By Sword and by Claw
Chapter Two

Buffy leapt into action, grabbing the sword she effortlessly pulled it from the ground. It was perfect, the silver of the handle comfortable and the weight balanced just right. It might have been magical, but it felt like it could do some real damage. For a moment she was ready to face the want to be demon, or daemon as Giles called it, come politician, but it would be pointless. As cool as her new sword was the Mayor was still un-killable.

Buffy felt it twitch in her hand, almost like the sword knew what she was thinking. Half a second later it had shrunk back down into a knife, the red jewel in the middle glowed slightly and then stopped. Picking up what she guessed was its sheath Buffy knew she only had moments. Vaulting over the counter top she slipped the blade inside and stuffed the whole thing under the desk, looking up just in time to see the doors burst open.

Richard Wilkins the Third, or First as Buffy and her friends knew now, had a big politician's smile on his face. Slimy, oily, well practiced and utterly insincere. 'Well, well, well. This is it. Your little home away from home. Faith's told me all about this place.' He walked over to the book cage and looked over at the stacks, before turning to the gang. 'Ahh it does my old, well I can't say soul can I? Good to see youngsters like you enjoying books.'

He walked over to the table and picked up an old book Buffy's watchers were researching from. He opened expertly. 'And the children of man shall all be as one in their pain and suffering.' He read aloud. 'I love a good bedtime story, don't you Mr Giles?'

'Don't you ever shut up?' Buffy asked leaning on the counter top. 'Oh wait I forgot, you're an evil soulless politician. Shutting up isn't in the job description.'

'I like a girl with guts. It's a shame you're so small, hardly going to be a light snack.' he smirked.

Giles almost growled, it was a good thing he didn't have weapon on him or he would probably have done something Ripper-ish. 'Oh I promise you, this is one snack that will get stuck in your teeth.' She threatened.

The Mayor laughed back. 'Guts and sprit, what my dear old dad would have called Blood and vinegar. No wonder my little party last night didn't work. I went to a lot of trouble to set that up. you know. That was very rude, shame on you Mr Giles. You should really keep her trained in the niceties. Dogs sometimes need a firm hand'

Buffy bristled at that, but it was Xander who asked 'Party? Buffy, what's he talking about?'

She shrugged back, trying not to remember the odd dream where she was hunted by an army of vampires. 'If you wanted me, you should have sent an invitation. After all, niceties.' Buffy threw that back at him.

'll remember that.' Wilkins snarled. 'If nothing else I'll be sure to see you, all of you, at graduation. If nothing else it promises to be one hell of a speech and the snacks should be... fresh, wouldn't you agree?' Turning around he strode out of the library, head held high.

Xander looked around, 'Alright, that was scary.' He wasn't quite sure what had just happened, or what was scarier, the Mayor or the strange sword. Buffy pulled the thing out from under the desk.

'So Mayor on one side and this thing on the other.' Buffy came out from around the desk. 'I know which one I want.' She pulled the Sword, knife, whatever free. Putting the big gold thing down she began looking at it.

'Anya, have you ever seen anything like that?' Wesley asked the former demon.

Xander's prom date looked as Buffy showed it to her. 'No. Where did you get it?'

'Buffy has no idea.' Giles told them. 'Whatever it is the question of whether or not it's mystical is moot.'

'Huh?'

'Xander, how can you spend almost all your free time in a library and not know what moot means?' Buffy rolled her eyes.

'So what does it mean?' Willow asked her, winking at him.

'Well, err. Giles?'

The englishman badly hid a grin as he polished his glasses. 'It can mean a few things, here it means pointless. The weapon is quite clearly both powerful and mystical.'

'Some intense research may be required.' Wesley announced pompously.

'But not right now.' Giles interrupted. 'Whatever or wherever this thing comes from the greater threat is the Mayor and his accession in only a couple of days. I suggest we lock that thing up in the book cage for the time being.'

'No. I could use it.' Buffy said, flicking the knife over in her hand.

Xander looked down at the floor and the nick the sword had made. If he hadn't moved as fast as he had Xander was sure it would have gone through his foot. Hell, his foot might not have slowed it down. 'It is really sharp.'

