would be more fun to watch. He knew exactly who Towagowa worked for, because in his world finding everything you could out was the difference between life and death. Watching these two forces combat one another would be a battle of epic proportions. This one was safer watching from the sidelines.
Watching the man in the corner musing to himself, Xander sighed. It was going to be a long wait. With that in mind her went and grabbed another beer.
Back at the house Giles was sitting, still looking at the phone. He was disturbed by what he had heard. That sort of evil could not be killed. Making a decision he went downstairs to where Willow and Tara were researching, while Anya was pacing a hole in the floor. He looked at the two witches and asked, "Any luck with finding something to help us with our visitor"?
"Sorry we haven't come across anything yet." The blonde witch looked up apologetically.
"Well, I need to pull Willow away for a little while. Willow, can you get on the computer and find out all you can about a secret project the United States Government did called the 'Ghostwood Project?' I believe that it was conducted in Washington State." Giles asked. He was busily wiping his glasses, as he made his request.
The two witches looked at each other, wondering what was wrong. Finally Willow spoke up. "Sure Giles. Is something wrong"?
"I need the information before I can answer that question." Giles began pacing along side Anya. "Where is Xander"?
"That's what I would like to know." The ex-demon spoke in an agitated tone of voice. "He just took off, without telling us where he was going."
"He said that he might have a lead, and that he was going to check it out." Willow answered booting up her computer and beginning the search that Giles had requested of her.
Xander had been waiting at the bar for two hours, when the Japanese man repapered with another brief case. Once again, he tried to bargain with the man, but once again Rois just waved him away. The man left shortly after. Xander waited another ten minutes, giving the appearance of nonchalance, and was about to leave when the door opened once again, and the man from the night before walked into the bar. Quickly Xander stepped back into the shadows.
Once more, D strode through the bar, only this time it was full with a full range of clientele. Everything from succubae to vampires were in full attendance, and making a bizarre use of a Karaoke stage. There were even a few normal humans about.
"The usual, as usual?" The bartender asked as D approached.
"The information you gave me on the visiting vampire was useless. How do I know if the rest of your information is any good?"
The bartender leaned over towards D, and pointed to a Loan Shark who was shifting in his seat near the door. "He likes to sit in the corner across from the Dartboard. It gives him an excellent view of both the door and the stage. Since he is one of the more powerful blokes in town, nothing, no one can deprive him of his favorite seat."
Only the smallest of movements betrayed the extra attention D was giving the corner booth. "Barbarois."
Turning, D walked with slow deliberate steps towards Barbarois, so that there was no mistake in anyone's mind where D was going.
Just as slowly D sat in the vacant seat across from the demon.
"Did you kill the human who was investigating Genom?"
"Child's play, taking out a human," the human looking demon said in a pleasant voice, "Did it impress you?"
D remained impassive. "Have you already been hired for another job?"
"Nah. Waiting for another contract related to that other matter. Just turned down one to kill a Slayer."
"Why is that? Killing a slayer would improve your reputation."
"No point. Kill one Slayer, and another one pops up somewhere else, so why bother? I have of course heard of you, why don't you take out the slayer?"
"I already have a job to do."
"Oh, really? Did you know that you are one of the three most wanted beings on this planet? You are almost tied with Angelous. If I hunted vampires, I could take out the both of you and retire, and finally buy that town I've always wanted."
"So you can train an army of mercenaries?"
Barbarois gave an evil smile, but seemed to get impatient, "Look, what do you want from me?"
"I don't want you to take any more jobs related to that 'other issue.'"
"That could cost me a lot of money."
D took out an envelope and slid it across the table.
Without picking it up, "What is that for?"
"I need you to get something for me from Brazil. The Jewel of Sigillat. The details are in the envelope."
The demon's smile returned. "A lot of effort to keep us from working at cross purposes."
"I would hate to have to kill you."
Finally taking the envelope, Barbarois stood and started for the door. "I would hate to have to kill one such as you, also."
As soon as Xander walked back into the house, Anya grabbed him in a hug, and began berating him.
"Where have you been"?
"I went to a bar, and found out some information. I am 99% sure that Rois is the one that killed Giles' friend. But I also found out that if was him, that he was hired to do it. He was also hired by our visitor from last night to go somewhere in South America to find something called…"
Xander was cut off by Willows frantic shout of "Guys, you better see this."
Looking over they saw that Tara had put her arms around Willow's neck and they both looked scared. When they had all rushed over they could see a series of 0's and 1's flying across the screen.
"What is it doing"? Giles asked in a worried tone.
"I don't know. I hacked into the military's mainframe and opened up the information they had on Ghostwood when all of a sudden the computer went all wacky." As Willow finished her statement there was suddenly sound coming from the speakers on the computer. The voice on the speakers had an unearthly quality to it. It sounded like E.T. on Quaaludes.
