Chapter 17.
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/ Xander's thoughts /
% Jolinar's thoughts %
#"Tok'ra or Goa'uld voice"#
Colonel Maybourne sat across from his promising new recruit. "If the intelligence you have is as good as you claim. You just go ahead and consider yourself Captain Turner."
Maybourne knew all about vampires, demons, and the NID's new pet project; codenamed The Initiative. He wasn't particularly surprised that SG-1 had already been poking around in there. They just kept getting in his hair one way or another. What surprised him was why they went there and what they found. The why was some sort of security breach. Turner didn't know squat about that. But what they found that didn't make it into the reports did intrigue him. If nothing else, he could hold the fact that O'Neill had falsified mission reports over the arrogant colonel. Hell, for that alone he'd hire the new captain.
But this Slayer was worth so much more. She sounded like the perfect weapon against the Goa'uld. One that could never run out. Send them out. If they don't come back another is called. Amazing. And if they found one that wouldn't cooperate, well there were a number of tests they could run to learn more from her.
His bosses would be very pleased.
Willow arriving before him wasn't unexpected. The girl loved school more than almost anything. Buffy being there ahead of him sent off warning signals though. "Xander! Somethings up with Giles." she cried even before he said hi.
"Hello, it's nice to see you as well." Xander replied.
"Xander! This is important. I went to his house and he was there. But he wasn't very Gilesy. I think- I think he was drinking. And when I mentioned the cops, he started yelling at me to mind my own business." Buffy was in a near panic.
"Okay. Calm down Buff. We'll figure this out." Xander assured her. "First things first. Let's get to the library. See if we can find out why the cops wanted to talk to Giles."
When they got to the library, Willow went on the computer, Xander sat on the table and Buffy paced. Until a sound from the back room caught their attention. Xander and Buffy went to check it out. Xander instinctively tried to use hand signals to tell Buffy what each of them should do. But Buffy just shook her head and made a 'what are you talking about?' face. So Xander just whispered in her ear, "You go that way. I'll go this way." while repeating the hand signals. Buffy nodded and they both took their aisles. Xander let Buffy take point. As stealthy as she was, whoever was in here noticed her and started moving parallel to her. Xander snuck up behind him as he was focused on her. He found himself wishing for a zat'nik'tel again and put that as number 2 on his shopping list. Instead he put the man in a choke hold. He took a couple elbows to his ribs for his trouble, but soon the man was unconscious.
"Hey, I know this guy." Buff said as she ran to where the commotion was. "He's the guy from the costume shop."
"Looks like." Xander agreed. "Can you carry him back to the other room? He'll come to pretty soon and we can ask him why he's here then."
"Why do I have to carry him?" Buffy asked as she she set the man on the table.
"Because you're stronger than I am, Supergirl. And I'm okay with that as long as it gets me out of carrying heavy objects." Xander teased and followed Buffy as she carried the intruder to the Library's main room.
"Ohh." The costume shop guy moaned and sat up.
"Do you remember me? You turned me into a helpless little girl for Halloween and nearly got us all killed." Buffy waved a finger in his face.
"Ah, yes. I remember you. You looked great as I recall." he answered.
Buffy aimed a punch at his jaw but Xander deflected it. "I went as a soldier. It's been really useful actually. So I owed you one. Now we're even. You tell us everything we want to know, or I let Buffy rip your arms out of their sockets. I'm told that's unpleasant. Let's start with who you are and why you're here."
"Ethan Rayne. And I was snooping. Looking for Rupert actually. You wouldn't happen to know where to find him?"
Buffy narrowed her eyes, "You know Giles?"
Ethan nodded, "We go back. Way back."
"You wouldn't happen to know why he was acting so wiggy or why the police were talking to him yesterday, do you?" Buffy continued.
Rayne rolled up his left sleeve. "This is the mark of Eyghon. Some friends and the two of us used to have some fun with this little thing. But that's all I'm saying until dear old Rupert gets here."
The three looked at each other and shrugged. They wanted to hear what was up with Giles too. So Buffy called Giles, before they could finish their conversation however, a zombie attacked. When Miss Calendar and Cordelia came in, Ethan made a break for it. Xander finally got to put his new skills to use on a human opponent. The fight was easy compared to fighting vampires. It was almost like Ethan was moving in slow motion. Xander ended the fight by putting him in a choke hold again while Buffy fought the zombie into the book cage.
