Summary: When Spike helps Buffy pull a fast one on
Parker, things turn out much
more complicated than they first appear. Scenerio #2 in the
Immortal
Guardian Series
Chapter
9: Thanksgiving Part 1
LOS ANGELES.
Doyle suddenly doubled over, causing Cordy to jump from the sofa in
concern and worry. She pointed at Doyle before informing Angel that it
wasn't her fault the seer was in pain.
"He's having a vision," the vampire informed Cordelia. Angel stared at
Doyle in concern. The seer was doubled over in pain, his hands
clutching his forehead.
"At this hour?" Cordelia asked in an incredulous voice. It was 1am and
she was ready for bed. She was sure Doyle was ready to drop, too.
"Oh," Doyle muttered as he looked up at Angel and let out a deep breath
as the pain subsided. The images had been blurry except for a small
blonde girl fighting; one that Doyle intuitively knew was The Slayer,
Buffy Summers. She had a partner beside her helping her fight.
"What? What did you see?" Angel asked in a gruff voice which caused
Doyle to look at him and swallow.
"The Slayer... " Doyle managed to get out before Angel grabbed his keys
and dashed from the apartment. Doyle looked at Cordelia and sighed. "I
wasn't finished. He's in for a big surprise when he gets to Sunnydale."
"How so?" Cordelia asked as she sat back down by the seer.
"Slayer's got a new partner that won't make Angel too happy. Do you
know a bleached blonde vamp connected to Buffy?"
"Spike... " Cordelia whispered, her mind flooding with memories.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The young man confidently walked through the woods, until he heard a
branch snap nearby. He hesitated and peered into the darkness trying to
determine if he was alone or not. He then continued on for another
minute before stopping and whirling around to find two petite girls
standing behind him; a blonde and a redhead.
"Oh," he exclaimed in surprise.
"Looking for us?" Buffy quipped, indicating herself and her companion.
"Holy... what do you want?" he was able to ask just before Buffy
punched him in the face. This startled him enough for him to vamp out.
"Uhh.. Hey! A slayer! Why don't you just go back where you came from?
Things were great before you came," the vampire growled.
"Sorry, buddy. I was here first," Buffy said as she punched him in the
face. The vampire fell but as he jumped up he slammed the Slayer in the
stomach. Buffy recovered almost immediately and backhanded the vampire
across the face. He dropped like a sack of potatoes and as he is trying
to raise himself from the ground, the Slayer produced a stake. The
vampire's dust fell to the ground.
"And they say one person can't make a difference," Buffy muttered,
"Stupid out of town vamps."
"The ceremony for the new cultural center is tomorrow, but what are the
plans for Thursday? Thanksgiving, you know, where we celebrate the
total wiping out of one culture by another," Willow asked in a strange
voice.
Buffy's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. Whoa, who knew Willow could
channel her mother so well. The ceremony for the new cultural center
was a big deal. Even Joyce had commented on it that morning.
"Mom's oven is on the fritz so she's cooking the turkey at my house and
I am cooking the pies at Giles's. Then everyone to my house for dinner
once the pies are done. Reg has never had a real Thanksgiving dinner
and I want it turn out wonderful," Buffy informed Willow
"So where's your sweetie?" Willow asked with a touch of jealousy in her
voice. God, she missed Oz. She hoped he made it home soon. Even with
the claim letting her know where and how he was, the lonliness was
pressing down on her.
"Playing poker at Giles's. That's why you're here with me," Buffy
replied before linking her arm in Willow's and they strolled out of the
wooded area towards the campus.
Angel came out from the bushes, wondering what was going on. Why was
Buffy patrolling with Willow? Who was this new 'sweetie'? And Buffy had
a house? Wasn't she living on campus now?
~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning Buffy, Willow and Anya found themselves at the ground
breaking ceremony for the new cultural center. Buffy and Willow
exchanged glances as they watched Anya ogle Xander and not pay
attention to the speeches being made.
