A/N GOD NO! I hate that whole B/R crap! YUCK! POOWIE! Shame on you people
for thinking such naughty thoughts! This is strictly B/A. Riley is just a
misguided crap head in this fic. He thinks Buffy likes him and he keeps
ignoring the signs that she's with Angel. Just keep reading the story as it
progresses. I have plans.
"It's clear we're dealing with a spirit of some kind. It's very common for Indian spirits to change to animal form." Giles said.
He, Buffy, and Angel were back in the kitchen making the Thanksgiving dinner the day after last night's Indian escapade. When Buffy and Angel had arrived last night at the apartment to tell Giles, he had been out somewhere. Now, Giles was peeling vegetables, Angel was cleaning them off, and Buffy was checking the settings on the oven.
"It's plenty uncommon for me to freeze up during a fight. I mean, we had the guy, I was ready for the take-down, and I stopped. And Native American." Buffy said.
"Sorry?"
"We don't say 'Indian.'"
"Oh, right. Yes, yes. Um, always behind on the terms. Still trying not to refer to you lot as 'bloody colonials.'"
"Hey! I'm not a colonial!" Angel said.
"Right. Sorry."
"And the thing is, I like my evil like I like my men.. evil. You know, 'straight up, black hat, Tied to the train tracks, soon my electro-ray will destroy metropolis' bad. Not all mixed up with guilt and the destruction of an indigenous culture. No offense sweetie." Buffy said.
"None taken." Angel replied giving Buffy a quick kiss.
"This spirit warrior.. Hus, you called him.. Has killed innocent people." Giles said.
"Ok. You know what? We need to boil those and put them through the ricer." Buffy said.
"I don't think I have a ricer."
"You don't have a ricer? What do you mean? How could someone not have a ricer?"
"Well, do you have one at home?"
"I don't know. What's a ricer?"
"We'll mash them with forks, much like the pilgrims must have. Did you catch the part about the innocent people?"
"Yes. Ok? And I do want to stop him. I'd just like to find a non-slay-ie way to do it."
There was a knock on the door. Both men went to answer it, but Buffy sent them back to work on the vegetables. She opened the door to be greeted by a huge pile of books.
"Hey." Buffy said.
"Hey." Willow replied, poking her head around the stack.
"Peas?" Willow handed her a box of peas. "These are frozen!"
"What's all that?" Angel asked coming in from the kitchen drying his hands.
"Atrocities. I got the full poop on the Chumash Indians and our fabulous buried mission." Willow said.
"You said you were going to get fresh ones!" Buffy said.
"Atrocities?"
"Peas. They come in little pods. You were going to shell them."
"I didn't have time. I was busy reading about the Chumash war."
"The Chumash were peaceful." Giles said from the kitchen.
"Oh, they were peaceful, all right. They were fluffy indigenous kittens, till we came along." Willow said.
"They're gonna be mushy." Buffy said.
"They won't be mushy." Angel said.
"I like mushy peas." Giles said.
"You're the reason we had to have pilgrims in the first place. So what happened to the Chumash?" Buffy asked.
"How about imprisonment, forced labor, herded like animals into a mission full of bad European diseases." Willow said.
"Boy. Cultural partnership center really didn't stress any of that stuff."
"Not even a diorama. And it gets better. The few Chumash who tried to rebel were hanged. And when a group was accused of stealing cattle, they were killed.. Men, women, and children. And for proof to bring back to their accusers.."
"They cut off their ears." Angel finished.
"So Hus wasn't kidding about the rightful vengeance routine." Buffy said.
"He's recreating all the wrongs done to his people. And it's up to us to stop him." Giles said.
"Yes, but after dinner, right?"
"Are you sure we shouldn't be helping him?" Willow asked.
"No, I think perhaps we won't help the angry spirit with his rape and pillage and murder." Giles said.
"Well, ok, no, but we should be helping him redress his wrongs. Bring the atrocities to light."
"If the history books are full of them, I'd say they already are."
"Giving his land back."
"It's not exactly ours to give."
"I don't think you wanna help. I think you just wanna slay the demon, then go la la la!"
"And I think your sympathy for his plight has blinded you to certain urgent facts. We have to stop this thing."
"Ok, unfeeling guy."
"Willow, that's not fair!"
"I have to baste!" Buffy said. She walked into the kitchen away from the bickering Willow and Giles. Angel followed her in while Giles and Willow continued to talk.
"Are you ok?" Angel asked her, wrapping her in his arms.
"No! All this bickering and talks about fights. I just wanted a peaceful Thanksgiving."
"Buffy, we all know that holidays in Sunnydale don't usually happen exactly.."
