Chapter Three: Rumors

Exposure

By Adrian Tepes

Rating: PG-13 to R.

Summary: The actions of Champions bring changes across the world and to one man in particular. This is his story.

Disclaimer: All properties, characters, etc… are copyright of their respective owners. I make no profit off this and am writing for my own amusement and enjoyment.

Takes place during the S8 comics and follows/replaces/adds on to the series canon from there.

Author's Note: Special thanks to everyone who helped me with this story. You know who you are. I couldn't have done it without you. You may archive just tell me where ie, shoot me a link.

Timeline: Takes place during S8 comics Issue #6, "No Future for you Part 2"

Chapter Three: Rumors

Jacob Bean watched and waited in the hours before sunrise. His shop was one of many in this area, selling a modest variety of items that a normal man might need. However at this hour his business had nothing to with normal men or the world they saw around them.

A bell's ring and the sound of a door opening announced he had a visitor, one he had been expecting for some time. Cautious footsteps signaled that he had company.

He barely raised an eyebrow from his seated position behind the shop counter. Overhead a single bulb flickered, feebly trying to keep him in its light. His visitors stopped a bit short, remaining in the dark even as their eyes shone with a faint golden light.

"Did you get it?"

Jacob received a growl in response. This was the drawback to using them, he reminded himself. Remorseless, killing machines they were--intelligent they were not.

"Yes. We got it but we have some problems."

"I already told you how to handle any problems."

"That's one of the things we wished to discuss. Your assistance was terminated."

He narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, "How?"

"Slayers."

"You're lying. No Slayer would have stood a chance against Otos."

"It wasn't just any of them, it was the one True Slayer. The one they call… Buffy."

That name made things slightly more acceptable. "How?" Jacob asked.

"We don't know."

"Then how can you be sure she killed him?"

"She and the Witch were seen flying in the area."

Ah, yes, the redheaded friend of Buffy Summers, Willow Rosenberg. Unlike the Slayer, she could complicate things, forcing his hand early. He grunted slightly as he considered the information before focusing on his guests. There was an uncomfortable silence as he and his visitors regarded one another. "I take it you weren't seen?"

"No worries. The Slayer and Witch were too busy with him and the mess he made to notice us."

Jacob closed his eyes at the first bit of good news he had heard in this meeting. A smile graced his face, "Excellent."

Tori had known she was different all of her life. It started when she was just old enough to remember. She had been a usually quiet yet bright girl; 'a little angel' is what they called her. A few years later in elementary school, she took a liking for P.E. class and the library. In middle school, she was easily one of the most popular girls thanks to her combination of brains, looks and gym skills. Then, one day in the summer before she started her senior year in high school, her life changed. One minute she was struggling to move a cinder block to recover her wristwatch. The next, the block had been hurled through the air, breaking into the wall across the room and her wristwatch was momentarily forgotten.

A strange man with a British accent had appeared on the front door of her home back in California shortly afterward. She didn't catch his name, she only knew that one day she came home and found him in deep conversation with her parents. A few days later, some other people showed up. None were British and one of them was a nice, charming guy with one eye. She still wasn't exactly sure how Ms. Summers and Mr. Harris (She had to consciously remind herself to call them Buffy and Xander) had talked her parents into letting her leave, especially with the whole reveal about death, demons and other things.

An early morning run was something she had done all the time back home in San Diego. Back then all she had was her cell phone, an ipod and the sunrise. Now of course she found a way to carry a stake or three plus a knife. And Scotland's weather was not something she personally liked; it was way too damp and too cold for her tastes. Still if the head of the whole Slayer army, another golden girl like herself, could do it, so could she. She ran a variety of routes around the estate the Castle sat on, varying each one's path and stops so as not to fall into a pattern. Her path on this morning was mostly centered in the middle of the castle's lands. Currently she was jogging through a section of road that ran overtop of some of the area's steeper hills.

Tori had been making fairly good time when she felt the unmistakable sensation that she was being watched. That disturbing itch between her shoulder blades had been part of the whole Slayer package. As she moved further down the path, the itch increased and she surreptitiously began to check out her surroundings in greater detail. The dawn had not yet broken so the area was still cloaked in the fold of night. However, the early morning dew had begun to form, coating the area with a scent that reminded her of rain.

Tori slowed her jogging eventually coming to a halt atop a hill overlooking one relatively shallow valley below. From this vantage point she saw and heard nothing, just the stillness of an early Scottish morning. It was just occurring to her that maybe she should hear some birds, or frogs or even bugs when something slammed into the side of her head. Knocked off her feet, she hit the ground already trying to recover and catch sight of her attacker. Shaking her head she re-oriented herself and she saw, what had hit her.

Her attacker was fairly stout, had two large spikes emerging from his shoulders, was of a mottled grayish color and as it drew closer, she noted the presence of armor-like scales all over its body.

"Great another one," she muttered to herself as she managed to roll out of the way of the demon's follow-up attack and bounced to her feet. Every instinct in her body was screaming at her to attack. On the other hand, she knew for a fact that if she did attack this demon, she'd only really hurt herself. So the Slayer compromised, opting instead to run. She made it about five steps before it caught up to her. The Demon's claw-like hand gripped her shoulder and spun the young Chosen around to face it. Tori wrinkled her face at catching a whiff of the thing's awful breath. She noted that as far as its face was concerned, this one looked less like an insect and more like a bat.

Abruptly, she was shoved to the ground as demon took the opportunity to let out a howling laugh. The realization that it was indeed laughing at her had an unintended effect on the young Slayer.

"Okay now I'm mad."

