Summary: Something
unexpected happens to Buffy on
her first night in Sunnydale. Something that causes her to change
her
name and hide from the people that were to be her friends. What
happens when a certain peroxide blond vampire rolls into town?
Scenerio #1 in the Immortal Guardian Series
Chapter 23
Spike had planned on confronting Beth with his newfound speculations,
but a trio of baddies by the name of The Gentlemen came to town. What
no one realized, except Beth, was that all three of the resident
Slayers had dreamed about these nasty fellows. Beth had so few Slayer
dreams since being called that the dream had freaked her out. Beth had
always hated weird dreams even before she had been a Slayer.
It was during this time of silence that the Initiative had a
confinement breach. Practically every soldier and scientist was killed
in the breakout. The only exceptions were Riley Finn’s company who had
been out on maneuvers in the nearby desert area. Anya kept it to
herself that she was the cause of the said breach.
After Cassie and Faith had slayed the voice stealing Gentlemen, there
was no time again for Spike to confront Beth. In the aftermath of the
Initiative disaster, there was a surplus of demons to slay for the
Scoobies and their allies.
Willow went to a Wicca meeting at the U.C. Sunnydale campus where she
met a nice girl. She didn’t tell the other Scoobies about Tara Maclay,
but she suspected that Spike and Beth knew she was getting closer and
closer to the girl. Tara and she had been together when the Gentlemen
struck and again during the next incident where a trio of demons tried
to open the Hellmouth that still resided under the burned out skeleton
of the high school.
When Willow introduced Tara as her girlfriend, Anya and Beth were the
first two to welcome Tara with open arms. Of course, Willow did the
whole thing at the Bronze where she knew there would be less likely to
be a public reaction to her news. The get together was interrupted by a
girl named April looking for her boyfriend Warren.
Beth tilted her head as she studied the strange woman. “It’s another
robot. You don’t think it’s another Ted do you? Looking to kill this
Warren guy?”
Xander turned to look at the newest robot girl. “Well, there’s one way
to find out.” He walked over to April. “Hey, ma’am, are you planning on
hurting this Warren guy?”
“I love Warren. I would never hurt him,” April said matter-of-factly.
“Do you know where Warren is?”
Xander shook his head. “Have you looked him up in the phone book?”
April shook her head. “That wasn’t part of my education. Nowhere in my
sex files does using the telephone apply.”
“Guess Warren doesn’t like phone sex, huh?” Xander chuckled. He waved
at the group of friends. “How about we help you find this Warren guy?”
“I must find him soon. My battery needs to be recharged.” April looked
at the group of friends. “Your help would be acceptable, but I need to
find Warren Meers right now. He is my boyfriend.”
“Gotcha.” Xander led April over to the Scoobies. “Cordelia, honey, why
don’t you call information and see if you can find Warren?”
“Thank you.” April looked around. She tilted her head when she got to
Spike and Beth. “These two are different than the rest of you. Are they
like me?”
“No, they’re vampires,” Cassie replied. “You know, the undead animated
by a demon.”
“Oh, okay, that’s nice.” April got a faraway look on her face. “Have
you seen Warren? I really miss him, you know. He’s so good in bed.”
“Sounds a bit like Anya,” Spike whispered to Beth. He hadn’t forgotten
the conversation that had gone on at their house during Thanksgiving.
He had never realized how raunchy females could be as he was a
Victorian gentleman when he was alive, and back then, sex just wasn’t
talked about.
“Yeah, she does,” Beth giggled. She was glad Spike was talking to her
again. He had been so distant since Thanksgiving, and she had no idea
why. She hoped he was feeling better now. After all, Christmas was only
a week away. Beth had a really nice gift for him to unwrap.
“Two robots in just over two years. Wonder if Sunnydale attracts
geniuses or something,” Willow mused. “I’d love to get into her
circuits. Ted’s were quite advanced considering how old he was.”
“There’s no Warren Meers,” Cordelia said. “There is however a Betty
Meers over on Winchester Street.”
“Betty is the name of Warren’s mother,” April said happily. “She is a
very nice lady. She will know where Warren is.” She rose to her feet.
The Scoobies watched as the robot hurried across the Bronze.
“You think we should follow her?” Beth asked.
Just then April picked up a large man who had tried to pinch her butt,
and she threw him through a paint covered window.
