The Gift of a Family Ch 10. The Head Bozo In Charge.
This chapter is dedicated to Bluealieness for being the 100th reviewer for this story on Thank you.
Buffy looked at the man standing on her front porch. Jealousy flared hot and green within her for the nameless girl who's father he was. Controlling her feelings much like she controlled the Slayer within, she couldn't help but wonder.
"Why are you here?"
Jack smiled at his daughter but couldn't help the smirk that edged it at the same time. Oh yes, he was getting a great start at introducing himself to his daughter. Not! He had put it off for too long and now he didn't know quite how to put it into words. He opened his mouth to just spit it out and get it over with, that way he would know if she was going to be angry at him. Not knowing if she was going to accept him or if she was going to reject him was driving him crazy and Jack wasn't the kind of man to dilly dally around with something like this. He was a straight forward kind of guy and it was time to lay his cards on the table. Only when he opened his mouth to tell her, nothing came out. The thought came to mind that if she did hold it against him, then he wouldn't be allowed to help out. He wouldn't be able to find out who the head honcho was and then he would be stuck stalking his own daughter to try and protect her. That was simply unacceptable. Besides, he wasn't ready for this conversation, not by a long shot.
When the silence stretched out Buffy asked what she had been wondering since she had told Jack about the vampires.
"So, are the military going to be descending on my town and making things even more complicated?" She asked.
"Can we talk?" Jack asked. He didn't want to have this discussion on her front porch. Buffy nodded hesitantly and stepped back to allow him entrance to her home.
"Oh, hey Jack." Daniel stated in welcome to his friend and coworker.
Jack's eyes swept the room, noting all the entrances and exits. Jack noticed the weapons on the wall where they were hung up as if to be decorative, but he could see that they were arranged for easy access. He noticed where things had been broken and repaired by a carpenter. Then he turned to Daniel, who was sitting amidst a mountain of books, wearing a look that said he was in Daniel heaven. Well, he was glad that someone was having a good day.
"Daniel." He stated as a way of greeting. "I see that you have found your book fix. I knew that you were either going to hunt down the oldest and best books in the state, or you were going to go into withdrawal."
"Yeah Jack, it's good to see you too." Daniel stated.
"Ok kiddies, strange thing. Apparently Sunnydale is off limits to the military by an old order from no less than the President. You wouldn't happen to know anything about this would you?" He asked the now grinning girl before him. "I see that you are broken up about this news." Jack finished dryly.
"You military types have caused Sunnydale enough havoc and mayhem already," Buffy stated defensively.
"Yes, this mysterious Initiative," Probably run by the NID, Jack thought grumpily. They are always ruining things for the good guys. "What was this Initiative, anyway?" He asked.
"Sorry Jack, but that's classified." Buffy stated with a very straight face and in a formal tone. It didn't last long however, as she smiled brilliantly. "I got to be the one to say it this time! It's so frustrating having it told to you."
"Tell me about it!" Grumbled Jack. There had been enough classified crap fed to him today to last an entire lifetime.
Daniel, seeing Jack desperately holding on to his temper, decided to lend his friend a hand. It was very impressive, Jack would normally have lost his temper by now.
"So, Buffy, are you going to trust Jack with that one thing you told me about?"
"Daniel!" Buffy cried out at the same time Jack asked.
"Daniel?"
"You promised!" Buffy cried out her bottom lip starting to pout.
"I'll keep my promise." Daniel stated desperately, looking anywhere else but at her pout. Good grief, is that pout one of the weapons of the Slayer? he thought desperately.
"I was just thinking that you could really use some backup. Buffy, you can trust Jack with your life. I trust him with mine."
Jack was touched that Daniel spoke up for him like that. He was also a little miffed, what did Daniel know about his daughter that he didn't? Seeing that Buffy seemed to be evaluating him he smiled his most charming and disarming smile.
"Daniel promised he wouldn't tell anybody, will you do the same?"
"Mums the word, so long as keeping your secret won't put anybody in danger." Jack stated. Buffy looked from Jack to Daniel with an odd look on her face. Jack smiled again. That smile that said, 'trust me!'
"Jack might even be able to help out with the Ancient Latin." Daniel pitched in.
"Daniel!" Jack growled. Yes, he came to help but he really didn't want the fact that he could translate Ancient known. Then something clicked in his mind and his eyes grew wide.
"You have books in Ancient?" He asked in shock.
"You read Ancient Latin?" Buffy asked in surprise. It was one of the languages that both she and Daniel had a hard time with. He doesn't look like a book geek. Buffy thought to herself.
"Hey, it's not my fault!" Jack stated picking up on her book geek thoughts. It was the only way out of the day that would never end, Jack thought bitterly.
Jack sat with his head held in his hands. He had a splitting headache.
