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Chapter Two: See No Evil
Three Wise Monkees Pub, Late Evening
What a time for my cold to kick into overdrive! Buffy thought to herself as she tried her best to look alert and attentive to the conversation between Xander and Koji.
It had been a whirlwind tour of the city for the trio with both her and Koji relating information and anecdotes to Xander about each place that they visited. Koji however had let slip a few of the more embarrassing incidents regarding her experiences at a few select places but she had gotten even with him with a few stories of her own. By the time the sun had set they were enjoying a totally 'licious barbecued dinner at a local restaurant where the topic shifted to their various experiences with the demonic and supernatural. Needless to say she and Xander had considerably more to tell given that Koji had only been recruited to the cause a few months after the defeat of the First Evil. Still it was nice to have someone new to tell the stories to and even more enjoyable were the opportunities to embarrass Xander that he of course returned in kind.
With the conclusion of dinner they started hitting the various bars and clubs around Sydney moving from one to the other based on what was happening at each one as well as the entertainment they had available. Eventually they had landed here at 'The Three Wise Monkees' pub that definitely earned Xander's seal of approval if for no other reason than the three stone monkeys that made up the sign. The 'see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' was what really got a kick out of him and had him cracking jokes under that theme for a whole hour. She was immensely happy when Koji-kun suggested they head out on the dance floor when the live band on stage started playing one of his favorite songs.
Thirty minutes later though and well into the band's playlist she began to feel a growing sense of fatigue like she had been fighting Spike and Angelus from Dusk until dawn. She had managed to slip back to their table with a claim of not liking the next song that came on and saying that she'd order them a snack. Luckily they bought it and that brought her to where she was right now trying to stay awake and not look like she would curl up on the table before falling asleep.
It was at that point that some higher deity thought that she was catching to many breaks and tapped Xander on the proverbial shoulder.
"Hey you okay Buff? You look like you're about to pass out right here." Xander asked with concern both on his face and in his voice.
"Yeah I'm fine. Just been partying a little too hard last week or so." She said trying to make her voice sound normal despite the above normal effort it took.
"Forgive me for saying so Buffy-san but I am beginning to think this may be more than just you overexerting yourself." Koji said with a tone of voice that implied he was not trying to anger her but wished to be honest with her, "While it is true that even Slayers can overexert themselves if they push themselves too hard you have been getting more and more sleep lately and it is having no effect in regards to your fatigue. Perhaps I should schedule a visit with a Council doctor just to be on the safe side."
"Guys it's just a little bug!" Buffy said trying to sound like they were acting ridiculous so they wouldn't remember that she hated doctors and hospitals whether they be separate or together, "Granted it's lasted longer than any other nasty flu but its not 'doctor required' urgent."
"Buffy I'm no doctor and even I can tell that this is worse than the common cold." Xander said trying to sound reasonable yet firm, "Look, let's compromise, Koji here'll contact the local Council Doc an have him come by the hotel room. He'll do the standard check up stuff and if he doesn't find anything serious then that's that. Okay?"
Looking back and forth between Xander and Koji she knew she wasn't going to get any peace from either of them until she agreed to at least a basic check up. With a sigh of resignation she nodded acquiescing to her friend's demand comforted at least by the fact that there would only be a limited number of things the doctor would be able to take with him to the hotel. After all the Watcher's Council was supposed to be a covert organization and people would take notice if they carted in computers, testing machines and other lab gear in through the front door of the Maestri.
"And you head back to the hotel right now and get some sleep." Xander added quickly before doing his version of Willow's 'resolved face' when she tried to object, "Buff you're practically dead on your feet and you know it. You need sleep."
For a moment she considered renewing her protests since she didn't want it to look like she was dropping out on spending quality time with her friends. However her fatigue could not be ignored and if she pushed herself any harder she doubted that she'd be able to make it back to the hotel room before dropping. That was not a smart idea because even though the local Slayer was doing a good job it didn't mean that the streets were vamp free. If her fatigue got much worse she wouldn't be able to see straight much less put up a decent Slayerly fight against a vamp.
"Alright I'll be the good Slayer and head back to the hotel for some Zs but you guys have to promise to have time of your lives in the meantime." She said as she shrugged on her coat and picked up her handbag, "Just because I'm not around doesn't mean that you guys can't still have fun."
"Yeah, it'll be tough without the Buffster, but we'll do our best to party extra hard just for you." Xander said with his usual good humor.
"Go get some rest Buffy-san." Koji said gently placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"'Kay see you guys tomorrow then." She said and headed for the exit beyond which lay a cab, a hotel and then her warm inviting bed.
