Epilogue: Two Years Later
Sunnydale, May 8th, 2019
Buffy Summers didn't tense or even grip a weapon when the green portal opened in the living room. Instead, she leaned back on the couch, and when Dawn stepped through, she asked as nonchalantly as she could - it wouldn't do to let her little sister think she was surprised by this since she wasn't - "Did you bring the tea?"
Her sister stopped, blinked and stared at her. "What?"
"The tea," Buffy repeated herself. Dawn's blank stare didn't change. "The tea Mom asked you to bring from London?" Buffy explained.
"Oh!" Dawn blushed a little. "That tea."
"Dawn?" Mom called from the kitchen.
"Berightback!"
And Dawn was gone through the portal again. Buffy shook her head.
Mom entered the living room. "I thought I heard Dawn."
"She forgot your tea," Buffy said. "She'll be back in.. about five minutes or so, I guess."
Mom shook her head and sighed. "I'll never get used to portals."
Buffy shrugged and went back to checking her messages on her phone. "It beats taking the Gyre. Or," she added with a shudder, "a plane." The airports always made such a fuss about a few weapons in your luggage! What girl wanted to travel without protection?
"Still, all that instant travel around the world can't be healthy for your biorhythm," Mom objected. "It's what, noon, in England?"
"So, our dinner will be Dawn's lunch," Buffy said, shrugging. It wasn't as if she had a natural biorhythm herself, what with being a Slayer and working at night. "It's not really any different than working shifts."
"Dawn's sixteen," Mom complained. "She shouldn't be working shifts. She should be in school."
"Technically, she's in school," Buffy pointed out. "And she's not really working shifts."
"Camelot isn't a school," Mom said, turning away.
Buffy sighed. There was no point in pointing out that 'Camelot Private Academy' technically was a school, being registered with the British government and all, even though it only had one student - Dawn. Or that Willow was a much better teacher than anyone at Sunnydale Highschool. Hell, Willow's teaching apps were much better teachers. Mom wouldn't agree. It was a small miracle that she had agreed to Dawn 'transferring' at all. As if letting the Key - or, as far as Mom knew, the Holder of the Key - go to school in Sunnydale would be smart. Sometimes, Buffy wondered if her Mom had not taken a bit of brain damage. The clinic had said they had found the aneurysm in time before it could have done anything, but…
She shook her head. Mom just was stubborn. Like Dawn or Buffy herself.
Another portal opened, and Dawn arrived, holding a box of tea with one hand. "I'm back!" she yelled. "And I brought tea!" She waved the box around with a smile. "Willow and Tara send their regards."
"Thanks."
"Thank you, Dawn. How was your morning?" Mom asked as she took the box.
"Oh, the usual." Dawn shrugged and sat down on the couch. "Willow and Tara are still busy trying to decurse the grimoire they found in that shop in London, so I've been mostly rereading stuff I already learned."
"Ah." Mom nodded and didn't ask further. She knew as well as Buffy did that 'stuff I already learned' didn't refer to maths or history, but magic. "Dinner will be ready in a few minutes, so go and wash your hands."
"Mom! I'm not a little girl any more," Dawn pouted.
Buffy grinned. "So, go and wash your hands."
"You too, Buffy!" Mom called from the kitchen.
She rolled her eyes but got up anyway. Mom meant well. "Any trouble with the Council?" she asked as they went to the bathroom.
"As if!" Dawn grinned. "Giles has it in hand."
With Willow's help, of course. Since she was one of the most powerful witches in the world - according to Giles, who knew what he was talking about - and in control of Camelot and Merlin's legacy, the Council needed her far more than she needed them.
"What about that guy you met in London, Cartman?"
"Carter," Dawn hissed as she started soaping her hands. "And there's nothing about him."
"Oh?" Buffy raised her eyebrows and leaned against the doorframe.
Dawn snorted. "He's got a girlfriend. A snotty, snobby English girlfriend," she said with a sneer.
"I thought he flirted with you in the bookshop," Buffy commented.
"He did." Dawn finished washing her hands and walked past her.
"Ah." Buffy nodded. Well, she wasn't exactly in a position to tease Dawn about her love life. And even if she were, it wouldn't be worth potentially losing access to instant travel to New York or London or Paris. She could always ask Willow, of course, but her bestie was a little too much into 'responsible use of magic' ever since she started reading Merlin's diary, and Buffy didn't want to listen to a lecture about 'frivolous use of magic' before or during a shopping trip. Tara, of course, wasn't helping either.