“Oh, yeah,” Cassie replied. “This could be bad. Faith, Riley, Spike,
you come with me. The rest of you make sure that guy is okay.” She and
Faith went towards the door, with Riley trailing behind.
“Meet us at the Magic Box when you’re done,” Xander told the blond
Slayer.
“Right. You be careful, luv.” Spike gave Beth a small nod before he
followed the Slayers and Captain Cardboard. He knew she could take care
of herself if what he suspected was true, but he still felt the need to
keep her safe.
Xander herded the remaining Scooby women towards the injured idiot. He
refused their help of course, but at least they tried. After a few
minutes, they left the Bronze too. Willow and Tara walked in front
holding hands, while Xander had both Cordelia and Beth on his arms.
Xander saw the envious looks from several men as the group strolled
down the sidewalk towards the Magic Box.
“Xander’s going to get a big head over this,” Cordelia observed.
“I guess it’ll be your job to pop it then,” Beth giggled. She playfully
hit Xander’s arm with her hand when he let out an indignant gasp. “We
love you, you know that right?”
“I suppose.” Xander rolled his eyes at Willow and Tara when they
glanced back over their shoulders at him.
It didn’t take the group long to make it to Anya’s shop. They slipped
inside and spread out as they waited for her to complete a sale. Anya
followed the customer to the front door, and she turned the open sign
to closed.
“Where are the Slayer’s?” Anya looked the group over. “And Spike and
the soldier?”
“There’s another robot in Sunnydale,” Willow said quietly. “She was
looking for some guy named Warren.”
“Warren Meers sounds so familiar,” Cordelia said. “Now where have I
heard that name before?”
“Spike and the Slayers went after the robot,” Beth said with a shrug.
“While we’re waiting why don’t we have look over the books for the
businesses?”
“That sounds good.” Anya nodded. She went to the counter where she kept
the books on the demon parts business. “Just today I received a request
for Far’nik testicles. This will be a job for Spike and Beth, of
course.” She placed the book on the counter.
“Why is that?” Xander asked.
“Far’nik demons live in the sewers because they breathe methane gas.”
Anya wrote some information down on a piece of paper which she then
handed to Beth. “This is the address of the manhole closest to their
lair.”
Beth looked at the paper for a moment before she put it in her purse.
She dipped her head in thanks to the shopkeeper.
“The kitten breeding business is going really well,” Cordelia replied.
“We will have to expand very shortly. We’re running out of room, and we
need some employees.”
“Well, Dalton is hopelessly bored,” Beth said. “We could ask him if he
wants to help.”
“Good idea,” Cordelia replied. She grabbed some paper and a pencil to
take notes. “Can you talk to him, Beth?”
“Sure thing.” Beth nodded. “It would be my pleasure.”
“No one is using the Initiative area,” Xander said. “We could convert
that for kitten breeding and demon parts storage. I haven’t seen the
inside, but I bet Riley could help.”
“It’s worth looking at, but I think I’d much prefer working above
ground.” Cordelia wrinkled her nose.
“It was just an idea, sweetie.” Xander gave Cordelia a smile.
The group continued to brainstorm for ideas of where to place their
expanded business. They decided to explore the abandoned Initiative
area along with several other vacant buildings. They had plenty of
capital in which to invest in the expansion.
The door of the shop swung open and Spike limped in. He was followed by
Cassie and Faith, who had Riley between them.
“What happened?” Beth rushed to Spike’s side. She helped him down the
stairs, and she helped him sit down.
“We found out why that git Warren abandoned robot-girl,” Spike replied.
“It seems he found himself a real live girl to shag.”
“How did you get hurt, baby?” Beth asked. She went for the first aid
kit.
“April, that’s the robot’s name, by the way, wasn’t too happy to find
that out.” Cassie crossed to Beth, and she took a few first aid items
from the other woman. “She tried to kill both Warren and the new girl.
We got beat up stopping her.”
“Did you remember to hit her with a fire extinguisher?” Beth asked in a
serious voice.
Cassie chuckled. She remembered Beth’s tale of hitting Ted with an
extinguisher. “No, I hit her with a Spike though.”
“Is that why he looks so thrashed?” Beth glanced at Spike.
“Unfortunately, but we did win in the end. Thank God!” Faith dropped
into a chair beside Riley. “I think I need a vacation.”
“You and me both, sister,” Cassie replied. She went to Riley and
started to clean him up.
After the injuries were fixed up, the business discussion started anew.