The dean of the college stood at a podium and spoke to a small crowd as
he introduced the head of the anthropology department, Professor
Gerhardt. When the dean finished his little speech he was replaced by
the Professor who immediately launched into her own speech.
"When I first realized we were outgrowing our current cultural center,
I was concerned. Then I realized It was like seeing one's child grow up
and move on to better things. In this case, a spacious new facility to
be built on this site... " Professor Gerhardt started her speech not
even realizing she had lost some of her audience.
"Look at him. Have you ever seen anything so masculine?" Anya
practically drooled. She was so glad her boyfriend was a hottie.
"Um, just this morning when my dolt made some rude comment about
getting up so early in the morning. And when I said he didn't have to
come he rolled over and went back to sleep. And then I realized he did
it on purpose," Buffy grumbled.
"I think she means... " Willow giggled slightly as she indicated Xander.
"Oh, Yes, very manly. Not at all Village people... Okay, yes very
Village People. But hey on the plus side, so much sexier than the
outfit for his last job," Buffy said distractedly as she mentally
muttered to her mate about getting to go back to sleep.
"Oh, I miss the free hot dogs on a stick," Willow said cheerfully. And
she really did.
"That's usually known as a corndog, Willow," Buffy quipped. Free food
was always of the good.
"I'm imagining having sex with him right now," Anya cooed as she
continued to drool over Xander in his construction worker outfit, "I
wonder if he can bring the tool belt home with him tonight."
Buffy and Willow rolled their eyes at each other before they returned
to listening to the professor's speech. Luckily for them she appeared
to be winding down and getting close to the finish.
"And that's why it's appropriate that the ground breaking for the
UCSunnydale cultural partnership center is taking place so soon before
Thanksgiving. Because that's what the melting pot is about.
Contributions from all cultures, making our culture stronger... " the
professor continued her speech.
A round of applause started to sound through the field and Buffy joined
them until she saw the look on Willow's face. Buffy stopped clapping
just as her friend began to speak.
"What a load of horse hooey," Willow muttered.
"We have a counterpoint?" Buffy asked in confusion. She had hoped to
get through the ceremony without Willow getting upset, but she guessed
that was too much to ask for.
"Yeah. I told you last night on patrol, Thanksgiving isn't about
blending of 2 cultures. It's about one culture wiping out another. And
then they make animated specials about the part where, with the maize
and the big, big belt buckles. They don't show you the next scene,
where all the bison die and Squanto takes a musket ball in the
stomach," Willow announced.
"Okay, but you are channeling your mother, again. You didn't call her
last night did you?" Buffy asked. She knew Willow always went a little
bonkers when she had a conversation with her mom.
"Well, yeah, sort of. And you know, that's why she doesn't celebrate
Thanksgiving or Columbus Day. You know, the destruction of the
indigenous peoples. I know it sounds a little overwrought, but really,
she's...She's right," Willow defended her mother for the first time in
her life.
"I guess I never really thought about it that way. Sorry, um..." Buffy
apologized, not knowing what to say.
Anya broke herself out of her Xander-ogling long enough to make the
comment, "I've always loved a ritual sacrifice."
"It's not really one of those, is it?" Buffy asked. She hadn't thought
there was so much controversy in Thanksgiving.
"To commemorate a past event, you kill and eat an animal. It's a ritual
sacrifice, with pie," Anya stated, "My favorite pie is peach pie."
"... And thus a symbolic beginning," the professor concluded her
speech, stepped away from the podium and used a shovel to pick up a
scoop of dirt. She then handed the shovel to the dean, who repeated the
action.
"What are they doing? Xander said he was going to dig. I want to see
Xander dig," Anya cried out. This was not good. She didn't want to see
two old people dig; she wanted to see her Xander dig.
"That part's just for the ceremony," Buffy said, laying her hand on
Anya's arm to calm her down.
"Well, it bites. Neither of them is rippling at all... Oh... Look,
there he goes," Anya sighed as she watched Xander cross the
construction site and begin digging, "Look at him."
