A/N : Thanx so much to the reviewers; Moonjava, Girl version of Chandler, Daniel Welsey Rydell, Hellmouth2, demonica mills, Moluvsnumber17, marykaitlyn, Freezyboncoolipants, vanillagigglez, EMBER91, Brunettepet, and spuffy4eva. It's kind of weird for me writing a story that's not centered around Spuffy romance or drama and romance in general, so I really appreciate all the support. It's good to know the parts that are supposed to be humourous actually make you laugh, and that the cute bits are sweet enough. Here's more...
(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)
Chapter 7
Joyce was glad she'd had the good sense to get the kids through lunch before she changed their clothes, since for the most part more pizza ended up on their hands, faces, and outfits than it ever did actually in their mouths. Dawn found it all highly amusing and even Spike couldn't help sniggering a bit at the kids antics as they ate and made an inordinate amount of mess.
"Anchovies, anchovies, you're so delicious, I like you better than all the other fishes" Dawn and Buffy sang together, giggling madly as they shoved more pizza with said topping into their mouths.
"Startin' to wonder who's the bigger kid out of you two" Spike smirked, at which both girls pointed at each other before giggling once again.
When everyone was finally done eating, Joyce took Dawn and trooped all the children upstairs to clean them up and change them into clean clothes, leaving Spike and the recently arrived Giles to tidy up in the kitchen.
"So, how'd the research pan out then, Watcher?" the vampire asked as he forced the pizza boxes into a plastic bag, "Any luck on findin' out how to change the little critters back into their proper sized selves?"
"I have made some progress" Giles admitted as he washed the plastic cups in the sink, "There are a number options, but the most likely seems to be that a Vengeance Demon overheard Dawn's wish and granted it for her"
"Vengeance demon, eh?" Spike frowned, "Like Anya used to be?"
"Exactly, yes" Giles nodded, "It would seem each Vengeance or Justice demon has a particular function, and they use the power of the wish, bestowed upon them by their leader D'Hoffryn, to right certain wrongs in the world"
"Right, Anya was all about vengeance for women who got screwed over by their fellas" Spike remembered.
"Indeed" the Watcher nodded as he turned off the faucet and dried his hands on a dish towel, "It seems there is a demon by the name of Halfrek whose duty is to punish parents, and indeed any adult, who has caused pain or suffering to a child"
"So she overhears Dawnie whinging on that nobody understand what it's like to be her, and wham-bam-pow Buffy and her mates all know what it's like to be the kid?" Spike guessed.
"That is the theory I've been working with, yes" Giles nodded, "It seems the most likely explanation"
Spike was about to ask what they do to solve the problem with this Halfrek bird and her bloody unwanted wish granting, when a sound like a small herd of elephants stampeding down the stairs interrupted him.
"What the soddin' hell...?" he said absently as he and Giles ventured through to the living room, just as the five children reached the bottom of the staircase, all grinning and apparently loving their new clothes.
Willow and Tara both wore dresses in very similar styles, though the red-head's was a pinky-peach shade, and her friends was a kind of blue-ish green. Xander had little blue jeans with patches and a T-shirt, whilst Anya had red dungarees on. Behind them came Buffy who both Giles and Spike were a little surprised to see in a smart little dress with daisies on it. Quite an odd choice for a Slayer, they both thought, but then she wasn't so much a Slayer as a little girl who probably still had aspirations of being a princess one day.
"Well, I think I did pretty well" Joyce said modestly as they all got to the bottom of the stairs and the kids scattered to go and play.
"Well done, Joyce" Giles smiled at her as she kissed her cheek. She offered to help him finish up in the kitchen and they disappeared off, leaving just Dawn and Spike, and the still lingering Buffy in the hall.
"You like my dress, Spikey?" the little blonde asked hopefully and the vampire glanced at Dawn then back at her sister.
"Gorgeous, luv" he told her with a smile, "Never seen anyone look prettier"
The grin on her face threatened to split it in two as she turned a little pink and then scampered off without a word. Dawn smiled too at that.
"Y'know Mom had got pants for her to wear but Buffy insisted she wanted the dress" she told her friend, "She so wanted you to say she was pretty"
"I know" Spike sighed, "And she is, course she is, but she's six years old and she still bloody fancies me. It's soddin' disturbing is what it is" he pointed out, "S'pose it could be worse though" he considered, "For the first time ever I'm sort of glad your sister's held out all this time" he said without thinking.
"You and Buffy haven't...y'know?" the young brunette asked with a look before shaking her head, "Oh, eeww, why am I even asking?"
"Beats me, pet" Spike told her with a smirk, "but since you already did, no we haven't, and I'm bloody glad right now. This is disturbing enough, that'd be bleedin' off the chart"
"Okay, I so do not need to hear this" Dawn told him firmly, putting her hands over her ears and hurrying away.
Spike smirked as he watched her go then sauntered back to the kitchen to speak to Giles some more about his Vengeance Demon theory. As he walked into the kitchen he found the Watcher and Joyce in a somewhat compromising position and was soon smirking once again. He cleared his throat, looking at the tiled floor to save dear old Mum some embarrassment. When he was sure the PDA was over he carried on as if nothing had happened,
"Was wonderin' if you want to tell me the rest of your theory about that demon of yours, Rupes?"
"Oh yes indeed, I was just filling Joyce in, in fact" Giles told him.
