Disclaimer: Buffy and Torchwood universes are not mine. I'm just playing with them ^^

There's time, in life, when everything spin out of control. That's exactly what's happening to me these days. I hope it's for the best but µI'm not sure... So each good things is wonderfully receive. So, please, don't hesitate to review because I really need good things right now.

Chapter Ten

Weirdness

Buffy didn't sleep. Not caring about the hour, she grabbed her cellphone and dialed Willow's number while turning on her computer and uploading the photos. As soon as the witch picked up, Buffy explained the situation and her need for support. They didn't talk about themselves, only the case. The Slayer sent the photos to the Wiccan. A witch would be sent to Cardiff as fast as possible. Willow couldn't make it herself because she had too much responsibility. And that was okay with the blonde.

She didn't even try to go to bed after that. She didn't do her exercises. She took a quick shower, trying to clean the remnants of the crime scene from her body. Every time she closed her eyes, she could see them. Their bodies and the happy pictures. And each time, her anger flared and the Slayer roared. In a sense, she was glad to feel that way because it meant that she could still feel, that she was still human. When she stopped caring; that's when she would worry. She was wrapping herself in a big towel when she heard the doorbell. Without dressing, she went to open the door.

Owen was on the other side. He had bags under his eyes and tiredness was evident on his face.

"Jack called me."

And it was quite evident that Jack had waked him up. He let himself in and tried not to think about the towel she was wearing as only cloth. She didn't call him Rude-Guy and he didn't make a sarcastic comment. They were both too tired. Owen stayed alone in the living room. He hadn't been happy when Jack asked him to drive Buffy wherever she wanted. Though he hadn't complained. Something in his boss's voice had told him this was something big and ugly. And it had been confirmed by the bimbo's face when she opened the door. She clearly hadn't been sleeping and there was no more cheerfulness. So he kept quiet.

Buffy reappeared ready, with her bag slung over her shoulder. She grabbed her keys and her coat and led the way out. They didn't speak until they were in the car. She gave him an address and he drove.

"Thank you," she said.

He nearly slammed on the brakes. That was unexpected.

"What? No sarcasm today?"

"I'm not in the mood for that."

"It was that bad?"

"You'll see."

They arrived and she asked him to follow her. They were in one of the most expensive institutes in Cardiff. They had money. She flashed her badge and they let them pass without asking questions. She knew where she was going and walked fast. She entered a room and was immediately greeted by Paisley. Owen followed her into a big laboratory, saw the bodies out of the corner of his eyes and swore:

"Bloody Hell!"

The victims were like mummies! He quickly walked towards them and grabbed the file on a near table, going through it with expert eyes. Buffy watched him and stopped Paisley from intervening. He said it was too soon to have the complete results of the exams. They hadn't been molested. Runes had been carved into their flesh, severing veins and arteries in different points. That would have been the cause of death but it wasn't. Their hearts had stopped before they bleed to death. How? He didn't know. They seemed to have aged suddenly, like their appearance indicated. They were running more tests and were waiting for the results. She would be told as soon as they had them. She asked for a copy of all the results they had right then and he complied. In the file, there were photographs of the bodies and the runes. She would have to send those out.

Ten minutes later, Owen and Buffy were leaving. The doctor was thinking of the files he had read and cringed while thinking of the bodies' appearances. He hadn't been at the crime scene but had a pretty good idea of what everyone had witnessed. He was curious and would have loved to see the results of their tests. He would have to ask. Nicely. He hadn't had time to do that because she handed him a really thick file:

"That's a copy of everything they've discovered so far. I would appreciate it if you could have a quick look at it."

He took it: "No problem."

They drove in silence. It was the first time they had been together without being at each other's throats. It was awkward. He parked in his usual spot and they went down to the Hub. Jack walked out of his office when they arrived and Owen showed him the file:

"I'm going to take a look at it."

"Thanks," Buffy said. "For the file and the ride."

He nodded and left them. Jack watched them curiously.

"I think I'm hallucinating because I think I just saw you and Owen being civil to each other."

"I'm too tired and preoccupied to be funny and sarcastic. What did you find?"