His daughter had changed so much. She had wanted to be a figure skater when she was little, and had adored the stuffed pig Jack had given to her. He had asked Joyce to give it to Buffy and to tell her it was from someone who would always love her no matter what. Joyce had captured the moment on video and sent him a copy of it. Jack treasured that tape, the sparkle in his daughters eyes when she opened the box and saw the stuffed pig was a treasure to him. Buffy had named him Mr. Gordo and had decided that he was her skating partner. She had then pretended to skate around the living room, occasionally tossing the pig into the air and jumping in circles.
Now that little girl, his baby daughter, was a freaking super hero. She hadn't told him a lot, just that she was the Slayer chosen by some higher-holier-than-thou-butt head-jerk to risk her life fighting evil. She had been given increased strength, senses and healing. Oh, and one more little detail: she had been doing this since she was only fourteen years old! He wanted to scream, or cry, or pound that higher power into something much lower.
His daughter deserved a happy life. She shouldn't have those pain filled eyes. Jack had fought for years against human monsters and alien monsters to make sure that she and thousands like her were safe. So she wouldn't have to live a nightmare. Yet, here she was fighting creatures that would give grown adults nightmares. She was fighting the real monsters.
Now Jack found himself lost, not knowing what to do, because what could he do? He was supposed to protect his daughter, but how could he protect her from a higher calling? He really wished that who or what ever had chosen his daughter would come down and turn corporeal so he could kick it's ass.
"Jack?" Daniel's voice tried to break through the muddy haze of thought Jack was lost in.
"Is he alright?" Buffy asked.
"I don't get it. He usually takes shocking information a lot better than this. I mean, after some of the things we've seen and done it really isn't that shocking."
"Daniel." Jack cried out finally coming out of his headache induced daze. "Remember a little thing called National Security?"
"There's the Jack we know and love." Daniel stated, then quietly added. "I haven't told her anything...yet."
"Daniel." Jack drew out his name so it was like Jack wasn't just saying Daniel's name, it was a warning.
"I'll wait until we can get her clearance."
"How do you intend on doing that, per say? And still keep her secret?"
"She knows some obscure languages that I don't. Some of the artifacts that I have been studying at the SGC have some of those same languages on them and I haven't been able to translate them." Daniel smiled for a moment. His plan was perfect in it's simplicity. His smile faltered however, when he remembered the prophecy he had read while Buffy was sleeping. No, that plan wouldn't fly. Hammond was going to need to find out about Buffy. How on Earth was he going to convince her to let him tell an Air Force General about her secret? I'm doomed! Daniel thought to himself.
Jack was sitting there assimilating the fact that his daughter also knew languages that Daniel, the Super Geek, didn't. Great, my daughter is a geek super hero! He thought to himself. "How did she learn these languages?"
"Er...that's a bit of a mystery, she says that she couldn't read them before but now she can."
Buffy spoke up then, "Daniel, the other words mixed into that prophecy are your typical Fyarl swearing. Either a Watcher was having a joke when he wrote that up," Buffy snorted indicating that the idea of a Watcher making a joke was a joke in and of it's self, "or, this is a direct translation from a Fyarl demon who seemed to have had a vision. Neither theory really makes any sense, so I'm going with the third option; I think this book was planted by Dawnie before she died as a joke on Giles."
The sorrow was back in her eyes, that deep overwhelming kind that you only get from losing someone who was a part of your very heart and soul. "I guess we should save it for him and pull it on him when he gets back, Dawn would have liked that," she whispered. Buffy stood and put the book back on the shelf where she had gotten it from. She sighed, and for a moment looked very fragile.
Jack and Daniel both wanted to go to her and comfort her, but she took a deep breath and was suddenly all business.
"I guess we should get back to work, I still need to know more about the ritual, aside from what I learned in that freaky Slayer dream, which wasn't a lot. I should call Giles and tell him about it. But first I think I should check Willow's Great and Powerful Atlas of Sunnydale for any caves like the one I saw in my dream." Turning, Buffy disappeared into the office.
"Who was Dawnie?" Jack asked.
"Apparently, she was Buffy's younger sister. Best to let Buffy alone about this, I get the feeling that she would really rather not talk about her sister," Daniel stated, handing Jack a book with prophecies written in Ancient even as he got back to work on his own studies. Daniel understood that sometimes pain needed to be shared and sometimes it needed to be left alone.
Jack sat looking at the cover of the book for a long moment. He felt so confused that he really didn't know what to think. Buffy didn't have a sister. Joyce would have mentioned something about her, a sister would have shown up in one of the home videos that Jack had worn out watching over and over again. It was it's own pleasure and punishment all at the same time. Yet, Buffy should certainly know if she had a sister or not.
Buffy returned and started looking through a book of printouts, it's title in big, bold letters Willows Great and Powerful Atlas of Sunnydale. Jack noticed building schematics, topography maps and maps that said they were printouts of electrical tunnels and sewers.
Opening the book he held in his hands, Jack had to ask. "So, uh, what are we looking for? Information about this Dragon character?"
"Nah, the info on Mr. Claw is in the manilla folder on the table. We're looking for stuff on this blood ritual that he's planning."