"Normal?"
"Yeah."
"I know, but still.. Christmas was fairly normal last year. Minus the whole you trying to kill yourself and the snowfall. There was trees, nog, and roast beast."
"True.." Angel was stopped from saying anything further when a knock sounded through the apartment. They turned to find Giles opening the door to Anya and one very pale Xander.
"Happy Thanksgiving." Xander said.
"Xander. You look like death." Giles said.
"Are you ok?" Willow asked.
"You didn't bring rolls?" Buffy asked.
Xander and Anya walked in and Anya laid Xander on the couch. "The doctor couldn't figure out was up with me. He said I had a lot of symptoms that didn't connect." Xander said.
"I think they do connect." Buffy said.
"What, to this Chumash spirit vengeance guy?"
"Didn't you say the Chumash got all diseased when they were all holed up in the mission?" Buffy asked Willow.
"Yeah. This has a better account of everything. It lists the various.." Willow started.
"Various? As in.." Xander squeaked.
"Well, the important thing is not to panic."
"You just recited the mystical panic-causing incantation, so little hope there. Let's talk about the various."
"Well, they did suffer from malaria, some smallpox.."
"I was gonna say smallpox." Anya said.
"You know, syphilis, but basically.." Willow added fast.
"Syphilis!?" Xander asked.
"Well, but this is probably mystical, and it'll all go away as soon as.."
"As soon as what?"
"We still don't know what we're gonna do. Well, maybe I can find something. Let's give him some land."
"I'm sure that'll clear everything right up." Giles said.
"Sarcasm accomplishes nothing, Giles."
"It's sort of an end in itself."
"Can we come rocketing back to the part about me and my new syphilis?" Xander said.
"It'll make you blind and insane, but it won't kill you. The smallpox will." Anya said.
"Maybe there's a Wiccan spell that can cure it. Something regular medicine doesn't know. Ooh, there was a potion." Willow looked through a book and pulled out a piece of paper and began reading it. "Sage, salt..Onion?"
"That's the stuffing." Buffy said.
"Oh, God." Xander said.
"Uh, you're gonna get vesicles and pustules. They have pictures." Anya said, trying to show Xander the book.
"I hate this guy!"
"He's just doing what was done to him." Willow said.
"I didn't give him syphilis."
"No, but you freed his spirit, and after a century of unrest, he saw you as one of his oppressors." Angel said.
"What, so he rises up and infects the first guy he sees? That's no fair."
"Like you've never woken up cranky." Willow said.
"But why the others? Why them particularly?" Giles asked.
"So we take this guy out. Buffy, it is for to be slaying sometime soon, yeah?" Xander asked.
"That's sort of the question before the court." Buffy said, looking up from the bowl she was stirring in.
"Question?"
"There are 2 sides to it." Willow said.
"Slaying him? The representative from syphilis votes yay."
"It's not that simple."
"He's a vengeance demon. You don't talk to vengeance demons. You kill them."
"I didn't know you felt that way." Anya said, drawing away from Xander.
"What?"
"Anyway, he's a spirit, not a demon." Willow said.
"Yes, and we've never faced this sort of spirit before. We really don't know what will kill it." Giles said.
"Again with the killing!"
"Figuratively speaking. Or bind it or whatever. Yes, Willow, we all appreciate your perspective."
"Sometimes vengeance is justified." Anya said.
"You know that I didn't mean you." Xander said to her.
"I don't think anyone appreciates the truth of the situation." Willow said.
"Oh, I think we do."
Buffy started to stir faster as the chaos in the room continued. Angel noticed and started to go over to her, but she stood up and almost yelled, "This is no good!" They all looked at her. "It needs more condensed milk."
Buffy fled to the kitchen, Angel right behind her. "Buffy, Xander's in real danger. Are you sure the solution is pie?" he asked.
"Over bickering and confusion, I'll take pie. We will find a solution. And we will have a nice dinner, ok? Both. End of story. I'm having Thanksgiving, and it'll be perfect."
"Hus won't stop. Vengeance is never satisfied, Buffy. Hatred is a cycle. All he'll do is kill."
Buffy was about to retort, but another knock at the door stopped her. She went to answer it and Spike was standing there, cowering below a blanket. Smoke rose as he was being seared by the indirect sunlight.
"Help me." Spike said before Buffy shoved him back and he went tumbling. "Ohh! What part of help me do you not understand?"
"The part where I help you." Buffy said.
"Come on, I'm parboiling out here!"
Angel handed Buffy a stake. "Want me to help make it quicker?" she asked.
"Invite me in."
"No. It's fairly unlikely." Giles said.
