CHAPTER 4
Buffy and the others stood in the aftermath of what had been not just their base of operations, but their home for the last two months. "Well, looks like we need a new base of operations, gang." Buffy said somberly. Then she noticed her former Watcher, Rupert Giles smiling. "What are you smiling about? We just lost our base!" Giles simply said "Oh, we should be able to recoup a nice windfall from the insurance!" Xander, astonished, asked "Does insurance cover things like this?" Giles laughed and replied "Oh, I found an insurance company that had a "Supernatural Package." It includes "Acts of God, Demons, the Supernatural and anything else mysterious," and I had the shop covered for $500,000!" Xander nodded, happy that, for once at least, things were going their way.
Buffy, on the other hand, was thinking of other things. "Not that this isn't an intriguing conversation, but we do have a slightly more pressing concern!" Everyone looked at her, somewhat startled by her frenzied attitude. Then Willow spoke. "She means where are we going to live until the insurance pays out." Giles gazed at Willow. She just hadn't been the same since Kennedy left to join the new Watcher's council. She reminded him of the Willow he had met eight years before—shy and unsure of herself, not of the self-confident, powerful witch she had become in recent years.
"I think what Buffy is referring to Willow, is that someone appears to be targeting us". Willow realized that was exactly what Buffy meant. "Exactly." Said Buffy. "And also, where did that Buffy-Bot come from?" As everyone looked curiously, Willow brought up the subject they all seemed to be avoiding. "Well…who do we know who's smart enough to build one? Or even re-assemble one?" Xander picked up on the same thought and asked "Well, who do we know that knew about the Buffy-Bot?" Willow seemed to get nervous at where this was heading. "Well…there's the obvious. Warren."
Warren was a geek. A nerd. A pompous little jerk who thought he could get away with murder. Literally. He had personally killed an ex-girlfriend and framed Buffy for the deed. He also was personally responsible for the creation of the original Buffy-Bot. He had created it for Spike. The reason the thought of Warren brought up so many ill feelings was what he did to Willow. Buffy had stopped one of Warren's nefarious schemes, and in retribution he had come looking for Buffy—with a gun. He not only shot Buffy—but an errant shot from his gun had gone through a window and hit Willow's girlfriend, Tara. Despite her great power as a witch, Willow was unable to save her beautiful girlfriend. The shock of losing Tara made Willow snap, and she gave free reign to all the evil in her, eventually hunting Warren down and killing him in a decidedly gruesome manner: She magically tore the skin away from his body, then made his body be consumed by fire.
"Well, I think we can rule Warren out." Said Buffy, more to ease her friend's pain, than because she thought he couldn't be responsible. Then Spike spoke up. "Does it really matter who's behind it? Whoever it is, this person's obviously too weak to fight for himself!" Willow chimed in "Or herself! It could be a woman!" Spike, a little annoyed at being contradicted, nonetheless admitted it could be a woman. "Or herself, so they built a robot. Doesn't sound like much of a threat to me!"
Though Giles agreed in principle, he also knew that this could be a bigger threat. "Spike does have a good point, but nevertheless, I feel we should take all precautions necessary." Then Xander, who had been quietly going over everything in his head, spoke up. "Ummmmm……I have a wild thought here." Giles usually didn't give much heed to Xander's theories, but on occasion they had proven valuable. "Yes?" Asked Giles. "Well," started Xander, "we do know someone who hung out with Warren." Willow realized who Xander was referring to.
"Duh!" She exclaimed. "Who's got Andrew's phone number?" Helena, who had been quietly observing Xander while listening to the conversation whipped out her cell phone. "Here it is!" Buffy looked at her, realizing she was happy to be of some use. "O.K. Helena, you contact Andrew. Find out whatever you can about what Warren was like before…you know. Xander and Willow, you're with me. Giles, Spike and Dawn…Stay with Helena, and try to find us a place to stay." Willow, curiosity eating away at her, asked "Where are we going, Buffy?" Buffy replied "We're going to look through the debris and see if we can find any clues." Xander, who was less than thrilled at the thought of trudging through fiery wreckage, sarcastically commented "Sounds like fun." Willow, who seemed giddy as a teenager, said "I think so, too!" Xander chuckled a little then said "I was kidding, Will."
Willow, realizing that Xander was being sarcastic, tried to cover herself. "Oh. Me too." Giles interrupted them. "If you find anything…." He in turn was interrupted by Xander. "We'll just leave it there and ignore it." He was met by a stern but humorous look from Giles. "Or bring it back to you for an exciting research party." Willow couldn't help herself. "Research party?" She asked excitedly. Then she realized Xander was just being his sarcastic self. "O.K. I'll be quiet now" She said as everyone chuckled at her.