'And completely unknown.' Wesley added. 'Mr Giles is correct, the only sensible option is to secure this artefact safely.'

Buffy pouted. 'But once you know it's safe, I can keep it. Can't I?'

Giles shared a look with Wesley. 'Buffy, please put the dagger down. It's entirely possible that it's controlling your mind, or at the very least influencing you.'

Xander looked at it and stepped back. So did Willow, Anya and everyone but Giles. The Watcher just stepped closer and held out his hand. Buffy pouted some more, but handed it over.

He looked at it closely. 'It's almost warm to the touch. Whatever this is made of isn't silver.' Giles picked up the gold thing and put it back. 'Wesley, what do you think this large hollow is for?'

'Another weapon, a folding spear?' The other englishman suggested.

'Why would you need one?' Willow asked. 'I mean that sword looked like more than enough.'

'Whatever it is, it's not our problem right now.' Giles put the thing down on the table in the middle of the room. 'The Mayor is our immediate threat. Buffy, investigate the murder of this visiting professor. Anya, perhaps you can help Wesley and myself with some more research. Narrowing down exactly when and where this last Accession took place and anything else that might be useful.'

'What about us?' Willow asked. 'We can be helpful.'

'Ohh, I can get donuts!' Xander offered.

'More than that. I suspect whatever this Party the Mayor mentioned was a plan to take us, or Buffy at least, out of the equation. That means only one thing, he's coming for us. We're going to need weapons, lots of them.'

'If he's coming for us, want's to hurt me, what if he goes after my mom?' Buffy asked suddenly.

'Good lord!' Giles swore, looking shocked. 'You're right. Before we do anything we have to get our loved ones to safety.'

'Now just wait, wait.' Wesley jumped up and was waving his hands in the air. 'I'm supposed to be in charge here and I say what happens.'

Buffy gave him a look Xander was fairly sure she usually reserved for an idiot vampire. 'Wesley; I'm going to warn my mom and get her the hell out of this town before the Mayor tries to kill or eat her. Then I'm going to try and stop him from becoming some true demon thing thats going to eat or kill every snack sized student dressed in a funny hat come graduation. Now you can either help or get out of my way.'

Wesley stepped to one side.

Willow looked up as Xander came back in, box of Donuts in hand. 'Get through to your family?' She asked.

'Nahh. They weren't coming to graduation anyway.' Her longest friend shrugged. Willow hated how his folks treated Xander, ignoring at best and flat out abusive at worst. Most of the time her own family was too busy and she had to take care of herself, but sometimes she felt that her home life was better than Xanders. 'Yours?'

'Mom's at a talk in LA, Dad's in New York.' Only sometimes. 'Any word from Buffy?' She found a powdered jelly in the box and took a bite.

'I dropped her off at home. She should be done convincing Ms Summers by now and on her way to the Professors apartment.' Xander shrugged, reached out for the sword and then stopped, obviously thinking better of it. 'How's the research going?'

Willow swallowed quickly. 'I found an article the professor wrote online. He was at some dig somewhere when he found what he thought was a dinosaur. Giles is sure it was a demon though! He's looking through the stacks, with Oz.'

'And Anya?'

'Wesley's talking to her in the office and taking a lot of notes. He got the job because she gives Giles a headache.'

'Urm guys, Giles found something.' Willow's boyfriend told her as he came out from the stacks.

'Where is he?'

Oz came down the stairs and opened a book he was carrying. 'Still back there, he thought you should see this.' Oz put the book on the table. The page he'd opened it to unfolded once, twice and again. Willow gasped, the demon was huge.

Xander swallowed nervously; 'We're going to need a bigger boat.'

The Slayer turned over the badly written notes of the poor Professor. Looking at them from every angle she could. It was written in Greek. technical Greek that had been translated from Chinese or something. Buffy was certain of it. She quickly gave up trying to make any sense of the papers she had found.

It looked like Faith or the cops had gone through this place and turned it upside down, she could only hope they didn't find what they were looking for. Grabbing a useful box Buffy began to throw anything with the Professor's handwriting into it.