"Oh, damn it! Look, I'm safe. I can't bite anyone. Willow, tell' em what I did."
"You said you were gonna kill me, then Buffy.." Willow said.
"Yes, bad, but let's skip that part and get to the part where I couldn't bite you."
"It's true. He had trouble performing."
"Yeah, well, it looks like they've done me for good. Um.."
"What are you saying?" Buffy asked.
"I'm saying that Spike had a little trip to the vet and now he doesn't chase the other puppies anymore. I can't bite anything. I can't even hit people."
"So you haven't murdered anybody lately? Let's be best pals!"
"I've got information. About the soldier boys you were fighting. Got the inside scoop. Come on, what have you got to be afraid of?"
Buffy looked Angel and Giles and Angel nodded. Giles gave him the invite and as soon as the vamp was in, Buffy tackled him to the ground and held him down while Angel and Giles brought her a chair and rope. They sat Spike down on it and then Buffy started to tie him up.
"Grr. Bloody hell, woman. You're cuttin' off my circulation!" Spike said.
"You don't have any circulation." Buffy said.
"Well, it pinches."
"Get used to it. I have more important things to worry about."
"I came to you in friendship." Angel glared at Spike. "Well, all right, seething hatred, but I've got useful information, and I feel I'm being mistreated."
"So tell me everything you know."
"I'm too hungry to remember everything."
"Then sit." Angel said.
"Uh, how much butter goes in with these?" Anya called from the kitchen.
"About half a stick and a quarter cup of brandy." Buffy called, then to Giles, "You do have brandy, don't you?"
"What? Oh, yes. Um, on the bookcase." Giles said.
"I wouldn't say no to a brandy." Spike said.
"What's wrong?" Buffy asked, ignoring Spike and staring expectantly at Giles who looked off in hard thinker land.
"The victims. Apart from Xander, Hus has targeted authority figures. Father Gabriel, the curator of the cultural center. Who else fits this pattern?"
"Just a small brandy." Buffy said to Anya, then to Giles,"The dean. Dean Guerrero. He's the king of us, and he was at the ceremony."
"Likely candidate. We should warn him."
"Will, anything in those books about how to stop a Native American spirit guy? Some nice, non-judgmental way to, you know, kill him?"
"I'm not gonna help you kill him. I'm not on board." Willow said.
"What choice do we have?"
"Buffy, this isn't a western. We're not at fort..Giles with the cavalry coming to save us. It's one lonely guy. Oppressed warrior guy who's just trying to.."
"Kill a lot of people?" Angel asked.
"I didn't say he was right."
"Will, you know how bad I feel about this. It's eating me up.." To Anya, "1/4 Cup of brandy and let it simmer.." Back to Willow, "But even though it's hard, we have to end this. Yes, he's been wronged, and I personally would be ready to apologize.."
"Oh, someone put a stake in me." Spike said.
"You got a lot of volunteers in here." Xander said.
"I just can't take all this mamby-pamby boo-hooing about the bloody Indians!"
"Uh, the preferred term.." Buffy started.
Spike cut her off. "You won. All right? You came in and you killed them and you took their land. That's what conquering nations do. It's what Caesar did, and he's not going around saying, 'I came, I conquered, I felt really bad about it.' The history of the world isn't people making friends. You had better weapons, and you massacred them. End of story."
"Well, I think the Spaniards actually did a lot of.. Not that I don't like Spaniards.."
"Listen to you. How you gonna fight anyone with that attitude?"
"We don't wanna fight anyone." Willow said.
"I just wanna have Thanksgiving." Buffy said.
"Haha. Yeah..Good luck." Spike said.
"If we could talk to him.." Willow tried.
"You exterminated his race. What could you possibly say that would make him feel better? It's kill or be killed here. Take your bloody pick."
"Maybe it's the syphilis talking, but.. Some of that made sense." Xander said.
"I made these points earlier, but fine, no one listens to me." Giles said.
"Fine, ok? But someone still has to go warn the dean." Buffy said.
"I'll go. I need the air." Willow said.
"Not alone."
"I'll go." Anya said.
"Me too." Xander said.
"Sure you're up to it?" Buffy asked.
"Oh, leave that one. He looks like he's ready to drop any minute, and I think I can eat someone if he's already dead." Spike said.
"I'm up to it." Xander said, ignoring Spike.
"I'll keep on looking for a solution." Giles said.
"Yeah. Guys, the dean's house is up past the gym. And hurry. Dinner's in an hour." Buffy called.
"Hey, when do I get fed?" Spike asked.
"Later. I hope the others are ok."
"You know what happens to vampires who don't get to feed?"
"I always wondered that. Giles, plates?"