"Xander, what are you doing?" Miss Calendar asked.
"It's okay. He's an old friend of Giles." Xander told her as if that explained everything. He heard the book cage close and turned to make sure that Buffy was on the outside. Satisfied, he let the unconscious Brit drop gently to the floor then he turned back to his teacher, "Say, you wouldn't happen to know anything about the mark of Eyghon, would you?"
Before she could answer they were interrupted by Buffy yelling "Eww." Turning back to the book cage, the zombie had dissolved into a puddle of green goo. Goo that was now spreading across the floor. It was very close to Ethan Rayne's hand before Xander pulled him back. Xander checked the hand and nothing was on it, so he must have gotten him away in time. Then the puddle dissolved.
"Well, that was interesting." Jenny stated flatly.
Willow replied, "You don't see that every day."
"I'm going to be in therapy until I'm 30." complained Cordelia.
"Fascinating" Jolinar stated.
"Jolinar?" Willow guessed.
"Of course. Xander finds this all rather blasé. But for me, well it's one thing to see memories of events like this. It's quite another to actually experience them first hand." Jolinar explained.
"You are Xander, nimrod." Cordelia snapped. "And what the heck is a Jolinar? Is that the zombie thing we just killed?"
Jolinar sighed and turned to Buffy. "It really is difficult to maintain a secret identity around here, isn't it?"
"You're telling me." Buffy agreed.
"Okay, Miss Calendar and Miss Chase, please sit together at the table and we'll begin introductions." Jolinar waited until they were seated then continued in his other voice, #"Greetings. I am Jolinar of Malkshur. I'm pleased to meet you."#
Miss Calendar, who had been warned, was calm. "It's nice to meet you, Jolinar."
Cordelia was shocked. "What the hell was that? Why are you talking all funny, Xander?"
"Yeah, I'm still here too, Cordy." Xander calmed her. "I'm just sharing my body with a friend now. He-"
"She." Buffy coughed.
"Fine, she's very nice and is helping me with a lot of stuff." Xander explained.
"So you got possessed again? Just to warn you, if you try to eat me, I will smack you so hard, you won't know what hit you." Cordelia wagged a finger at him.
#"It isn't quite like a possession as you understand it. Xander and I have a symbiotic relationship. I require a host to live. In exchange for giving me life, Xander gets a longer life, perfect health, and access to all my knowledge, which is extensive."# Jolinar explained.
"Long life, perfect health?" Cordy perked up. "Where do I sign up?"
"Jo forgot to mention the part where most Tok'ra live in caves and wear a brown uniform." Xander added.
"Wearing brown? Living in a cave? I so don't think so." Cordelia packed her stuff and headed out. On her way, she met Giles coming in. "You can't make me wear brown and live in a cave!" she shouted at the worried and now confused Watcher as she rushed out.
"Is everyone all right?" Giles asked, ignoring Cordelia.
"We're fine. Cordelia just med Jolinar. She was more freaked by that than the zombie that attacked us." Buffy answered.
"Did you say zombie?" Giles requested clarification.
But Buffy had already moved on, "Do the Tok'ra really live in caves?"
"Technically, they're crystal tunnels and they're really nice. Running water and everything. But don't tell Cordelia." Xander clarified.
"Could someone please tell me what's going on?" Giles begged.
"Hello Ripper." Ethan said from the floor where everyone had forgotten him.
"Ethan. I thought I told you to leave town." Giles said darkly.
Ethan just smiled from the floor. "You did. I didn't. Shop's lease is paid till the end of the month."
Willow whispered to Xander, "Why did he call Giles 'Ripper'?"
Giles grabbed Ethan by the hair on the back of his neck and lifted him from the floor.
"Ohhhh..." Willow said nervously.
"You should've left when I told you." Giles warned. "You put these people in danger. People I care about."
"And you should have told us about the zombie, Giles." Buffy reprimanded her watcher.
Ethan smirked. "If you cared so much about them, why didn't you leave town?"
"Shut up you." Buffy socked Ethan in the gut. Tearing him out of Ripper's grasp. "This Eyghon thing is supernatural, right?" she asked her watcher.