There were also a couple of half open maps and battered books with slips of paper shoved in. Buffy tried to read them before sighing and shoving them in with the crumpled papers. Behind her there was a bump and Buffy turned.

It was Angel. 'Real stealthy.' She said as evenly as she could. Seeing him again was like a knife to the heart, almost hurting. Strange enough she wasn't really surprised. It was like she had known he was near the whole time.

Her ex-boyfriend offered a half smile. 'Not my best. I think they were mopping up in the hallway.' They were, but he was a lot better than that.

Trying to ignore her feelings Buffy picked up the box. 'So, what are you doing here?'

'I read the papers.' he shrugged. 'You?'

'Same.' She told him, pushing past and heading outside.

'Here, let me.' Angel took the box from her before she could stop him.

Buffy folded her arms and glowered at the Vampire. 'You going to be doing this, this worn out mystery man routine until graduation?'

'What?'

'The brooding man of mystery bit.' She turned around and stomped out before spinning on her heel. 'What do you want?'

He scowled back, through that oversized forehead of his. 'I'm just trying to help.'

'Help, dumping me the day before the prom. Turning up in a tux then vanishing like batman for days. That's help in your book?'

'I'm just trying to make it easier for you, for both of us.'

The Slayer looked at him. After a moment she laughed bitterly; 'Easier? How is anything going to make this easier?' She grabbed the box and marched out of the building.

Angel was right behind still and Buffy had an idea. Once in the street she shoved the box back into his hands. 'You know what, you can help.'

'Oh yes, how?' He asked tucking the now bent box under one arm and keeping himself between her and it.

Buffy looked up. 'Let's just pretend we never dated. That we can't stand each other. Right now it wouldn't be hard.'

'Alright then.'

'Good.'

'Fine.' He glared at her. They stood there, in the middle of the street, for a moment. 'Where am I taking this?' he hefted the box.

Buffy was about to snap at him again when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. Just for a moment.

Giles had spent the last three years trying to teach her how to hone her Slayer-senses. If she was honest up until now she'd been next to hopeless, but right then she felt someone watching her. It was like the feeling you got when there was someone standing over your shoulder, only more so. She could even tell who it was. Faith.

Buffy looked over Angel's shoulder. There, hiding behind the U of the Sunnydale Theatre sign the Slayer could see a shadow move and the precise moment Faith let lose with her bow.

Never before, and probably never again, would Buffy see like she was at that moment. Everything slowed down to a crawl, even her. She could see the arrow, spinning as it came towards Angel's unprotected back. The way the shadows moved as a passing car's headlights lit up the street. The uncomprehending looks any of the dozen or so passers-by were giving them. Everything was so slow and clear she could have counted the hairs on Angel's head in the space of a heartbeat.

The Slayer knew she had to do something, but while her mind and senses were working overtime, her body was as slow as ever. The arrow was heading straight for Angel. He was her best fighter, the best warrior on her side next to herself. However painful it was to have him near she was going to need him. Faith knew that, so did the Mayor.

Moving, at long last, Buffy threw herself at the taller vampire. Hoping to tackle him and throw them to the ground before he was staked. Hitting him was like hitting a wall, even with all her strength he still stood there. Immobile as a rock.

As the arrow flew ever closer she finally got him to move. The box fell from his arms as he began to turn with her momentum.

Buffy knew touching him was going to be hard, but never knew just how much it would hurt. It was like a literal knife to the heart and for an instant felt like nothing else. Then everything was back to normal again and she was lying on top of Angel.

'Are you… Are you alright?' Buffy asked, out of breath and lightheaded for some reason.

'I'm fine, how did… you…'

Buffy smiled, but didn't get up. 'I saw it coming.' She told him, but he wasn't listening. Instead he was looking at her chest in horror.

Looking down she saw what was left of the arrow, sticking out of a ragged hole in her jacket. Buffy wanted to say something witty or sarcastic about it, but all she could do was blink at the feathers. Her mind blank she did the only thing she could. Black out.

End Chapter Two