Chapter Summary: Giles has tea. The Hellmouth is visited.
Chapter Word Count: 5,135
Posted: 29-Sep-2020

"How much longer do we have?" Yuki said, the next morning, after they returned from their morning run.

"This is day three," Mika said. "They gave us a week to get it."

"We know who is looking for it; We have a plan for stopping them from getting away; but we don't know when they will find it," Yanzy said. "What's our next step?"

"Last gig tonight at the Bronze," Sita said. "Then we can focus on finding the ring and disposing of it."

"So, go out with a bang?" Yuki said. "What can we play?"

"I have the perfect set list," Sita said, handing it to Mika. "They won't forget us. If this wasn't a sim, that is."

"Even you need the occasional reminder," Yuki said. "Maybe it isn't really a sim but one of those portals?"

"No," Sita said. "It's a sim. Even Brother Coyote agrees."

"Brother Coyote has been talking with you here?" Yuki said, surprised. "I thought he didn't like the training pods?"

"He has expressed his displeasure multiple times," Sita said. "But he is behaving himself. He finds the entity powering Buffy-chan's magical girl powers to be fascinating."

"How is the entity real if this is a sim?" Mika asked, looking up from the set list.

"It was not clear," Sita said. "But the training pods appear to be self contained dream worlds, after a fashion."

"So will it continue to exist when we leave? All of these sim-people stuck here?" Yanzy said.

"It is something he refuses to discuss," Sita said. "I do not believe so. When we leave it may go into stasis or it may cease to exist."

"That is disturbing," Mika said. "Can we bring anyone out with us?"

"They would have to be aware that their life here is not real," Sita said. "And there would have to be a way for them to become 'real' in the real world. I do not see how that would be possible."

"And four days, while trying to get that gem, is not really enough time to figure that out. To use a colloquialism, that sucks," Mika said.

"I wonder if they would remember us if we came back?" Yuki said. "Though having a virtual girlfriend would be very disturbing."

"You'd have to have a girlfriend first," Mika said, smirking.

"Still four days, after today," Yuki said. "You need to speed things up, Sita. This coffee date thing is not going fast enough."

"I am not dating anyone in this sim," Sita said, glaring at her. "They aren't real."

Yanzy shook her head at Yuki. "What is the plan for today?" she asked.

"Explore more of the town?" Yuki said. "There's a movie theater. And a portal to the Christian Hell in the old high school."

"I think we should explore that," Mika said. "Let's see what Yanzy's instruments make of a virtual portal in a sim."

"An idea," Yanzy said. "Do we need a local guide?"

"A Buffy-guide, perchance?" Yuki said, grinning. "And maybe a Willow shaped one? She was really curious about the scanner last night."

"Someone that smart in the real world would be scary," Yanzy said.

"I would be curious to see how the sim handles the entities we interact with. It is beyond Earth's current technology to do sims of this nature. But it is possible there is some special alien technology that makes believable sims possible." Sita shrugged. "But it doesn't matter. Speculating on how the sim appears so believable is not really relevant to our task."

"Breakfast?" Mika said. "That diner or somewhere else?"

"Diner," Yanzy said. "Muffins for every meal gets tedious."

"Never!" Yuki said, faking shock. "You can never eat too many of those muffins."

"What are you going to do when we leave?" Mika said. "No more muffins."

"I'll think of something. They must be based on real muffins, somewhere in the real world," Yuki said.

"Come back here after?" Mika said.

"Yes," Sita said. "If we are examining this Hellmouth we'll want appropriate tools that we cannot take into the diner."

"No muffins," Yuki said sadly, looking at the diner's menu.

"Branch out," Mika said. "Try their waffles. That can be considered a pastry. You liked their pancakes. The waffles should be similar."

"Is that Mr. Giles?" Yuki said looking out the window, seeing a tall figure approaching the diner.

"Looks like him," Yanzy said.

"Go get him," Yuki said. "Quick! Before he escapes."

"Why?" Sita asked.

"Because," Yuki said. "He can tell us about the Hellmouth."

Mika sighed, but stood up. Putting down her menu she slipped out of the diner and intercepted Giles. They watched, Yuki peering over her menu in an attempt to not be noticed. After several minutes of handwaving, Mika returned, Giles hesitantly following behind her.

Sita stood, motioning for the others to also stand. "It would be an honor for you to join us," she said.

"They don't have muffins but they do have other things," Yuki said, as they sat down again.

