The gang stood around silently after Buffy explained the situation at Angel's place. Xander was pacing around the room while the rest of the gang sat at the table in front of her.
He never was comfortable with Angel before. He already lost all respect for him after he turned evil and murdered Jenny. And now this. Who cold blame him?
Willow sat on the table, playing with her fingers, definitely a lot going on in her mind. Cordelia sat there, bored as ever, making it obvious by randomly huffing when she realized no one was paying attention to how bored she was. Giles was cleaning his glasses, and staring off into the distance as he thought quietly to himself.
Buffy decided to break the uncomfortable silence with a little light humor on the situation.
"Not that I'm a complainer, but you notice Cosmo has never run an article about the complications of falling in love with a vampire? The evil always gets in the way."
"Hello, but…duh!" Cordelia replied.
"Thank you for that eloquent and comfortable sentiment." Buffy said sarcastically.
"Unfortunately Buffy, yours is not the only bad news." Giles started, putting his glasses back on. "While you were gone, my research turned up the origins of the sigil from your rather prophetic nightmare. It is the mark of three demons, known collectively as the Korta'Kass- the Dreamers. Individually, these beings possess impressive physic abilities. However, by joining forces, they can purportedly distort or mold reality within a certain proximity through mental projection. I suspect that the Master is attempting to locate and reunite the Dreamers so that he can exploit their powers for some greater evil purpose."
Buffy thought for a moment.
"I get it. If they're all together, then they can use their mental powers. But for the mental powers? I'm assuming that means they all have to have heads. I'm seeing a solution here."
"Do not take this lightly." Giles said. "You'll have to be at the top of your game when you face them."
"Sticking to the metaphor, Giles? Don't worry. In this game, I'm in a league of my own."
"If you're all done with the usual blathering now, you might want to listen to what Xander has to say." Cordelia said. "While Buffy was fighting with her dead boyfriend and his pasty grandfather, we paid a visit to a part of town my precious car should never have to go to again."
"Xander, you got something from Willy?" Buffy asked him. Xander stopped pacing and faced them.
"Got some pretty interesting stuff, actually. Course I had to promise not to rough him up."
"Hmm…and give him twenty dollars or so." Giles said.
"Forty." Cordelia corrected.
"Does anyone want to hear this?" Xander said impatiently. "Anyway, apparently there's a ship loaded with black market supernatural knick-knacks arriving in at the docks tonight. Willy overheard some of the Aurelius vamps say they're expecting a package and are supposed to be there to meet it."
"And so will we." Buffy said. Everyone nodded, understanding the next plan. They were going to the docks to get the cargo.
"Just be careful, Buff." Xander said.
"Always, I'm just worried what happens when I run into Angel. How do I destroy the Master, without killing him too?"
"Maybe that's not the question you need to ask."
Buffy understood what he meant, but she couldn't help shake the feeling of worry off her shoulders. Willow must have understood her feelings as she stared at her intently.
"Don't worry, Buffy. We'll find a way to get rid of the Master and get the old Angel back. Well, not the old Angel, so much as the new old Angel. Without the smoking. And the torture. And the homicide."
"I had to kill him once before. I don't know if I can take having to do it again."
"You'll do what has to be done, Buffy. You always have." Willow said softly.
"Thanks, Will."
"The Master and Angel - two of the most feared vampires in history bundled into one lethal package." Xander thought out loud. "What really sucks is that the chicks will probably still dig him. Damn that vampire mystique!"
Xander noticed everyone was looking at him. He decided to quickly change the subject.
"So, how much time do we have before we go? I think Cordelia's tire has a slow leak. No matter how often I pump it up, it's never long before it needs more pumping."
"Wait, one more thing, Buffy." Giles said as he rose from his office. He held a sharp-edged tool in his hand. It was rounded on both sides, and dull and skinny in the middle where Giles held it. It looked to Buffy like the blade of a battle axe or something like that.
"What you got there, Giles?" Buffy asked him.
"It is called a Reaper Blade. Forged in 12th century Germany from various holy relics claimed during the Crusades, it is blessed with an uncanny supernatural sharpness and durability. Once you've gained experience with the blade, you may also attach the Reaper Wing, which will allow you to throw the blade with great force and accuracy." he placed the handle of the wing in her hands, she was surprised how light it felt.
"A new toy, and it isn't even my birthday. You're always thinking of me, Giles. If I get good with the wing, when do I get the Reaper Shoes to complete the ensemble?"
"Sadly there are no Reaper Shoes."
