Going Solo 2

Previous chapter ANYASEMF008

"Aren't you a little young to be buying a boat?"

"Possibly," Buffy admitted, "but considering Slayer lifespans I don't see waiting as a viable option."

Giles winced, but nodded. "I see your point. If you need someone to cosign for a loan, please don't hesitate to ask."

"We'll keep that in mind," Buffy assured him.

"I like this one," Xander said, tapping an ad.

"It's almost a barge, no it is a barge, with a tug built into it," Willow said, looking it over.

"Great stability but very slow," Buffy guessed.

"It's cheap because it needs a major overhaul," Willow said as she read the details.

"We can only afford very cheap and this will give us experience with the technology," Xander pointed out.

"Not to mention the modifications we can make during the rebuild," Buffy added.

"Goes without saying," Willow said absently as she copied down details to look up.

It's within our budget," Willow said, "and dock space in Sunnydale is cheap for some reason."

"Yeah, imagine that," Buffy said with a snort.

"If we make regular use of the living quarters will it keep vamps out?" Xander asked Giles.

"Only for the internal spaces," Giles replied, "the deck would still be vulnerable just as vampires can enter the grounds of a property."

"We can get a priest to bless it," Willow said. "Doubt it'll be as good as consecrating the ground, but it should still make them uncomfortable."

"This deal looks too good to be true," Buffy said suspiciously. "A rebuild shouldn't lower the price that much."

"Wooden deck and a large engine," Willow said. At their confused expressions she explained, "The equipment needed to lift the engine would shatter the deck, so the usual method is to use a crane and remove part of the deck to lift it out, making overhaul an even more expensive prospect."

"They wouldn't have that problem if they used Wroshyr wood," Buffy said, shaking her head.

"If only they'd had the foresight to travel to a fictional planet to collect non-existent wood," Willow said dryly.

"Exactly," Xander said cheerfully, "it'd have made things so much easier on us. So, what's the plan to avoid the cost of tearing apart half the ship?"

"Plan? You have a plan?" Buffy asked.

"She always has a plan," Xander said with a grin.

"No, you always have a plan," Willow disagreed, "and I always have to fix your plan."

"Potato, tomato," Xander waved it off. "Now, what's the plan?"

"Buy the ship, rent a dock, mark it as slayer territory to keep demons out or at least make them cautious," Willow said, then waited for the questions she knew were going to come.

"Slayer territory?" Giles asked.

"You want her to pee on the nearby buildings?" Xander asked.

"This ought to be good," Buffy said, leaning back in her chair and waiting for the explanations.

"There is a vampiric script, but only the oldest vampires use it, and it has a glyph for Slayer," Willow explained. "We tag the area and make an example of any demons caught trespassing. It'll increase the fear of the Slayer and should make the area safer, lowering our costs overall. You'll have to ask Angel if Slayer pee scares off vampires, but I kinda doubt it, though it would be a clear sign of which marks she made."

"I am not peeing in public," Buffy said, rolling her eyes.

"They have sprayers for that," Xander waved it off.

"Sprayers for urine?" Buffy asked doubtfully.

"It's how hippies keep animals away from their crops," Xander explained.

"Zoos sell lion urine and the smell scares off all the herbivores," Willow explained his explanation. "But we're getting off track." She waved a hand and Xander and his chair started floating.

"Shouldn't Buffy be The Great Golden One?" Xander asked amused as she floated his chair several feet above the table.

"We float the engine out," Buffy said with a grin.

"That would take enormous amounts of power," Giles warned.

"Or three witches working together," Willow pointed out.

"Which would necessitate finding three... " Giles voice trailed off. "I suppose technically all three of you could serve, even if you have not moved past the first exercise."

"I can see right down your shirt from up here," Xander said cheerfully.

"Which of us?" Buffy asked amused.

"All three," Xander replied cheerfully, "and Giles you have an impressive forest in your shirt."

Giles moved back and clasped the neck of his shirt closed making the three teens laugh and Willow drop Xander.

Buffy leapt forward, her chair falling to the ground, to catch Xander and slowly lower his chair to the floor.

"Why do they have to remove the engine anyway?" Buffy asked before picking up her chair and sitting back down.

"No idea," Willow admitted. "Xander?"

"I assume there are lots of things you have to do to it that there just isn't a lot of room to do in the engine compartment," Xander said, "but what those things are, I am a little fuzzy on."