She sighed and finished washing her hands herself. In a way, it was weird to have her friends spread out over the world like this, yet being able to visit instantly whenever they choose to. On the other hand, as Xander said, it was just a better version of video calls. A much better version.
She was about to return to the living room when she heard the doorbell ring. Frowning, she went to answer it. Who could visit at a time like this?
"Come on, Slayer."
That was Spike. Wasn't he supposed to be in Los Angeles? She opened the door and stepped aside.
The vampire entered. "Hello, Joyce, hi Niblet!" he called out.
"Hi, Spike."
"Spike!"
Buffy wasn't fooled, of course. "What's wrong?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.
He scoffed. "Your ex-boyfriend, that's what's wrong."
Angel? Buffy frowned. "What did he do this time?" Angel had handed that mess with Cordy's instant-growth baby somewhat messily, but Los Angeles was still standing last she checked.
"It's what he's planning to do," Spike said. "The idiot is thinking about joining Wolfram & Hart."
Buffy blinked. "What?"
Trollmarket, May 8th, 2019
"And I've told him that he can't grow mushrooms in the cellar, not without sealing it up to keep out gnomes!"
"You said no such thing! And if you seal the cellar, the mushrooms don't grow right! Every troll knows that!"
James Lake Jr rolled his eyes. It was bad enough that he got another 'pest control' call, but having to listen to two trolls argue with each other? Sometimes, being the Trollhunter really sucked. At least he got paid these days. Not a fortune, but enough. For now.
"That's a myth! No one has ever proven it!"
"Because no one is dumb enough to try to seal their cellar if they want to grow mushrooms!"
"But at least one troll is dumb enough to plant mushrooms for gnomes!"
"Why you…!"
"Stop it! Both of you!" Jim snapped. Enough was enough. "I don't need to - nor do I want to - hear about your differences. I'm here to get the gnomes out of the cellar, nothing more." He tilted his head slightly.
"Of course!" "Sorry!" The two trolls cringed and quickly nodded. To Jim's dismay, his reputation as the Trollhunter who killed Gunmar in single combat had only grown in the telling, as Blinky had said.
But sometimes, it was useful. He nodded. "So, this is the cellar." He walked towards the door. The door had scratch marks on the bottom - gnomes left those when they wriggled underneath it and their caps caught the wood.
"Yes!"
"Good." Jim opened the door and peered down into the cellar. "Hello the gnomes!" he yelled. "I'm the Trollhunter. And I need you to leave this cellar. So, we can do it the easy way or the hard way."
The high-pitched not-quite-screaming from below didn't seem like the gnomes wanted to leave peacefully. Jim sighed. It was too bad that the gnomes weren't really impressed by his reputation. Fortunately, he wasn't counting on only his reputation. "Well, in that case, I'll have to call my girlfriend. Claire."
The gnomes' screaming changed in tone, and he heard tiny feet tap over stone - they were moving. A moment later, the sound changed slightly - they were on the stairs now. Jim took a step to the side and watched the gnomes - a dozen of them - file out.
If only they knew that Claire's 'gnome-removal spell' had been her first attempt to create a spell to retrieve Chomsky from the Darklands… Jim smiled at the memory. Claire might be embarrassed by her 'failure', but it all worked out - and it was a useful if traumatising (for the gnomes) spell to deal with unwanted houseguests.
And Claire had later recovered Chomsky, mostly hale and whole - he was missing the tip of his horn - with the right spell and a little help from Dawn.
He turned to smile at the two arguing trolls. "All done."
"Thank you, Trollhunter!"
"I don't know what we would've done without you! Smoking out gnomes ruins the cellar for years!"
"That's why I'm here." Jim resisted the sudden urge to add: 'your tax dollars at work' and left.
Outside, he checked his phone. No new messages. And it was a little early to go home; Claire wouldn't be back from her trip to check out another possible college in San Francisco until about six. He quickly tapped out a message.
Cleared a cellar of gnomes with your help :)
He hit send and waited. The 'router' Willow had installed in Trollmarket was sometimes a little slow, but texts always got through.