She followed him into his office and he shared what he had gathered with her. The Rander's were a typical happy normal family. Mitchell Rander was a fifty-two year-old insurance lawyer and had been married to Rebecca for twenty two years. She was a primary school teacher and they had three children. Their oldest, Ryan, was eighteen. He was in his last year of high school and was an average teenager. He was part of a rugby club and had been dating the same girl for two years. Then, there was Nathan, a fourteen year-old video game enthusiast. The last one was Elizabeth, their ten year-old daughter. They had absolutely no problems and were respected by the community. They had always lived in Cardiff and had moved into their house ten years previously, when they had had their third child. Jack hadn't found anything else. It was too early to make calls.

"So now we wait," Buffy sighed.

"Did you call your friends?"

"A witch will come as soon as possible. When she arrives, we'll be going to the house. I already sent all the photos to my friends. I can't do anything more right now."

She stood up, unable to stay immobile for much longer. Waiting was not something she liked. She hated that moment when she knew something was up, something bad but hadn't a single clue where to go or where to look. She couldn't stay focused, couldn't think clearly. Questions and random thoughts were constantly running through her mind. The pictures she had seen were always there, superimposed over the images of the bodies. She was playing the scene over and over in her head. It had been a long time since she had seen such slaughter. After Sunnydale, she had distanced herself from the darker cases, leaving that for the younger ones. She had had seen enough in her time. So it was more difficult for her to adjust to the situation.

She knew that somewhere in the Hub, there was a small gymnasium. She asked Jack where it was. He showed it to her and where the shower was. She quickly lost herself in familiar moves, letting her mind wander on its own…
Jack went to Owen. His doctor was reading a big file, glasses resting on his nose. Lost in his reading, he didn't hear his boss and jumped slightly when Jack called him.

"What Jack?"

"It's really early. If you want to go back home and sleep a little, do it now."

"No, that's fine. Buffy asked me to have a look at this."

"And that would be?"

"The preliminary results of the autopsy and what they found at the crime scene."

"And you do it because…?"

"Because it's my job."

"Good. Because we're going to work with her on this."

With that, everyone went back to working on their own. Ianto arrived at eight AM and raised an eyebrow when he saw his boss locked in his office, Owen bent over some file and he spotted Buffy's bag in their kitchen-like room. No one acknowledged his presence and he began his work in silence.

Tosh arrived around nine, followed closely by Gwen. They shared the same look of disbelief as Ianto and they interrogated him when he gave them their first cup of coffee.

"I don't know. I arrived an hour ago and they were already like this. I think Buffy is somewhere in the Hub. Jack barely noticed me when I brought him coffee. He was in a video meeting."

"Do you think this has something to do with the call Buffy received last night?" Tosh asked.

"I can't think of anything else," Gwen answered.

Buffy appeared in the room, her wet hair cascading down onto her shoulders, drops of water glistening here and there on her skin. There was something strong and powerful emanating from her. Her face lacked her usual happiness. Dark circles were visible under her Hazel eyes, where a feral expression was clearly visible. She nodded at them and went to grab her bag and coat. Jack was coming towards her and she said:

"I have to pick up the witch. Then I'm going straight back to the house."

"Ok, I'll explain everything to Gwen, Tosh and Ianto and send them to work."

Gwen was going to ask what the Hell was happening when Owen appeared, looked at Buffy and exclaimed:

"Let's go."

She watched them leave, completely open-mouthed. Tosh muttered:

"Since when are they even civil to each other?"

Jack didn't answer and went to the meeting room, his employees on his heels.

"Ok, Jack what…" began Gwen.

"Oh my god!"

Tosh saw the photographs on the table and even Ianto paled at them. Gwen swore and sat back:

"What happened?"

Jack launched into the description of the case, without leaving any details out. They weren't going to stop their regular activities and would still watch the Rift and act in any strange cases Alien related but, they were also going to give Buffy a hand on this.

The witch sent by Willow was a thirty-five year-old English woman named Lydia. She owned a magic shop in London and was a referee for the Council. She had dropped everything she had been doing as soon as the redhead called her and explained everything. Lydia Parker was white and tall, with long black hair and striking grey eyes. She had a round face that inspired kindness. Buffy thanked her for coming so quickly and introduced Owen. Then, they went directly to the crime scene.