"Well, still, one could dream." then Buffy's faced hardened. "I just hope I won't have to use this on Angel."
Xander walked up and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Guess we'd better get going, huh?" he asked her.
Buffy nodded her head silently and walked out the library. Willow, Xander, and Cordelia followed behind. They walked down the quiet, empty halls of the school, towards the parking lot where Cordelia was parked. Willow caught up to Buffy and looked at her sadly, still aware of Buffy's growing concern for Angel.
"Don't worry. We'll find a way to fix this."
Buffy let out a pained smile. Her small words seemed to have an effect on her.
"I know, I just can't help but worry about him all the time. Ever since he came back to me."
"Looks like your boyfriend is all 'Grrr' again. Sucks to be you." Cordelia butted in.
"Cordelia, do you ever shut up?" Xander yelled from behind them.
---
Buffy, Willow, Xander, and Cordelia stood in the front office of the dock, going over the next set of plans. Xander and Cordelia shared the chair in front of the computer console. Cordelia was tying her hair back in a ponytail, Xander sat next to her, idly playing with his fingers. Willow was on the opposite side of the room, leaning against a bookcase. Giles stayed behind in the library, he still had research to do on the tattoos imprinted on the long-haired vamp and the snake-vamp she just killed.
"In what fantasy did you imagine I'd go into a place as grimy as this?" Cordelia said after tying her hair back.
"The one where you're…wait, that was a rhetorical question, wasn't it?" Buffy replied sourly. "Hey, feel free to hang out here and guard the entrance. Make sure none of the Aurelius vampires get out."
A look of shook struck Cordy's face.
"On second thought, the search will go much faster with an extra set of eyes." she said.
"I'll start searching the warehouse for suspicious, supernatural cargo." Xander said.
"You be careful with the searching."
"Got it. What a time for me to be without one of those supernatural cargo sniffing dogs."
"Okay, thought occurring." Willow piped up. "We shouldn't rule out the possibility that the nasty Dreamer demon cargo hasn't been unloaded from the ship yet."
"Possible, but let's check the warehouse first." Buffy replied.
"Aye aye, captain. Always wanted to say that." Willow beamed.
"I'll head out first. I'll go clear the way of any vampires or nasty demons then I'll come back for you guys. Don't want any nasty surprises."
Everyone nodded in agreement. Buffy waved and walked out into the night, clutching the Reaper Wing in her sweaty palm.
"I've got a bad feeling about this." she thought out loud.
Two figures suddenly jumped out and landed next to her. Two vampires stood on each side of her. Buffy turned around with the Wing and decapitated the third vampire that snuck up from behind her before he realized what was about to happen. The head wore a look of shock before it dusted along with the body. Buffy spun around in a perfect 180 degree arc with the wing extended, decapitated the vampire to the right of her.
The third vampire turned around and ran. Buffy brought the Wing up and threw it like a Frisbee. The Wing soared threw the air and cut through the vamp's neck, severing his head. The vampire dusted before his head hit the ground.
"Wow, that is one hell of a weapon!" she said, grinning.
A loud crash sounded inside the warehouse.
"Slayer! You're going down!"
A leather-clad vampire jumped through a broken window in the warehouse and came running for her. Buffy tried to duck, but he was faster than she expected. He back-handed her across the face and followed in with an uppercut. Buffy hit the ground hard on her back.
"You know? I like the way your face looks on my boot." the vamp remarked
Buffy brought her foot up swiftly, and kicked him between the legs. The vampire let out a comical yell.
"I bet you say that to all your victims." Buffy retorted.
She leaped back up and came in with punches. The vamp grabbed her wrist in mid-punch and held her.
"You're almost too pretty to kill, but not quite." he said.
"So sorry I had to disappoint you."
Buffy broke from his grasp and kicked him square in the chest. The vampire flew back and landed against the crane, the sharp, wooden edge of the lift protruded from his chest. The vampire dusted as he looked down at his wound.
"He wasn't man enough for me."
Buffy walked up to where she dusted the last vamp and found the Wing lying next to a stack of crates. Buffy picked up the weapon and looked up. The crates stacked up to ledge. Buffy climbed up the crates and reached the ledge. She walked up to a door on the left, into a small office.
---
Xander paced back and forth around the office, constantly checking his watch waiting for Buffy to return and let them know the coast was clear.
Why does she think she can always do something on her own? What is taking her so long? She probably forgot all about us and she's out there right now looking for the crate without our help.