Claire's reply arrived fifteen seconds later.
Not again!
He chuckled and typed another text.
See you at dinner. Love you.
Her answer was even faster this time.
Love you.
He sighed with an undoubtedly silly smile on his face.
"What did the Fair Claire tell you, Master Jim?"
Jim turned. "Blinky! You're back from Camelot?"
"For the rest of the week, yes. I need to look up a few things in my library." Blinky said.
"Did you take the Gyre?"
"I did not want to ask Willow to strain herself," Blinky replied as they started towards his home.
"Ah." Unlike Dawn, who had mastered creating portals without the Shadow Staff in record time, Willow was struggling with teleporting - not something she liked to be reminded of. She could teleport, but it took a lot out of her. Unlike, say, turning someone into a rat or newt.
"So, how fare Trollmarket and Arcadia Oaks?" Blinky asked.
Jim shrugged. "Nothing of note happened." And he was quite happy with that.
"I've heard rumours about another demonic intrusion near the school," Blinky said.
"That was a particularly large raccoon," Jim explained. He didn't go into details - Blinky didn't need to know how long it had taken Jim to catch the little critter. And how long he had waited for it to appear.
"So, it seems Sunnydale remains the main focus of demonic activity in the area, then."
"Yes." Which was one reason why Jim and Clair often spent an evening or two or a weekend in Sunnydale. Buffy might not need their help, but it didn't hurt her either. And Jim could keep in shape - dealing with gnomes or the occasional troll drunk on motor oil wasn't exactly a challenge for the Trollhunter. "We're planning to…"
His phone beeped again. Had Clair sent him another text? He pulled it out and frowned.
"Master Jim?"
"It seems something is up," Jim told him. "Buffy called for a meeting tonight."
Arcadia Oaks, May 8th, 2019
"Jim!"
"Claire!"
James Lake Jr embraced Claire on the threshold of his home. Mrs Trent went by with her dog and waved, but he barely noticed.
"I was only away for the afternoon," Claire said with a slight smirk when they separated.
"I know," he replied, stepping to the side so she could enter. Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies had drilled the 'never invite anyone or anything inside' into his head.
She stepped inside.
"Mom's still working," Jim told her before she could ask.
Claire nodded and sat down on the couch. "So… Buffy needs us?"
"Probably." Jim shrugged as he grabbed a tray of snacks he had prepared from the kitchen counter. "She didn't text the reason."
Claire briefly frowned as she grabbed one of the finger sandwiches. "That's not good."
Jim nodded. Their communications were supposed to be secure, after all - Willow had done them. "She probably doesn't want us to snoop around and spill the beans."
"'Spill the beans'?" Claire raised her eyebrows.
"Xander's been watching old movies," Jim said. It went without saying that the man would quote them.
"Ah." She nodded. "Don't let Mary hear that - she'll worry about possession."
Jim snorted. In hindsight, it had been a miracle that Mary hadn't stumbled onto the supernatural world earlier than last summer, the way she was about making new videos for likes. Still, she had kept the secret at least, though, apparently, it had taken Willow threatening to make the number of Mary's followers tank if she tried to use this to make more appealing videos. But this wasn't a concern right now. "Anyway, it sounds pretty serious."
Claire nodded and grabbed another sandwich. "Dinner still on?"
Jim sighed. "No. We'll eat in Sunnydale." And he had already prepared everything for a lovely stir fry!
Claire didn't look too disappointed. Well, Joyce's cooking was great.
The doorbell rang again. "That must be Toby." Jim stood and went to answer it. His friend stood outside, a large gym bag thrown over his shoulder. "Jimbo!"
"Tobes." Jim let him enter.
"Hi, Claire." Toby dropped the bag on the floor, which caused a clunking noise.
"Hi, Toby. I could've opened a portal to fetch your armour and hammer," Claire told him.
"I didn't want to be defenceless on the way after Jimbo called for all hands on deck." Toby let himself fall into the free seat, then sniffed the air. "Toasted sandwiches?"
Jim pushed the plate over to Toby's side of the low table.
"Thanks!" He grabbed two. "These are great!" After eating both, he went on: "Is anyone else coming?"
"We're getting Blinky on the way," Jim said.
"Oh. He's back from Camelot?"
"Yes."
"Good." Toby grabbed another sandwich.
