"Well, it's confirmed that this attack was made by Paul."
"Duh." Xander mocked David.
"You had better behave or you'll go back over with the children." David said,
attempting to hide a grin.
"Hurt me." Xander growled.
"Yeah, his girlfriend's one of the children." Kristopher laughed.
"Hey, Kris, will you be wagging that jaw of yours while I'm tearing it off?"
"Both of you shut up." Dakota yelled.
Xander's green eyes widened, but he said nothing. In fact, a flash of respect
lingered on his face.
"Now, back to business." David cleared his throat.
"Are you gonna get smart and retaliate?" Xander asked.
"I don't know." David said honestly.
"You never do. You guys are like hippies. Peace, love, and harmony." Xander
growled, "Well, screw that. Paul only responds to retaliation. If you let him get
away with it he'll keep it up. Exhibit A: I fought with him about Nicole and no more
little psychic attacks."
"For now." Sephrim replied.
"Bite me." Xander said.
"You know what, Alexander, I don't like your attitude." Sephrim stood.
"Bring it on, David Junior." Xander met him directly, "I beat you once and I'll do
it again. And don't call me Alexander."
Dakota put himself between them, "How old are you? You're both well over a
hundred and you're acting like you're three. Xander, this is not Braveheart and
you're not fighting a war to win Scotland's independence, so calm down Mel
Gibson. And Sephrim, Xander's on our side now. Back off."
"I'm not Scottish, I'm Irish." Xander said, coldly.
"Same difference." Dakota muttered under his breath.
"Hey, who asked you?" Sephrim snarled.
"Look, now you're making me mad." Riley stood, "And I'm just dying to know
which one of you wants to see my superhuman strength in action first."
The boys sat down "Anyway, Paul has delivered a lethal blow." David said, "We
have no where to stay.
"I've roughed it plenty of times." Xander replied, "It ain't my problem if you
pampered pets can't go without your soft warm beds.
"What about your sweet little Nicole? She may need her soft warm bed."
Kristopher said.
"I can keep her warm." Xander smiled.
"Yeah, I bet you can keep her warm, her and every other woman on this earth."
Sephrim replied.
"The solution is obvious." Dakota spoke up. Everyone looked at him.
"Relocate, and try to find a place where they won't find us." Dakota explained,
"The house can't be salvaged."
"Tried that." Kimber's father, Daniel Brice replied, "They found us anyway."
Scott nodded in agreement.
"They found us and we moved hours away." Sharla said,
"They'd find us no problem close by. I thought Darkwood was supposed to be
neutral ground." Joe Delaney said.
"Was, but obviously, Paul doesn't care." Sephrim smiled.
"Let me get a hold of him." Kristopher said, "I'll put a little fear into him."
"Excuse me while I laugh." Xander smiled.
"Can't you guys just stop it?" Dakota asked.
"Possibly, should we try?" Xander asked.
"I got the message." Alex said, taking a seat.
"Better late than never." David replied.
"Sorry, I had something more important to do." Alex said.
"And this isn't important?" David asked, "Paul happened to burn our facility to
the ground."
"And if you guys had been smart about a year ago and killed him when you had
the chance this wouldn't be happening." Alex said.
"We thought he was dead." David tried to defend himself.
"And if the dog hadn't stopped to pee it would have caught the kitty." Alex
replied, "The world is full of ifs."
"What nasty bug crawled up your fungus?" Xander asked.
"Let's just say I've had a crappy couple of weeks." Alex growled, grumpily.
"Look, I've decided." David said, standing, "And I know it's not what any of you
wants to hear."
"You're gonna sit on your hands, aren't ya?" Xander asked.
"For lack of better words, yes." David said.
Grumbles from everyone. "I'm sorry, but I refuse to sink to his level." David said,
walking away.
"Which is why you will fail." Xander replied.
David's body tensed, but he didn't turn around.
"I'm out." Alex said, and stomped off.
Dakota watched as he left, knowing this mood he was in all too well.