Angel stood with Willow by the computer and read the page she had brought up. She had been looking into a small, but growing string of strange murders where the victims had four large holes in their stomachs and their eyes were missing and had found something incredibly interesting. "It's linked directly to this one guy." Willow blinked. "Well, he's not a guy. He's a demon. A tragnuocial (A/N pronounced trag-no-key-all) demon to be more specific."
"I thought they were extinct." Angel said.
"They are, but apparently this one survived."
"That means there could be more."
"What's the big deal about this tragnocall thing anyway?" Xander asked.
"Obviously you haven't seen one." Angel said. He looked at Willow. "But it doesn't make sense. Tragnuocial demons are supposed to be peaceful."
"It says here that every now and then a couple of them would sell themselves off as mercenaries. They can be really lethal when they're told to be, though."
"So this thing could be one of the mercenaries?" Xander asked.
"Maybe."
"What kind of people have been hit?"
"What?"
"You know, you said there was a string. Who were they?"
"I didn't look. I just followed the clues and found the demon."
"He's right." Angel said. "These people could be connected somehow."
"I'll look into it."
"What about Buffy?"
"I'll tell her if she decides to get in at a decent hour tonight." Angel slammed the door to the office.
"Brr….. I think the star-crossed lovers are looking to be uncrossed."
"You've noticed the tension too?" Willow asked. "Maybe I was wrong about the stress. Maybe there really is something wrong."
"Maybe." Xander looked at the closed office door.
"Watch out!" Spike yelled as a demon jumped off a headstone towards Buffy's back. She fell to the ground and rolled sideways so the demon was underneath her. Slamming her elbows into the thing's ribcage, she kicked up at the other demon she had been fighting. It flew back and she slammed the demon underneath her in the ribs again. It groaned and she jumped to her feet.
"They just keep coming!" Buffy yelled, dodging another vampire.
"Tell me about it. Where're Faith and Connor?"
"I don't know!" Buffy didn't turn in time and caught a bony fist to her cheek. "Damn it!" She felt blood start to trickle down her cheek. "Spike, we gotta get out of this!"
"I know!" There was a pop. "Bloody hell that hurt!"
Buffy jumped onto the wall of a nearby mausoleum and kicked off of it, kicking a vampire in the face and sending him flying into three oncoming demons. That cleared a path for her to get to her weapons packed in her large black duffel bag. She pulled out two crossbows and started shooting. They were both crossbows that automatically loaded. When she had run out of bows, she switched to her sais. These had been made cool by the character of Electra from Daredevil, but Buffy was way better than Jennifer Garner could ever hope to be.
Buffy started taking down demons as fast as she could, but she came up against one that had skin that seemed to be made of steel instead of skin. The middle blade of one of her sais broke and the demon grabbed her by the throat, hauling her into the air. She didn't see Spike anywhere and was starting to get a little worried. She tried to kick the thing in the leg, but all she got was a seriously stubbed toe.
Just as things started to go black, she was dropped hard to the ground and the demon disappeared from her vision. There were noises of fighting all around her, but it was hard to concentrate as she coughed and tried to get her air back on track. She felt her cell phone ringing in her back pocket and reached for it. "Yeah?" She gasped in a hoarse voice.
"Buffy?" Willow asked.
"Yeah?"
"Are you all right?"
"Kinda busy right now."
"Listen, you need to be on the look out for this demon….. His name is Nargul."
"Nargul?"
"He's a tragnuocial demon. He's real big and he's got really thick skin. Like steel or something and he's got a silvery-gray tint to him….."
"Well, I think I just met your boy. I'll call you back." Buffy hung up before Willow could say anything else and got to her feet. Faith and Connor were fighting the tragnuocial demon that Buffy had gone up against, but they were fairing just as bed as she had. Spike was laying unconscious on the ground a few feet from the main fight. The vampires and demons were still numerous, but not as numbered as before. "Guys, we gotta go!"
"What?" Connor called back. "We can take this guy." Just after the words left his mouth, Nargul sent Connor flying with a right hook. "Ow."
"Connor!" Buffy rushed to him and helped her son to his feet.
Faith ran over and grabbed Spike, who was just now coming around, and together, the four of them retreated. "What the hell was that?" Faith asked.
"That was a trigonometry demon." Buffy said.
"You mean a tragnuocial demon?" Spike asked.
"Whatever."