Jim reached for one himself. "Strickler's coming too."
His friends tensed. "Ah." Claire slowly nodded.
Toby frowned. "Then it must be really important."
That was obvious - Buffy wouldn't call the changeling - well, former changeling; he couldn't take a human form any more - otherwise.
"They, ah, didn't call Angor Rot, did they?" Toby asked.
Jim shook his head.
Claire snorted. "Angor Rot and Strickler in the same room?"
"But why is she calling him as well?" Toby shook his head. "We don't need him."
Jim nodded. Strickler was a decent fighter, but not exceptional.
"Then it must be about what - or whom - he knows," Claire said. "He's been around for a long time, and he's been a spy."
Jim sighed. Claire was probably right - she usually was - but it meant this would be a complicated thing.
"Probably something demony," Toby said.
"Of course it is!" Jim nodded. They would've handled anything troll-related.
"That doesn't narrow it down," Claire said. She checked her phone. "Well, I've told my parents that we have a meeting."
"I've left Mom a note." Jim sighed. She would be worrying, but that couldn't be helped.
"Nana knows."
"Then let's get Blinky and go to Sunnydale."
Sunnydale, May 8th, 2019
"I'm back!" Dawn announced as she stepped through another portal in the living room. "And I brought friends!"
Buffy Summers nodded. "Hi, Willow. Giles."
"Hi, Buffy!" Willow waved at her. Tara smiled and waved as well.
"Buffy." Giles nodded. "Joyce." He smiled at Mom.
"What are we? Chopped liver?" Xander stepped through the portal, followed by Anya.
"Xander. Anya."
"Yo." Spike nodded at them from the wall against which he was leaning.
"You're the reason for this meeting?" Xander asked.
"Not me. Captain Hairgel had another brainfart."
"Spike." Mom shook her head when he looked at her.
"Sorry." The vampire even looked as if he meant it. "Angel's lost what was left of his mind."
"Again?" Xander asked. "Wait, in the 'Angelus is back in control' sense, or in the 'I have a stupid idea and won't let anyone tell me otherwise' sense?"
"The second," Buffy told him. "He wants to infiltrate Wolfram & Hart with his gang."
"What?"
"How?"
"Does he think they won't recognise him somehow?" Xander shook his head. "Did he buy a fake moustache and glasses?"
"It's worse than that," Spike said. "The senior partners offered him control over the LA branch as a reward for dealing with that demon daughter of Cordelia."
"And he doesn't realise that's a trap?" Willow blinked.
"You know him." Spike shrugged. "He thinks he can turn the trap around."
Buffy pressed her lips together. Sometimes, she thought she had never known Angel at all.
"This sounds a bit optimistic," Giles commented.
"Just a bit," Spike added.
"What's the Council's reaction going to be?" Willow asked.
"They won't be happy about this. Some of the old guard will take this as proof that Angel cannot be trusted - or that he has lost his soul," Giles replied.
"Again," Xander muttered.
Buffy rolled her eyes. As much as she didn't like the old geezers around Travers, some of Angel's decisions since he had moved to L.A. had left her with serious doubts about his mental health. And his intelligence. And that had nothing to do with his decision to leave her and have some child with Darla of all people - well, of all vampires turned back into people. Whatever.
"Well, is Angel planning to accept?" Willow asked.
Spike shrugged. "I don't think even he knows. Last I heard, Wolfram & Hart also offered to take over caring for Cordelia. Medical benefits, or something."
Everyone scoffed at that. As if you could trust a demon lawyer firm bent on destroying the Earth - on their terms - to take care of your comatose not-girlfriend!
"Does anyone else think it's weird that this was the second time Angel had to deal with a child born and then instantly turned into an adult?" Willow asked. "I mean, Connor was taken to a dimension where time passed faster, so it's not quite the same as Jasmine, but…" She shrugged.
Buffy really had to struggle not to make a snarky comment about what happened when you trusted the Powers-That-Be.
"What about Faith?" Xander asked, then cringed when Anya glared at him. "I'm just asking to know where the other living Slayer stands in all of this."
Anya didn't look like she was happy with the explanation. The girl really needed to grow a little less jealous - or insecure.
"Probably following Angel around like a puppy," Spike said. "So she can feel redeemed."
