-Hyperion-
It was a quick walk down to the lobby. Buffy had to carry Spike though seeing as his he was very injured. Soon everyone sat in a somewhat odd circle. Willow kneeled in front of, took off his shirt and ignored his wink as she started to wipe the blood away. When Buffy sat down she sighed in relief. Angel smiled as he sat down beside her. Cordelia hid her jealousy the best she could as she along with everyone else sat down.
After Buffy sighed she stared right at Willow, "So, what do we got?"
Willow looked up to Wesley who decided to explain seeing as Willow was a little busy. Wesley looked directly at buffy, "It turns out you coming to L.A. was meant to happen."
Buffy was suddenly surprised. "Why me? Or how do you know it's me?"
Wesley recited the exact words, "She'll come for aid, meet him and smile. In seconds she'll have the knife in his back and rock dust he will be. The text didn't say your name but it is pretty clear. You're the one who's going to kill the beast."
Willow nodded and looked her way for a second, "Also turns out the first is behind it all."
Buffy shook her head, "So either L.A. is suppossed to distract me from whatever's going on in Sunnydale or the first has a lot riding on this beast thing."
Wesley nodded, "Possibly. The book also talked about a woman being infected with a demon made to deprive people of their choices."
Buffy sighed, "Does it say how she'll be infected?" Wesley shook his head and Buffy shook hers. "Do we have any idea how we find her?"
Fred finally spoke up, "It says she'll be infected by a demon that deprives choices. All we have to do is find that demon. Once we find the demon we could probably trace how it infects people."
Buffy smiled, "Then the woman infected that matches the demon is who we're looking for."
Fred nodded, "But what do we do with her when we find her?"
Buffy looked around but Cordelia spoke first, "Well maybe the beast is the infected demon. Could be possible that it came from a woman."
Gunn shook his head, "I don't know. Remember that it came out of the ground?"
Cordy nodded, "Yeah but it also doesn't say how it comes out of the woman. Maybe the woman was in the sewer and was consumed when the beast came to be."
Buffy nodded, "That could be something. Does this beast have any strengths that make it so it deprives you of your choices?"
Angel shook his head, "No. He's way too dumb for anything like that. The first being behind him actually makes sense. No way he could of thought of all this himself."
Wesley nodded, "Cordelia's theory also proves how the beast got back into this world if he was bansihed."
Buffy nodded, "Good. So all we have to do is find out if this beast came from a woman." Buffy stopped for a second, "How do we do that exactly?"
Spike smiled as he looked up at her, "We ask him."
Buffy laid back and sighed again, "You have got to be kidding me."
Spike smiled, "Seriously, every god damn day I need the first aid kit. An ubervamp kicks my ass, You kick my ass and now a beasty things going to kick my ass. I thought I was stronger then this."
Buffy smiled, "Well if you weren't all mopey and in need of being chained to a wall you wouldn't of been taken. Plus you bit me and we don't know for sure you're going to get beet by the beast. I'm pretty sure the thing just said I was."
Spike shook his head, "Are you kidding? There is no way in hell you are going alone!"
Buffy smiled, "I'm not going alone. I'm just saying I'm probably going to take most of it."
Willow actually looked at buffy, "What makes us think it's something in L.A?"
Buffy defenitely looked intrigued, "Meaning?"
Willow turned fully towards her, "Well, maybe it is the distracting thing. Because we came to L.A. the infected woman could be dying right now."
Spike nodded, "The old distraction. The longer we're here the more time the infection has to spread."
Cordelia nodded, "I always knew it would be Sunnydale that ends the world."
Willow nodded, "Us too."
Buffy was already in thinking mode when Wesley spoke, "So, what's the plan?"
Buffy couldn't even look at Angel as she stood up, "I help you with your little beast problem then Willow, Faith and Spike come back to Sunnydale with me. You guys keep a look out for this infection while we deal with our bunch of slayers in Sunnydale problem. So basically, we kill the beast and things go back to normal."
Angel was already shaking his head, "No. You guys obviously need help in Sunnydale."
Buffy shook her head, "We're fine Angel. Plus someone needs to stay here and make sure no one here is infected with the demon. We knew goodbye was coming Angel."
Angel stood up, "Honestly what are the chances this infected person isn't already consumed? When or if it does kill the woman it will go to Sunnydale."