Nothing had been touched and Buffy was glad for that. The witch asked if she could walk in alone. She said that the first feelings were really important and didn't hide that Buffy's vibe was disturbing her. The Slayer just smiled before nodding. She trusted the witch because Willow sent her. And even if her relationship with the redhead was not at its best, she trusted her judgment. She looked at Owen.

"Is it always like this?" he asked.

"What?"

"The cases. It's pretty ugly in there."

"Demons and the like don't do pretty things. They like ugliness, all of them. Some just don't care. Others take it as a form of art."

He laughed sarcastically. She shrugged.

"This time, it's really ugly. Somewhere on the top of the scale of ugliness."

"I can't believe I'm waiting outside while a witch is trying to understand what kind of ritual has been used to kill a family. When did the world became this insane?"

"Because hunting aliens on a daily basis isn't insane?" Buffy said, arching a golden eyebrow.

It was his turn to shrug. They waited in silence for Lydia to come out. Buffy really hoped she would understand the mess in there because she needed to catch the thing responsible before someone else died. Waiting and trying to understand was the part she hated. She was action girl. She needed that, needed to hunt and the kill. It was her purpose. She had had a hard time accepting it when she was younger but not anymore.

Lydia finally got out. She was a little pale and Buffy didn't like her expression. She walked towards her:

"So?"

"I don't know. I don't understand the point behind all of it."

"Do you know what ritual was performed? Because if you do, you know more than us."

"I may have some ideas but I need to do more research before saying for sure."

Buffy groaned. She told Lydia that she had access to the Council database back home. They decided to go to Buffy's apartment. Owen dropped them off and they decided that he didn't need to go with them. There was no point as long as they didn't know more about the case. So, the doctor returned to the Hub while both women installed themselves in the Slayer's living room for a day of research.

It was six in the afternoon when Lydia stopped her research. She had used the database and made an impressive number of calls, some in different languages. Buffy had left her alone long ago. She had tried to calm herself and even went out for a long run. Now, both women were sitting at the table and the witch was organizing the large amount of notes she had taken. Then, she shared her conclusions:

"I don't understand everything. There are still some things that don't make sense to me. What I do know is that the ritual was used to suck the life out of the victims. One by one, they were laid in the middle of the circle, pinned to the floor, literally. Runes were engraved into their body. Then, there had to be a chant and the life was sucked out. Normally, it would dissipate into the air. But you see that?"

She was showing a picture of the scene, pointing at four identical symbols in equal distance around the circle. Buffy nodded.

"They create a barrier, like a globe put on the circle that kept the life force in. And you see that?"

Now she pointed at a strange mark on the inside of the circle. It was a bare spot on the floor, circled by blood. Like an object had been there and taken away after everything was finished.

"There was something there. I'm sure it was a receptacle for the life force. It couldn't get out and dissolve into the air because of the barrier. So, it went the only way it could: the receptacle. This kind of object isn't easy to find. They should have created it themselves but it should have taken months to do it."

"It would mean it was something they had planned a long time ago."

"Yes."

"But why? What's the point of it? What can they do with five life forces?"

"A lot of things, going from bad to really really bad. Life forces can be used for hundreds of things! They've collected it, but why? I don't know. There are some runes I don't understand. I'm waiting for some friends to call me. Because it really is a complicated way to collect life forces."

"So, you're telling me you have no idea who's done this or why?"

"Nope."

"Great. We're stuck now."

"We have to wait and keep an eye out to see if something weird happens."

"We're in Cardiff. Weird things happen all the time."

"So weirder things than usual."

Grumpily, Buffy decided to focus on something else. She hated waiting and coupled with the fact that they needed something bad to happen to have other clues, she would go crazy. She showed Lydia the guest room and left her to settle in. She called Jack and let him know what they had discovered so far—not much. Then, she decided to take Lydia out and show her Cardiff. After all, it seemed like she'd be there for awhile.

¤ ¤ tbc ¤ ¤