Setting the book down, Jack picked up the manilla folder and started looking it over. He understood why she called him Mr. Claw almost immediately. Apparently, the Dragon's preferred weapon for close quarter fighting was a Bagh Nakh, or a Tiger's Claw. Jack had seen the results of someone who had been wounded by one of them. They looked like they had been clawed by a tiger and Jack had been glad that he wasn't the one wounded in that attack. Wounds from a Tiger's Claw are almost impossible to stitch back together. Turning his attention to the profile Jack started to read.
Xian Lee Xio, A.K.A. the Dragon, was a Xio Lin Monk during his life, devout to his religion, he was one of the greatest fighters of his time. An expert at many styles of sword fighting and other weapons, like the poleaxe and the halberd. He was a Master in Dragon style Kung Fu. Then, during the Boxer Rebellion, Spike sired him and taught him the finer points of violence and torture. While Spike earned his name, the Dragon was there earning his as well.
"How did this Spike earn his name?" Jack asked.
"He used to torture his victims with railroad spikes before finishing them off by driving the spike into their skull." Buffy stated.
Jack's eyes bulged out but he continued reading.
After learning something from every member of the Scourge, the Dragon then went to find himself. He had been a devout Xio Lin Monk in life, as a vampire he could no longer follow those beliefs and sought out a new religion that he could follow. One that believed a powerful vampire would rise up, gather his followers and bring forth a hell beast from the Cortoth dimension. This creature's presence in our universe would render him and certain other vampires of his choosing truly immortal and invincible.
(W.N. If this is true all Watchers and Slayers should be made aware of the dangers of the Cortoth Ritual and how to stop it.)
Since then, the Dragon has been gathering followers, zealots who worship him as their Dragon God. They are willing to be staked for him and they believe that if they are faithful, he will choose to bring them back when the beast walks the earth. We believe that he has legions of vampires at his command.
"That doesn't sound too good." Jack mumbled. Then Jack noticed some different writing off to the side.
Buffy,
Please be very cautious about how you decide to take on the Dragon. Since becoming a vampire, he hasn't let his skills go to waste. He has been practicing and learning nearly every type of fighting technique he can. Following in his sires example, he became a slayer of slayers by killing the Slayer Milly Dillmount while in Chicago in the 20's. Buffy, I cannot begin to express to you the dangers of the situation. Milly was a survivor, much like you, but he managed to kill her. Like you, she had survived far longer than the average slayer.
Giles.
Jack's breath hissed out in anger and shock. He was seeing red and was ready to lose it big time. Buffy had survived not only longer than the average slayer, but far longer? He stood up and started pacing back and forth.
Ok Jack, focus, He told himself. First get Buffy to safety, maybe Hammond will agree to send her to the Land of Light. Then get the info on the head honcho in town and maybe see if we can't evacuate Sunnydale and nuke the place. If not that, then get the biggest bad ass teams armed with flamethrowers, Zat's, and some C-4 and put Sunnydale under marshal law until we can get rid of all the vamps in town.
Taking a deep breath, Jack turned to his daughter. "Buffy have you read this report?" Jack asked.
"Yep, it's chalk full of vampy goodness."
"Buffy, this is big, it's serious."
"Hence the research, if it wasn't I'd be out improving my tan or something."
"I need to know who is in charge of Sunnydale, I've got to talk to them."
"What about?"
"I can get us major reinforcements, but I can't get them to Sunnydale without the approval of the head bozo..er honcho in charge of Sunnydale."
"Uh, Jack..." Daniel stated, looking between Jack and Buffy.
"The head bozo would be me, myself and I." Buffy stated growling.
"Doh!" Jack stated, realizing how badly he just messed up. "Can we forget the whole bozo statement altogether?" Jack had a sinking feeling, remembering how brightly she lit up when she heard that he couldn't get reinforcements to Sunnydale. It was beginning to look like the cavalry was going to be cut off at the pass for the unforeseeable future.
Thank you to Sulien for her help. Not only by beta reading for me but also with the name of that one weapon that I wanted the Dragon to have but wasn't sure if it was really even real and for directing me to these reference web pages for this chapter:
http/ www. members. aol. com / dargolyt / TheForge / tigrclaw . htm
and
http/ en. wikipedia. org / wiki / BakhNagh
A.N. 1. Does anybody recognize the name Milly Dillmount? Do you know what that name is from? It's my little joke, I don't own that movie either. If you know the reference, can you imagine Milly as the vampire slayer? LOL. I would love to challenge someone to write a short piece with Milly as a vampire slayer. I think I'll add that as a challenge. So if you think you know the answer and want to be sure, check out my challenges list at Twisting the Hellmouth dot com my name there that I post under is Firedragon.
A.N. 2. So now you know what had Buffy staring off into space, specifically it was Dragon and his Vampire Zealots who are willing to be staked for him. A vampire that isn't afraid to be staked is much more dangerous than one who is. And the Dragon is said to have legions of vampire zealots to command. (How many vampires does it take to make a legion anyway?)
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