Buffy pressed her lips together. Angel had said he wasn't, well, in a relationship with Faith, but she had no doubts that Faith would jump his bones as soon as she was given the slightest hint he might let her. Couldn't the girl have found someone else to 'redeem' herself with? "So, we can't rely on her to beat some sense into Angel."
"Not unless the idiot starts eating people or something," Spike said.
Buffy sighed. Who would have thought that Faith, of all people, would be an even worse pain in the butt when she finally started working with others? Well, her actions working for the Mayor kinda showed that, but still! This was different.
Before she could say anything, another portal opened in the middle of the room. Everyone tensed, but then Jim stepped through. "Hello, everyone. Hello, Mrs Summers."
"Call me Joyce," Mom told him not for the first time.
"Good evening, everyone." Blinky entered, followed by Toby and Claire. And Strickler. "I already ate," Blinky said, "so don't bother with a different meal on my behalf."
Of course Mom shook her head. "I've already prepared some socks for you."
"Well, if you already prepared them… Thank you, Joyce!"
Strickler nodded his thanks as well. Buffy kept her eye on him.
"Whose socks?" Dawn asked. "Mine or Buffy's?"
"New socks I bought for the occasion," Mom replied.
"Ah."
Buffy was glad. Used socks would've been very creepy. And disgusting as well. "So, since everyone's here - let's eat!" she said. "Planning goes better on a full stomach."
"Let's hope so, at least," Xander said.
Mom had cooked up a spread on short notice, and everyone dug in. Buffy didn't watch while Blinky slurped down some socks as if they were pasta. At least Strickler ate them a little more discreetly. Then again, the former changeling knew more about human table manners - and had more reasons to behave, of course.
"So, Angel plans to 'take down Wolfram & Hart from the inside'?" Jim asked between bites after Buffy had filled him in.
"That's the plan, at least according to him," Spike, who wasn't eating, replied.
"And Wolfram & Hart would in no way expect this," Dawn said.
"No, no, they'll be outplayed by Angel the genius," Xander added. "And he certainly won't lose his soul - again - in some scheme this time."
"It does sound more than a little optimistic," Giles commented. "The 'senior partners' will have anticipated such a plan. And they have a lot of experience tempting mortals and corrupting them."
"They're lawyers; of course they have experience with corruption," Dawn said with a smirk.
"That's actually a cliché," Willow objected. "And a harmful stereotype."
"Not every lawyer is Matt Murdock," Xander replied.
"Can we focus on the totally evil demon lawyers instead of on comic books or stereotypes?" Buffy cut in before her friends could get started. "We know Wolfram & Hart are evil."
"And Angel knows that as well .- he's been fighting them for some time," Giles said. "According to Wesley."
"Speaking of Wesley," Xander said. "What's his take on this?"
"I didn't talk to him," Spike replied.
"He hasn't been in contact with the Council about this as far as I know," Giles said. "Not that he has been in contact with the Council very often since his, ah, change of employment."
"Great. Another unknown variable." Buffy sighed.
"What exactly is your goal?" Strickler asked. "Do you want to stop Angel and his group, or Wolfram & Hart?"
That was a good question.
James Lake Jr didn't like Strickler. He might not want to kill the former changeling any more, but he would never forget what the bastard had done. Taking Mom hostage, trying to get Jim's friends killed, working for Gunmar… Still, the troll was smart and had a lot of experience - and he was aware that Jim and his friends were the main reason Angor Rot hadn't killed him yet. After the curse linking him to Mom had finally been broken.
But that was a good question indeed. One Buffy had to answer.
He saw her sigh. "I wish we could just solve this with a talk to Angel." Spike snorted, loudly, which prompted a frown from her. "But leaving aside how Angel thinks he knows best thanks to being a 'champion' or whatever…" Xander snorted, but Willow frowned at both, Jim noted. He had expected that - Angel was a touchy subject. "...Wolfram & Hart are a threat to the world. We have to stop them."
"They are," Strickler agreed. "The Order of Janus had had contracts with them, but always only in the short-term - we were aware that they had plans that, ultimately, ran contrary to our goals."
"Yeah, such as keeping on living," Xander commented.
Strickler tilted his head, acknowledging the point. "And the fact that both Gunmar and Wolfram & Hart wanted to end the world as the humans know it on their terms."