Buffy nodded, "Fine. We can handle it though. I always know what I'm doing."
Willow finished putting the last bandage on Spike as she stood up too, "I know you don't want to admit it Buffy but we don't know what we're doing. Research is going no where, we're surrounded by a bunch of girls who need a lot more training, and you're the only one who has any hope the world is not going to end."
Spike stood up next to Willow and looked down though, "I don't much like a lot of the people in this room..." He coughed, "Angel." He cleared his throat as he smiled at Angel's glare and cotninued, "...but I got to go with red. We're playing blind Buffy."
Buffy sighed but looked worried when a soft voice came from the top of the stairs, "I told you they were all going to come running when they heard you might die."
Buffy smiled, "I thought you were sleeping."
Conner nodded, "I heard everyone yelling." He slowly started to descend the stairs as he continued to speak, "Figured I should be the one to convince you that we're all going with you."
Buffy stared over to Angel, "You know my house is filled with a bunch of dramatic teenage girls who would just love Conner. The only guys they've been around is Spike and Xander. I'm pretty sure they wouldn't mind Wesley, Conner and Angel company."
Angel looked a little edgy, "Well...we'll have to deal with it then."
Spike smiled, "That was just her way of saying yes."
Conner smiled, "So I get to meet everyone in Sunnydale?"
Buffy nodded but Angel sighed, "I'm forbidding you to talk more then five minutes with Xander, ever."
Buffy smiled, "He doesn't hate you that much anymore. He just hates Spike more then anyone." She looked at Conner who was now finally in the Lobby and sitting beside her, "I think you two would get a long great actually. If you talk to Andrew for more then five minutes then we'll have to start worrying."
Spike smirked, "No one's interested in talking to that nerd for longer then a few seconds."
Willow stared at buffy, "Now we have to go through all the sleeping arrangements."
Buffy nodded, "I say we put Xander and Anya in one room with Kennedy."
Willow smiled a little bit, "You really don't like Kennedy."
Buffy smiled, "The second I met her she's been like trying to be me. She's all ordering me around, training the girls and deciding what's best. Seriously it scares me that these teenagers are going to be my successors. Hell, it scares me knowing some of them can turn out like faith."
Faith smiled, "No way. I'm once in an eternity Buffy."
Buffy shook her head, "No you were right Faith. Long time ago you stated a line and you knew I could be you. If you met these girls you'd say the same thing. Especially Kennedy. If you start training them you do not get to tell them about your past. Too many of them are copycats."
Faith sighed, "Never going to live this down am I?"
Buffy smiled, "I never forget when someone tries to kill me more then once."
Faith looked at Angel and Spike, "But you screw them. Even better."
Buffy blushed a little, "Hey, just cuz I dated people who tried to kill me doesn't mean I forgot. Hell I'd date you but you're a girl."
Willow smiled, "What's wrong with that?"
"Nothing for you. You can fool around with Faith all you want but me personally, I like vampires."
Spike smiled, "Glad, you got over your Riley phase though. He was a piece of work."
Buffy smiled, "Yeah, but he was nice to me. He didn't try to kill me, he got along with everyone and he left because I didn't love him, not because he didn't love me. Now that's a guy."
Conner looked curious, "Riley?"
Buffy nodded, "Guy I was with after Angel."
Willow smiled, "So, we're not counting Parker anymore huh?"
Buffy sighed, "He was nice. M0 aybe we should put him back on this list."
Conner looked even more curious, "How many boyfriends did you have?"
Spike smiled over at Conner, "Parker wasn't a boyfriend. Just a one night stand."
Conner looked around, "What's a one-night stand?" Everyone but Buffy and Angel started laughing. Conner stared at buffy, "Are you going to tell me?"
Buffy slowly shook her head, "Nope. Ask people when I'm not in the room."
Conner nodded a little mad he didn't get to know. Spike stared over at Conner, "Yeah, you should ask Angel. He'll give you all the details on buffy and one night stands."
Buffy picked up a pillow and threw it at Spike causing him to sit back down. She threw her head back obviously in annoyance btu before she coudl complain she winced in pain. Everyone finally noticed that Buffy's bite-mark was still slowly bleeding. Willow and Spike rushed over to kneel in front of her.
"You said it wasn't bad!" Willow complained
Buffy shrugged, "It's not. Just a little pain."
Spike and Angel looked over it very interested. Angel then looked up to Spike, "You didn't drink too much."