"You have questions?" Giles said, taking a chair from an empty table, and sitting down. "In general or specific to Sunnydale?"

"Both?" Yuki said. "Does Buffy have a boyfriend? She appeared to be unattached."

"I cannot say," he said, frowning. "That is not an aspect of her life I am aware of, or find necessary to know about."

"Yuki!" Mika hissed at her. "That is not an appropriate question." She turned to Giles. "We were curious about certain features of this town. You seem to be the correct person to ask."

His answer was interrupted by the appearance of the diner's sole waitress. "Good morning Rupert, we haven't seen you around lately. Is this all on one check?" She asked.

"Yes," Sita said. "Put it all on my tab."

"All right, doll," the waitress said. "The usual?" Yanzy and Mika nodded in agreement.

"I'll have the Belgian waffles," Yuki said, sighing. "And a large orange juice."

"Vegetarian omelet, and coffee," Sita said.

"Just tea, please," Giles said.

"You can get actual food, Mr. Giles," Mika said. "Sita can afford it. She's really stingy with the band motel money so we can afford to eat."

"Tea is fine," he said to the waitress. She nodded and left.

"I think watching Yuki eat would put anyone who has not experienced it before off their meal," Mika said, "so tea is probably a wise choice."

"You wished to know about Sunnydale?" Giles said. "What exactly did you wish to know?"

"The portal to a hell in the school basement seems to be an unusual feature," Sita said. "How did that happen?"

"There is no documentation concerning how that," Giles said. "The previous mayor may have been responsible. The school itself was built in the nineteen thirties as a public works project at the end of local economic difficulties."

"This is the mayor that became a demon?" Mika said. "How is that possible?"

"Yes," Giles said. "His exact plan is unknown but he appears to have founded the town with that in mind."

"So, he built the town, with a portal to hell in it, just to become a demon. And then what?" Yuki asked.

"He was stopped," Giles said. "At great cost to the town."

"A true demon, not the demon hybrids you have here in Sunnydale, can be very destructive," Sita said, nodding.

"Quite," he said in agreement. "A large portion of the graduating class, and a number of town officials did not survive the event."

"Buffy-chan mentioned an apocalypse season?" Mika said. "Do you have world ending events frequently enough to have a season for such things?"

"There have been a number of events, prevented by Buffy and her friends, that would have had world wide ramifications if they had not been stopped," Giles said. "But I am not sure how many would qualify as an actual apocalypse. The first year we, Buffy and I, came to Sunnydale there was a master vampire attempting to open the Hellmouth. How badly that would have been for the world is debatable, but it would have been very bad for Sunnydale, and the surrounding areas. The following year, a dangerous artifact was triggered which would have dragged the town into one of the Hell dimensions, possible the entire world. Last year we had Mayor Wilkins become an almost undefeatable demon."

"Those sound like possible world ending events," Mika said.

"But there were other events during the year of similar danger," Giles said. "So season is a bit of a misnomer. It could happen at any time."

"And the only thing standing in the way of the end of the world, however you define it, is Buffy-chan, her friends, and you?" Sita said. "That is very impressive."

"Luck appears to play a large part in our survival," Giles said. "Too much for my liking. You are of the Kitsune. You must have encountered equally dangerous supernatural events?"

"So far, we've personally dealt mainly with low level threats," Mika said. "Simple demons making a nuisance of themselves. Wizards, and sorcerers who take things too far and need to be stopped. Nothing on the scale you have encountered here in Sunnydale."

"And hopefully it'll stay that way," Yuki said. "We have another two years before we can return home."

"So, you have a specific destination or were you randomly traveling?" He said. "Traveling as a band is a clever idea."

"It was Yuki's idea," Sita said. "It seemed to fit our talents and gives us a reason to travel."

"Why Sunnydale, specifically?" Giles asked, sipping his tea.

"We had heard about the Hellmouth," Sita admitted, "but we were not aware that it had been active. "We also plan on visiting several other dormant hellmouths in our travels."

"Cleveland seems to be appropriate," Yuki said.

"Contrary to rumor, the Cleveland Hellmouth is not in the basement of the Rock-n-Roll Hall of Fame," Giles said. "That appears to be a rumor started by a demon band that was upset that they would never qualify for inclusion."

"That is a shame," Sita said. "Yuki was looking forward to that."

"I'm still looking forward to it," Yuki said. "Even if we won't get to play there."

"We do have a tentative booking in a club near there next fall during a festival of some sort," Sita said. "But we are not very well known and will probably get bumped if a more well known band wants to play there."

