Knights in Slaying Service IV Author: Tohonomike Disclaimer: All characters belong to their rightful owners. Joss/ME characters especially not mine. I do not and cannot make money off of this, but for feedback, I might come up with something more/better. Rating: R; for general demonic horror content...and sexual references

Fifteen minutes later, the girls became concerned that Giles and Lex hadn't come back out yet, though they'd been giving each other somewhat flirtatious looks in the meantime.

They slowly and quietly made their way into the store, a tire iron and an automobile 'Club' as weaponry.

The young couple had made an impression on a few vampires, the mystery girl dusting a half-dozen independents in a relatively short time.

"How 'bout we stop and not rest?" the girl asked her now-human boyfriend, "I can think of several things we can do to pass the time. Don't you have an apartment?"

He walked into a place called the Fish Tank, the place stank like every other place of its type, stale beer and old sweat. He moved around to the far end of the bar, somehow the place parted enough for him, even those not facing him sensed the predator amongst their kind. Only two of those in the bar weren't entirely human, but many would have said the same of the rest anyway. He sat down and stared at the bartender's back. Three seconds later the man tensed and turned.

"Whiskey, neat," he near whispered in a slight rasp. The man was about to card him in spite of the twenty on the bar, when their eyes met. This wasn't a kid; this was a guy who could take out half the bar if he felt moody.

A man holding a cue stick next to him apologized for brushing up against him; he was ignored. Then a fight broke out between two rival gangs as he started on his third drink. Knives were drawn and a few smaller caliber revolvers had hands reaching for them, when from about twenty feet across the bar a cue stick flew between four different nascent face-offs and four inches deep through the dart board around which the fight had started. Eight men backed away from each other as the crowd found a moment of silence to stare from whence came the projectile. They saw the man in leather who stood in front of his bar stool, twin Anacondas out.

"I'd appreciate a little quiet while I finish my drink, you see I'm just passing through."

They stared at him, so he made his point.

"Whatever it is…consider it a tie or I'll start killing equal numbers of you until somebody agrees with my point of view. Or wait 'til tomorrow night when I'm not here."

"Kinda tough with those guns, aren't ya?" A large obnoxious man with no biker gang affiliation apparent challenged. A moment later he was unconscious and hitting the ground hard, the annoyed bar patron having tossed his gun in the air, thrown a half-empty vodka bottle into the man's head, then caught his gun once more.

"Don't need the gun, it's just a little louder in a crowd. And the guy on the floor is buying drinks until it runs out."

The fight was forgotten and a few rounds of drinking began. Two women of questionable repute and a great deal of experience approached the man, each having received a nod from their leaders.

"I appreciate the gesture, ladies, but not tonight. Thank your chiefs for me." He downed his whiskey and strode out of the room, the crowd parting in respect.

"Who are you?" One of the tight-panted, halter-topped women asked, her whiskey breath strong.

"Plissken, Snake Plissken."

"I heard that name somewhere, and that you died," the leader of Hell's Wolves commented.

"Maybe I did."

Cordelia smacked a man in the head as he came through the curtain, and it actually was Ethan Rayne.

"Where's Giles?" Willow asked as they headed into the other room, than ran over to him as a groan announced his position and recovery. Cordelia walked over to the statue.

"Giles? Do you think if we break this thing, the spell will be over?"

"I-I hesitate to try it without questioning Ethan first."

"Will that make a difference?"

"No, but it will justify my beating on him quite harshly until I feel better."

"You're in my way," a quiet voice observed as the group of pirates cornered the three girls, "Please move."

"What d'ye tink you'll do wit' jus' the two pistols if'n we don't," snarked the pirate Larry had become as he briefly turned from Amy, Amber and Harmony. Four other pirates chuckled and moved to intercept the man.

Three seconds later, the man had walked through them, using the stocks of his twin Colts and the mass of the strange boots he wore to crush cheekbones and feet in a whirl of screaming pirates.