"It's complicated, Buffy, and quite frankly, it's private." Giles stated.
"I don't care from private! I care from dead guys attacking us. I care from you drinking alone in your apartment." Buffy countered.
"Umm. Guys?" Xander tried to break in.
"I was just trying to find a solution." Giles replied weakly.
Buffy was adamant. "Giles, share! What is the Mark of Eyghon?"
Giles was suddenly angry. "Hey! This is not your battle! And as your Watcher, I'm telling you unequivocally to stay out of it!"
Jolinar had had enough. He stood and addressed Buffy. #"The Tok'ra recognize Buffy Summers' unique talents in fighting supernatural forces on the Hellmouth. As this battle is clearly supernatural in nature,"# he looked at Giles. #"It is unequivocally Buffy's to fight. You can help or not as you wish. Starting with what that Mark of Eyghon is and then I would suggest finding Mr. Rayne."#
"Ethan escaped? Why didn't you stop him?" Giles charged.
#"Xander tried to warn you. But you were too busy arguing. We didn't go after him because this was more important. You must first have your own house in order before you engage the enemy."# Jolinar explained.
"Nobody's perfect, Rupert. Let us help you." Jenny begged.
Giles' shoulders fell and he swallowed. "But you shouldn't have to. This is my mistake to correct."
"If everyone here had to deal with their own mistakes by themselves. We'd all be dead." Xander said gently. "You helped save us all from our mistakes at least once. We're just trying to return the favor."
Finally Giles broke down and cried. No one said anything but Jenny held him in her arms. Both of the girls patted him on the shoulder in comfort as well. Xander just felt uncomfortable. He hadn't been expecting this. Crying wasn't allowed in his house and he wasn't quite sure what to do.
% You can comfort him, you know. % Jolinar suggested.
/ It's fine for the girls. But not for the guys. / Xander explained.
% Even the Tok'ra cry and comfort each other. % Jolinar stated simply.
Xander considered the wisdom of those words. He might have joined them, except that Giles had already finished.
"Forgive me. I never wanted you to see that side of me." Giles wiped his face.
Buffy smiled, "I'm not gonna lie to you. It was scary. I'm so used to you being a grownup, and then I find out that you're a person."
Jenny squeezed Giles' hand and said, "Most grownups are."
Giles looked at Jenny, "Some are even, uh... shortsighted, foolish people."
Buffy rolled her eyes, "So, after all this time, we finally find out that we do have something in common. Which, apart from being a little weird, is kind of okay. Anyway, what can you tell us about the Mark of Eyghon?"
As Giles explained about the mark. How it worked, how he and some friends had called the demon to get high. And then he explained about how the demon would jump from one dead or unconscious body to the next to continue living.
"So, if say Ethan Rayne were unconscious near where the puddle of goo that used to be your friend Phillip was, Is it possible that he is now possessed by Eyghon?" Xander asked.
Giles took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Tell me you didn't knock him unconscious."
"Well, you didn't tell us not to knock anyone out, did you?" Xander defended himself. "Not sure how we would have known better unless you had told us earlier."
"Okay." Willow played peacemaker. "It's nobody's fault. We just need to find Ethan and...?"
"Well that would depend on whether the demon has completely possessed him or not." Giles temporized. "If he has been possessed, then there's nothing that can save Ethan he can be slayed like any other demon or vampire. If we find him soon enough, the demon can be moved to another dead or unconscious body. But that would only be a delaying measure and quite frankly, I'm not willing to risk an innocent person's life to save the likes of Ethan Rayne."
"Well, without him, I wouldn't have Jolinar." Xander reasoned. "I know it might be risky, but if I can get a dead body, I'd like to try and save the idiot."
"Yeah, but it's not like there's a lot of dead bodies just walking around." Buffy quipped.
Xander just looked at her and smiled.
"You know. You're not the brightest demon we've ever faced. Coming back the costume shop like this made it almost too-" Xander was cut off as the malformed body that was once Ethan Rayne backhanded him across the room. He crashed into a concrete wall.
"Xander!" Buffy cried.
"We're fine. Get Ethan." Jolinar assured her. They weren't. But they would heal.
Watching the other two fight the demon, it occurred to Xander that they weren't quite up to Buffy or Angel's level yet. Not in this form anyway. He gripped his sword and stood up. If the fight came this way, they could at least get a cheap shot in.