"Can you show us the Hellmouth?" Yuki said. "It seems a shame to be in Sunnydale and to miss one of its most famous hot spots."

"I do not really recommend it for sight seeing," Giles said. "It is dormant but still attracts demons of all types."

"Who guards it?" Sita asked.

"There is no formal guard," Giles said, "though I've requested that the Watcher's Council provide one. They've declined so far."

"So, any tips, if we do visit?" Yuki said, leaning forward in her excitement.

"It you must visit it, do not go unarmed," Giles said. "Although I do not recommend visiting the Hellmouth, be prepared to encounter danger. Ruins such as the old high school attract unsavory creatures, and with the Hellmouth also there, it is doubly so."

"Want to come with us?" Yuki said. "A native guide would be welcome."

"I must decline," Giles said. "It has numerous bad associations. The Hellmouth was originally directly below my library."

"Anywhere else we can visit that is unique to Sunnydale?" Sita said.

"Nothing I would recommend for a casual visit," Giles said. "It's a quiet town during the day and doesn't have much for tourists to do."

"Would Buffy be able to show us the Hellmouth?" Yuki said. "She seems to know the town very well."

"I cannot say," Giles said. "And I must be going," he said. "It has been interesting talking with you. If you insist on exploring the town, please be cautious."

"We will," Mika said. "Thank you for speaking with us."

Giles nodded and left the diner, continuing on his way.

"That wasn't very helpful," Yuki said. "He really didn't want to encourage us wandering around his town."

"Understandable," Sita said. "He has no clear idea of how capable we are. Last night's experiment did not give a clear idea of our skills."

"So, find Buffy-san and ask her if she wants to visit the Hellmouth?" Mika said. "She knows how capable we are."

"Yes," Sita said. "I have her phone number. We can call her after lunch. She has classes until then."

"And you learned that over coffee?" Yuki said. "Hidden depths. We'll make a spy of you yet."

"We are all spies, of a certain kind," Yanzy said. "We aren't Shadows but we have training that would make real secret agents jealous."

"And toys," Yuki said. "I'm sure no American spy has anything like your scanner and other spy tools."

"I can't say," Yanzy said. "The Black Hats or pirates could have shared their spy tools with unscrupulous spies."

"Well, our Shadow tech is sure to be better," Yuki said. "And we should go test it, see what it says about the Hellmouth."

"Portal, going somewhere dangerous," Mika said. "That would be my bet."

"Will it even detect the evil energy?" Yuki said.

"I've adjusted it," Yanzy said. "It should detect sources of evil energy much better than it was before."

"Good," Mika said. "We might have had problems the other day if Buffy hadn't found us."

"We were doing fine," Yuki said, "not to say that her showing up wasn't welcome, but we could have defended ourselves."

"One of them was that Spike vampire," Sita said. "I am not sure the three of us could have captured him."

"He seems to be the exception," Mika said. "Most vampires are apparently a lot weaker, except in Sunnydale."

"There does seem to be a layer of power covering the city," Yanzy said. "I have to filter it out to see anything else more than a few feet away."

"That might be the infamous 'Sunnydale Effect'," Sita said, leading them back to their motel..

"Hadn't heard about that," Yuki said, dropping onto her bed. "What does it mean?"

"It's somewhat like a 'notice me not' spell," Yanzy said. "It covers the entire town, and according to Willow makes people not see any of the more noticeable demons wandering around the town."

"Must be convenient," Yuki said. "They don't have to hide."

"It turns the town into something out of an urban fantasy novel," Mika said.

"Is that what you've been reading?" Yuki said. "There's no pictures, just lots of words."

"I'm working on my creativity," Mika said. "Some day we'll want awesome epic songs that aren't written for teen idols. I want to be ready."

"Our songwriters can write real lyrics," Yanzy said. "Some of them write those books you've been reading."

"Do any of them write manga?" Yuki said. "I bet that could be used for some awesome song material."

"Not that I know of," Yanzy said. "There's no profit in that. But then there's little profit in writing lyrics, no matter how creative or sophisticated."

"Not the point," Mika said. "Sunnydale has a dual personality. During the day it looks like a quaint small town. At night it is full of monsters and dangerous creatures. They probably don't coincide, except with your favorite magical girl warrior."

"And we need a tour guide to the night side?" Sita said.

"Of course," Mika said. "Call your Buffy. She can show us the important sights during the day, like the portal to Hell."

Sita nodded and went into the adjoining room to call her.