"It's a wonder that such competitors worked together at all," Toby said.
Willow sighed. "That's what makes Wolfram & Hart so dangerous: They are absolutely willing to work together with anyone, including their sworn enemies, if it serves their goals. They're utterly pragmatic."
Once more, Strickler nodded in agreement.
"They're lawyers; what do you expect?" Xander quipped with a grin.
"So, Angel has reasons to think they might play ball?" Dawn asked, leaning forward.
"Only if he forgets that Wolfram & Hart will betray anyone and everyone as soon as it becomes advantageous," Mr Giles said. "Something, I fear, that's not very unlikely. Angel likely thinks he can act against them before they reach this point."
"Bugger always thought he was smarter than everyone else," Spike muttered.
"Yeah." Buffy frowned.
Claire was frowning as well, Jim noticed - but it was her thinking frown. "But Angel taking over the Los Angeles branch does offer an opportunity to find out more about the whole organisation. If we don't wait too long until we act, that would benefit us a lot, wouldn't it?"
"It would," Willow agreed. "Knowing is half the battle."
"Yo, Joe!" Xander commented.
The witch blushed. "You made me watch those cartoons!"
"And to see that you retained their core message decades later is something I'm proud of!" Xander replied.
"We're not that old!" Willow protested.
Buffy cleared her throat. "Can we focus on the evil lawyers instead of on cartoons?"
Willow blushed, but Xander just grinned.
"While a sound strategy at first glimpse," Mr Giles said, "I fear that this is exactly what Wolfram & Hart are counting on. They have been active for millennia, and even this latest guise of theirs as a supposedly respectable business goes back centuries. They will have so many secrets, anyone would be tempted to wait a little longer after each tidbit they unearth to ferret out more secrets."
Buffy winced. "And on the way, people will lose their way. Or something. Angel's crew isn't exactly, well…"
"They're a bunch of morons led by king moron," Spike said. "They almost killed each other a few times."
Well, Jim and his friends had fought the Scoobies as well at their first meeting. But they hadn't fought each other since they had started working together.
"That is an indication that at least some of their members might be led astray by the right incentive or deception," Blinky spoke up. "Which counter-balances the advantages of more information."
"Information that might be prepared for them to find, anyway," Xander added.
"Quite." Mr Giles nodded. "As tempting as it might appear to infiltrate the enemy, doing so on their own invitation seems more foolhardy than wise."
"Quite," Buffy imitated him. "So, all in favour of kicking evil lawyer butt?"
"Always," Xander said. Most others nodded, some a little hesitantly, though.
And some did so very enthusiastically. "And then we loot their assets!" Anya smiled widely.
"But Los Angeles is just one branch," Willow pointed out. "They have at least six more spread out over the world. They might retaliate."
"They cannot let one of their branches get destroyed without retaliation - the loss of face this would cause would hurt their reputation and their business," Strickler said.
"They want us gone anyway," Buffy retorted.
"But probably not right now," Xander said. "They might think we're still useful as long as we keep their competition down. Like Gunmar and Glory."
Jim nodded. That made sense. And yet… "Wouldn't we make the same mistake we think Angel's doing if we count on that? I mean, if we think they won't move against us first?"
"Indeed, Master Jim, we should not assume that as long as we do not move against this organisation, they will return the favour." Blinky nodded.
"In other words," Buffy said, "we have to take on all of Wolfram & Hart."
Jim tried not to wince. That was a big task. And a dangerous one. Very dangerous. "Can we do this?" he asked.
"In a word: No," Mr Giles replied.
"Giles!" Buffy protested.
"Or, I should say, not by ourselves," Mr Giles went on. "Wolfram & Hart's influence rivals - perhaps even surpasses - the Council's. Many people have sold their souls for power or are otherwise beholden to the firm."
"Great," Toby commented. "We took out the Order of Janus, and now there's another conspiracy infiltrating the government."
"Technically, Wolfram & Hart has been operating for centuries; they didn't spring up in the two years since the Order was destroyed," Willow pointed out.
"And we only managed to destroy the Order of Janus," Claire added, "because we saved all the babies who were used as their familiars."