Tori rose to her feet and charged her attacker. Moving with a speed that only a Slayer could, she feinted, drew the demon off balance and attacked its exposed knees, trying to chop it down to size. Staggered, the demon roared trying to regain control of the fight but Tori wouldn't let up and was rewarded when the thing hit the ground with a thud.

"Gotcha, you bastard." Smiling, she flipped open her cell phone to report in. "Yeah it's me. I got one. It's another Gurguiloness. No I'm fine. I need a team to help restrain him."

In those precious few seconds, she made the one mistake a Slayer should never make and took her eyes off the Demon as it lay on the ground. Sensing something amiss, she whirled only to see the place where the Gurguiloness had lain was now empty. Tori caught something moving out of the corner of the eye and reacted on pure reflex. She ducked and rolled as something whizzed around overhead. Standing back up, she saw that demon was now armed with a heavy-bladed weapon looked more like meat cleaver then a sword.

Wielding its new found weapon with surprising skill, the Demon moved towards her, careful never to give the Slayer an opportunity to do anything but back up. Mentally Tori cursed, knowing she was being herded backwards. Vaguely she remembered that this part of the path was the furthest from the castle and help. A loose stone on the path caused her to briefly stumble. The demon sensing an opportunity dashed forward. Vainly, she tried to regain her balance while seeking a way to ward off the attack that was aimed at her head. That's when she felt something forcefully grab her shoulder and yank her from the path. Tori managed to catch a glimpse of a dark figure before she landed on the suddenly very slippery and wet grass on the hillside. She paused, flipped her hair out of her eyes and was surprised at the scene before her.

What she saw was Satsu's 'Cyber Knight Guy' was now fighting her attacker and doing pretty well judging by how well he was forcing the demon away from her. Determined to help, she stood up and promptly slipped on the wet grass. Down the side of the hill she went, tumbling and cursing all the way down. Fortunately for her, she managed to avoid the rocks in favor of the really, really wet grass as she arrived at the bottom. Tori managed to stand-up again and take personal stock. Her clothes were damp, her hair was a mess and she was covered in bits of leaves, grass blades, dirt and other things.

"Tori!"

Looking up at the walking path atop the hillside, she noted two things. One it was currently occupied by a group of no less than six Slayers, all heavily armed. And two, there was no sign of her attacker or Mr. Knight Guy. The Slayer in charge of the group ended her musing by asking, "Are you all right?"

After examining herself once again, Tori had only one reply, "Fabulous".

"And you're certain about this information?" The Slayer wearing the headset nodded in affirmation.

"Well, there's confirmation. 'Mr. Cyber Knight Guy' as Satsu called him, knows where we live."

"Thanks Leah," Buffy said in a quiet voice. "Any word on the Demon?"

The red headed Slayer shook her head, "According to Tori, the Gurguiloness was last seen fighting with the um, Knight."

"Great. Now there are two wild cards to deal with. It's like being back in Sunnydale sometimes." Buffy paused. "Where's Xander? Wasn't he supposed to be on shift now?"

Leah tilted her head slightly, "Last time I saw him, and he seemed to be in a real hurry. I can put out a search if you want?"

"No I'll find him. Thanks though."

Buffy left the control room behind and gained a shadow almost instantly. Unconsciously she slowed her pace to allow the other person to keep up. "You don't have to take it easy on me you know" the younger woman said.

She stopped, turned and faced Satsu as the other Slayer caught up to her. The Asian slayer was almost healed her from injury but was still walking with a slight limp. "I'm not made of glass, I won't break."

"I never said you would. I just was being considerate. I'm thoughtful girl sometimes." Buffy smiled at the other girl.

"Come on, let's go find my Xander-shaped Watcher."

Satsu nodded and the two moved down the hallways of the castle looking for a missing Harris. After the first few places were Xander-free, Buffy began to get slightly concerned, at least until she saw Renee, his unofficial shadow. She confidently approached the other Slayer. If someone knew where Xander was, Renee would.

"Hey Renee." Her greeting drew the daydreaming girl back to reality. "Oh Miss Summers, hello. Hello Satsu." The Asian slayer nodded back.

"Where is Xander?"

In answer, she nodded at the doorway that marked the entrance to his room. Thanking Renee with a nod, she approached his door and knocked. "Xander?" Not receiving an immediate answer, she knocked again, this time asking in a louder voice, "XANDER?"

Buffy was rewarded with a groan that only be picked up super slayer hearing, "XANDER? Are you all right?"

There was a pause, before his familiar voice answered hers, "Yes. Just not feeling too good."

"Do you need to go to the infirmary?"

"No, I'm good."

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"All right."

Xander listened as Buffy's footsteps retreated from his doorway. He could barely hear the limping walk that told him Satsu was accompanying Buffy as she left. Letting out a breath he didn't know he had been holding, he allowed himself to fall face first into his pillow. The attempted ambush of Tori disturbed almost as much as how he had interjected himself into the fight. Never had he run so fast in his entire life. Once he had gotten there, once again the belt and phone had made their appearance and he had used them. Then sprinting back to the castle, hiding before he could be seen, changing back, he collapsed in his room. The whole fight with the Demon had actually been the least exciting part of the whole experience. A soft knocking interrupted his musing, someone he knew and was expecting almost.

"Xander?"

"Yes Renee?"

"Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yes Renee, I'm fine. Just a bit tired."

"I could bring you something to eat, if you want."

She was nothing if not persistent. He briefly considered how appropriate or inappropriate it was for a Slayer to use the 'Kill them with kind-ness' approach before answering, "I could take a sandwich, ham and turkey on-"

"White bread, yes I know. I'll be right back" As her footsteps faded, Xander sighed. As so often was the case in his life things were getting complicated.