"And that demon bar she mentioned?" Yuki said.

"You aren't old enough to go into a bar," Yanzy said.

"Neither are Sita and Mika," Yuki said.

"Demon bar. Age probably doesn't matter. We just need to be armed," Mika said, watching Sita talking on the phone. "What did she say?"

"She'll meet us outside the school fence in an hour," Sita said. "She said to come armed, unobtrusively, just in case."

"How do you arm yourself unobtrusively?" Yuki said.

"It's a setting on our suits," Mika said. "It'll hide our weapons unless we are holding them in our hands."

"Oh, the camouflage, setting ten," Yuki said. "Or is it setting three."

"Three," Yanzy said. "Ten is a combat mode, that my suit doesn't have."

"Ah," Yuki said. "Is an hour enough time to get ready? And what about lunch afterward? Muffins?"

"If you're good," Mika said.

"How good?" Yuki said, winking at her.

"Not that good," Yanzy said, putting on her suit. "I'll leave the main scanner here, and just bring the portable."

"Won't you need both?" Mika said, waiting patiently for the others to finish dressing.

"The coms connect them so it doesn't matter. I left the main module in the van last time but didn't really need to touch it." Yanzy tapped the screen on her hand scanner.

"Ready?" Sita said, joining Mika at the door.

"Just a second," Yuki said, clipping her katanas to her suit and activating her camouflage, causing them to fade away.

"We should check with Buffy to see if she can see past the camouflage field. If she can, demons may be able to," Mika said.

"That's a good idea," Yanzy said. "The manuals don't say what the camouflage testing conditions were."

"And, we're in a sim," Sita said, again. "If the sim programming says the camouflage hides our tools from all eyes, then that is what it does."

"Or it could be lying, just to make things interesting," Yuki said.

"We ask Buffy," Mika said. "Otherwise we assume it works as advertised."

"Shotgun!" Yuki said, rushing from the room.

"Not going anywhere without the driver," Yanzy said, locking their room behind her and following the others down to the van.

"Did anyone explain what happened to the high school?" Yuki said, staring at the mangled buildings through the chain link fence.

"They blew it up fighting the demon mayor," Sita said.

"Already knew that," Yuki said. "But how exactly did they do it?"

"Hey guys," Buffy said, appearing next to them. "How did we do what?"

"Destroy the school?" Mika said. "It looks like something big fell on it."

"We blew it up," Buffy said. "The mayor turned into a huge demon, a really huge demon. Very dinosaur dragon like. I lured it into the school and we blew up the library with it in it."

"Must have taken a lot of explosives," Yanzy said. "They must have heard it in LA."

"Well, it was reported as a gas main explosion," Buffy said. "But it's amazing what you can make explode if you know how to."

"Sounds like it was dangerous," Yuki said.

"The last time a demon that size showed up, someone dropped a volcano on it," Buffy said. "We didn't have a volcano so we made our own."

"That didn't open the Hellmouth portal?" Sita said. "That would have been a lot of energy."

"No," Buffy said. "Giles thinks the mayor soaked up all of the Hellmouth energy when he turned into a demon. Though that is just a wild guess. Nobody has gone near it in a while."

"Exploded demon, explosives and dark energy? It probably wasn't safe to poke around in," Sita said.

"It was certainly very hot for a while. Like an oven for weeks," Buffy said. "It's cooled off now though."

Yanzy took our her hand scanner and turned it on. "Not much radiation," she said. "No worse than getting a sunburn."

"Willow has one of those ginger things. It was really loud the first couple weeks," Buffy said.

"Geiger counter?" Yanzy said.

"Yes, one of those," Buffy said. "Not sure where she got it from."

"It measures radiation," Yanzy said. "You probably would have gotten sick if you spent too much time here afterward. Now it seems mostly safe, at least at this distance."

"If we get closer will you guys be oaky?" Buffy said. "My skin itched for a couple days afterward but it got better."

"Magical girls have radiation resistance?" Yuki said, raising an eyebrow. "Did anyone know that?"

"Still not that magical girl thing," Buffy said. Taking out a key, she unlocked the padlock keeping the gate closed. "Master key," she said to their look of surprise. "They didn't really give me a key to the school. They'd throw me into jail first."

"Even with the mayor gone?" Mika said.

"When the mayor was alive they mostly left us alone," Buffy said. "We kept the riff raff under control. Now the Chief of Police doesn't have anyone to blame for demon activity so he picked me."

"So, not the official town monster hunter?" Mika said. "For that added vigilante vibe?"