"They're extinct."
"Didn't look extinct to me when he was kicking our asses." Connor said.
"Now you admit we couldn't take him?" Buffy asked.
"I'm stubborn. You know that."
"Listen, we need to get back to the hotel and find out what the hell is going on." They jumped into Buffy's car and sped out onto the street. "Willow called back there and told me that I needed to watch out for that guy."
"I don't understand. They're extinct." Spike said. "What's a bloody tragnuocial demon doing running the streets of LA?"
"Apparently he didn't get the extinction memo."
The doors of the Hyperion burst open and Buffy, Connor, Faith, and Spike walked in. They looked pretty beaten up, especially Buffy and Spike. "What happened to you guys?" Xander asked.
"The extinct demon played dodgeball with us." Buffy said.
"What, did he play it with rocks instead of rubber balls?"
"No, he played with steel fists."
"That's just no fair."
"Willow, what's going on?"
"I don't know exactly." Willow said, coming around the desk. "This guy's unofficially linked to a number of murders in the area, but…."
"Spike says he's supposed to be dead."
"Not dead luv, extinct. Dead you can come back from." Spike said.
"Preaching to the choir."
"Well, his species is supposed to be extinct, but this guy managed to survive." Willow said. "He must be one of the mercenary demons."
"Mercenary demons?"
"Yeah, sometimes a few of these demons would loan their services to people for big money. They were the number one in demand mercenaries in the business. Or at least until they became extinct."
"This guy must be one of em then." Faith said.
"We need to find out who could've hired this guy. He seems to be after us personally." Buffy said.
"Why do you say that?" Connor asked.
"Because not many demons know my patrolling schedule. He's been following me. Sending in lackeys so he can figure out my fighting style. That's how he knew what moves I would pull. No one's ever gotten me into a throat lock that easily."
"And what about the mix?" Faith asked. "I didn't think demons and vampires played well together."
"They don't." Spike said. "I've only seen this once before."
"Adam." Buffy said. Spike nodded. "Well, the Initiative is gone, so we can rule them out. Now who else has the kind of power to bring those two evils together?"
"The Senior Partners."
"Maybe."
"We shouldn't rule them out, Buffy." Willow said.
"We won't. But something tells me that we're finished with them. This is bigger than the Senior Partners."
"What makes you say that?" Xander asked.
"I got a hunch."
"I've learned to trust your hunches. Let's go with the hunch."
"Good choice. Will, we need to find where this guy is hanging his hat."
"On it." Willow headed to the computer.
"Everyone else, let's try to learn more about this trig demon."
Buffy stepped out of the shower and looked at the clock. It was three in the morning. They'd been up all night researching this tragnuocial demon and hadn't had much luck. They kept running into the same conclusion that these demons sometimes were hired as mercs, but they're supposed to be extinct and therefor there is no reason to write about them any further. Thankfully, the hotel was under the anti-demon spell, so Nargul couldn't get in here and do any damage. And that gave them the power to capture him.
"Got tired of reading?" Angel asked behind her.
She turned, holding up the towel. "You know, you need to get a reflection. I'm tired of you sneaking up on me."
"Vampire."
"Hence the 'get-a-reflection' part." Buffy brushed past Angel and headed for the closet.
"You're not planning on going out there again, are you?"
"Maybe. Why should you care?"
"Because the last time you went out, this Nargul nearly killed you."
"Strength in numbers. Faith and Connor were there."
"Yeah? And next time, they might not be."
"Well, that won't happen because we're not splitting up this time."
"You're not going out there again."
"What?"
"It's too dangerous and you're gonna get yourself killed."
"Ok, who the hell are you to tell me I can't go?"
"I'm your husband."
"Well, last time I looked, I was my own person capable of making my own decisions and I decided that I'm going to find this thing's lair, or house, or whatever it calls home, and I'm going to get the information we need to stop it. Or better yet, stop the people that sent this thing after us." Buffy walked out of the closet in dark, wide leg jeans and a tight black, plunging v-neck long sleeved shirt. She plopped down on the bed and started to slip on her knee-high, lace-up, combat boots. "So, if you want to sit here and sulk that I'm out there doing my job better than you, be my guest."
"What is wrong with you?"
"What's wrong with you?"
"Well, for starters, the last few days you've been nothing but bitchy towards me."
"Feeling's mutual."