"'S that what they call it these days?" Spike asked with a raised eyebrow as he sat down by the counter, "Nobody told me"
"Spike" Joyce shot him a look that told him to let it go and he was silent for her sake.
"Back to the matter in hand" Giles started again, "This Halfrek person, or demon to be more accurate, she's likely to be strong but no real match for the group of us combined. I dare say you might even mange to kill her yourself, Spike" he told the vampire.
"So what's the big deal then?" the vampire shrugged, "I go out tonight, track the bint down, snap her neck, case closed, yeah?"
"Not entirely, no" Giles shook his head.
"Killing her won't reverse the wish" Joyce explained, having already heard this part from her boyfriend, "In fact it would make matters worse since she's the only one capable of changing the kids back"
"Alright, different plan" Spike considered, "I catch the bint, tie her up, torture her til she gives in and changes 'em back"
"Really Spike, you're not helping" Giles said crossly as he removed his glasses and polished them, "All the years you have existed and yet in all that time you have never once learnt to listen, have you?"
"'Scuse me for tryin' to bleedin' help!" the vampire snapped, catching the kids attention. Dawn and Buffy appeared in the doorway, followed by Xander and Anya who had somehow ended up hand in hand again.
"Why is Spikey yelling?" the little Slayer wanted to know, "Is something bad happening?" she asked, "Do I need to slay something?" she asked looking almost hopeful for some violence.
"No, sweetie, not right now" her mother assured her, before realising her daughter was used to being active and was more than likely hating being stuck in the house, as were all the children.
"How about we go play in the garden for a while?" she suggested.
"Yay!" was the general response from the group and Dawn went to hunt down the soccer ball she knew they had somewhere, also her hula hoop and various other things.
"Oh" Buffy said suddenly as they all went out the back door a few minutes later, "What about Spikey?" she said as she looked back at him, cowering away from the light in the kitchen.
"He'll be fine, Buffy" Dawn told her kindly, "Giles is gonna stay with him, and he can watch from the window a little bit, if he's careful"
"I guess" the little Slayer sighed, not loving leaving her man behind, but also desperate to be out in the sun where Xander was already kicking the ball around. She liked soccer, she used to play with the boys at her little school in LA, which in someways seemed a long time ago and in others not so much...
"Oh thank God for peace and quiet" Spike sighed as Giles shut the door behind the noisy bunch of children.
"Indeed, they do make rather a din" the Watcher agreed, "I rather feel the need for a large scotch" he admitted and Spike whole-heartedly agreed that he felt the same as they went for the drinks cabinet and poured a liberal shot each.
"Back to this Vengeance bint then" the vampire said, when his drink was gone and he began to pour another, "I'm all ears if you wanna explain what the bloody hell we do about her"
"Well, job number one would be tracking her down, and as fast as possible since there is no reason for her to stay long, especially if she has angered a great many people with very various wishes she has granted" Giles explained, "When we do find her we must appeal to her better nature, should she have one, and ask her to reverse the spell"
"Ask her?" Spike echoed incredulously, "You're gonna bloody ask her all nicely, and what offer her tea and cakes too I s'pose?"
"Spike, as I have explained, killing her or using force upon her will do no good" Giles sighed tiredly as he removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, "If she dies the spell will never be reversed, and I would imagine these Vengeance demons have somewhat of a superior pain threshold, they do tend to live for hundreds and thousands of years you know. Anya herself was eleven hundred when she was made human again"
"But she was made human, and that ended any wishes she'd cast recently, right?" Spike said as a thought occurred to him.
"Er, yes, I believe it did" Giles agreed.
"So all we got to do to Miss Unwated-Justice-For-The-Young is whatever someone did to Anya, and we got ourselves a humanised demon and full-sized Scooby Club" he said, hoping he was right.
"That would be an excellent plan" the older-looking man nodded, "If it not for one flaw - we have no idea how or why Anya did become human. Whatever happened to cause such a thing, she has never told me, perhaps to save her old colleagues from a similar fate or possibly just because she is embarrased"
"But we can find out, right?" Spike frowned, "I mean, it'll be in one of your dusty books or whatever"
"Possibly" Giles agree, "but it will take time to find and we really are running short of that commodity" he shook his head, "I would suggest we ask Anya if she remembers what happened, but in her current condition I fear it would be unlikely"
"Worth a shot" Spike decided as he poured himself another drink, "Course with her bein' outside and me having my little allergic reaction to the sun..." he went on, smirking as realisation dawned on the Watchers face.
"You expect me to ask a demon-turned-human trapped in the body of a six year old child about her defeat?" Giles checked, hardly believing it.
"Well, you're the one that mentioned the ticking time bomb situation we got here" Spike pointed out, "We don't find this Halfrek bint in double quick time we're stuck with mini-Scoobies and worse mini-Slayer for the rest of time. You fancy playin' father to that bunch cos I sure as hell never asked to be anybody's Dad" the vampire told him in no uncertain terms.
"Very well" Giles sighed, hating that Spike was right but knowing he really was on this occasion. The Watcher downed another scotch before venturing through the kitchen and out into the backyard.
Spike heard a thump and muttered cursing. He correctly guessed that on stepping outside the back door, Giles had been smacked in the face by the soccer ball, and the giggling culprit of the unmeant crime was a certain Slayer.
To Be Continued...