Chapter 8

As usual

A few steps from her home, Buffy tried to clear her head. Neither the return of unknown demons nor that of Spike helped her. Yet the most urgent and important thing was to discover what this demonic presence implied. If Spike hadn't wanted to tell her about his return, he certainly wouldn't want to help them again. The last time must have been enough for him.

At this moment, Buffy stopped to look at her house where her sister and her friends were waiting for her. She would have liked to leave and no longer have to risk her life and those of others. This desire was only fleeting though. She wouldn't run away like she had done a few years ago. She would not shy away from her responsibilities. Maybe she didn't want to fight anymore, but she didn't want to leave people behind.

She took a deep breath and entered.

The Scoobies had gathered in the living room. Xander and Willow had told the other two what had happened a few hours before. Comparing the descriptions, it appeared that the demon that had attacked Buffy was different from those seen at the cinema.

Buffy took a few seconds to look at each person in the room. Xander looked dazed, Willow was wringing her hands nervously, Dawn was lost in thought, and even Andrew was silent, the ultimate proof of the seriousness of the situation.

The atmosphere was tense and Buffy knew that the reason wasn't only because a new threat was certainly hovering over their heads. Everyone remembered the last time they had been together when they had fought the greatest battle of their lives. Today, they were in a similar situation - although less dangerous at first glance - but a few members were missing and Buffy couldn't help but shiver when thinking about them. She missed Giles especially, but at least he wasn't dead. This was not the case for Anya who, despite her extravagant personality, had been a great help on many occasions. She knew that everyone remembered the loved ones they had lost through battles.

She felt that she had to break this moment because they could probably be deep in despair many more hours and the Slayer was particularly aware of the importance of not being too nostalgic when it came to pain and sorrow.

"I know this is a difficult situation, but we need to learn more about the group of demons Dawn and Andrew saw at the cinema and the one I saw tonight," she began.

"I started searching on the Internet but I haven't found anything yet," Willow replied, disappointed.

"This is insane," Xander whispered next to her.

"I know." Buffy sighed, understanding what he was referring to. "We thought we had gotten through it but we have to face the facts: the war is never really over…"

"What are we looking for?" Dawn asked.

"Demons that match the description you gave and that of the demon that attacked us," her sister replied. "I know Angel has books too, so I'll ask him for them."

"Buffy, you haven't seen any other demons during your patrol?" The young witch asked her.

"No, none." The young woman paused. She wanted to tell them about Spike but she pushed the idea aside, convincing herself that it wasn't the right time. Besides, he hadn't shown any desire to help them when she had talked about new demons so it definitely wasn't worth it, she finally convinced herself. "I think their lair is near where they disappeared," she continued. "That'd make sense. We should return there but when it is daylight for more safety."

"You're right," her friend agreed.

Xander shook his head and seemed to wake up while Andrew still didn't say a word. "I can go with you tomorrow night, Buffy. I'll make arrangements for my job."

"You sure? I don't want you to get in trouble, you just got a job back. I can go alone…"

"No way you're going alone. I may not have your strength but I could at least keep you company. And then, I miss a nice demon hunt," he replied with a wink.

Buffy smiled and capitulated to her friend's kindness. "Alright, we'll all meet here tomorrow night at 8 p.m. Willow will do some research and I'll go get the books. Dawn and Andrew, you'll try to find out if there's anything unusual happening at college recently. Observe the students, they may have information. Everyone, be careful. We don't know what we're dealing with."

Willow tossed and turned in her bed, unable to fall asleep. She felt vaguely worried but couldn't put her finger on why. Her first thought had naturally been directed towards the new danger which probably awaited them, but she felt that this wasn't the whole explanation for her diffuse anxiety.