"Very... diggy," Willow said rolling her eyes. She was so over her
crush on Xander.
"Soon he will be sweating. I'm imagining I'm having sex with him," Anya
moaned.
"Imaginary Xander is quite the machine," replied Buffy.
The three girls continued to watch Xander dig, each lost in their own
thoughts. Anya was thinking about sex with Xander. Xander with nothing
on but his tool belt. Willow was thinking about sex with Oz and,
strangely, this made her think about her gay doppelganger vampire self.
Weird. Buffy was sending naughty thoughts to Spike through the claim.
If she was up, he had to be too.
Xander sudden yelp broke into the girls' thoughts. The watched as the
ground crumbled away and Xander fell out of sight. Everyone rushed to
the hole and looked down into an underground chamber of some sort.
"Uhh! Ow. I'm okay. I'm, uh... I'm okay. Where am I okay?" Xander
shouted as he looked around the chamber. He couldn't see much because
of the darkness and the settling dust.
~~~~~~~~
Angel stood staring at the open dorm window where he could hear Buffy
and Willow talking. He was amazed at how good Buffy looked, how happy
she seemed and he was glad his leaving hadn't damaged her as much as he
had thought it might. Even if in his heart he felt it was for her own
good.
"While they were pulling Xander out, I heard a couple of the anthro
professors talking about it. Man, were they excited. It's the old
Sunnydale Mission, which everyone thought was lost," Willow announced.
The find piqued the interest of the researcher in her.
"Huh?" Buffy continued to stare out the window distracted.
"Is there something out there?" Willow asked in a concerned voice and
joined Buffy at the window to stare outside.
"What? No, I was thinking about some of the stuff Reg told us. And I
think mom likes him," Buffy jerked her attention back to Willow.
Everything that Reggie had told them was a lot to take in at the moment.
"I know your mom likes him. I have never seen her that flustered. Not
even after the band candy incident," Willow informed Buffy. It really
had been cute to see the usually cool and collected Mrs. Summers act
like a schoolgirl.
"That's cool. I like Reg. Anyway... a lost mission. I mean, a hairbrush
I can understand, but a whole mission. How do you lose a mission?"
Buffy sat on the dorm bed that was technically hers.
"Huge earthquake in 1812. Everyone just assumed the mission was
leveled. Instead, they built right over it. It's like what happened in
the thirties with that church The Master was in. Doesn't it make you
wonder what else is there, like, right under our feet," Willow wondered
if she should research what other buildings 'disappeared' in
earthquakes in and around Sunnydale. The information might come in
handy someday and Willow resolved to get on it as soon as she could.
"Mostly, I've just found sewers full of demons," Buffy deadpanned then
smirked.
"Oh right. Man, it's crazy out there," Willow commented when the sound
of students running about madly and shouting could be heard through out
the dorm building.
"Mmm. Post midterm frenzy. And the holiday. Everyone's going home. I
sure hope Weirdo Riley goes home to where ever he belongs. I am so not
up to dealing with him right now. I get the feeling he thinks he needs
to save me from something. He reminds me of Angel," Buffy said quietly.
Outside, the eavesdropping vampire winced when he heard his name and
the feelings behind it. Okay, maybe she wasn't as happy as he first
thought and maybe his leaving her wasn't that good either.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Xander, I went to watch you dig and you weren't there," Anya called
down the basement steps. She walked down them to find Xander lying on
his bed, pale and shivering.
"I don't feel so good, An. Kinda tough getting going today," Xander
muttered weakly as he started to sit up.
"Your head is moist. Oh, you're sick. Of course you can't go to work.
Lay back down. The apartment hunting can wait, too," Anya informed her
boyfriend. She put her hand on his forehead. "You're pasty and wet and
disgusting. They will just have to dig without you."
"I don't feel that bad. We could still look at some apartments," Xander
mumbled as he struggled to sit up. His mind felt like it was swimming
in gel and all he really wanted to do was sleep.