/ Well, we're no good like this. What if we merge? / Xander wondered.
% Won't do any good now. Hold still I'm trying to repair us before the fight is over. Once we're fixed, then it might be an idea. % Jolinar offered. Angel and Buffy got the demon down and Angel was choking it. % Too late now. Wait. Hold still! I'm not done with the repairs yet. See if anyone has any food. And next time remember not to go into battle without an energy bar. % Jolinar half joked.
Soon the battle was over, the demon jumped to Angel and the internal struggle between the two demons was on.
After it was over, Xander sat down gingerly and asked if anyone had any food. Willow offered him some granola, which he was very thankful for. Willow blushed when she gave it to him.
"You knew that if the demon was in trouble it was gonna jump into the nearest dead person." Buffy complimented.
"And that Angel had a demon inside of him just itching for a fight." Xander finished.
"I put it in danger. And it jumped." Angel stated.
"Winner and still champion." Buffy smiled and took Angel's arm.
"Ethan got away again." Xander frowned a little. Any debt he owed the slimy man for giving him Jolinar was certainly paid now. He finished his granola. But waited until Jolinar's go before he let Buffy help him to his feet. "I think I'm going to skip training tonight, Angel."
To anyone viewing from space, Sunnydale that night was an incredibly interesting place. The Vampire Slayer was hunting for vampires. There were vampires hunting for a male Slayer and the Initiative. And the Initiative was hunting for a Vampire Slayer.
Although the 3rd group was only out for observation of said Slayer. They were armed with the 1st generation of reverse engineered Zat guns. They were big, bulky, heavy, and they sometimes killed with one shot. They were also very slow to recharge. Relying on heavy battery packs and capacitors to achieve the effect the Goa'uld did in a much smaller package. You had to make every shot count with this type of weapon. Still Captain Turner decided it was better than the brig. And as the leader of his team, he was allotted a real Zat. Many times, that was the thing that allowed his team to come back at all when their stun weapons failed. And they had yet to bring home living samples. Luckily it was demon bodies they brought back and usually not his teammates, but it was hard going when their guns weren't reliable enough. The need to make fast retreats far too often meant that they rarely got outside the University grounds.
The vampires the Deputy Mayor sent to scout the military base on campus weren't doing so well. They had run into some soldiers and lost two of their number. The three un-dusted vamps decided to try another way around. Going up against the soldiers was dangerous, but returning without the info they were sent for would be suicide.
Finally, they found a door in the middle of nowhere that hadn't been there a month ago. One vamp was sent back with news of the door to the mayor. The other two were continuing on to see what was beyond.
Maggie Walsh actually smiled when the perimeter breach warning flashed on the screen. So far, the incompetent teams that went out had brought back only bodies and news that their guns turned vampires to dust with one shot. She could really only learn so much about these beings from deceased samples. She had scoffed when the first team had brought her ash they claimed had been the creature that attacked them. She hadn't run any test on it until another team brought back two more samples. She had to admit it was fascinating in a grotesque way.
Now as the two creatures came down the shaft, she gave orders for them to be taken alive. Sensors in the shaft showed that the creatures had no body heat, which meant vampires. She ordered two packets of blood to be opened in two different cages and that all personnel evacuated the main level. If the fancy toys the government gave their soldiers didn't work, then she would resort to tried and true methods. She very much didn't feel that the men at the base where 'her' men. They could never be hers.
The traps worked and the two vampires were caught. They drained the packets of blood they were given, then spread bloody hand prints all over the nice clean cages they were in. Maggie thought it was an apt metaphor. She had walked right into the nice clean cage Colonel Maybourne offered her and now she was trapped. A monster trapped by other monsters. She wondered if they would study her like she studied them.
For now, they had some vampires to study and orders were orders. They'd run as many tests as they could think of before the final test. Which was to hit the vampire with progressively stronger shocks from the electric guns until it exploded and then test the second to last setting on the other to make sure it would bring the beasts down in one shot.
The problem with long solo space flights was the boredom. Even with a symbiote to talk to, there just wasn't enough to do. Anything other than games of chance were boring as well since both sides knew the others plans.
Martouf sighed and laid down to nap... again.