"Something else to study," Willow said.

"I wonder if there are any ways to fix and improve an engine with magic," Xander said thoughtfully.

"If only we knew a techno-pagan who could help us out," Buffy said with a melodramatic sigh.

Willow and Xander exchanged rueful glances.

"I'll ask Miss Calendar," Willow said.

Giles turned away to hide his smile, amused to see the way the three played off one another and reminded of some of the better days of his own youth.

OoOoOoOoOo

Xander picked up the chalk and solved all three problems on the board, much to the teacher's surprise.

"It's nice to see you've started to apply yourself," Mrs. Jensen said, deciding not to challenge the perfect score he'd gotten on the latest test.

"Willow threatened me with violence," Xander replied.

"You can't prove that," Willow replied with a smirk.

"Keep up the good work Miss Rosenberg," Mrs Jensen said cheerfully making the class laugh just before the bell rang. "Page 236, all the odd questions," she said, "class dismissed."

"You really threatened him with violence?" Cordelia asked Willow curiously as they gathered their books.

"Not him personally," Willow said, "I took hostage some of his possessions."

"I still say a bribe would have worked just as well," Xander said as he joined them.

"I've tried bribery before," Willow replied, "it was of limited effectiveness."

"Depends on the bribe," Cordelia said, before leaving.

"True," Willow said thoughtfully.

Xander shivered, his eyes darting around looking for whatever had set off his danger sense.

"Come on," Willow said grabbing Xander's arm and pulling him to their next class.

Xander relaxed at her touch, deciding it must have been his paranoia.

"Did you do your history homework?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, but my essay descended into a criticism about the tactics used by the French against the Germans," Xander said.

"The French are very passive aggressive," Willow said, "and it shows in their tactics."

"It was probably more effective," Xander admitted.

"We have a major history test coming up," Willow said as they entered the class and took their seats.

"And?" Xander asked, knowing there had to be more to it from her tone.

"Get an A, not an A-, a solid A or above and I'll… well, I won't say what your bribe will be, but if you fail you will be kicking yourself for missing out," Willow said.

"Really?" Xander asked.

"Really," Willow assured him.

"Alright I'll bite," Xander said. "I'll shoot for an A or better, but you get to grade it."

"Don't trust Mr Johnson to give you a fair grade?" Willow asked.

"I've been sleeping through class and just barely scraping by, I figure if I work hard and get an A he'll probably assume I was cheating and give me an F on it," Xander said. "It's what I'd do in his place, because what's more likely one of your students who was a constant slacker decided to work hard or they decided to slack off even more and cheat?"

"A very good point Mr Harris," Mr Johnson said from behind him, "but if I observe you putting in real effort in class I'm going to assume you actually did do the work, because it's harder to fake paying attention and taking note than to actually do it."

"Give me a second for my heart to start beating normally again," Xander said, having jumped when Mr Johnson had spoken up. "Alright, I accept your challenge, I will get an A or better," Xander told Willow.

"Good, your constant snoring was affecting the class," Mr Johnson said as he waved everyone to their seats.

"I don't snore," Xander said defensively, before turning to Willow. "Do I?"

OoOoOoOoOo

"This is where you two have been hiding out?" Buffy asked surprised.

"Hiding out?" Xander asked confused.

"It's lunchtime and I find you two studying in the library when you should have been joining me for lunch and meeting the latest threat, though not much of one," Buffy explained.

"Make with the explainey," Willow ordered.

"You first," Buffy countered.

"I'm being bribed with an unspecified reward to get an A in history," Xander said. "Now give!"

"Unspecified?" Buffy asked

"He's more motivated that way," Willow claimed.

Buffy's look promised a massive interrogation later, but for now she relented. "One of the students from Hemery High said he's transferring here, but the truth is he's dying of cancer and in a lot of pain. His scrambled brain has come up with the idea of trading me to a vamp for immortality, but he's also kinda hoping for a quick death to end it all."

"That sucks," Xander said after a few seconds.

"So… what are you going to do?" Willow asked.

"I'm torn," Buffy admitted. "On the one hand he's trying to betray me and on the other…"

"And on the other?" Willow asked.

"He's a rich asshole," Buffy said bluntly.

"It's not like he can take it with him," Xander noted.