"I inflicted a lot of putrefying diseases on men when I was an avenging
demon, and you look like you're getting all of them," Anya said in a
matter of fact tone touched with a bit of worry. She nibbled her lip.
Being human was a nuisance. Much easier being a demon and not being
able to get all these debilitating diseases.
"Ok. I'll stay. But you should go. You could catch it," Xander said,
his own worries pushing to the surface.
"We'll die together. It's romantic. Let me get your trousers off,"
Anya announced perkily as she helped Xander off with his pants.
"You're a strange girlfriend, but I love you anyway."
Anya smiled cheerfully as she curled up to her sick boyfriend. Maybe
after a nap he would feel up to her giving him a few orgasms.
~~~~~~~~~~~
"Hey Giles," Buffy greeted her Watcher as she entered his apartment,
"did you hear that the professor from the groundbreaking ceremony died?
Someone killed her, cut off her ear and dumped the body. It was way
wiggy. And the only thing missing was some sort of Indian knife.
Chumash, I think."
"Oh, Chumash Indians. They were indigenous to the whole area," Giles
informed his charge, "Although the murderer may have used the knife as
a weapon of convenience."
"Somehow I don't think so, Giles. There was a big old pair of scissors
lying there. That knife was picked for a reason," Buffy was interrupted
by a knock on the door, "That would be Reg. We are meeting mom at my
house so we can wake up Sleeping Beauty and get the turkey in the oven.
Then we'll be back."
Buffy moved to the apartment door and opened it. Reggie stood outside
in the November sunlight, slightly ill at ease. As excited as he was to
see Joyce again he was worried he was horning in on family traditions
and even said so.
"No way, Reg. You're family now, too. Besides I am sure you can think
of plenty of questions to ask me on the way home," Buffy scoffed before
taking Reggie's arm. She gently led the man out of the courtyard and
disappeared down the street.
"Yes, Buffy, I will get right on the Chumash Indian connection," Giles
muttered continued to watch the empty courtyard. Then he turned towards
the hallway and watched as Angel melted out of the shadows, "So what do
you think?"
"She sounds pretty good. Was that the new boyfriend? A little old for
her, isn't he?" Angel growled.
"No, that isn't the new boyfriend. Besides even if he was, he's younger
than you by 200 years, Angel. Reggie's a friend of mine from
university, come to stay for awhile and he is much more interested in
Joyce than Buffy," Giles spoke the untruth convincingly. Reggie was
just as interested in Buffy as he was Joyce; just in different ways.
"Well, whatever killed the woman in the museum, that's probably the
danger," Angel replied. Angel could hear an edge to the Watcher's voice
and wondered what it meant.
"Yeah, well, this danger, your friend has some ominous vision about
Buffy. It's all terribly vague. I mean, there are other things
happening around Sunnydale," Giles announced, but noticed that Angel's
mind was now made up. Giles shook his head and wondered just how long
it would be before Angel discovered how entrenched Spike was in their
lives here.
"Well maybe I'm wrong, but I gotta try something. I can't just keep
watching," Angel muttered.
"Buffy doesn't need you to do anything, include 'watching' her. And I
feel I should remind you she's not helpless and it's not your job to
keep her safe anymore. She's moved on and I sincerely hope you've moved
on, too," Giles announced. Giles found it ironic that he enjoyed the
company of Buffy's unsouled vampire mate, while he detested this
ensouled ex-boyfriend.
"Well, it's not your job to watch her anymore, either. Are you going to
walk away?" Angel gritted out. What the heck was going on around here?
Leave for a few months and everything goes to hell. Angel wondered if
it was the influence of the Hellmouth.
"No, I am not, but considering Buffy isn't the official Slayer anymore
and I'm not an official Watcher anymore, it works out just fine. Go
home, Angel. We don't need you here to fight our battles for us. We
have plenty of warriors without you," Giles's voice took on an urgent
tone.
"Who? Harris? He couldn't fight his way out of wet paper sack. And the
others aren't much better. Buffy needs me!" Angel's voice escalated.