"Living skeletons, mate. Like famine pictures from those dusty countries, only not half as funny."
"You can have gravy. That has blood in it, right?"
"Do you know what else has blood in it? Blood."
"Do I have to gag you? Because I am not gonna listen to you whine all the way through Buffy's dinner. It's gonna be a nice, quiet, civilized.." Angel started, but an arrow through the window cut him off. It landed in the little scarecrow on the table. They all looked up to find Hus in the window with a bow and arrow.
"You. Listen, maybe I wasn't clear before about how terrible we all feel. 'Cause we're trying to help." Buffy said.
"What's going on?!" Spike asked.
"It isn't working." Angel said.
"Uh, you can have casinos now." Buffy said.
"Get down!" Angel grabbed Buffy and tossed her behind the table with Giles.
"What about me? You gonna leave me here like this?" Spike yelled just as an arrow hit him a few inches to the right of his heart. "Hey! Watch the heart!"
"Shut up Spike!" Buffy and Angel yelled.
"Giles, what do we do?" Buffy asked.
"We need to get to the weapons!" Giles said.
"Well, that's a big DUH! What I meant was: how?"
"I don't know."
"You're a Watcher! You're supposed to know!"
"You're the Slayer! You're supposed to know what to do in battle!"
Buffy was about to reply to that when the phone rang. Giles reached up and picked it up.
"H-hello? Yes.. Yes, w-w-we're well aware of that.. We-we're under siege now, actually.. Thank you." Giles said. He hung up.
"Who was that?" Buffy asked.
"Xander. We need a plan."
"Yes, let's talk about it some more. Where's your weapons chest?"
"Over there." Giles pointed to a chest across the room.
Buffy sidled over to the chest after a moments pause, but was shot in the arm by an arrow. "OW!"
"Buffy!" Angel called as he watched her rip the arrow out.
"Remember that conquering nation thing? Forget it. Apologize." Spike called. He was now riddled with arrows.
"Shut up Spike!" Buffy called.
"Fine, I'll do it myself. Hey, sorry. Sorry about that, chief!"
'How many?" Buffy asked Angel.
"Uh, the leader upstairs. Two By the living room windows. Uh, one through the window by the door." Angel said.
"It's too many. We need help."
"Ok, one.. two.. three. Ow! Bloody hell! Ohh!" Spike yelled.
"Giles, these guys they don't die!" Angel said.
"Bit busy over here!" Giles said. He was wrestling with an Indian who had him by the neck.
The fight continued. Xander, Anya, and Willow all came in and started to fight the Indians outside the apartment. Spike yelled obscene comments at everyone while trying to apologize to the Indians. Nothing they did hurt the Indians until Buffy got a hold of Hus' knife and sliced him with it.
"You're knife can kill you!" Buffy exclaimed just before Hus turned into a giant bear.
"A bear! You made a bear!" Spike yelled.
"I didn't mean to." Buffy squeaked.
"Undo it! Undo it!"
"Hey, gentle Ben, over here." Xander yelled as he started throwing food at him. "That's for giving me syphilis."
Buffy used the distraction to stab Hus in the back. He turned back to his human form and then he faded away just as the rest of the Indians did.
"What happened? Did we win?" Spike asked.
They all sat around the table, plates filled with half eaten food from everyone's third or second helping. Buffy was at one end of the table with Angel on one side of her and Spike on the other while Giles sat at the other end with Willow and Xander on both sides of him. Anya sat between Angel and Xander.
"I feel lousy!" Willow said.
"Turkey came out rather splendidly." Giles said.
"Oh, it was yummy." Buffy said.
"It's just.. Did you see me? Two Seconds of conflict with an indigenous person, and I turned into general Custer!" Willow complained.
"Violence does that. Instinct takes over." Angel said.
"Yeah, that's the fun part." Spike said.
"Nobody asked you."
"Oh, lay off. You all had a fine meal."
"But me.. An entire siege!" Willow continued.
"You'd think one of you would bleed a little."
"Good work, Buffy.. On both counts." Giles said.
"Thanks." Buffy said.
"Well, you know, you should be very pleased."
"Wasn't exactly a perfect Thanksgiving."
"I don't know. Seemed kinda right to me. A bunch of anticipation, a big fight, and now we're all sleepy." Willow said.
"And we did all survive." Angel said.
"I guess that much is true." Buffy sighed. "First Thanksgiving on my own, and we all got through it."
"And you know what? I think my syphilis is clearing right up." Xander said, eyeing Anya.
"And they say romance is dead. Or maybe they just wish it."
"Well, maybe we started a new tradition this year." Willow said, getting looks from them all. "Maybe not. But at least we all worked together. It was like old times."