He wanted to go after her, but he knew the girls would protest. He looked to see Willow sitting on the floor next to the shelf, thumbing through a book. Cordelia was on her cell phone, talking to Harmony.
He decided he would sneak out. He grabbed the crossbow off the desk and quietly walked up to the door and opened it. He watched them carefully. Both of them paid him no mind. Xander quietly snuck out the building and closed the door. He walked off towards the warehouse, crossbow in hand, looking for any signs of Buffy.
Cordelia hung up her phone and put it back in her purse.
"Xander, do you have any money on you? Harmony wants to go to the mall tonight, but I'm sorta strapped for cash. Xander?"
She looked up at Xander, only to notice he wasn't there.
"Willow, where did Xander go?"
Willow looked up quickly from her book.
"I don't know, he was just here a minute ago."
This is so like him.
"He took the crossbow. Maybe he went looking for Buffy." Willow said.
"Should we go looking for him?" Cordelia asked.
"That won't be necessary." a familiar voice said.
Both girls looked up to see Giles walk into the office. He held a stack of books and a crossbow in his hands.
"You girls don't worry about him. I'll go out and find him, you two stay in here. We still need to find research on the tattoo, and Willow, I need you to look through these, see if you can anything on performing exorcisms..."
"But Giles…" Willow protested.
"No buts, Willow. I'll go handle the situation. You two can stay in here. If you want to be useful, try to find anything you can on spirit channeling. Things will go a lot faster this way."
Willow sighed and silently agreed. Giles sat the books down on the table.
He cocked the crossbow, and left the room with no further words.
Willow picked up the first book and began searching.
---
Giles walked into the vast warehouse. Besides the few piles of dust outside, he saw no sign of Xander or Buffy. He hated to have to leave the girls in the office like that, but he figured that was the best course of action. With them doing research while he, Buffy, and Xander took care of the current situation, they would get things done a lot faster.
He raised the crossbow instantly as a figure jumped down from the ledge above. He unleashed a bolt and the vampire dusted instantly. Two more vampires jumped down from the ledge and ran towards him. He unleashed two more bolts. Each fount their spots successfully, reducing both vampires to ash.
Figures suddenly arose form the dark shadows of the warehouse. Giles counted over a dozen vampires as they came into view.
Giles dusted the first of the vamps as it came near, but he was suddenly ambushed. A cocky vampire came close enough and knocked the bow out of his hands. The bow hit the ground with a hard crack, breaking in two.
"You bloody idiot. That was my favorite bow."
He reached into his belt and pulled out a battle axe. He immediately started hacking as the remaining vamps rushed at him one by one.
---
Xander walked through the storage room, his new find in hand. He walked up past the window, and stopped when he saw the familiar figure walk past.
"Buffy!"
Buffy stopped and faced him.
"Xander! Hey, what's up?"
"Where've you been, Buff? We were waiting for you to come back for us at the office."
Buffy slapped herself on the forehead.
"Oh, I'm sorry Xander. I got too caught up. I ran into a bunch of vampires outside the warehouse and I caught up in the heat of the battle, I totally forgot about you guys. I'm sorry."
"It's alright. Anyways, I think I found something. Take a gander at these." He held up the huge yellow shell-like thingy he found in the storage room. "Didn't find any supernatural knick-knacks, but I did find either monster fish scales that could be used as beautifully decorative ashtrays, or really big guitar picks."
"Hmmm. Looks like the shell droppings of the dreaded jumbo shrimp demon." she replied.
Xander laughed nervously.
"You are kidding, right?"
"I never kid about demonic seafood."
Xander jumped back in surprise at the thought of actual demon big enough to belong to the piece he held in his hand.
"I think I'll go look for more suspicious crates and such."
Buffy smiled and waved. Xander returned the gesture and went on his way.
---
Cordelia sat at the computer console and connected to the internet.
How hard can it be to find a stupid tattoo?
She went to Google and began typing.
"Hmm, let's see. A...U….R…E…L….where's the I?…here we go, I….U…S…T…A…T…T…O…O and S! There!"
She clicked the search button and the results popped up from the screen. "Results 1-10 of about 3,484" appeared on the blue margin.
"Okay, let's see here."
Cordelia clicked on the first site.
---
Buffy jogged down the wooden pier. Up ahead, she saw Xander. He was inside another building, waving for her to come near. Buffy picked up the pace and came up to the opening where Xander was waiting.