"All right, whatever, Angel, but I feel you should let her know you are
in town. I don't like keeping this secret," Giles informed the vampire.
Giles knew there was going to be no convincing Angel of the truth. As
always the vampire decided that he knew what the truth was and as usual
he was totally wrong.
"No, if she knew I was here, it would distract her. It could get her
hurt. I don't want to get in the way."
"Um, I'm assuming that there's some connection to the old mission.
Something is angry about being disturbed," Giles speculated.
"Or maybe it was trapped there, and now it's released. Something that
has a fondness for ancient weapons. You know Father Gabriel?" Angel
asked making Giles's shake his head negatively, "He knows the history
of this place pretty well. His family dates back to mission times. He
might be able to fill in some blanks."
"Ok. Well, I'll see about contacting him. Where are you going?" Giles
used the voice he usually reserved for when Xander was acting like an
idiot.
"To watch her, of course. And believe me, I'm not getting the good half
of this deal. To be on the outside looking in at what I can't... Well,
I'd forgotten how bad it feels," Angel said as he opened the door of
the apartment and left, keeping to the shadows.
Giles sighed. He knew that Buffy would be more than pissed when she
found out that Angel was stalking her. And pissed didn't even cover
what Buffy's possessive mate would feel. Giles just hoped this day
wouldn't end with any bloodshed or any dustings.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Buffy and Reggie strolled down the street towards her house. They could
see Joyce's Jeep parked in the driveway behind Spike's big black
monstrosity.
"You look great, Reg. Very handsome and debonair. Mom'll swoon when she
sees you," Buffy tried to reassure the nervous ex-Watcher. She was glad
that he liked her mom so much. Mom had been so lonely since the divorce.
Reggie looked down at his sweater and trousers with uncertainty. When
he packed his suitcase he hadn't planned on attending any social
occasions. In fact, he was quite surprised at how everyone had accepted
his presence so readily.
"Here we are, Reg. Looks like Spike already let Mom in," Buffy
announced as she turned up the walkway of a well-kept two-story house.
She skipped up the front steps and opened the front door. "Mom, Reg is
here. Where's Spike?"
Reggie could see Joyce come down a hallway from what looked like the
kitchen. Her face glowed when it lit upon him. The blue dress Joyce
wore floated around her like a cloud. Reggie gulped and was at a loss
for words at her beauty. He was broken out of his trance by a giggle
from Buffy.
"Spike's in the kitchen, honey. Giles called a few minutes ago. He has
a lead on the professor that was murdered; a Father Gabriel. Spike said
he would go check it out," Joyce informed her daughter, while never
taking her eyes off their visitor. Buffy rolled her eyes and
disappeared into the kitchen.
"Joyce, you look lovely today," Reggie said shyly.
"So do you. And I have been dying to know why you had a magical
disguise when you showed up at Rupert's," Joyce inquired as she moved
into the living room and settled on the couch.
Reggie followed her and sat beside her before launching into his
explanation, "I was worried that the Council might be suspicious of my
leaving so abruptly, so I faked a sickness in the family back in my
home country for my reason for resigning. Then I had one of my
brother's most trusted servants put on a glamour of me while I put on
one of anonymity. It's just when I saw you... you were so beautiful I
lost my concentration." Reggie blushed and looked down at his feet.
"I felt the very same way," Joyce rushed to say, her own face flushing
red, "And I haven't felt that way in a very long time..." Before she
could continue Spike and Buffy stopped by the living room door on their
way out of the house.
"Mom, we're going now. Will you two be okay?" Buffy asked as Spike
moved to put on his duster.
"We'll be just fine, dear. Reggie and I should have plenty to talk
about," Joyce assured her daughter as she smiled at the shy man sitting
beside her.
"Okay, we will be back when the pies are done," Buffy said waving at
the older couple. She walked out the door Spike held open for her and
the supercouple moved out into the sunlight.