"I'll just kill you to clear a path," the man said, death in his eyes. The pirate held up his hands, backed away, and ran down the alley. The young man glanced at the three shocked girls, nodded, "Ladies…" and left them to their incidental freedom.

Spike had run around the entire town with his minions looking for the bloody slayer, looking with interest as a human moved at incredible speed to take out a bunch of blokes much more impressive seeming. He gestured at his minions to follow as the man continued on his way.

"Slayer!" the demon called out as it and two demons with jewels in their foreheads moved out of the shadows, "I was afraid you wouldn't visit Angelus tonight."

"Could we hurry this up? I'm really trying to get him back to his apartment."

"Enough!" the demon said as the Mohras leapt out, happy to have gotten this last-second contract while on their way to LA, moved to prevent escape. The two humans moved toward the edge of the warehouse alley, the smell of the nearby ocean strong, "I am Toth, known as—" he flexed his hands out, a beam of light moving toward Buffy, but surprisingly as she ducked, the now-human Angel proved too slow to duck and was struck as he rolled into the refuse heaped up for pick up.

"…the dead demon," a raspy voice called out, shots firing into it and the Mohras, who'd rushed toward Angel as the immediate target. Bullets pierced the demons, two passing through comparatively unimportant arts of Angel's now-human body, a Mohra falling atop him and gushing.

"I just am looking for a little peace and quiet…" the voice continued, this time shooting the jewels in the head and ending the demons. The other Mohra fell atop another section of garbage as they all felt magic dissipate slightly. Buffy rushed over and checked on Angel, the young man silently moving over and watching as green light flashed over the body and from the other Mohra in the refuse. The light matching that cast by the demon briefly swirled and ceased. Angel, looking weak, looked up and only saw Buffy.

"I'm still human, boy am I tired."

"Xander?" Buffy began, then realized he was no where within fifty feet, "He's even better at that than you…"

Lex found himself facing off around the corner against six of Spike's eight minions as the rest watched from the shadows. The young scruffy man just shook his head at the standard vampire remarks, firing twelve shots and being knocked back into a wall pretty hard but he managed to take out all six at the cost of some bruises.

"Let's say we leave that one alone, shall we?" he grimaced, the two remaining minions nodding as they watched the human reload before departing, "I'll buy us a pint, lads."

"Xander! Lex!" two female voices called out as he was about to enter a place called Willy's Alibi Room, "Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" he said, looking at them reviving feelings from earlier this evening, "Join me for a drink?"

"Sure!" Cordelia said, still under the residual affects of the spell and pheromones, especially in proximity to Xander again. Willow looked at her funny, and also feeling a little 'free' nodded and grabbed one of his two proffered arms.

They walked into a relatively squalid place, Cordelia interested at the sheer gutter-rankness of it but more interested in the company, while Willow was too busy taking in the fact that there were at least ten different species of demon and Xander didn't care. He walked up and dropped two hundred dollars on the bar.

"A bottle of good bourbon, a decent bottle of red wine and clean glasses." He looked around, ignoring the smirks of several demons readying themselves for fun and eats when he drew out his weapons yet again, and at point blank range dusted through decapitation five loud vampires occupying the large back corner booth while playing cards. He looked at the Brachen dealer who'd been sitting there.

"Half the pot to buy drinks for the house, the other half's yours, clean the table now." Ten seconds later, the table cloth and all on it had been lifted out of the way and a clean one replaced it. A roar of approval defused any further ill-will as drink orders were placed. As the girls took up positions to the sides of 'Lex' a demon thanked him for the drink, and begged his name for a toast.

"Lavelle, Lex Lavelle" he replied as he poured wine for the girls.

"Um, Lex, are you still under the spell?" Willow asked, snuggling up to him, but a little hesitant.

"No, but I kept what they had."

"They?" Cordelia asked, sipping what proved to be an excellent vintage free of 'extras.'