"And another thing, you've been hanging out with Faith, Spike, and Connor like you guys are some high school clique that's cooler than everybody else."
"And you're jealous cause we didn't invite you? Get over it honey. At least we're actually out there doing something instead of moping around here.
"I'm not jealous at all. You four are completely reckless and it's getting dangerous for all of us."
"How is it getting dangerous for anybody else?"
"This guy isn't just after you, Buffy, he's after all of us. And by going out there half-cocked, you're giving him a direct shot at taking out all of us while you're gone."
"Anti-demon spell. Just hide here like you've been and you'll be safe and sound." Buffy started to walk out the door.
"Buffy….."
"What?"
"Would you just stop and think about what you're doing? What you're saying."
"I did. In the shower." With that, she walked out and headed for the lobby.
"Got it." Willow said. "I had to use a little magick on the computer to get through some nasty firewalls, but I got it."
"Good. Where's it at?"
"Beverly Hills." Willow handed Buffy the print out.
Buffy looked at the address. "Wow, he's big time money. God job, Will. You guys ready?"
"As always." Spike said.
"Let's do this." Faith grabbed a short sword from the weapons cabinet.
"Someone hand me my sword." Connor said. Once the four of them had gathered their weapons and hid them in their clothing, they headed out into the night.
Willow looked over at Xander. "You think she was a little gung-ho about crashing Nargul's place?"
"I think they all were." Xander said.
"I wonder why didn't Angel go with them?"
"Because he's not part of the super-friends. I tell ya, those four are flashing me back to high school."
"Maybe Buffy just wants to hang out with people who have the same strength as her."
"Then why didn't she invite Angel and Illyria?"
"Good question."
Buffy crouched in the bushes with Connor, Faith, and Spike outside of the dark mansion. There was no one home at the moment, or that's the way it appeared. But there were four guards in the front yard walking around with dogs and five in the back yard. They faced a deck with a large Jacuzzi and outdoor kitchen on it. They had managed to avoid the guards and their dogs by sticking to the bushes, but now they were out of shrubbery.
"What now?" Connor asked.
"We find the quietest and quickest way in." Buffy said.
"Wanna try the back door?" Faith asked.
"Now that never works." Spike said.
When they couldn't see any guards, Buffy and Faith stood up and quickly slunk over to the back door. Faith reached out and turned the knob. They door opened and the two Slayers disappeared inside. Spike and Connor waited to see if any more guards were headed their way and they snuck inside too, closing the door behind them.
"You'd think a place like this would have an alarm system." Connor whispered.
"Maybe he figures the small army of guards and the dogs are enough." Faith said.
"Shh. We have to split up." Buffy said. "Connor, you and I take upstairs. Faith and Spike, you guys cover downstairs. Look for anything that could tell us who hired this guy."
With that, they went their separate ways. There actually wasn't a lot upstairs given the size of the place. It consisted of an enormous bedroom, an almost equally enormous bathroom, and a pretty large office. They started with the office, working their way through the filing cabinets and drawers.
"God, this guy is old." Connor whispered. "There are papers that date back to the 1500s in here."
"We're thinking recent Connor." Buffy whispered.
"I know, but how old do you think this guy is?"
"I don't know. All I want to find out is who hired this guy and why." She went over to the desk and opened the top drawer. "Bingo." There was a thick file that read CONFIDENTIAL: BUFFY SUMMERS. "Connor."
"What?"
"I found it. Or at least I found something." She opened the file and found a few photos of herself and the others on top. Skipping through those, she found papers filled with facts on her life. Facts that should have been erased a long time ago. "Oh my God."
"What?"
"This is everything about me. Everything that should have been erased when the Monks made Dawn and when we erased us from your memory. The day that Angel erased is even in here. This is literally EVERYTHING about me from the moment I became a Slayer."
"You're not the only one he's got files on."
Buffy looked at what Connor meant. The drawer, which should have been only big enough for this one file, contained numerous files just as thick as Buffy's and some thicker. Each read like hers. CONFIDENTIAL: CONNOR SUMMERS. CONFIDENTIAL: WILLOW ROSENBURG. CONFIDENTIAL: ALEXANDER HARRIS. CONFIDENTIAL: DAWN SUMMERS.
"How could they know all of this?" Connor asked.
"I think I know." Buffy and Connor's heads shot up to find Nargul standing in the doorway. "The Powers That Be gave those to me personally."