Jim nodded. And that had been a close call. But compared to explaining how over two hundred babies had been found and rescued from kidnappers without revealing trolls and magic? That would've been impossible without the government's help. And even so, conspiracy theorists still went on about 'baby farms' being covered up by corrupt politicians. Or babies smuggled into the USA by an underground railroad to take over society. Or cloning experiments to seed the population with ESPers, or whatever the latest crazy theory was. Between the crazies and the honest investigators visiting Arcadia Oaks, Jim and his friends wouldn't have been able to remain Trollhutners without Claire's portals. But the babies had found homes, and that was what mattered.
"Indeed," Strickler said. "The Order has left a vacuum which was filled by rival organisations."
"Organisations? There are more conspiracies than Wolfram & Hart?" Toby blurted out.
Strickler showed that faint grin that usually announced a sarcastic remark in school. "The various intelligence agencies of the USA, for one. And, of course, foreign ones as well."
"Those aren't rivals of Wolfram & Hart!" Claire protested.
And there came the look that usually followed a wrong answer. Jim was quite familiar with it as well. "How refreshingly naive. Intelligence agencies work basically the same as the Order of Janus did, or Wolfram & Hart, merely with less supernatural tools. Corrupting contacts and turning them against their friends and allies is business as usual for such organisations."
Mr Giles cleared his throat. "While I have no doubt that the CIA and similar agencies work like that, they generally do not have the goal of destroying the world."
"I would say destroying the environment for power and profit qualifies," Willow muttered with a scowl.
Mr Giles glanced at her before he continued: "Nevertheless, such agencies are our allies when facing Wolfram & Hart - provided we can ensure that they haven't been infiltrated by the agents of the firm."
"Can't we just zap all their headquarters?" Buffy asked. "You know, a simple, violent solution. We've got Merlin's power, don't we?"
"We're studying Merlin's records," Willow corrected her. "That doesn't mean we can just wield his magic. Well, we can cast most of the spells in his grimoires…"
"Most?" Xander interrupted.
Willow pressed her lips together for a moment. "Some of the spells are… well, it seems the rumours of druids sacrificing people weren't completely fabricated by the Romans."
She looked like she hated admitting that, in Jim's opinion. He glanced at Claire, who nodded in agreement with the witch - she had been studying Merlin's grimoires as well, after all. "Yes. We aren't going to use those spells under any circumstance," she said.
Tara nodded with a very determined expression.
"What about the heart thingie?" Buffy asked. "You said that was for emergencies. This is an emergency!"
"We haven't even begun to understand the Heart of Avalon," Willow said. "We know, though, that it's immensely powerful."
"And we don't want to risk whatever disaster we could cause by messing with it without fully understanding it." Claire shook her head.
Buffy sighed. "Fine. So, we need the government on our side. The government that might be infiltrated by the same demons we want destroyed."
"Not just our government, I mean the United States," Willow pointed out. "They have firms all over the world."
"And contrary to what we see in action movies, the CIA isn't capable of running blacks ops in all those countries," Xander said. "Tom Cruise, you have failed us!"
Jim and Toby chuckled at the reference. But Claire looked annoyed, as did Willow.
"So, to the great disappointment of my violent sister, we can't just smash Wolfram & Hart," Dawn said.
"We so could smash the L.A. branch!" Buffy protested.
"We could. But as we established, that would cause the rest of the firm to retaliate, presumably on an unprecedented level for which we might not be prepared," Mr Giles told her.
Buffy groaned. "So, that means we have to convince Angel that he's being dumb."
"That would be the logical conclusion," Mr Giles said.
"I would have really preferred to just smash Wolfram & Hart one branch after another," Buffy complained.
"That would be easier," Spike said.
Jim hoped that the vampire was joking.
"Hey!"
Buffy Summers turned away from staring at the backyard and faced Jim, who had just stepped out on the porch. "Yes? Want to join me on a patrol?" She wasn't going to head to Los Angeles without making sure her hometown was safe. Well, as safe as it got on a Hellmouth.
Jim nodded. "Yes." He rolled his shoulders. "A walk will be nice," he said.
"Is anyone else coming?" Buffy asked.
"Claire and the others are discussing curses Wolfram & Hart might use. Toby is talking with Xander about explosives."
Buffy wasn't disappointed about that. Both would have to put on their armour the normal way, so they would be quite obvious when walking around. Unlike Jim, who could just use his amulet to be encased in it.
