Chapter 10

Angel escorted Buffy out of the extremely fancy restaurant like a gentleman and held open the door to the car. She got in and he shut the door, heading over to his side and getting in. "God, this is the first normal date we've been on in…. well, I can't remember the last normal date we've been on." Buffy said.

"Well, it's been three weeks and there's been no sign of the Powers retaliating." Angel said. "We deserve a night out."

"As opposed to all the other nights out?" Angel just looked at her. "All I'm saying is that it's unnerving. I don't trust the quiet."

"It hasn't been all that quiet. We've slayed a few demons and vamps."

"Yeah, a few. That's not even normal. There should be a lot or a crap load, but not a few."

"I understand that you're nervous, but Buffy, if there's anything the last couple of years has taught me, it's to enjoy the time you've got while you've got it."

"And there's no problem with time for either of us."

"There is, Buffy. You don't know whether or not we'll make it to the next minute."

"Don't get me wrong. I've really enjoyed tonight….. and last night, and the night before that, and the night before that…. And every other night we've been out on the town. But don't you think we're not being cautious enough?"

"We've got Connor for that. The kid's been on edge even before all of this started."

"Don't make fun. He's just as worried as I am."

"And you think I'm not?'

"Well, you're acting all woopie about the downtime."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Train. Be prepared for whatever the Powers throw at us next. The next demon could be worse than Nargul."

"Sometimes, the best way to prepare yourself is to relax and enjoy life."

Buffy sighed. "Am I going to win this or not?"

"That would be not."

"I'm just happy that it's this kind of arguing and not the kind where we almost rip the other's head off." Buffy looked at Angel. "And that's what this is about, isn't it? You're trying to make up for that round of Sex a la Violence, aren't you?"

"A little." He glanced at her. "Is it working?"

"Well, I'm over it. But you don't have to stop spoiling me."

"Trust me," Angel kissed her knuckles. "That will never happen."

The next morning, Willow, Xander, and Dawn were moping around the office. It seemed like none of them had gotten any sleep the night before and they were all slacking because of it. "It's the Powers." Xander said. "They're depriving us of sleep."

"Probably." Willow said. "They're going to kill us by exhausting us to death."

"I still think it's the fact that we've had to listen to Buffy and Angel go at it night after night and now Spike and Faith have started up again." Dawn said.

"What's with that anyway?" Xander asked. "I mean, Spike and Faith are back and Buffy and Angel are acting like the world's about to end by shagging each other's brains out."

"Well, the world is about to end."

"Doesn't seem like it. It's been extra quiet for too long." Dawn and Willow stared at Xander. "Ok, I get your point."

Buffy and Angel came down the stairs, all smiles and hand-holding. "Good morning everyone!" Buffy said cheerily. Willow, Xander, and Dawn groaned. "What's up with you guys?"

"The same thing that's up with you." Dawn said.

"Well then why aren't you….. Oh. You mean….. Yeah."

"Sorry." Angel said. "Where's Faith and Spike?"

"Still upstairs." Xander said. "Where's Connor?"

"Sleeping in." Buffy said, pouring a cup of coffee.

Illyria walked in and looked at everyone. "Why do I sense bitterness? I thought the spell that had you all scorning at each other was transgressed."

"It is. They're just jealous they're not getting any." Buffy said.

"Getting any what?"

"Sex." Angel said. "Lots and lots of sex."

"I thought this 'sex' was a good thing that mortals like to enjoy often."

"It's not when you're not the one getting any and you have to listen to everyone else around you going at it like jack-rabbits." Xander said.

"Did you all ever think that this is the Powers?" Willow asked.

"What, the sex?" Buffy asked.

"Could you stop giving us visuals?" Dawn asked.

"All I'm saying is that maybe this is like that time with you and Riley, only it's the Powers sending all that crazy energy your way instead of sexually repressed poltergeists." Willow said.

"Nah." Buffy said. "We acted like this before Wolfram and Hart and Jasmine and all that happened. We're just making up for lost time."

"Well, kiddies, it's time to button down and get back to business." Lorne said from the stairs. "Cause hells about to start singing again."

"Lorne!" Buffy said, rushing up to hug him. "It's so good to see you. I thought you weren't ever coming back."

"Lord, I wish I hadn't, Blondie, but unfortunately it's a business call that I can't just ignore."

"What's wrong?"

Everyone was downstairs sitting around the lobby. Lorne sat on the couch and told them what was going on. "The other day, I was sitting in San Diego at some karaoke bar drowning my sorrows in my usual Sea Breeze when this guy gets up on stage and starts butchering Christina Aguilara's 'Beautiful.' I started to get up and walk out, but the second I looked at him I saw extreme death and mayhem. And this poor guy doesn't even have a clue what's coming."

"What?" Angel asked.

"There's a demon inside of him, hiding out until it's called upon by whoever calls it. And this demon is nasty kids. Full on scary, scaly, horned, and hooven feet. It makes the Beast look like a doe-eyed puppy dog."

"The guy doesn't know that he's a demon?" Connor asked.

"He's not a demon. He's a human whose body has been created for as a vessel for a demon. When papa bear picks up the phone, this poor guy gets torn away…. and I mean that literally…. and the next apocalypse comes a knockin'."

"Where is this guy now?" Buffy asked.

"No clue, but I know his name is Thomas Grady and he's leaving San Diego sometime soon. I couldn't tell you to where."

"Well, that's a start. Willow….."

Willow started for the computer. "Already on it."

"This thing is big, guys. It could be this season's next big bad." Lorne said.