"Well, the first was me as a member of KISS, with the abilities of Dad and the others depending what they'd given me toward the costume…and then when I put the rest of the "Snake Plissken" costume on, I became him."

"What about now?"

"I'm me, with what they had, it's not fading. Not yet."

"So why are we here if there's no magic involved?" Cordelia asked.

"Because I'm probably the hottest and deadliest man in town, and you'd rather I drop a few bills on a place to see what kind of magic we three can make instead of what the spell started us doing."

The two girls stared at him, each other and back at him again. He smiled a small smile and gave them equally lustful looks as he reached up and took seemingly forever to caress a cheek of each, then whispered, causing them to tremble slightly, "Shall we?"

11:35 AM, November 1st, 1997

The next morning found Alexander and two blushing girls in robes eating breakfast quietly in their suite at the Sunnydale Hilton, lots of fruit, and a small buffet-like selection off to the side with what his food-eidetic memory recalled as being what they'd mentioned as liking in the past. Cordelia had been both radiant and nervously blushing until he'd handed her the sales ads of the newspaper and a thousand dollars, suggesting she find something for her and Willow this weekend. Willow proved more afraid of the shopping about to engulf her than any emotional discomfort regarding the previous evening, early morning and pre-dawn hours.

"Well, how's breakfast," the young man with lots of hair pulled back into a pony tail asked in a soft but projecting manner, "I think the pineapple crepe things are great." Cordelia looked up and decided to beam a major smile.

"Surprisingly good, and there's an impressive sale at Nordstrom's in Los Angeles we'll be shopping at," the beautiful brunette enthused, impulsively side-hugging Willow as she now felt that at the most intimate level they were now equals, "It'll be great." Willow's eyes widened at the unabashed enthusiasm and fondness Cordelia seemed to have for her as well as Xander. Summoning what courage she had, she decided to ask.

"Um, can I ask something?" she posed the question quietly, causing newspapers and forks to be set aside. The two nodded, Xander then Cordelia reaching to hold hands with the others, "Is, ah, it always that good, you know? I never…"

"I hope so, Wills, cause even though I had a few ideas, it was my first time too."

"Mine too," Cordelia admitted, "All I've ever done was the making out."

"Really? Cause that was…wow," the red head responded quietly and blushing deeply, "A-and, I, ah, now what? Are we…something?"

Xander raised an eyebrow and looked to Cordelia, who blushed and looked at Xander, shrugging. Cordelia reestablished handholding with both of them. Cordelia eventually answered.

"It's…weird…complicated…and I so don't want to explain it to my parents before I'm eighteen, but yeah…I'd like this to gone on forever, I mean I'm not even bi, but I like suddenly…sharing…like we did, and I now I just wish we'd've been friends from the start, too." She started to tear up and tried shaking the desire to cry away. Willow and Xander both picked up on it and moved to a side of her each as Cordelia broke down, "I'm so sorry I was mean to you…" and the rest as sobbing girl mumbling that only Willow could partially manage to translate, shooting Xander looks of translation on the particulars. 'Maybe this could really work…' Willow thought hopefully, 'Being with a wonderful guy and girl seems right for some reason.' And Xander, being Xander, smiled as he thought something. Cordelia looked up long enough to catch both his concerned look and a briefly distracted smile.

"What is it?" she sniffed with a half-smile.

"Nothing…" he replied, receiving bemused glares in response, "I was just wondering what a twinkie would taste like with just a touch of maple syrup and wrapped in one of the pineapple crepes."

"That's our Doofus."

"Hey I'm a growing boy…"

"You were more than growing last night…" Willow softly voiced.

"Willow!" Xander smiled, "That was…good."

"Not half as fun as you having us play follow the cobra tattoo that circles your waist, with Cordelia moving from the other side."

"Enough," Xander blushed, heading for the bathroom for a shower, "I'm not listening…la, la, la…" Cordelia, also a crimson color, barely averted choking on the coffee she'd just sipped.