The next day, Buffy was at Giles's house bright and early. He would want to know about last nights' patrol. And she wanted to know if there was anything special about this vampire or if he was just an unusually strong one.
Xander and Willow were already there, pouring over the tomes and manuals that Giles kept for their research. Willow was cross-referencing their information with additional information she could find on the Internet.
"How was the patrol?" asked Giles, holding a cup of tea.
"Not bad," responded Buffy. "Only got one vamp, though. But he was unusually tough. Took me ten minutes. But I dusted him."
"Really?" questioned Giles. "Was there anything unusual about him? Other than his being unusually tough?"
"Nothing that I noticed," said Buffy. "Except for a tat on his left forearm."
"A tat?" Giles questioned.
"Yeah, a tattoo," said Buffy. "It looked like a skull with a snake wrapped around it. Is that enough?
"Perhaps," said Giles. "Willow, would you see what you can find out, please?"
"Sure," said Willow. "It should be pretty easy. All I have to do is cross reference tattoos with known. . ."
"Yes, thank you, Willow," said Giles, cutting her off. Sometimes Willow was a bit more talkative than Giles preferred.
"Sounds like a biker tattoo," said Xander, looking up from the tome he was reading. "Kind of like the Vampire Hells' Angels."
"Xander, the research," said Giles, annoyance in his voice.
"Right," said Xander. "Looking for demon stuff. Boy, this is just loads and loads of fun."
"Xander," reiterated Giles, his voice rising in volume. Xander quickly engrossed himself in the tome before him.
"Whatcha' working on?" asked Buffy.
"Giles has us researching something really nasty called a cerebral demon," Willow said.
"Yes," said Giles, obviously annoyed that no one seemed to be working. He removed his glasses and began to clean them. "A friend of mine recently called me and said he'd heard that this demon was heading this way. I just thought it might be a good idea if we had some information about it before we had to confront it."
"Good idea," said Buffy. "So, what does this cerebral demon do, anyway?"
"According to our research so far," said Giles, putting his glasses back on, "it appears that this demon doesn't attack physically. It attacks through a series of mental attacks. Some sort of telepathic attack I would assume. The attacks take place in the victims mind, but they're totally convinced they are real."
"Oh," said Buffy. "That doesn't sound like any fun."
"Giles has me looking for charms or spells that will protect you," said Willow, smiling. "I haven't found anything yet, but never fear. I'll find something."
"Not if you don't continue your research you won't," said Giles, looking at her sternly.
"Look," said Willow, typing at the keyboard, "this is me, doing research."
Buffy just smiled. Willow was bubbly, Xander was complaining, and Giles was annoyed about it all. Things were totally normal.
"I think I'll run to the mall," said Buffy. "There's a pair of shoes at one of the stores I've been looking at."
"You really need to be training," said Giles. "If this demon is heading this direction, you will need to be ready for it."
"I'll train," said Buffy. "This afternoon. Right now, I think I owe myself a trip to the mall. See you all later."
Buffy practically skipped out of the house while the rest of the crew continued their research into the cerebral demon. Later that afternoon, Buffy kept her promise to train. She and Giles had been working out for nearly an hour before Giles brought up the subject of the vampire she had fought only the night before.
"It seems his name was Lucas Berman," said Giles. "One of three brothers who always travel together. They all have similar tattoos each being just slightly different from the others."
"So that means there are two more of them out there," said Buffy, trying to catch her breath. "If they're as tough as he was, it's going to be an interesting couple of nights."
"Well," said Giles, "Lucas was arguably the weakest of the three. Mordecai, the middle brother, is a bit stronger. And Sebastian, the eldest, is the strongest. For some reason which no one seems to know, Mordecai has never been known to speak.
"I would imagine that since you've killed their brother, the other two would be looking for you. Perhaps you should have company on your patrols for the next few nights."
"I appreciate the sentiment, Giles," said Buffy as she toweled the sweat off of her, "but the rest of you aren't exactly equipped to fight vampires."
"Yes, well, I was thinking more along the lines of Angel," said Giles.
"I'll think about it," said Buffy. "Angel hasn't been around much lately."
"Nevertheless," said Giles, "you shouldn't go out alone for the next few nights. These particular vampires aren't your run of the mill types. One is very dangerous and two can be extremely formidable."
"Okay, okay," said Buffy. "I'll try to get hold of Angel. You might be right. That Lucas was pretty tough. I promise not to go out alone until we've taken care of the other two."
"That's all I ask," said Giles. "Now, you'd better get home. I'm sure your mother will have dinner ready soon."
"You're right," said Buffy. "I'd better get going. I'll see you tomorrow."
"And don't forget your promise," said Giles.
"I won't," said Buffy. "I'll get hold of Angel before I go out tonight."
Giles didn't say a word. He just smiled as Buffy hurried out to go home.
Unnoticed in the back of the library a maintenance man was changing one of the overhead lights. He looked at the Giles and Buffy as they left the library. Smiling to himself he went back to his work.