indicates speaking in French
"So are you gonna tell me what you're going as this time?" Dawn asked.
"Mm, no," Alexander replied, "I don't know yet; might just grab a bunch of stuff and see what happens.
"Wanna play pool?"
"Maybe tomorrow?"
"Cook?"
"I'm thinking of a word starting with 'n' and ending with an 'o.'"
"How 'bout something where I can hang out with you, it's lonely being with people who won't remember anything. I'll even just reload your guns if you want to go rob banks or something."
"I still want to shake down a few shady characters in town, and don't know if I'm gonna let 'em live afterwards, Dawn."
"Kinda cold, Xan, but I guess it'll help us keep the others safe if we break free…hmm, I think I have a good idea."
Michael had just been talking to Paul and Walter about outfitting for a deep-cover assignment, possibly involving surgical alteration when he suddenly found himself having dinner in an apparently-American diner with a young but confident-looking girl in her early to middle teens. He noticed she had the same brief look of pain and confusion he'd felt, as well as the studied nonchalance of an agent determining a situation.
"Would you…please…pass…the sugar?" he asked extremely softly in French-accented English with near-trademark annoying pauses between words. The young girl smiled slightly and pushed the container over to his side of the table.
"If we're going to be deep undercover in America, Michael," the girl softly mocked, "You need to try either an American or at least Cajun accent or Paul will send you for retraining."
"Nikita?" he responded, not quite able to match the girl with his never-to-be-requited interest, "The clothes are you, but you seem…shorter?"
'I know, but I don't remember anything after you and Paul were discussing a deep cover mission? You?"
"Non, I mean no," he replied, patting down his thin and stylish leather jacket, finding something, "Here are some papers and a map…we are to find and protect a woman dressed and preprogrammed as an eighteenth century noblewoman, and to relocate the body of a red-headed teen and deliver it to… a high school library? Then we have a list of possible intelligence sources to be field-interrogated toward the aim of revealing the criminal and… supernatural hierarchy of this place."
"My documentation identifies several vampires and demons to be eliminated or conscripted as encountered. It even has Paul's underscorings he uses for extra emphasis on unsubstantiated but confident in truth data. I also seem to have the identification of a Dawn Summers, high school student as cover, and my usual 'kit' about my person."
"I have twenty thousand in American money, and the time to get going is now," he said, then grimaced, "And our car is unfortunately in accordance with our apparent status." They left money on the table and departed.
"The French are here, the French will sanction my William…" Drusilla moaned as Spike headed out the door. He picked up his pace. 'The French, I think not…' he grimaced, shaking his head, 'I can't even think of a remark it's so bloody unbelievable. Maybe I should take the car, though, this sanctioning thing doesn't sound like approval to me.'
Ten minutes later, the two Section agents found the body of the girl and loaded it into the car. No sign of the 'noblewoman,' but the night was in chaos of All Hallow's Eve, but the smaller beings seemed real not costumed.
"Michael, do you think we're testing out an extremely advanced virtual reality system," Nikita asked, "It would certainly fit."
"I concur, but I suspect if we die in here, we die."
"Do we need both of us to ferry the body to the Library?"
"Non, you proceed there, then rendezvous at the house indicated in our documentation. I will head in that direction on foot to see if I encounter her."
"Very well, it should only take me about ten or twenty minutes."
Seven minutes passed as Michael rendered several small 'hostiles' unconscious. Two larger creatures he identified as 'vampires' he simply eliminated using a few brief judo moves and three silenced rounds to the back of the head where the spinal columns meets the skull. The dust and poofing noise reaffirmed he and Nikita were in a potentially-deadly virtual reality simulator, perhaps the vanguard of new training methods.
As he neared the 'Summers House' site a dark-clad man with a noticeable forehead was approaching the house and headed toward the rear. He seemed to match up with the description of a possible ally, so Michael followed him stealthily as he topped off his magazine with a few stray rounds, noting to keep them in the weird wood, silver, hollow-point sequencing.
A moment later he approached the open back door and heard a possible struggle inside. Peeking through the door, he saw a 'vampire' engaged with the probable Angel-vampire.
"Get me a stake!" the 'good' vampire shouts to the noblewoman as he wrestles his opponent. Lady Buffy looks around and grabs a knife she sees on the counter.
"Hurry up!" He says, turning to look what's keeping her and has his game face on. Buffy screams at the top of her lungs. She runs for the door, but sees Michael entering the kitchen and flees toward the front of the house.
"Buffy, no!" Angel cries out as Michael soundly smacks the uninvited vampire in the back of its head, rendering it unconscious. They here Buffy open the door and run out. Cordelia quickly makes her way back down the stairs in time to see the panicked noblewoman rush out.
"You're Angel the Vampire, I presume?" Michel asks the now-human-visaged individual before him, "And that was, eh, Boofy Summers?"
"Xander, are you crazy too?" Cordelia asked the youth as Angel looked confused and raced for the door without answering. Michael cocked an eyebrow at the young cat woman and hurriedly silently after the vampire, two weapons drawn. Cordelia inhaled in surprise between her teeth, then followed.
"Well, what do we 'ave 'ere, mates?" a cockney-sounding voice called as he exited a classic car along the curb, "It looks like a Slayer… and a Poof." The eight minions crammed in with him like clowns had already spread out and were herding the terrified young woman back from possible escape, almost surrounding Angel and a Buffy trying to avoid him and the newly arrived vampires. Another car pulled up across the street, three people slowly getting out unnoticed by any save Michael, who was calmly walking down the walk toward the impending conflict.