And Toby would be carrying the Trollhammer. She might have left it to him since he could wield it and, therefore, was worthy, but that didn't mean she liked seeing him carry it in her town. "Let's go then," she said, stepping off the porch.
"Alright. Where are we going first?" Jim followed her, zipping up his thin jacket.
"The Bronze," she said. Most newcomers of the undead variety tried to hunt there, or so it seemed.
"OK."
Buffy sniffed the air as they left the yard. No scent of evil demony stuff. Well, Dawn had put a few wards on the house, 'as practice'. And after Willow and Tara had fixed the one that had attracted every cat in town, they seemed to be working well.
"So, how's Trollhunting?" she asked.
"Mostly… boring," Jim said. "The only fights I've had were demons trying to move to Arcadia Oaks."
"Boring's good," Buffy told him. "But sometimes, you want to slay something." She flashed her teeth at the thought of a nice fight.
"Well…" Jim shrugged. "I wouldn't say that." Of course he wouldn't - he was no Slayer. "But it feels a bit weird to draw a salary for basically not doing much."
"You draw a salary for being ready to help when you're needed."
"And for dealing with gnome infestations," Jim replied.
"Seriously?" She tilted her head to look at him.
He nodded with a sigh.
That was too funny! She giggled but quickly grew serious. "Still no sign of those allies of Gunmar?"
Jim shook his head. "No. Although with Gunmar gone, the different troll tribes and communities have become more divided again. The Deep Trolls have almost completely withdrawn into their lands. That makes finding any allies of Gunmar more difficult."
If there were such. Buffy was starting to have some doubts. "They'll be lying low, anyway. Without him, what could they do?"
"They could still make trouble," Jim replied. "If they think we're on to them, they might grow desperate, and desperate people - or trolls - do desperate things."
Buffy shrugged. If trolls made trouble, they could handle it. Hell, the Trollhunters could handle it - Claire had learned a lot more magic than just creating portals since Glory. "Oh. Any news about Angor Rot?" That was a dangerous troll.
"Not since he got his soul back and returned to the lands of his tribe," Jim told her.
Buffy thought that was rather creepy - the tribe had been wiped out centuries ago, as far as she knew, so their underground territory would be empty.
They walked a block without talking until it became awkward. "So… Claire's found a college yet?" Buffy asked. It was a kinda sensitive subject, but she wasn't going to ask about new TV shows.
"She's still looking. There's still time," Jim said. "And with the staff, she can commute easily."
Buffy nodded. It wasn't that simple, of course - Claire would be drawn into college activities; she was that kind of girl. But that wasn't her business.
"What about you?"
"Working on my degree," she said. Which was true. She was just not working as hard on her degree as she could. A girl had to have some free time in her youth. Not that she was likely to grow very old anyway. "I'm in no rush."
"Ah." He sighed - no, that was a deep breath. "So… About Angel."
She tensed. "What about him?" she asked. Perhaps a little too sharply.
"Ah…" He trailed off.
Buffy rolled her eyes. "That he's my ex-boyfriend isn't an issue." Really not. She was over him. He had left her, and she had gotten together with Riley. She was over Angel. Mostly.
"Of course not!" Jim said quickly.
She looked at him for a second longer and nodded. Good. Her love life was… complicated and not something she would be discussing with anyone. Certainly not with Angel - her ex wasn't really rational about it. Especially since Spike had, well, stopped trying to kill her.
"Will he really be stubborn about this?" Jim asked.
Buffy shrugged. "Probably. But he'll see reason." She would make him see reason if she had to. You didn't join the evil lawyer firm and turn it around. Certainly not when you didn't have any experience with running a business, the law or undercover work, and the big bad evil guys asked you to join. "This trap is about as obvious as the Trojan horse," she added.
"Yeah," Jim agreed.
They walked another block. Buffy could see the Bronze now. And she could hear the music inside - a new band she didn't know.
And she could smell… She took another sniff and grinned. "Demon!"
"Oh?" Jim tensed. But he was grinning as well.
"Yes." Buffy nodded. "I'll go in and flush it out; you wait in the back and stop it?"
Jim nodded and raised his hand while she started walking towards the entrance, Mr Pointy hidden in her stylish jacket.
"For the Glory of Merlin, Eclipse is mine to command!"
This would be fun!
The End