"Yeah, especially with Angel being here and everything." Xander said.
Buffy took Angel's hand and smiled. "Yeah. It was a great Thanksgiving."
"It's clear we're dealing with a spirit of some kind. It's very common for Indian spirits to change to animal form." Giles said.
He, Buffy, and Angel were back in the kitchen making the Thanksgiving dinner the day after last night's Indian escapade. When Buffy and Angel had arrived last night at the apartment to tell Giles, he had been out somewhere. Now, Giles was peeling vegetables, Angel was cleaning them off, and Buffy was checking the settings on the oven.
"It's plenty uncommon for me to freeze up during a fight. I mean, we had the guy, I was ready for the take-down, and I stopped. And Native American." Buffy said.
"Sorry?"
"We don't say 'Indian.'"
"Oh, right. Yes, yes. Um, always behind on the terms. Still trying not to refer to you lot as 'bloody colonials.'"
"Hey! I'm not a colonial!" Angel said.
"Right. Sorry."
"And the thing is, I like my evil like I like my men.. evil. You know, 'straight up, black hat, Tied to the train tracks, soon my electro-ray will destroy metropolis' bad. Not all mixed up with guilt and the destruction of an indigenous culture. No offense sweetie." Buffy said.
"None taken." Angel replied giving Buffy a quick kiss.
"This spirit warrior.. Hus, you called him.. Has killed innocent people." Giles said.
"Ok. You know what? We need to boil those and put them through the ricer." Buffy said.
"I don't think I have a ricer."
"You don't have a ricer? What do you mean? How could someone not have a ricer?"
"Well, do you have one at home?"
"I don't know. What's a ricer?"
"We'll mash them with forks, much like the pilgrims must have. Did you catch the part about the innocent people?"
"Yes. Ok? And I do want to stop him. I'd just like to find a non-slay-ie way to do it."
There was a knock on the door. Both men went to answer it, but Buffy sent them back to work on the vegetables. She opened the door to be greeted by a huge pile of books.
"Hey." Buffy said.
"Hey." Willow replied, poking her head around the stack.
"Peas?" Willow handed her a box of peas. "These are frozen!"
"What's all that?" Angel asked coming in from the kitchen drying his hands.
"Atrocities. I got the full poop on the Chumash Indians and our fabulous buried mission." Willow said.
"You said you were going to get fresh ones!" Buffy said.
"Atrocities?"
"Peas. They come in little pods. You were going to shell them."
"I didn't have time. I was busy reading about the Chumash war."
"The Chumash were peaceful." Giles said from the kitchen.
"Oh, they were peaceful, all right. They were fluffy indigenous kittens, till we came along." Willow said.
"They're gonna be mushy." Buffy said.
"They won't be mushy." Angel said.
"I like mushy peas." Giles said.
"You're the reason we had to have pilgrims in the first place. So what happened to the Chumash?" Buffy asked.
"How about imprisonment, forced labor, herded like animals into a mission full of bad European diseases." Willow said.
"Boy. Cultural partnership center really didn't stress any of that stuff."
"Not even a diorama. And it gets better. The few Chumash who tried to rebel were hanged. And when a group was accused of stealing cattle, they were killed.. Men, women, and children. And for proof to bring back to their accusers.."
"They cut off their ears." Angel finished.
"So Hus wasn't kidding about the rightful vengeance routine." Buffy said.
"He's recreating all the wrongs done to his people. And it's up to us to stop him." Giles said.
"Yes, but after dinner, right?"
"Are you sure we shouldn't be helping him?" Willow asked.
"No, I think perhaps we won't help the angry spirit with his rape and pillage and murder." Giles said.
"Well, ok, no, but we should be helping him redress his wrongs. Bring the atrocities to light."
"If the history books are full of them, I'd say they already are."
"Giving his land back."
"It's not exactly ours to give."
"I don't think you wanna help. I think you just wanna slay the demon, then go la la la!"
"And I think your sympathy for his plight has blinded you to certain urgent facts. We have to stop this thing."
"Ok, unfeeling guy."
"Willow, that's not fair!"
"I have to baste!" Buffy said. She walked into the kitchen away from the bickering Willow and Giles. Angel followed her in while Giles and Willow continued to talk.
"Are you ok?" Angel asked her, wrapping her in his arms.
"No! All this bickering and talks about fights. I just wanted a peaceful Thanksgiving."
"Buffy, we all know that holidays in Sunnydale don't usually happen exactly.."
"Normal?"
"Yeah."
"I know, but still.. Christmas was fairly normal last year. Minus the whole you trying to kill yourself and the snowfall. There was trees, nog, and roast beast."