"Yup," Buffy said. "The Hellmouth is this way." She pushed open the plywood covered main doors. "It was under the library but there isn't much library left."

They cautiously followed her down rubble filled hallways.

"Yuck," Buffy said, kicking something out of the way. "Mayor chunks. The rats don't seem to want to clean that up."

"Doesn't smell, surprisingly," Yuki said.

"He got toasted really good," Buffy said. "Mostly little bitty chunks of charcoal now. With some bonus yuck!"

"We're getting closer to something," Yanzy said, as a faint beeping increased. "Dark energy mostly. No signs of any creatures detected."

"Yeah, the local scavengers don't seem to want to come down here," Buffy said. "Not much to see if you aren't here for the Hellmouth."

They entered a small round room, its ceiling boarded up. In the center, there was a manhole sized hole.

"No cover?" Sita said.

"Giles ordered one but it hasn't come yet. Apparently, you can't get covers for hellmouths at the local hardware store or occult shop. Not sure where we're going to get the people to nail it down, figuratively speaking. The mayor had enough power to do it, though he probably wouldn't have, but none of us can. Giles might have been able to once but he's on the dark magic wagon."

"But it won't be a hole to hell for much longer?" Mika said. "We could put in a request with the clan elders if you need someone to do it."

"We can talk with Giles about that, he might have already found someone," Buffy said. "So, what do you think? Not the most exciting place to visit."

"There is energy flowing around it," Yanzy said, walking around the hole, her scanner pointed at it. "But nothing my scanner recognizes as dangerous."

"Definitely dangerous, when it's opened and evil is coming out of it," Buffy said.

"You've seen it open?" Sita asked.

"Several times," Buffy saiid. "Though it looked different each time. Giles said it might not go to the same hell every time it opens."

"So, evil portal but you have to pick the destination?" Yuki said. "What if someone picks the wrong one?"

"We'd probably end up with evil unicorns," Mika said. "Or invaded by fire breathing ponies."

"As long as it isn't hellhounds," Buffy said. "Had someone set some of those loose at the prom. It did not for a good time make. My dress never recovered."

"Your adventures are like a bad teen movie," Yuki said. "I would have run away screaming if I had to deal with half of that."

"You aren't a coward," Mika said. "You distracted the dragon that one time."

"A real, fire breathing dragon?" Buffy said, as they watched Yanzy continue to circle the hole, muttering to herself.

"May not have been a real dragon, but it did breath fire," Yuki said. "And it was huge and fast. I ended up with grass and bits of gravel in too many places they aren't meant to go in."

"Breaths fire? I'd call that a dragon," Buffy said. "We haven't had one of those here yet. The mayor was a big demon, not a dragon."

"I believe she's done," Sita said, keeping an eye on Yanzy.

"Yes," Yanzy said. "It's an interesting energy structure. Not sure how it works as a portal. Might take some kind of magic to activate."

"Definitely needs a ritual or two," Buffy said. "And probably a sacrifice. The usual evil overlord kind of thing."

"Well, we have no plans to open it," Mika said.

"Definitely not," Yuki said, "right Su?"

"We have enough work to do already," Sita said. "Becoming evil takes up too much time, to do it correctly."

"I prefer my evil to be incompetent," Buffy said. "Easier to defeat that way."

"Where to next?" Buffy asked, as they trooped out of the school, avoiding stepping on anything that looked like it might be mayor guts.

"You said there was a demon bar," Sita said.

"Willie's," Buffy said. "Not much happening there right now, just the lunch crowd. But we can drop in if you want to check it out."

"Yes," Yuki said. "Do they have muffins?"

"Demon bar," Buffy said. "You don't want to eat anything they have on the menu. If it doesn't kill you, you'll wish it had."

"Is the van safe here?" Yanzy asked, looking around the area, as they got out.

"No one will touch it," Buffy said, loudly. "Not if they want to live."

They followed her into Willie's.

"Not impressive," Yuki said, looking around. "Do they just let anyone in?"

"There's at least one bouncer after dark," Buffy said. "The day crowd is a bit calmer."

"Slayer! We're not open," a voice shouted from the bar as they entered. "And they don't look old enough to drink."

"Barely a snack," one rat faced demon said, as they passed it going to the bar.

"You look open," Buffy said. "Small lunch crowd today?"

"They're having a special at the Dump," Willie said, grimacing. "And we don't serve their kind here."

"Musicians?" Buffy asked. "They're playing at the Bronze tonight."