"I feel like I should be shocked and appalled," Willow said.

"But?" Buffy asked.

"I take betrayal very personally, especially when it's a friend of mine who's been betrayed," Willow admitted.

"Right there with ya," Xander said with a fond smile at her vengeful nature.

"Of course, we also have to take into account the fact that he is not firing on all cylinders," Willow quietly added.

"Point," Buffy admitted.

"So… make him aware of exactly what's going on and what he's doing, so he understands and can make an informed decision?" Willow suggested.

"That works for me," Xander said. "I'll buddy up with him, let him know a few home truths."

"And when he dies we'll forge some checks in his name," Buffy said with a nod. "Sound like a plan."

OoOoOoOoOo

"The Crimson Dawn?" Willow said in surprise as they read the name written in gold across the back of the ship, the letters faded and peeling.

"Good name," Xander said with a smile.

As they rounded the corner and saw the setting sun illuminate the ship Willow laughed.

At Xander's, raised eyebrow she explained, "He built it out of redwood, the deck and railing at least."

"It looks good," Xander said.

"It looks like a pirate ship," Willow countered. "Why does it have a mast and sails when it has an engine? And why wasn't that mentioned?"

"Well, either we're looking at the wrong ship, or it is being sold by some dealership who never even looked at it and just went by old paperwork," Xander guessed. "Is it just me or does it look familiar?"

"It's not just you," Willow agreed, "but then superficially it looks like a pirate ship."

"We're buying a pirate ship?" Buffy's voice came from just down the dock as she appeared with a dark haired young man.

"Looks like it," Willow said. "Our current guess is that the seller never laid eye on it."

"Can we get a look onboard?" Buffy asked.

"I don't see any cops about," Xander replied, heading for the mooring ropes.

"No cop, no crime," Buffy agreed, to Ford's surprise.

"How are you planning on getting aboard?" Buffy asked Xander.

"Just watch," Xander said with a grin. He tested the thick hemp rope with his foot to see how much give it had before sticking his hands in his pockets and casually walking across it to the ship and hopping over the rail.

"Whoa," Ford said impressed.

"I can do that," Buffy said, testing the rope with her foot before slowly walking across it, arms outstretched as she had to continuously adjust her balance as the rope sagged. As she neared the ship, where the rope sloped sharply she kept sliding backwards until finally she took a few steps back, moved forward and leapt ten feet into the air, doing a full flip before landing precisely on the rail. "Tadah!"

"Wow!" Ford said in awe.

Buffy and Xander looked over at Willow and waited.

"I'm not showing off," Willow said firmly, before gesturing and causing the gangplank to slide into place so she could climb aboard.

"Holy shit!" Ford quickly followed Willow aboard.

"How Buffy got on board was easy to see, but how did you?" Willow demanded.

"Yeah, how did you?" Buffy added.

"I used a little mojo to keep myself in balance and to make my shoes stick to the rope," Xander said with a smirk. "Lesson one for the win!"

"I didn't even think to do that," Buffy complained.

"No, which is why what you did was awesome," Xander assured her.

"Thank you," Buffy said smugly.

"And how did you move the ramp?" Ford asked Willow eagerly.

"Meh, I used telekinesis," Willow said waving it off.

"No Meh!" Ford said shaking his head. "Telekinesis is not a Meh it is a wow and a cool!"

"I like him," Willow told Buffy. "Who is he?"

"Oh, right," Buffy said. "Ford this is Willow and Xander. Xander and Willow, this is Ford."

"Nice to meet you," Willow said shaking his hand.

"Any friend of Buffy's is a friend of mine," Xander said shaking his hand.

"How much you want to bet there is a vampire or demon inside?" Buffy asked.

Xander and Willow rolled their eyes. "No bet," the two chorused.

"Um, should we be worried?" Ford asked.

Xander took out several stakes and began to juggle them. "I think we got it covered."

"How long have you been practicing just to causally do that?" Buffy asked with a grin.

"He hasn't been practicing," Willow said eyeing him suspiciously before stepping forward and grabbing his arms. "He's cheating!"

Xander grinned as the three stakes continued to bounce in the air as if they were being juggled.

Buffy pouted. "I thought you could juggle."

Ford just stared in shock. "How is that not more impressive?"

Buffy waved it off. "We already knew he could do that."

Typing by: fyrewolf5