"True.." Angel was stopped from saying anything further when a knock sounded through the apartment. They turned to find Giles opening the door to Anya and one very pale Xander.
"Happy Thanksgiving." Xander said.
"Xander. You look like death." Giles said.
"Are you ok?" Willow asked.
"You didn't bring rolls?" Buffy asked.
Xander and Anya walked in and Anya laid Xander on the couch. "The doctor couldn't figure out was up with me. He said I had a lot of symptoms that didn't connect." Xander said.
"I think they do connect." Buffy said.
"What, to this Chumash spirit vengeance guy?"
"Didn't you say the Chumash got all diseased when they were all holed up in the mission?" Buffy asked Willow.
"Yeah. This has a better account of everything. It lists the various.." Willow started.
"Various? As in.." Xander squeaked.
"Well, the important thing is not to panic."
"You just recited the mystical panic-causing incantation, so little hope there. Let's talk about the various."
"Well, they did suffer from malaria, some smallpox.."
"I was gonna say smallpox." Anya said.
"You know, syphilis, but basically.." Willow added fast.
"Syphilis!?" Xander asked.
"Well, but this is probably mystical, and it'll all go away as soon as.."
"As soon as what?"
"We still don't know what we're gonna do. Well, maybe I can find something. Let's give him some land."
"I'm sure that'll clear everything right up." Giles said.
"Sarcasm accomplishes nothing, Giles."
"It's sort of an end in itself."
"Can we come rocketing back to the part about me and my new syphilis?" Xander said.
"It'll make you blind and insane, but it won't kill you. The smallpox will." Anya said.
"Maybe there's a Wiccan spell that can cure it. Something regular medicine doesn't know. Ooh, there was a potion." Willow looked through a book and pulled out a piece of paper and began reading it. "Sage, salt..Onion?"
"That's the stuffing." Buffy said.
"Oh, God." Xander said.
"Uh, you're gonna get vesicles and pustules. They have pictures." Anya said, trying to show Xander the book.
"I hate this guy!"
"He's just doing what was done to him." Willow said.
"I didn't give him syphilis."
"No, but you freed his spirit, and after a century of unrest, he saw you as one of his oppressors." Angel said.
"What, so he rises up and infects the first guy he sees? That's no fair."
"Like you've never woken up cranky." Willow said.
"But why the others? Why them particularly?" Giles asked.
"So we take this guy out. Buffy, it is for to be slaying sometime soon, yeah?" Xander asked.
"That's sort of the question before the court." Buffy said, looking up from the bowl she was stirring in.
"Question?"
"There are 2 sides to it." Willow said.
"Slaying him? The representative from syphilis votes yay."
"It's not that simple."
"He's a vengeance demon. You don't talk to vengeance demons. You kill them."
"I didn't know you felt that way." Anya said, drawing away from Xander.
"What?"
"Anyway, he's a spirit, not a demon." Willow said.
"Yes, and we've never faced this sort of spirit before. We really don't know what will kill it." Giles said.
"Again with the killing!"
"Figuratively speaking. Or bind it or whatever. Yes, Willow, we all appreciate your perspective."
"Sometimes vengeance is justified." Anya said.
"You know that I didn't mean you." Xander said to her.
"I don't think anyone appreciates the truth of the situation." Willow said.
"Oh, I think we do."
Buffy started to stir faster as the chaos in the room continued. Angel noticed and started to go over to her, but she stood up and almost yelled, "This is no good!" They all looked at her. "It needs more condensed milk."
Buffy fled to the kitchen, Angel right behind her. "Buffy, Xander's in real danger. Are you sure the solution is pie?" he asked.
"Over bickering and confusion, I'll take pie. We will find a solution. And we will have a nice dinner, ok? Both. End of story. I'm having Thanksgiving, and it'll be perfect."
"Hus won't stop. Vengeance is never satisfied, Buffy. Hatred is a cycle. All he'll do is kill."
Buffy was about to retort, but another knock at the door stopped her. She went to answer it and Spike was standing there, cowering below a blanket. Smoke rose as he was being seared by the indirect sunlight.
"Help me." Spike said before Buffy shoved him back and he went tumbling. "Ohh! What part of help me do you not understand?"
"The part where I help you." Buffy said.
"Come on, I'm parboiling out here!"
Angel handed Buffy a stake. "Want me to help make it quicker?" she asked.
"Invite me in."
"No. It's fairly unlikely." Giles said.
"Oh, damn it! Look, I'm safe. I can't bite anyone. Willow, tell' em what I did."
"You said you were gonna kill me, then Buffy.." Willow said.
"Yes, bad, but let's skip that part and get to the part where I couldn't bite you."