"Lllllllleeeeeeaaaaattttsssssssssss rrrrrrrrroooooocccccccckkk!!"
Giles looked over at Willow, at last ready to answer her question. "Yes, something is definitely wrong."
D stood facing the water, the wind blowing the hair that hung far below his hat. Barbarois was now out of the picture, but he still needed to find out who was behind it all, and put a stop to it. He could have asked Barbarois, but he knew full well the Demon would not have given him an answer. It was against the Demon's sense of honor and loyalty. He would have to find the answers to his questions the hard way.
Tomorrow, the hunt would begin…
Again, a slight reminder to those who have been following this story, please make sure you read the corrected version of chapter 2, and not the one that was originally posted.
And now back to the fanfic as it takes a completely unplanned twist.
Chapter 3: Respite
Xander walked into the tavern. It was dark and dingy, with the thick smell of cigarette smoke and beer hanging in the air. He walked over to the bar and took a seat on one of the hardwood chairs and pulled himself up close. He subtlety looked around, trying to feel out which one he was looking for, from the varied clientele.
"Can I help you"? The bartender came over to stand in front of Xander.
"Yeah, I'll have a beer." Xander told the man, and soon he had a pint of beer in front of him.
Taking a sip he checked his watch. Just as he looked back up he saw a man in a nice business suit come in carrying a briefcase. He watched as the man sat down at a table in the corner. He waited a few minutes, and then he got up from the bar and walked over to the pool tables near that were located nearer to the table where the man sat. He leaned up against the wall, seeming to watch the pool game going on in front of him.
Twenty minutes later another gentleman walked in, and slowly made his way over to the corner table. He pulled the seat out and sat across from the man in the suit. "Mr. Towagowa, lovely to see you here."
"Your late, Mr. Rois. My boss doesn't like to have his time wasted in such a manner." Towagowa said in an annoyed tone.
"I am a very busy man, Mr. Towagowa, and in my line of work, things don't always go on schedule. I have taken care of my part of the business arrangement to remove your problem, so if you could just take care of your part, you can be on your way." Mr. Rois spoke in a cheerful tone.
"Taken care of the problem? Right now some old man, and a group of children are going all over the place, snooping where they shouldn't be. I would hardly call that taking care of the problem. Therefore we are only paying half of what we were to pay you" Towagowa whispered angrily.
"I beg to disagree, Mr. Towagowa. We had a contract that specifically said I was to take care of the man that was a threat to your boss. One man, one specific man, Mr. Towagowa. I have taken care of that man. Nowhere in the contract did it say I had to do anything else, after I completed the task." Rois continued, his voice never losing its pleasant, almost laughing tone. "Now Mr. Towagowa, you and your boss will pay me what I am owed, or I will take it off of you in pieces. You must understand, nothing personal, but a deal is a deal."
Unnerved, Towagowa pulled a phone out of his breast pocket and made a phone call. He spoke quickly in Japanese, and then hung up the phone. "Very well, I can have the rest of your money here in two hours. But before I go, I would like to discuss another proposition, about the ones snooping around."
"No." Rois said even before the man was done speaking.
"I can triple the price…"
"No. An old man and a group of children are beneath me." Rois answered. "Now, Mr. Towagowa, bring me the rest of my money." He watched as the man walked away, then turned around and spoke to the man's back, "Oh, by the way. Don't be late." Chuckling he watched the man walk out the door. Rois sat back amused. 'An old man and children indeed, Mr. Towagowa.' He thought to himself. 'You have no idea what you are in for.' Rois knew that the children were of course the slayer, two powerful witches, and Anyanka, who was one time the favorite of D'Hofferin, now nothing more than a mortal. Pity, he had enjoyed seeing her work.
A slight part of him wished he had taken the job, thinking of the challenge that it would be; after all they were truly worthy opponents. Shaking his head he dismissed the idea. This one would be more fun to watch. He knew exactly who Towagowa worked for, because in his world finding everything you could out was the difference between life and death. Watching these two forces combat one another would be a battle of epic proportions. This one was safer watching from the sidelines.
Watching the man in the corner musing to himself, Xander sighed. It was going to be a long wait. With that in mind her went and grabbed another beer.
Back at the house Giles was sitting, still looking at the phone. He was disturbed by what he had heard. That sort of evil could not be killed. Making a decision he went downstairs to where Willow and Tara were researching, while Anya was pacing a hole in the floor. He looked at the two witches and asked, "Any luck with finding something to help us with our visitor"?
"Sorry we haven't come across anything yet." The blonde witch looked up apologetically.