"No, we already have one of those. This is just another curve ball they're throwing at us." Buffy said.

"What do you mean, kitten?"

"Turns out the Powers That Be are the Powers That Aren't-On-Our-Side. They gave everything they knew on us to this demon so he could destroy us all one by one. Even revealed themselves to me courtesy of my reflection and told me that we're all insignificant."

"Is it just me, or does every fall start off with an even more hopeless evil that's going to torment the heroes until the summer comes?"

"You're not wrong there."

"Got it!" Willow called. "Thomas Grady lives in San Diego at 5962 South Hyde Street. I managed to hack into his credit card bills and he bought a plane ticket to LA two months ago. The plane arrives at 2pm tomorrow afternoon."

"Then I guess we'll just have to meet him there." Faith said.

"Is there a picture?" Buffy asked.

"No." Willow said. "Sorry."

Buffy looked at Lorne. "Still got that long over coat and hat for the incognito jobs?"

"Listen, sugarplum, I'm not in this game anymore." Lorne said. "I just came to warn you guys."

"You're the only one that knows what he looks like." Angel said.

Lorne stood next to Buffy at the airport with Angel on her other side. They stared at the passengers coming out of the gate entrance and waited for Tom. "Do you see him yet?" Angel asked.

"Not yet." Lorne answered.

"Maybe we missed him." Buffy said.

"I doubt it." Angel said. "We're here a little early, but….." A scream followed by a loud roar came from the security counter and they looked over to see a huge demon about seven or eight feet tall with black skin and four very large horns sticking out the top of his head. He had feet like hooves and hands that had fingers that were too long and ended in wicked looking talons.

"I don't think we missed Tom at all." Buffy started running over to the security counter, jumping over luggage and barricades with Angel not far behind. They hadn't brought any weapons in because they knew security would be tight and they didn't really have time to get thrown in jail. They had to dodge people running away from the demon, which made it harder to get there quickly.

By the time Buffy reached the demon, he had already torn the head from some innocent bystander's shoulders. She threw herself into the air and slammed against the demon's chest, but instead of knocking him back, she dislocated her shoulder and fell to the ground. Angel came running up and instead of throwing himself at the demon, he stopped and pulled back his arm to punch it. The demon saw it coming and grabbed Angel's fist, hauled him into the air by his arm, and flung him through the wall behind him.

The people had cleared out and the security team had recovered enough to start shooting their guns at it. Unfortunately, the bullets just ricocheted off and hit the guards or lodged into walls. Buffy recovered enough to stand and kick the demon, but the skin was so hard that she went flying back on her butt. The demon, having had enough of the onslaught, turned and ran.

Buffy got up and started to run after it, but Angel grabbed her good arm. "Don't. We'll find it later."

"But….."

"It'll show up again. Trust me."

"I meant that it's going to kill more people."

"That get in its way. I doubt that will happen." A crash came from outside followed by more squealing brakes. "But the hospitals will be full." He looked at her. "Is your arm ok?"

"Dislodged, but I'll live. Let's just get back to the Hyperion and get it back into place." Buffy started to head back to Lorne. "We'll let the others know that Tom's left the building and this demon is here to stay."

"Are you guys ok?" Lorne asked.

"We're fine." Angel said. "Let's go."

Buffy let out a yelp as Angel yanked her shoulder back into place. After a moment, she groaned and started to rotate her arm. "Better?" Angel asked.

"Getting there." Buffy said.

"So, this demon's been summoned?" Connor asked.

"It just happened too. Don't know how we could've missed it, but we did."

"It probably…. Tore through before you got there." Willow said.

"No. It just happened. There were screams and then roars and then mayhem." Buffy sat down on the counter. "Angel, can you make a sketch of what that thing looks like? Willow and I'll sit down on the Demon Database and see if we can find it in there."

"I don't know if you'll be able to find it in your reference books." Lorne said. "This isn't exactly a species."

"What do you mean?" Faith asked.

"These types of demons…. They're never the same. They're always one of a kind and each was designed for whatever purpose it was created for."

"Fail safe." Angel said.

"What?" Buffy asked.

"You remember the fail safe that Wolfram and Hart built to get rid of us if we got too much to handle?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe this is the Powers' fail safe."

"But why now?"

"Because we've gotten more powerful. I guess they thought Nargul could take us down, but when that didn't work…. They created this new demon."

"You don't understand." Lorne said. "These demons are started from the human's beginning. So if this is a fail safe, the Powers must have seen that this would happen a long, long time ago. Tom wasn't exactly what you would call a youngster."

"How old was he?" Buffy asked.

"He was 53." Willow said. "His birth record says that he was born in 1951."

"Maybe he wasn't a fail safe for us then."

"I don't know." Angel said. "This is just….."

"Frustratingly confusing?" Angel nodded. Buffy huffed and plopped down on the settee. "I don't know where to go from here. If he wasn't made for us, then who was he made for? If the Powers made this thing so strong and practically indestructible, why wouldn't it be for us?"

"Because it was made for me." A slightly British, slightly French voice said. They all looked up to see a man who looked about 25 years old with medium length, curly brown hair, dark brown eyes, and a tan that looked natural. He was handsome, that was for sure.

"Who are you?"

"Forgive me. My name is Shy Makinse. And you must be the lovely Slayer I've heard about. Miss Summers, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"It's Mrs." Buffy said, not holding out her hand to shake his.

He pulled his hand back and looked at her. "Yes, well, I understand your misgivings, what with me barging in and all, but I feared this day would come."

"What day?" Angel asked.

"The day I came to you all for help."