Shoop-shoop-shoop, shoop-shoop-shoop went the silenced gunfire and two vampires dropped in agony and one dusted from head and neck wounds as Michael moved through the direct porchlight, stunning all present.
Shoop-shoop, shoop-shoop, shoop-shoop, and the two downed vampires dusted as two starting to charge Michael suffered nasty temporary wounds thanks to Angel side-kicking to one side and then the other from the walkway. Three minions lunged in directly against Angel as Spike swaggered around to lay hands on a weeping and near-catatonic Buffy.
Shoop-shoop, then poof-poof as the two wounded vampires dusted in the front yard and Michael holstered the twin weapons to pull out a knife and move toward hostile target identifiable as 'Spike.'
Shoop-shoop, shoop-shoop, shoop-shoop and three vampires attacking Angel and overcoming his defenses through sheer numbers suddenly found themselves with blown kneecaps, shattered shoulder or other major distractions in their moment of near-victory as Michael right crescent-kicked a surprised Spike in the head, causing him to drop the Slayer onto the ground as he fell away from the walkway toward a tree.
Shoop-shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop-shoop and the minions were dust in the wind as their master dashed into the street and headed for the side of a neighbor's house. Shoop, scream, Shoop, very bad word, and Spike was around the building. Michael lifted 'Boofy' to her feet as Nikita swapped out magazines in her weapons while ensuring the supposed non-hostiles remained as expected.
"Xander, Dawn!" Cordelia shouted in the night as she came up and Lady Buffy clung to Michael, causing him to grimace as he also sought to exchange out magazines.
You want to pursue the hostile or head for its reported base? Nikita asked Michael in French, These civilians should be able to take care of themselves from this point.
Bon, d'accord, he answered back, ignoring the unsettled look on the faces of those around them, I will see about the vampire. He was about to switch languages, when Angel interrupted him in slightly dated but understandable French.
You two aren't Xander and Dawn are you? he asked as Michael handed off Buffy to Giles, whom she insisted on calling Uncle Robert or something.
Non, Michael responded, The situation may be unclear, but our mission is not yet fulfilled. We are going to eliminate the base and occupants of this 'Spike' and a 'Drusilla,' and need you ensure the safety of these others, and not let anything happen to the body of that…spirit over there. You understand?
Oui, I do, but are you sure the two of you are enough to eliminate them? Angel pressed, I would think that ending this mess would be a higher priority.
Not for us, Nikita explained, noting that Giles and the ghost both seemed to follow at least the general conversation, After the elimination of the group of vampires, our next priorities involve intelligence gathering while this is going on.
We are leaving, Nikita stated as her and Michael reached the curb and noted the keys in Spike's car, Perhaps we'll se you again, but you really should consider moving the body to the hospital for revival.
Twenty minutes later, a just-recovering Spike was carrying a young woman and a pirate over his shoulders as he entered the warehouse.
"Dru, luv, I've brought take out," he joked, "I stopped at Long John Silver's and brought a dessert as well."
Shoop-shoop and Spike felt both knees destroyed as he suddenly collapsed to the ground, loosing his captives and screaming in pain.
Shoop-shoop, shoop-shoop, and Nikita and Michael jointly finished off Spike without a comment.
You were saying something about money? Michael asked as he checked on the two captives.
Yes, twenty thousand American dollars in this satchel, Nikita replied, And nothing else of concern to us.
In that case, let's move these children to the car and drop them off at the hospital since it's on our way to our next stop, a drug distributor of some variety.
An hour after they'd left the Summers House, Nikita and Michael had neutralized the drug cadre after obtaining minimal information on others in town, but a fair enough amount regarding the gang's employers and contacts in Southern California. Adding another ten thousand in cash, they drove toward the next stop as they suddenly…reappeared home.
Xander continued driving toward the next target as Dawn began processing what they'd done to the drug gang. After a minute she broke the silence.
"Are we continuing with the mission, Alexandre?" she asked in English.
"Oui, I'd planned to if you're up to it," he replied, glancing over, "We can save it for another time and just go after the three small vampire drug and prostitution leads instead."
"That'd be better," Dawn said, looking a bit pale as she realized the human deaths they'd been responsible for, even if the Reset would undo it.
fx
Three hours later, at around eleven, the two teens pulled up to the Summers House to find a worried Joyce and the full group awaiting their arrival. They handed off a couple of grocery bags to Cordelia and Angel as they entered the home to Joyce's worried exclamations.
"Where have you been! I was worried!" the woman nearly shouted, "A-And you're out buying groceries." She looked at the clear bags as she followed the half-unconcerned teens toward the kitchen, "And excellent quality ones as well." Xander looked at Rupert and the gang as the groceries were unbagged and the two teens began pulling out better cooking equipment.
"Explain everything to Joyce, or we will without any sugar-coating," Xander directed, Dawn nodding and begin to expertly cut the already rinsed vegetables. They were taken aback as Joyce looked confused as Angel started to protest. "The stories Buffy told that caused you to put her in the psych ward were true, Joyce," Xander started, then threw a cross to Angel, who vamped out, "And Angel is the only non-evil vampire as you can see. Dawn and I will be preparing a number of overlapping French-inspired dishes for a late dinner as the shock of what Rupert will tell should be justly compensated with our culinary excellence. Cordelia, please set the table and set the appertifs and the rest as we're ready…Rupert?"
"O-Oh, yes, um," he bean, then entered into lecture mode, "The World is older than…"