Spike shook his head, "Nope. We're not together anymore but the ground rules are still in my head. Plus she beet me off her before things went further."
Buffy smiled, "Seriously, you keep biting me and you're not going to want pigs blood anymore then I'd have to stake you."
Conner looked from Spike and then to buffy a few times before speaking, "He's bitten you before?"
Buffy nodded a little uncomfortable, "Yeah, a few times actually."
Conner stared at Spike now, "Why?"
Buffy looked down while Willow was still cleaning up her neack, "Because I asked him too."
Conner of course asked why but it took buffy a few seconds to find an answer. Since she couldn't find an answer Spike saved her, "Girls can't resist me. Plus when you spend 6 years with me I start to get under your skin. She knew what i wanted and did it so I'd shut up."
Buffy stared at him, "As if. Everything I did was because of me not because of you."
Spike smiled over at her, "So nothing we did was to please me?"
Buffy went silent so Angel finally spoke in a low, obvious envious voice, "We can talk about this later."
Buffy looked down obviously guilty knowing Angel wouldn't like the conversation that should of taken place alone. Conner looked at buffy, "You don't like talking about things a lot do you?" Buffy shook her head, "How come? People would know how to make you feel better and..."
Buffy quickly looked his way, "I don't talk because it's hard for people to understand. Now that's enough questions. We have other problems that are a little more dire then my personal life."
Conner sunk into the couch, "Maybe that's why you died."
Buffy's head slipped out of Willow's grasp as she stared into Conner's eyes, "What?"
Angel looked bwteen them, "Just forget he said anything alright Buffy."
Buffy shook her head and Conner slowly explained himself, "If you cared more about yourself then maybe you'd be more happy."
Buffy shook her head and quickly put on her own bandage. She stood up and stared down at him, "If I cared more about my life i wouldn't be a slayer. I'm the one who makes the bad decisions Conner. Just ask your dad." She didn't give time for a reaction as she looked to Spike, "Put on a shirt. We're going to kill the beast so i can go back home. Spike, Angel, Willow and Faith are with me. Everyone else start the infection research. Conner, you should sleep a little bit. I'll be upstairs changing."
Buffy didn't give time for a reaction as she took off upstairs. Conner looked down a little guilty. Angel scooted over to him, "Don't worry about it. She's really sensetive about a lot of stuff."
Spike nodded, "Yeah. I should go put on a new shirt."
Angel nodded, "I'll go talk to buffy."
Spike smiled, "No can do peaches. My clothes are in her room. Hell, she's probably wearing my clothes which means I get first crack."
Angel sighed, "Fine."
Spike nodded and took off upstairs. Willow smiled over at Conner, "Don't worry about buffy so much. When people start making decisions for her or telling her how to change her life she get's a little edgy. It's just because she's had to go through a lot cuasing change to kind of scare her. Don't take it personal, we've all been through the don't tell me what to do tantrum, especially Angel."
Conner smiled, "Do you ever look at her and wonder what she was like before she was the slayer?"
Angel smiled, "She was a lot like Cordelia actually. She had a boyfriend named Tyler for the longest time, she was a cheerleader, princess for a lot of stuff, on a bunch of teams, really smart, her parents fought a lot but she never really told people and she used to be afraid of growing up."
Conner and Cordelia were especially surprised. Willow smiled though, "You saw her in L.A?"
Angel nodded, "She tell you?"
Willow nodded, "Yeah, it was after the council test that got Giles fired. She cried when she told me what you said to her."
Angel nodded, "She didn't tell you exactly did she? Because it was..."
Willow smiled, "Incredibly gross. Yeah she told me. You have a very poetic way with words according to her."
Angel smiled, "Yeah, I guess."
Willow looked around at everyone though and stopped at Conner, "So, you should sleep for a while and we should start the research crap."
Conner sighed as Angel stood up along with everyone else. Everyone walked towards where they keep the books but Willow. When Conner laid down Willow stood over him, "You made Buffy and Angel the happiest people alive Conner. You have no idea how much you mean to those two people. I just want you to know that you don't just have them okay? The second you become a part of Buffy's life you're a part of ours. Just thought there should be an official welcome to the family kiddo."
Conner smiled as Willow hugged him, "A family."
Willow nodded and walked after everyone else. She left Conner smiling as he fell asleep.