She thought back to the way Buffy had behaved after killing the demon that evening. She had been looking for an explanation at all costs to get away from Xander and her. Willow's heart sank. Not at the thought of Buffy pushing them away, but at the idea that this behavior was a sign in her best friend: it was an unconscious defensive move, a protective gesture. Buffy had a tendency to shut herself up when she felt the situation was getting out of control and yet, it was not a mortal danger that they had faced this evening…

The witch turned again to find a more comfortable position. She stared at the ceiling, her eyes wide. She would have liked to talk to Xander about her doubts or even directly to Buffy but she wasn't sure enough about what she had seen and felt. Maybe Buffy was simply processing the mental shock of a new threat to deal with and her position as the Slayer would quickly reappear…

The image of Tara flashed through her mind and Willow closed her eyes. Tara would have known what to do, she thought with pain. At least, she could have talked about it with her… Suddenly, another familiar figure flashed behind her closed eyes. It was Oz. With Oz, she would also have tried to sort out her impressions, she thought. But he wasn't here. Not yet, the young woman smiled. With this thought, Willow finally fell asleep.

"Do you think your sister will find something?"

"Of course she will! She's the Slayer, remember?"

Dawn followed discreetly a group of young students deep in conversation. She and Andrew had decided to split up to observe as many people as they could on campus. Andrew had decided that they would speak using a hands-free kit to exchange information and remain inconspicuous.

"Still, there's no more books and Willow couldn't find anything on the Internet!" He continued.

"Have you ever done any research?" His girlfriend said impatiently through the headset. The young man didn't reply and Dawn sighed, "Don't tell me you don't have research to do for your classes, Andrew?"

"I do, but then I go to the library and there are books that deal with my subject!"

"You never had to look elsewhere because you couldn't find what you wanted?" She wondered.

"No… I'm just using the books that are available for my homework and now, there are none! How are we gonna do our homework on these demons then, huh?" He complained.

Dawn sighed again. Sometimes she wondered why she had wanted to date him… "Real research takes time, Andrew. Lots of time!" She explained calmly, "We might need a few days or a few weeks…"

Suddenly, she stopped talking, attentive to the conversation she was hearing. She moved a little closer to the group and pretended to think in front of the drinks vending machine.

"I'm telling you I saw one!" A tall, dark-haired girl whispered vehemently.

"No way! There haven't been any for months," her friend also murmured.

"Dawn, how about we go get ice cream at Ben & Jerry's this afternoon? I heard that their new recipe based on Madagascar vanilla ice cream is a hit! Plus, they always add a lot of whipped cream and-

Dawn yanked the headset out of her ear to better focus on the conversation while rummaging through her bag for coins so as not to appear suspicious.

"It was in the alley behind the cemetery and it was empty. That's probably why no one knows!"

"That's crazy! I thought Longchamp handbags were only in luxury stores!" Her friend exclaimed.

"Be quiet!" The young woman got alarmed," It's the latest model and there isn't one left in town! Other girls mustn't find out…"

Dawn sighed in disappointment. A matter of the latest fashion bag! And yet she had thought she had something…

"Hey, are you getting something or are you camping here?" A boy asked behind her.

Dawn jumped, zipped up her bag, and walked out the opposite hallway.

"Buffy, are you free tonight? We're having a drink for Linda's farewell party."

"Eh?"

The young woman literally snapped out of her reverie while a tall, blond and athletic young man looked at her with amusement. "I'm sorry, I entered without knocking. Am I interrupting something? A student who gives you a hard time?" He said with a grin.

"Oh, no… I was just lost in my thoughts," Buffy apologized, blushing slightly because she had been caught daydreaming at work.

"I can see that," he smiled again. "Do you remember that Linda got her transfer to another high school and that she's leaving this week though?"

"Uh, yes! Yes, of course," the Slayer stammered.

"So?"

"So what?" She asked, surprised.

"Will you come to the party tonight?" Jack repeated, still amused to see her confused.

"Oh yes! No problem, I'll be there!" She replied hurriedly.

"Great! We meet in the teachers' room at 5:30!"

"Okay… Oh no, wait, I can't," Buffy remembered with a grimace. "I already have something planned. I need to see a friend…"

"Oh… Too bad."

"I'm really sorry… I really wanted to come but… it's bad timing. I can't cancel," she finished, cursing herself for her thoughtlessness.

"I hope it's nothing serious," Jack asked with a frown.

"It's not. It's just… I have something urgent to do."

"Okay… Well, I'll see you tomorrow then, Buffy."

"Yes, see you tomorrow. Thanks, Jack."