"It's true. He had trouble performing."
"Yeah, well, it looks like they've done me for good. Um.."
"What are you saying?" Buffy asked.
"I'm saying that Spike had a little trip to the vet and now he doesn't chase the other puppies anymore. I can't bite anything. I can't even hit people."
"So you haven't murdered anybody lately? Let's be best pals!"
"I've got information. About the soldier boys you were fighting. Got the inside scoop. Come on, what have you got to be afraid of?"
Buffy looked Angel and Giles and Angel nodded. Giles gave him the invite and as soon as the vamp was in, Buffy tackled him to the ground and held him down while Angel and Giles brought her a chair and rope. They sat Spike down on it and then Buffy started to tie him up.
"Grr. Bloody hell, woman. You're cuttin' off my circulation!" Spike said.
"You don't have any circulation." Buffy said.
"Well, it pinches."
"Get used to it. I have more important things to worry about."
"I came to you in friendship." Angel glared at Spike. "Well, all right, seething hatred, but I've got useful information, and I feel I'm being mistreated."
"So tell me everything you know."
"I'm too hungry to remember everything."
"Then sit." Angel said.
"Uh, how much butter goes in with these?" Anya called from the kitchen.
"About half a stick and a quarter cup of brandy." Buffy called, then to Giles, "You do have brandy, don't you?"
"What? Oh, yes. Um, on the bookcase." Giles said.
"I wouldn't say no to a brandy." Spike said.
"What's wrong?" Buffy asked, ignoring Spike and staring expectantly at Giles who looked off in hard thinker land.
"The victims. Apart from Xander, Hus has targeted authority figures. Father Gabriel, the curator of the cultural center. Who else fits this pattern?"
"Just a small brandy." Buffy said to Anya, then to Giles,"The dean. Dean Guerrero. He's the king of us, and he was at the ceremony."
"Likely candidate. We should warn him."
"Will, anything in those books about how to stop a Native American spirit guy? Some nice, non-judgmental way to, you know, kill him?"
"I'm not gonna help you kill him. I'm not on board." Willow said.
"What choice do we have?"
"Buffy, this isn't a western. We're not at fort..Giles with the cavalry coming to save us. It's one lonely guy. Oppressed warrior guy who's just trying to.."
"Kill a lot of people?" Angel asked.
"I didn't say he was right."
"Will, you know how bad I feel about this. It's eating me up.." To Anya, "1/4 Cup of brandy and let it simmer.." Back to Willow, "But even though it's hard, we have to end this. Yes, he's been wronged, and I personally would be ready to apologize.."
"Oh, someone put a stake in me." Spike said.
"You got a lot of volunteers in here." Xander said.
"I just can't take all this mamby-pamby boo-hooing about the bloody Indians!"
"Uh, the preferred term.." Buffy started.
Spike cut her off. "You won. All right? You came in and you killed them and you took their land. That's what conquering nations do. It's what Caesar did, and he's not going around saying, 'I came, I conquered, I felt really bad about it.' The history of the world isn't people making friends. You had better weapons, and you massacred them. End of story."
"Well, I think the Spaniards actually did a lot of.. Not that I don't like Spaniards.."
"Listen to you. How you gonna fight anyone with that attitude?"
"We don't wanna fight anyone." Willow said.
"I just wanna have Thanksgiving." Buffy said.
"Haha. Yeah..Good luck." Spike said.
"If we could talk to him.." Willow tried.
"You exterminated his race. What could you possibly say that would make him feel better? It's kill or be killed here. Take your bloody pick."
"Maybe it's the syphilis talking, but.. Some of that made sense." Xander said.
"I made these points earlier, but fine, no one listens to me." Giles said.
"Fine, ok? But someone still has to go warn the dean." Buffy said.
"I'll go. I need the air." Willow said.
"Not alone."
"I'll go." Anya said.
"Me too." Xander said.
"Sure you're up to it?" Buffy asked.
"Oh, leave that one. He looks like he's ready to drop any minute, and I think I can eat someone if he's already dead." Spike said.
"I'm up to it." Xander said, ignoring Spike.
"I'll keep on looking for a solution." Giles said.
"Yeah. Guys, the dean's house is up past the gym. And hurry. Dinner's in an hour." Buffy called.
"Hey, when do I get fed?" Spike asked.
"Later. I hope the others are ok."
"You know what happens to vampires who don't get to feed?"
"I always wondered that. Giles, plates?"
"Living skeletons, mate. Like famine pictures from those dusty countries, only not half as funny."
"You can have gravy. That has blood in it, right?"
"Do you know what else has blood in it? Blood."