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The Hotel Maustri Towers Sydney, Thirty Minutes Later, Buffy's Room
Man did I ever choose the right time to duck out of a night of partying! Buffy thought to herself as she barely managed to maintain a solid walk towards the bed.
She had left "The Three Wise Monkees" Pub in good enough condition in the cab but as her thoughts turned more and more towards sleep and bed the fatigue seemed to sense this and pounced on her like a predator seeing weak prey. It had gotten so by that one of the hotel employees had even asked her if she was ill and needed assistance. Fortunately she was able to satisfy him with the 'partied a little too hard' excuse and then put her best foot forward to show that she was okay and didn't need any help. The truth of the matter though was that she was running on fumes and needed some sleep in a hurry or else she'd collapse. By the time she had gotten to the door to her room she had a little difficulty getting the key card to work on the lock and was further distressed by the fact that despite her frustration she didn't have the Slayer strength to just force the door open at the moment.
Falling onto the bed she decided she'd forgo the getting changed into her pajamas or even getting rid of all the unnecessary clothes and just fall asleep right there as she was. Since she, Koji and Xander all had separate rooms she didn't have to worry about them seeing her asleep on her bed still fully clothed. Hopefully a full night's sleep would put her back on track so that when the doc from the Council came around and confirmed that it was just the flu or something the guys would stop worrying. After all no flu, no matter how strong, would be able to hold out against her Slayer immune system for long. She was sure all she needed to kick its butt was another week or two of R&R and then she'd be right as rain.
No stupid flu is going to keep me from my vacation! She thought to herself as the bliss that was sleep overtook her.
She was small.
That much she could tell by the simple fact that she was being carried by someone who seemed to have no trouble cradling the majority of her body in their arms. However she had no sight to go with the info her sense of touch was giving her at the moment so unconsciously she sought out her other senses to fill in the blanks that her eyes could not.
Whoever was carrying her was either really scared, pushing her body to its limits or both because the pounding of their heart was doing so at a high rate of speed. Their breathing was labored also and that made her think the person must be running full tilt on an adrenaline high. A cold wind blew around them and the rustle of tall grass told her that they were running in a field of some kind and that it was likely night since it didn't seem cold enough for snow. All this led to the question: what was this person scared of? And what were they running away from?
Trying to listen beyond the sounds of person carrying her or the environment in their immediate vicinity she thought she could hear the sounds of a large fire crackling in the distance. It was the next sound her ears managed to catch though that really caught her attention for it was the sounds of a battle between humans and demons. She was more or less guessing about the former but she could definitely hear the roars and growls of the former faint though they were. These facts told her that they were fleeing from a battle of some kind and that the person carrying her was desperate to get the both of them as far away as possible.
Suddenly the person who was trying to carry her to safety stopped and cast a frantic look back the way they had come. Had they been seen? Were they being followed? Both questions were answered swiftly when the person carrying her jerked and a warm liquid splashed over her face at the same time. It took her nose less than a moment to identify what now covered her face for she had seen it, felt it and smelled it often enough in her life.
It was blood.
As the arms of the person who had been carrying her went limp she fell to the ground and with the jarring impact of her landing her sight suddenly seemed to flick on. Instantly she could see that she was in the middle of a clearing but it was night out so she could see much detail beyond shapes and size. The first thing to catch her eye though was the dead body lying next to her in a growing pool of its own blood. Since the body was so close she could make out more of the details than she could anything else but given the sight before her she almost wished her sight had never come back.
The woman that had been carrying her had been slain by an arrow through her throat and while she could not be sure she thought that the arrow might possess special properties from the slight glow it possessed. The woman herself as dressed in strange clothes that had been mostly white in color before her own life's blood began to change it to red. Her kimono wasn't elaborate or fancy but rather seemed like a uniform or something the rich would require all of their female employees to wear. As for the woman herself most of her features were obscured by darkness but two things stood out plain as day.
The first was her ears for they were pointed but not stretched like Yoda ears but more like the elves seen in the Lord of the Ring movies. The second and the one that seemed to burn a hole into her soul were the golden eyes that stared lifelessly at her without the warmth and compassion she for some reason felt belonged there. Those two features remained prominent in her mind even as she got to her feet and tried to get a better sense of where she was and where she should go.
However no sooner did she stand up than the decision of where she would be going was decided for her. As if from the very shadows themselves then armored figures emerged with weapons drawn and surrounded her before she could do more than gasp in surprise. Fear growing within her soul she looked about for a means of escape but found all possible routes blocked by one of the armored figures. Slowly and cautiously, as if they were expecting her to attack them somehow, they approached never once letting their guard down.