Once the door closed, Buffy closed her eyes and shook her head. Not only was she getting caught like a child, but she was also unable to string a sentence together without stammering or even making a mistake! Yet Jack Loughton, English and poetry teacher, was a really nice and popular guy. She got along well with him and he had allowed her to get to know most of the other teachers in the high school. She felt that she wasn't insensitive to his charm and he never missed an opportunity to come see her or invite her for various occasions.

Buffy glanced at the clock: it was almost 5pm. She had done all possible orientation research for the students she was following at the moment and so she had gotten lost in thought about the new demons. As a result, she hadn't heard Jack enter. She was also too busy dwelling on her encounter with Spike despite her promise not to think about him, she realized bitterly. She decided to go straight to Angel's office to get the books then.

Buffy entered the building for the second time in a few days. It was almost 5:30pm and a few people were coming out and going up the elevators. She walked towards the secretary. Before she spoke though, the young woman smiled.

"Miss Summers, I don't think you had an appointment?"

"I don't but would it still be possible to go upstairs?" Buffy asked, surprised that the young woman remembered her name.

"Of course. I was warned that if you came, you could go up at any time."

"Oh, alright, thank you very much," the Slayer replied, pleasantly surprised. She then turned towards an elevator and pressed the button for the top floor. She knew she would find books in Angel's room since she had seen some last time but she hoped the vampire would have more to lend her.

She stopped in front of the door she had entered the last time she had been here. She knocked on the door and almost immediately heard Angel's voice telling her to come in.

She opened the door slowly. Angel was hunched over some papers at his desk and didn't seem to have seen her. Just as Buffy was about to make her presence known, he suddenly raised his head and stared at her, surprised.

"Buffy? What are you doing here? Is there a problem?"

"No, everything's fine," she began before grimacing. "Well, there may be a small problem…"

"What's the matter? Nothing serious, I hope."

"I hope so too." The Slayer sighed, sitting down on one of the chairs in front of his desk. "Dawn and Andrew were attacked by demons and I saw several myself before beating one to a pulp…"

"I haven't heard of these incidents," Angel pointed out. "On the other hand, I was told of two rather violent demon attacks today."

"Maybe it's related," the Slayer suggested. "Initially, when Dawn and Andrew were attacked, we thought it was just a coincidence as there were a few demons left. Willow did a locator spell and I saw a group of demons but it was pretty weird…"

"What happened?" The vampire asked with a frown.

"I'm sure I saw several demons and I warned Willow and Xander but when I wanted to show them, there was no one left…"

"Are you sure of what you saw?" He asked.

"I am," the Slayer affirmed. "Besides, a few minutes later, a demon bumped into us but it wasn't the same as the ones in the cinema."

"We should go back to this place and search it," Angel said, getting up.

Buffy got up in turn and walked around the desk to face him. "I'm going back tonight. But we need to do some research and we have nothing left since the destruction of Sunnydale. Giles will send us some but it may take time…"

"I have a few books here; we can start with that."

Buffy nodded with satisfaction at this news while Angel walked towards a large shelf. "Thank you, Angel. I actually think we're gonna need it. Willow hasn't found anything online either and I have no idea what's going on."

The vampire looked over the dozens of books arranged in front of him. He then grabbed a few and handed them to Buffy. "Take these. I'll bring you some more tonight."

"No, don't bother. I'll come get them. Or maybe Willow. I don't wanna bother you, Angel."

"It doesn't look good, Buffy. I'll come with you tonight." Buffy shook her head, "I can handle it, Angel. Xander will be here."

"I know that Xander is brave," the vampire continued, choosing other manuscripts, "But I think we need to be very careful. It is no coincidence that the necklace reappeared at the same time as this wave of attacks. It must have something to do with the First, Buffy," he said while turning towards her, looking serious.

Buffy held her breath. She had kept putting off this possibility throughout the day but Angel had come to the same conclusion and hearing him say it out loud made her shiver.

"You're right," the Slayer whispered, "We're meeting at 8pm at my place."

"And they only talked about fashionable bags!" Dawn finished, rolling her eyes in exasperation.

Andrew and Dawn were describing their day to Buffy, Xander and Willow. None of them had gotten any interesting information so far and they had high expectations from Angel's books that they had started to look through.