"Well, I need to pull Willow away for a little while. Willow, can you get on the computer and find out all you can about a secret project the United States Government did called the 'Ghostwood Project?' I believe that it was conducted in Washington State." Giles asked. He was busily wiping his glasses, as he made his request.
The two witches looked at each other, wondering what was wrong. Finally Willow spoke up. "Sure Giles. Is something wrong"?
"I need the information before I can answer that question." Giles began pacing along side Anya. "Where is Xander"?
"That's what I would like to know." The ex-demon spoke in an agitated tone of voice. "He just took off, without telling us where he was going."
"He said that he might have a lead, and that he was going to check it out." Willow answered booting up her computer and beginning the search that Giles had requested of her.
Xander had been waiting at the bar for two hours, when the Japanese man repapered with another brief case. Once again, he tried to bargain with the man, but once again Rois just waved him away. The man left shortly after. Xander waited another ten minutes, giving the appearance of nonchalance, and was about to leave when the door opened once again, and the man from the night before walked into the bar. Quickly Xander stepped back into the shadows.
Once more, D strode through the bar, only this time it was full with a full range of clientele. Everything from succubae to vampires were in full attendance, and making a bizarre use of a Karaoke stage. There were even a few normal humans about.
"The usual, as usual?" The bartender asked as D approached.
"The information you gave me on the visiting vampire was useless. How do I know if the rest of your information is any good?"
The bartender leaned over towards D, and pointed to a Loan Shark who was shifting in his seat near the door. "He likes to sit in the corner across from the Dartboard. It gives him an excellent view of both the door and the stage. Since he is one of the more powerful blokes in town, nothing, no one can deprive him of his favorite seat."
Only the smallest of movements betrayed the extra attention D was giving the corner booth. "Barbarois."
Turning, D walked with slow deliberate steps towards Barbarois, so that there was no mistake in anyone's mind where D was going.
Just as slowly D sat in the vacant seat across from the demon.
"Did you kill the human who was investigating Genom?"
"Child's play, taking out a human," the human looking demon said in a pleasant voice, "Did it impress you?"
D remained impassive. "Have you already been hired for another job?"
"Nah. Waiting for another contract related to that other matter. Just turned down one to kill a Slayer."
"Why is that? Killing a slayer would improve your reputation."
"No point. Kill one Slayer, and another one pops up somewhere else, so why bother? I have of course heard of you, why don't you take out the slayer?"
"I already have a job to do."
"Oh, really? Did you know that you are one of the three most wanted beings on this planet? You are almost tied with Angelous. If I hunted vampires, I could take out the both of you and retire, and finally buy that town I've always wanted."
"So you can train an army of mercenaries?"
Barbarois gave an evil smile, but seemed to get impatient, "Look, what do you want from me?"
"I don't want you to take any more jobs related to that 'other issue.'"
"That could cost me a lot of money."
D took out an envelope and slid it across the table.
Without picking it up, "What is that for?"
"I need you to get something for me from Brazil. The Jewel of Sigillat. The details are in the envelope."
The demon's smile returned. "A lot of effort to keep us from working at cross purposes."
"I would hate to have to kill you."
Finally taking the envelope, Barbarois stood and started for the door. "I would hate to have to kill one such as you, also."
As soon as Xander walked back into the house, Anya grabbed him in a hug, and began berating him.
"Where have you been"?
"I went to a bar, and found out some information. I am 99% sure that Rois is the one that killed Giles' friend. But I also found out that if was him, that he was hired to do it. He was also hired by our visitor from last night to go somewhere in South America to find something called…"
Xander was cut off by Willows frantic shout of "Guys, you better see this."
Looking over they saw that Tara had put her arms around Willow's neck and they both looked scared. When they had all rushed over they could see a series of 0's and 1's flying across the screen.
"What is it doing"? Giles asked in a worried tone.
"I don't know. I hacked into the military's mainframe and opened up the information they had on Ghostwood when all of a sudden the computer went all wacky." As Willow finished her statement there was suddenly sound coming from the speakers on the computer. The voice on the speakers had an unearthly quality to it. It sounded like E.T. on Quaaludes.
"Lllllllleeeeeeaaaaattttsssssssssss rrrrrrrrroooooocccccccckkk!!"
Giles looked over at Willow, at last ready to answer her question. "Yes, something is definitely wrong."
D stood facing the water, the wind blowing the hair that hung far below his hat. Barbarois was now out of the picture, but he still needed to find out who was behind it all, and put a stop to it. He could have asked Barbarois, but he knew full well the Demon would not have given him an answer. It was against the Demon's sense of honor and loyalty. He would have to find the answers to his questions the hard way.
Tomorrow, the hunt would begin…