"Hey Buffy! I think I've…"
The wooden walkway suddenly busted apart, wooden planks flew into the air, plunging into the murky water. A huge demon jumped up from the opening, and landed on the pier. It had to be the ugliest monster Buffy had ever seen. It had a tiny, fishy head on top of a tall, lean, muscular body. Huge yellow fish scales identical to the one Xander held lined his back.
"Thought you were kidding about the whole jumbo shrimp thing." Xander said.
"I…I thought I was t-too." Buffy replied, surprise stuttering her voice.
The shrimp demon cleared the distance between them in one fluid motion. It lashed a long claw out and hit her square in the chest. Buffy fell back against the wall. She sucked up the pain in her chest and got up before the demon could do anymore damage to her. She swiped at it with the Reaper Wing, cutting two huge, gaping wounds into its chest. The demon struck her across the face. She spun in the air and landed on the dock. The demon jumped up to her and leaned down towards her, opening its huge jaws, attempting to rip out her throat.
When are demons going to learn that little tactic never works?
Buffy brought the edge of the Wing up and cleaved it into its throat. Hot blood spilled onto Buffy's shirt and all over her arms. The demon backed off and gagged in pain. Buffy jumped up and spun the Wing in a huge arc. The blade cut through the demon's open wound in its torso, and sliced through the rest of its body. The demon stopped gagging as it split in two. Its upper half plunged into the water.
Buffy turned around to the building. Xander was gone. She figured he must have run off after the shrimp demon appeared. She leaped over the gaping hole in the docks where the demon came out of and walked up to the dark building up ahead. She opened up the door and walked through the empty building. She reached for the door at the other end, but was suddenly blasted back from an incredible force. She flew back and hit the wall. She looked up from the wall, and saw Big Baldy, the huge vampire from The Bronze, standing in the doorway.
Buffy tried to lift up, but could not find the strength. Baldy lumbered towards her, hunger shimmered in his glowing eyes. Buffy found the strength and rolled out the way just as the vamp reached her. She jumped up from her roll and ducked out of the way just as he brought a humongous fist down. The fist missed her head by inches and got stuck in the wall. Buffy rushed up to the Wing and swiped it up. She flung it hard, and it sliced through the vamp's thick neck. Both the head and the huge body dusted as they hit the ground.
"Just needed to take a little off the top."
---
Willow studied the spell she found in one of the huge leather spell books. The spell was used to exorcise ghosts out of the bodies of their selected victims. Willow was sure that was the spell she needed. The spell would require a bunch of stinky herbs and tribal masks that she was sure Giles had locked up in the library somewhere.
"Ah ha!" Cordelia yelled loudly.
"What is it?" Willow asked as she sat up from the floor.
"I found something on the tattoos from that vamp with the bad haircut and his snaky girlfriend. It says right here that some vampires perform a crazy ritual where they have to burn a sigil on their forehead and worship some dark power. The rite allows them to become part of their inner animal, whatever that means."
"Cordelia, this is great! You found something!"
"Great! Now let's go tell Giles. Only we don't know where he is."
"He'll come back. I have good news for him too. I found a way to exorcise the Master from Angel. We just need to get the supplies from the library."
"You just always want to find a way to steal all my glory, don't you?"
Willow smiled slyly.
"I'm irrational that way."
---
Xander hid behind a stack of crates, listening intently to the vampire's conversation. The cargo that he and Buffy were looking for was sitting inside a docked ship. Blue mist illuminated around the box, indicating the supernaturalness of the cargo.
"The cargo appears to be intact," the first vamp said. "heavy though. They're going to have to hook it up to the crane."
"Excellent, the Master will be pleased." the second vamp replied.
"Don't get ahead of yourself. Until the last Dreamer is in his hands, there's still a chance we may fail him."
"Don't even say it. I don't want to think about what he could do to us then."
The huge crane lifted the cargo out of the boat. Xander glanced up and saw a vampire at the operator chamber of the crane. A figure leaped into view in the far distance. Xander recognized Buffy as she landed on her feet, behind the two vampires. The vampires ran at her, but Buffy was quick. She snapped a sidekick at the first vampire, and brought her blade down onto his neck, decapitating him. The second vampire soon followed as Buffy swung the Wing towards her neck.
Damn, that is one hell of a weapon!
More vamps ran out at her. The vampire operating the crane rushed past him to join the battle. Xander came out from behind the stack of crates and silently crept up the ladder to the crane's controls.