For several moments all she felt was fear as with each breath she took her enemies, for what else could armed people be, came closer and closer. However when her gaze once again fell upon the dead form of the woman who had tried so hard to get her to safety another feeling rose that melted the chill of fear. Instead of fearing for her own safety she became furious at the death of one who tried so hard to protect her, furious at those who dared to take what belonged to her and her alone. Bringing her hands up and curling them like claws she prepared herself for battle as she was intent on sending each and every one of these armored figures to their deaths.
She would not get the chance though as without warning there was a sharp pricking sensation centered at the back of her neck. Reaching back with one of her hands she felt something thin with feathers tied to it and then she felt very little of anything as her body lost all feeling and she dropped to her hands and knees. Only her rage and her refusal to give up kept her from submitting to the darkness that crept at the edges of her vision. It was then that she groggily understood the true purpose behind the figures that had surrounded her. It was not their job to slay her but rather to keep her distracted while another dealt the deciding blow.
"We have the child. Inform the General that the sorcerers' payment will be delivered to them shortly." Said one of the armored figures that looked down upon her.
With those words the world around her disappeared as something hard and painful struck her on the back of her head sending her into darkness. It was there that she seemed to say neither drifting into the realm of Morpheus nor awaking somewhere else but rather remaining in between. It was in this place that was neither here nor there that Buffy regained some sense of self and no longer connected herself to that little girl whose identity she had taken on a moment ago. She didn't know what exactly that had been as it didn't seem to match with any of the dreams she usually had where she acted as the stand in for a past Slayer.
A menacing growl echoed through the darkness and all thoughts of what had been a few minutes ago vanished from her mind to deal with the more immediate issue of her safety. While it was too dark for her to see anything her inner senses seemed to be up to the task of letting her know where the growl had come from despite the great echo this room had going on. Another growl filled the world around her but this time it sounded much closer than it had been the last time it had echoed around her. Whatever it was she had a feeling that it was a lot bigger than she was because even with the echo effect this place had it was still up there enough volume-wise to need a big set of lungs to make it.
The one time I could use a rocket launcher and it turns out to be the one time I don't have one. She thought to herself as she tried to keep her senses locked on the direction she thought the threat would be coming from.
Heartbeat like vibrations in the ground beneath her were the first sign she had that something was coming towards her and just like in 'Jurassic Park' the pounding definitely confirmed her suspicions that something big was heading her way. Taking a quick look around she tried to find something, anything, she could use to turn things in her favor whether it be a defendable position or a weapon but frustratingly found nothing. As far as she was concerned she might as well be blind at the moment since the black darkness around her pretty much made it impossible to see anything
Maybe if I'm lucky the big bad will turn on some lights or something when he decides to gloat over my impending bloody death. Buffy thought half sarcastically half hopefully as she dropped into a defensive stance, After all it's against a baddie's nature not to run his mouth off when he thinks he's all but won!
Another thunder like growl rippled through the air and this time she had no trouble coming to the conclusion that this thing was in easy eyesight of her. Looking all about her she tried to nail down a more exact position rather than 'out there' but it was not until she returned her attention to the space right in front of her that the entity made its presence felt. Two blood red eyes winked into existence in front of her the size of those big spotlights police use to keep an eye on suicide cases or that movie studios have at big time premieres. The eyes glowed with an inner demonic light and even though the irises or pupils on the monster she had the distinct feeling the thing was looking directly at her.
Now that she had something to focus on she began to seriously question the sanity of her position up until now which was to try and kill this thing. After all given how high up the eyes were it was quite likely that it was at least the size of your average two floor house if not a bit bigger. It was big enough that if the Snake Mayor was here they could have a good ol' fashioned Godzilla versus King Ghidorah style fight right here. In that fight of course she'd be making tracks and hoping that the survivor of the fight couldn't be bothered to go after her.
Giant sized breathing filled her ears as the eyes the color of blood looked down at her and while she tried repeatedly to figure out a way to beat it her thoughts kept coming back to one thing. She was demon chow! It didn't matter that she was as stubborn as they came and had made a career of beating the odds! She was here, in this black void, alone without her friends or even the most basic weapon like a wooden stake or dagger! Not that she thought that either a dagger or a stake would do more than irritate this thing of course.
Deciding that the waiting was pointless and infinitely preferring the whole 'get it over with' choice, as it was in keeping with her usual impatient nature, she decided to get the ball rolling with this BIG confrontation.
"So you going to just stare at me all day or are we going to get to the part where you die and I go party?" she asked in her usual taunting manner as if she had all the confidence in the world.
Unfortunately this turned out to be the exact wrong thing to say as a new feature decided to make itself known in the form of an open mouth with rows upon rows of sharp looking teeth. No other features of this mysterious beast made an appearance but judging from the arrangement of the teeth it definitely had a snout of some kind. Knowing her it was probably a dragon of some kind or Godzilla's cousin twice removed on its mother's side. Naturally even Buffy Summers, longest living Slayer and de-facto head of the new Watcher's Council, felt a little small when faced with such a large threat. For the beast in front of her though she was neither too big nor too small but rather just right as far as it was concerned.