The vampire appeared around 8:30pm. Buffy had informed them of his arrival but it didn't make it any less awkward.

Xander wasn't really enthusiastic about the vampire being part of the Scoobies again but he knew that his presence was an asset that shouldn't be overlooked given the situation. Dawn only knew him through the stories of her sister's friends and she couldn't help but blame him for having made her suffer but also for the fact that it was towards him and not towards her that Buffy had turned after the death of their mother. For his part, Andrew introduced himself timidly, frightened by the vampire's imposing figure and closed attitude.

Only Willow seemed calm. She even kissed the vampire warmly on both cheeks, which made him raise his eyebrows in astonishment. "It's very nice of you to come and help us, Angel," she said with a grin.

"Um, you're welcome," he stammered, not knowing how to behave. He had always had trouble getting along with Xander but he liked the red-haired witch. As for Dawn and Andrew, he simply didn't know them but he guessed that the Slayer's sister wasn't a fan.

Buffy wasted no time in explaining to Angel the latest information that her friends and sister had just told her, that is that no one had found anything and the vampire handed Willow several ancient manuscripts that seemed interesting.

Buffy, Xander and Angel were about to leave when Dawn interrupted them. "Are you sure it wouldn't be better if we're all going together? We could be useful in battle!"

"I'm sure, you'll be more efficient if you start researching with Angel's new books," the Slayer replied. "We absolutely need to know more. You and Andrew will be able to recognize the demons who attacked you at the cinema and Willow, the one we saw the other night."

Her sister sighed but resigned herself. She had learned to recognize the Slayer's determination and there was no point in arguing to change her mind.

"Be careful," Willow said, walking towards them.

"Don't worry, Will. Everything will be fine," Xander reassured her. With these words, they headed towards Xander's car before he drove to the darkest areas of the city.

"Maybe we should park here," Angel suggested wearily.

"Hey! I haven't finished paying off this car so I'd like it to be here when we get back if you don't mind. I don't trust the neighborhood!" The driver replied.

"Xander," Buffy chimed in, "I don't think there's a better parking space further on, we've been looking for ten minutes. Besides, it's safer not to be too far from the car if we need to flee."

Xander grumbled before choosing the tightest parking spot between two completely smashed-up cars on the side of the road. In front of the questioning look of his friend, he explained, "That way, if people want to steal it, they'll struggle to maneuver and they might change their mind because it'd waste too much time," he said triumphantly.

"What if we wanna leave quickly, Xander?" The Slayer asked, gently mocking her friend.

Xander's eyes widened before he shook his head and moved his vehicle to a wider spot. As Buffy watched him, smiling, she couldn't stop her mind from thinking once again about the vampire she had met by chance the day before. The location obviously didn't help, she noted with annoyance. Why did everything have to be so complicated? She wondered, watching Xander grab a flashlight from the glove box. Maybe he was there, very close. Or maybe he had moved across the country when he had learned she lived nearby. Or maybe these new demons had something to do with his return…

Buffy shook her head, astounded by the idea that had just come out of her brain. Yet the necklace, Spike, the demons, everything had appeared at the same time. Buffy's heart sank. She already didn't want to fight but, if on top of that, she had to fight against her friends…

"Shall we go, Buff?" Xander asked her.

Emerging from her thoughts, the Slayer followed suit. Meanwhile, Angel had already reached the end of the dark alley at the foot of the large residential towers plunged into darkness.

"Is it here?" He asked the other two who had just joined him.

"Yes. They were near this store, in the back," Buffy said.

All three walked slowly until they reached where the Slayer had seen them disappear. After a few minutes of examining the store and surrounding area, Xander pushed a board against the wall and discovered a gaping hole. He called his companions who ran towards him.

"Did you find something, Xander?" Buffy asked.

"Look at that," his friend replied, pointing to the cavity in the wall.

"It looks like it's going down," Angel noticed, leaning over the opening. "It's like a staircase, probably the one in the store."

"That's certainly why they disappeared last time," the Slayer said. "Alright, I'll go first. You, Angel, you bring up the rear."

Don't be disappointed if we don't see Spike and Buffy again right away, I promise it'll come but I didn't want to rush things!