The hatch separating the two rooms began to close up. Buffy eliminated two more vampires, and ran towards the closing hatch. She dodged a few more vampires, and performed a diving roll through the hatch just as it slammed shut. Buffy glanced up as Xander called down to her.
"Hey, Buff, up here! I'm a crane operator!"
"Do your thing and send it down, crane operator man." she called up.
Xander studied the controls, looking for the right switch, when suddenly a vampire came out of nowhere.
"It's clobbering time!"
The vampire grabbed him by the throat and shoved him against the wall.
"Hey! What are you trying to do, kill me?"
"That would be the point, yes." the vampire replied.
Xander kicked him in the shin and punched him back. The vampire released his grip and fell back against the controls. A loud hum sounded, followed by Buffy's frantic cry.
"Xander!"
He heard a loud crash, and the sound of wood breaking.
"That's it, I'm calling my union rep."
Xander shoved the vampire off the controls. The vampire fell back and out the window. He heard the vamp's frantic scream, then the sound of him reducing to dust. He looked out the window to see a pile of dust circled around a huge wooden beam. The cargo was laying on the ground off to the far left, and Buffy was nowhere in sight. Xander fell back against the wall, exhausted.
"Whew! Another hard day on the docks for crane operator man."
Buffy stood up slowly. Every muscle in her body ached, and she felt like she couldn't find a bone in her body that wasn't broken. The last thing she remembered was seeing Xander struggle against a vampire, then a huge box swinging towards her as she called out to him. She looked towards the crane and saw the huge box sitting there, a blue mist formed around the box.
"Eerie mist. Eerie mist is never of the good."
The front of the box suddenly popped open and fell to the floor. Inside, she saw a hideous figure bound in leather and chains, the same figure she saw in one of her dreams the other night.
"Curly?"
One by one, the chains that bound the Dreamer in the box came loose. The Dreamer floated out of its prison. Blue energy illuminated around the Dreamer. Its head twitched vigorously as if in agony.
Let me shorten that pain for you, sweetie.
Buffy ran up to the Dreamer and sliced at it with the Reaper Wing. The Wing struck the sphere of energy, and a bone-jarring jolt of electricity struck her and knocked her unceremoniously on her ass.
"Okay, that was a dumb idea. Time for a better plan."
Buffy turned around and began running. The Dreamer was a lot quicker than she expected. It soared towards her, and smacked against her with the glowing sphere. The impact would have killed anybody, but luckily she had the Slayer strength to withstand it.
The Dreamer hovered over her body as she tried to find the strength to get back up. Two tendrils of energy wrapped around her body and lifted her up, surrounding her with blue electricity. Buffy felt waves and waves of electricity pulsating through her body. She felt her energy begin to diminish. The Dreamer struck out with a powerful wave that sent her soaring across the warehouse.
Buffy slowly picked herself up to her knees, unable to find the strength to stand up. The blue energy around the Dreamer began to fade. Its last move apparently took a lot of power. Buffy looked at her hand in amazement as she noticed she was still holding the Reaper Wing. She suspected she would be able to cut through the sphere while it was still weak. She gathered up all the energy she could muster and flung the blade. The blade cut through the sphere and sliced through the neck of the Dreamer. The energy crackled and burst in an explosion of blinding blue light, then it faded away. When everything cleared, nothing stood there except for the two, smoking pieces of the Reaper Wing.
---
Giles busted through the door after he heard the explosion, exhausted and weary from the troubles he faced to get over here. He ran into a dozen or so more vampires after escaping the first group he ran into back at the warehouse nearby where he left Willow and Cordelia.
He looked down, and saw the Reaper Wing. It was broken in two, both pieces were badly burned.
"Giles."
He glanced up and saw Buffy leaning against a stack of crates. Giles ran up and helped her up to her feet.
"Buffy, are you alright? What happened?"
"I came face to face with one of the Dreamers. He almost had me, but I got him."
"How do you feel?"
"A little worn out, but I'm getting better. He barely managed to drain the life out of me. I just need to get out of these clothes, take a nice hot shower. I'll be alright."
"Sounds like my kind of night." Xander said as he walked up to join them from the top of the crane. "Got into a tangle with on of the Aurelius vamps, but I held my own. Nothing Xander Harris the crane operator man can't handle. So Buffy, what happened out there?"
Buffy managed a weak smile.
"Long story, let's just get back to the library. As much as I just want to crawl into bed right now, we have a lot of stuff to discuss. But first, I need to get home and take that shower I'm jonesing for right now."
"Indeed." Giles said.
The three of them made their way back to the front office.