Just right for a light snack that is.
With speed she didn't think was possible for something of such a gi-normous size it charged her head on with the clear intent of gobbling her up in one go. Given that fighting would be downright suicidal she went with the less heroic instinct of running like hell and hoping that this thing was only quick over short distances. Not paying any heed to the fact that she couldn't see a damn thing much less where she was going she hauled ass as best she could away from the pursuing beast. However she soon came to realize that despite her efforts her pursuer was gaining on her since she could smell its foul breath in the air around her.
Somebody sure needs some mouthwash! She thought to herself flippantly as much for the humor as trying to keep her mind on something other than an increasingly likely chompy end.
Dry wit and determination however were apparently helpless against the law set down by Mr. Murphy though because just as Buffy thought she might be gaining a lead on her enemy her foot caught on something causing her to tumble to the ground. Almost desperately she tried to get back to her feet but as the thundering footsteps of the monster shook the ground beneath her she knew it was too late.
Turning to face her pursuer she had only enough time to see its gaping maw descend upon her.
"Ahhhhh!" Buffy exclaimed as she sat up quick as lightning in her bed with sweat coating her skin.
Her heart was pounding, her limbs were shaky and adrenaline was easily the dominant substance in her blood at the moment. It took a few moments for the fear produced by the nightmare to lose its potency but when it did one question was dominant in her mind.
"What the HELL was that about!" she said out loud as she tried to wonder what the pesky Slayer dream had been trying to tell her.
It had been months since she had last had a Slayer dream and before that she hadn't experienced a prophetic dream since Sunnydale. It had initially been a topic of concern for Giles given that most of the other newly born Slayers were experiencing them with much more frequency than her. However when nothing could be determined as being wrong either physically or magically it had been concluded that the reason for the reduction of prophetic dreams in her life had to do with the drastic increase in Slayers worldwide. Never before had there been more than one Slayer but thanks to her tendency not to stay dead and the spell cast to defeat the First the whole 'one a generation' rule no longer had any meaning. With so many Slayers stationed worldwide it was likely that the Powers That Be who sent the prophetic visions had decided to send each vision to whichever Slayer was closest to the problem. Luckily for her there was usually a newbie Slayer in everyone of the vacation spots she had chosen to visit on her worldwide trek (with the exception of Japan) so it was to them the visions went rather than her.
That means that either the local Slayer died making me the temporary Slayer around here or the demon in the vision is too tough for one Slayer to handle alone. She thought to herself as she looked over to the digital clock that sat on her bedside table.
According to the clock it was just a few minute shy of three in the morning and that meant that she had only been asleep for about four hours or so. Her body felt partially refreshed but not to the extent that four hours of sleep should have been capable of doing. Back during her Sunnydale days she could make it through a full day on four hours of sleep but with how she felt now she knew she'd be back to fumes by supper time at the latest. It was with this realization that Buffy began to believe that maybe there was something more to her growing fatigue than a simple cold or flu bug. Did it have something to do with the Slayer dream she just had? Was the monster, the thing that had devoured her in the dream, affecting her somehow before it had even arrived? If that was the case then it was a major demon and more dangerous than any one Slayer could hope to handle.
We'll need to call in all the Slayers in Australia and maybe anyone in less than a day's flight from here in order to beat it. She thought to herself as she began to get out of bed and get dressed, Hell! We'll probably need to pull some strings with the military if this thing's as big as I think it is!
Judging from where the two crimson eyes had been as well as the mouth with row upon row of sharp teeth it had to be at least as big as a two-story building if not bigger. That meant that swords and axes would probably be about as effective as going at a vampire with a toothpick. Sure if you managed to get said toothpick into something vital like an eye or somehow managed to shoot it at great speed through the heart it might be enough to kill the vampire but the chances of it standing still and letting you do it was nil. That meant that they need something with a bit more kick which meant either magic or rocket launchers like she had used on The Judge. An air strike would also be nice but she trashed the idea since she figured the Australian military would get mad if she got too greedy.
Looking in the direction of Xander and Koji's rooms she knew that in all likelihood they had gotten in maybe two hours ago. They would be dead tired and quite comfortable nestled in their beds dreaming about whatever a junior Watcher and Xander dreamt about. She knew it would not be pleasant to wake them up but… well… demons happen and there's nothing they could do but do their jobs. With that in mind she walked towards the door to her room and braced herself for the 'five more minutes' and the 'do you have any idea what time is' responses she was likely to get from them.