"Do I have to gag you? Because I am not gonna listen to you whine all the way through Buffy's dinner. It's gonna be a nice, quiet, civilized.." Angel started, but an arrow through the window cut him off. It landed in the little scarecrow on the table. They all looked up to find Hus in the window with a bow and arrow.
"You. Listen, maybe I wasn't clear before about how terrible we all feel. 'Cause we're trying to help." Buffy said.
"What's going on?!" Spike asked.
"It isn't working." Angel said.
"Uh, you can have casinos now." Buffy said.
"Get down!" Angel grabbed Buffy and tossed her behind the table with Giles.
"What about me? You gonna leave me here like this?" Spike yelled just as an arrow hit him a few inches to the right of his heart. "Hey! Watch the heart!"
"Shut up Spike!" Buffy and Angel yelled.
"Giles, what do we do?" Buffy asked.
"We need to get to the weapons!" Giles said.
"Well, that's a big DUH! What I meant was: how?"
"I don't know."
"You're a Watcher! You're supposed to know!"
"You're the Slayer! You're supposed to know what to do in battle!"
Buffy was about to reply to that when the phone rang. Giles reached up and picked it up.
"H-hello? Yes.. Yes, w-w-we're well aware of that.. We-we're under siege now, actually.. Thank you." Giles said. He hung up.
"Who was that?" Buffy asked.
"Xander. We need a plan."
"Yes, let's talk about it some more. Where's your weapons chest?"
"Over there." Giles pointed to a chest across the room.
Buffy sidled over to the chest after a moments pause, but was shot in the arm by an arrow. "OW!"
"Buffy!" Angel called as he watched her rip the arrow out.
"Remember that conquering nation thing? Forget it. Apologize." Spike called. He was now riddled with arrows.
"Shut up Spike!" Buffy called.
"Fine, I'll do it myself. Hey, sorry. Sorry about that, chief!"
'How many?" Buffy asked Angel.
"Uh, the leader upstairs. Two By the living room windows. Uh, one through the window by the door." Angel said.
"It's too many. We need help."
"Ok, one.. two.. three. Ow! Bloody hell! Ohh!" Spike yelled.
"Giles, these guys they don't die!" Angel said.
"Bit busy over here!" Giles said. He was wrestling with an Indian who had him by the neck.
The fight continued. Xander, Anya, and Willow all came in and started to fight the Indians outside the apartment. Spike yelled obscene comments at everyone while trying to apologize to the Indians. Nothing they did hurt the Indians until Buffy got a hold of Hus' knife and sliced him with it.
"You're knife can kill you!" Buffy exclaimed just before Hus turned into a giant bear.
"A bear! You made a bear!" Spike yelled.
"I didn't mean to." Buffy squeaked.
"Undo it! Undo it!"
"Hey, gentle Ben, over here." Xander yelled as he started throwing food at him. "That's for giving me syphilis."
Buffy used the distraction to stab Hus in the back. He turned back to his human form and then he faded away just as the rest of the Indians did.
"What happened? Did we win?" Spike asked.
They all sat around the table, plates filled with half eaten food from everyone's third or second helping. Buffy was at one end of the table with Angel on one side of her and Spike on the other while Giles sat at the other end with Willow and Xander on both sides of him. Anya sat between Angel and Xander.
"I feel lousy!" Willow said.
"Turkey came out rather splendidly." Giles said.
"Oh, it was yummy." Buffy said.
"It's just.. Did you see me? Two Seconds of conflict with an indigenous person, and I turned into general Custer!" Willow complained.
"Violence does that. Instinct takes over." Angel said.
"Yeah, that's the fun part." Spike said.
"Nobody asked you."
"Oh, lay off. You all had a fine meal."
"But me.. An entire siege!" Willow continued.
"You'd think one of you would bleed a little."
"Good work, Buffy.. On both counts." Giles said.
"Thanks." Buffy said.
"Well, you know, you should be very pleased."
"Wasn't exactly a perfect Thanksgiving."
"I don't know. Seemed kinda right to me. A bunch of anticipation, a big fight, and now we're all sleepy." Willow said.
"And we did all survive." Angel said.
"I guess that much is true." Buffy sighed. "First Thanksgiving on my own, and we all got through it."
"And you know what? I think my syphilis is clearing right up." Xander said, eyeing Anya.
"And they say romance is dead. Or maybe they just wish it."
"Well, maybe we started a new tradition this year." Willow said, getting looks from them all. "Maybe not. But at least we all worked together. It was like old times."
"Yeah, especially with Angel being here and everything." Xander said.
Buffy took Angel's hand and smiled. "Yeah. It was a great Thanksgiving."