At the end of the walkway, they met Willow who was coming to go
shopping with Buffy for the stuff to make the pies. Buffy gave Spike a
small kiss before they went in separate ways on very differing missions.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Spike looked up at the church and huffed. Of course, he should have
known it would be a bloody church. If he didn't love Buffy so much he
would just say sod it all and go directly to Giles's apartment. Spike
opened the big double doors of the church, careful to avoid the
engraved crosses.
"Father Gabriel," Spike called out, "Father Gabriel, are you here?"
Spike found another set of double doors that appeared to lead to the
sanctuary. He opened them just in time to see an Indian cutting the
throat of a hanging clergyman. Spike's nosed flared as he shifted into
game face.
"Get away from him," Spike growled as he launched himself at the Indian
and punched him in the stomach. He threw the Indian a few feet away and
stepped in between him and the father.
"You can't stop me," The Indian announced.
"You're very wrong about that," Spike growled again, his anger rising
just a touch causing his eyes to begin glowing blue-gold.
The Indian stepped back in astonishment before rushing at Spike who
sidestepped causing his attacker to slam his head into a low hanging
bell. The Indian landed a few feet away and after a minute rose to his
feet to try to slice Spike with his knife. Spike dodged both the slice
and a punch making the Indian hit an ornamental stand.
"I am vengeance. I am my people's cry. They call for Hus, for the
avenging spirit to carve out justice," Hus cried, wielding the knife
towards Spike who easily sidestepped him.
"Ya, whatever. They tell you to start an ear collection?" Spike asked,
indicating the bloody ear hanging on Hus's belt. Spike grabbed the
Indian's arm and in a matter of seconds had the spirit's own knife
against his throat.
"You slaughtered my people. Now you kill their spirit. This is a good
day for you," Hus announced.
Spike thrust the spirit away from him and watched as it turned into a
colony of bats. Spike watched them fly away before turning to the hurt
man he found who was looking at him with wonder.
"Why does an evil, soulless demon protect me, a man of God?" the dying
man whispered through his pain. This was something he had never
expected to see in his lifetime.
"Fell in love, mate, with the sunshine and she makes me a better
demon," Spike replied, "Now about your visitor..."
"He can... be killed... by his own... weapon," Father Gabriel was able
to gasp out before he slumped over dead. Spike closed the man's eyes
before standing and leaving the church to make his way to the Watcher's
apartment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"But you have whipped cream for the pie. I saw it in Giles's fridge,"
Willow told Buffy, shifting the bag in her arms around.
"That's whipped cream in a canister. Look, it's only right if you whip
it yourself," Buffy announced before she paused in the street as if
listening to something in her head.
Willow continued on, not realizing her friend had stopped in the middle
of the sidewalk, "Hey, and later, we can churn our own butter and make
sweaters out of sheep. What's wrong, Buffy?" Willow stopped and looked
back at Buffy. It was then she could hear Spike urging the two girls
back to Giles's apartment.
"We are done shopping," Buffy promised.
"Miss Summers... Miss Summers... may I speak to you," a young clean cut
man called from the shadow of the alley. He appeared very nervous and
his eyes darted around as if was scared someone would see him talking
to her.
"Can I help you?" Buffy asked suspiciously.
"Um, ya, but I need to talk to you alone," the young man stated.
Willow took the hint and indicated she would be getting them some mocha
lattes in the Espresso Pump. She knew that Buffy would let her know
what the conversation was about through the familial claim. Willow ran
into the coffee shop and right into Angel who is hovering just inside
the doorway spying on Buffy. Angel grabbed Willow and covered her mouth
with his hand.
"Angel... evil. He's evil again," she sent to Buffy, even as she was
attempting to talk through Angel's hand, "Angel... evil. You're all
evil, again."
"I'm not evil. I'm here to help Buffy," Angel announced as he removed
hand and let her go.
"No, my mistake, he's here to stalk you," Willow informed Buffy before
saying aloud to Angel, "What's going on?"