"They're Kitsune," Willie said. "They aren't welcome here."

"They're with me," Buffy said, "so I think they're allowed, unless you want to argue?" She stepped closer and glared at him.

"No, no, Slayer, they're fine," Willie said, grumbling under his breath. "We don't serve yokai."

"Good thing we aren't yokai," Sita said calmly.

"You smell like those Kitsune hunters," Willie said.

"Which we are," Mika said, grinning with her teeth showing, "but we aren't yokai."

"That's very speciesist of you Willie," Buffy said. "There are laws about discrimination."

"Just take them and go," Willie said. "And no fighting!"

"That was an unexpected reaction," Buffy said, once they were back outside. "What's a yokai?"

"The yokai are Japanese spirits," Mika said. "Our clan 'totem' is the kitsune yokai."

"Not demons," Sita said. "They don't apparently get along."

"Where next?" Yuki asked. "Lunch?"

"There isn't much left to see unless you want to take a tour of all of the cemeteries and churches," Buffy said. "The mayor's office is full of dark sorcerer things but is off limits. No one has been able to enter it since he became large charcoaly mayor bits."

"We'll have to come back," Yuki said. "Lunch?

"Broken record," Mika said, poking her. "It's too soon for lunch."

"It'll be lunch by the time we get there," Yanzy said, unlocking the van. They all climbed in. "Where to?"

"There's a sandwich shop just off main," Buffy said. "Human safe food."

"Sounds good," Mika said. "Do they have those muffins?"

"The ones from the 'Pump?" Buffy asked. "The bakery that makes them is actually next door."

"So they have them on the menu?" Yuki said, visibly vibrating in her seat.

"And other things," Buffy said. "Best bakery in Sunnydale. Someone has an addiction?"

"We may have to leave her in Sunnydale when we leave," Mika said. "There's no way we can feed her muffin habit."

"They don't ship them," Buffy said. "You can only get them in Sunnydale."

"I think we need to stay longer," Yuki said. "Or just move here."

"Not because of a muffin," Sita said. "We would need a better reason. And playing in the clubs here wouldn't pay enough to support your addiction."

"You don't know that." Yuki said. "We've been okay so far."

"Because I'm taking money out of our emergency funds," Sita said.

"Oh," Yuki said sadly. "I can live without the muffins. But we'll need to come back so I can stock up."

"No room in the van for muffins," Yanzy said. "Not even if they are frozen."

"I'm sure we can think of something," Yuki said.

"I can," Sita said. "You need to obsess over something else."

"Like what?" Yuki said. "Music and muffins. There's nothing better. Except sex, of course."

"And that's something I don't need to hear about," Mika said.

"And we're here," Yanzy said. "Looks quaint."

"Large portions," Buffy said. "Though they do have salads for those days."

"Pizza?" Mika said. "I haven't had a real slice of pizza in weeks. Just frozen or one of those chain pizzas."

"They do an okay pizza," Buffy said, "but you have to be careful what you ask them to put on it. They do specialty pizzas for the demon night crowd."

"Everybody out," Yanzy said, stopping across the street.

"What would they put on a pizza that wouldn't be good?" Yuki said.

"There are a lot of things that really shouldn't go on pizza," Buffy said. "They even have a cricket pizza."

"Crickets are crunchy," Yuki said. "That could work on a pizza."

"Those aren't the only bugs on a cricket pizza," Buffy said. "Willow dared Xander to get one once. He couldn't finish even one slice."

"What did you think of crickets on your pizza?" Sita said.

"Crunchy, but not my favorite topping," Buffy said. "But the grubs they also put on one? A big turn off, unless you're a bug eating demon."

"We aren't ordering one," Sita said, looking at Yuki. "If you want just a slice to try it, you can eat it somewhere else. Toasted bugs make me nauseous."

"It's a classic," Yuki said. "We had bugs as movie snacks when we were growing up."

"And if you watched her, Sita never ate any," Mika said. "We don't all have your tastebuds."

"Or her sense of humor," Yanzy said. "Did you actually like toasted crickets?"

"Put enough spices and salt on them and they taste just like nuts," Yuki said.

"Put enough salt on something and anyone can eat it," Mika said, looking behind the counter. "Interesting looking menu. They have a whole section for 'bug enhanced' dishes. Grub lasagna. Cricket pizza, worm salad, and more."

"I'll just have a sandwich," Yanzy said. "Without any bugs on it."

"Your loss," Yuki said, shrugging. "Lots of protein."