Buffy mentally rolled her eyes. She so didn't have time for Angel and
his little drop-a-hint stalker games today. Buffy could hear the little
possessive growl mentally coming from her mate at the thought of Angel
being in town trying to bugger things up. She returned her attention to
the commando that seemed to be wanting to talk to her and allowed
Willow to deal with Angel for now.
"My friend had a vision. Buffy's in danger," Angel warned Willow, who
mentally rolled her eyes right along with Buffy.
"So just tell her. Help her."
"If she sees me, it'll be worse," Angel tried to defend his actions to
the redhead.
"Why would it be worse, Angel? She's moved on. Got herself a new guy
that she's very happy with. That's what you told her to do. So I doubt
it will be that bad for her to see you," Willow revealed not realizing
that Giles told Angel the almost the same thing just a few hours before.
"You know how I feel about her. If there was any way... " Angel trailed
off as he thought about how much he loved Buffy.
"Yeah, I know, Angel, but she has truly moved on. She's in love with
him and he's in love with her. If you could see them together you would
understand how it is," Willow said, knowing the truth of her words and
then switched gears on the vampire, "Hey, is Cordelia really working
for you? 'Cause that's gotta be a special experience. Of all the people
you could've hired."
"Willow, I'm here to protect Buffy. I don't have a whole lot of time
for personal stuff," Angel avoided the subject of Cordelia Chase quite
expertly.
"Well, if you took time for personal stuff you would know she doesn't
need your help, but how can I help?" Willow asked as she moved to the
counter to order the mocha lattes she said she was going to buy.
"Well, if you could just tell me... who's that guy? Is that her new
boyfriend?" Angel questioned as he looked out the window and just
noticed Buffy talking to a young man.
"Miss Summers, my name is Ronald Jones," Ronald looked around again to
make sure no one was nearby, "I am part of a government program called
the Initiative based here in Sunnydale."
"You're one of those commandos that tried to take Spike," Buffy
growled. She narrowed her eyes to study the young man carefully.
"Yes, m'am. I just wanted to warn you that Professor Walsh has taken an
interest in you and your hostiles," Ronald said quietly, "The things
that Walsh is doing to the demons we capture is horrific. The
experiments she is performing make me sick to my stomach."
"Why are you telling me this?" Buffy asked.
"Because you are the Slayer. I am an Uixa demon and our talent lies in
the ability to translate any spoken language, human or demonic. In fact
most of us work somewhere in the government system as actual
translators," Ronald informed Buffy proudly, "And no, Maggie Walsh
doesn't know that my mate and I are demons."
Buffy's eyes flashed green-gold causing Ronald to gasp. Buffy grabbed
his arm and moved him out of earshot of the vampire she knew was
eavesdropping in the Espresso Pump.
"You have to shut Maggie Walsh and the Initiative down, Slayer. That
vampiress you rescued? She has a chip in her head that makes it so she
can't harm any living creature. And Walsh is making something in the
restricted area. Demons go in and they don't come out. Please Slayer,"
Ronald begged, "I'll do anything you ask of me, if you will just help."
"Even pledge allegiance to the Clan Sultana-Aurelius," Buffy growled as
her eyes turned completely green-gold and her fangs descended.
"Yes, Mistress. My mate and I pledge allegiance to the Clan
Sultana-Aurelius," Ronald whispered. This was better than he what had
hoped would happen when he decided to approach the Slayer. This wasn't
the normal type of Slayer; this was something totally different. Ronald
was sure this one could take on the Initiative without any problems.
"Allegiance granted," Buffy said just as Willow came out of the
Espresso pump with the drinks, "This is Willow. She is a full member of
the Clan, treat her as such. Now go about your business as usual."
Willow handed Buffy her drink and waved at Ronald. The Uixa demon
nodded his head at the redhead in compliance with the Slayer's wishes
as Buffy told him the code to use to contact her through the bartender
at the Bronze. Being a demon he could feel the power that emanated from
both of the small women in front of him. Ronald had a feeling things
were going to change in Sunnydale very, very soon.