Part 11

Xander was not in a good mood.

He'd had a hard week at the construction site, working long hours, shorthanded. Now he was at the Magic Box on the weekend donating his time to help Anya and Giles get the shop ready, and it seemed that everyone was conspiring against him to make his job as difficult as they could.

Anya followed him around compulsively, pointing out edges that needed more sanding and nails that weren't exactly flush. To make matters worse, when she was not pointing out his shortcomings as a carpenter, she was fawning over Giles as he looked for clues about the demons and monsters that had been surfacing around Sunnydale. Since when had the two of them developed such a friendly working relationship? The last time he checked they had been playing tug of war over a Ramadan effigy, with Anya anxious for the older man to leave. Now she acted like she was about to melt every time he removed his glasses. Xander was certain that she was just doing this to spite him, but it rankled all the same.

Then there was Spike. Xander refused to join in with the others and call him William. Who did he think he was fooling anyway? The vampire was just angling for another way to get into Buffy's pants. Xander would stake him before he'd ever let him touch Buffy again. That didn't appear to be much of a threat anyway. Spike was more interested in schmoozing up to Giles than in hitting on either Buffy or Anya. So far the two adversaries had managed to avoid each other, with Xander retreating to the back room or the loft whenever Spike came into the shop. Right now the creep was sitting with the Watcher describing the water monster that had attacked Buffy and him earlier that week. Xander was curious, in spite of his hatred of Spike. He wandered closer to the table.

"No, I didn't really get a good look at the head, just the body and those leg things."

"And how long do you estimate it to have been?" Giles reached for a thick volume.

"Over twice my length. Whacked me on the head with its tail."

"Hmm. So we're talking about a creature at least twelve feet long."

"I'd guess twenty, rough and dirty. And I couldn't reach all the way around it."

"Leviathan." Anya blurted.

"Anya," Giles began in his pedantic tone. "A Leviathan was reputed to be a large fish or squid. Also, it was a mythical creature that dwelt in the sea."

"I've seen one. They are large, ugly, eely things with long tentacles. This one sounds like it was on the small side, fortunately." She pulled up a chair beside Giles and searched for a particular book. She flipped through the pages, finally stopping on one. "There. See?" She moved the book in front of Giles. "People are confused over whether it is a fish or a squid, because it has traits of both. They're not mythical, just extinct."

Giles slid the book over to William. "Is this the creature?"

William shuddered. "Nasty bit of news, that one. Tasted like week-old chocolate milk gone bad."

Giles turned to Anya. "This is the second time you've identified a creature that has been considered extinct. Do you have a theory?"

Xander snorted. "You're asking her?"

"Xander, I have been around for over a thousand years. I've seen a great many things."

"Yeah." Xander remarked rudely. "We all know about some of the things you've seen." He glared at William.

"That's enough." William stood.

"What'cha gonna do Willy? Gonna try and hit me and give yourself a migraine? Oh, that's right. You won't hit me because you're all souled and remorseful now. You wouldn't chance hurting a poor wittle human."

"Xander, please." Giles tried to interrupt.

"Care to test me?"

"What's going on here?" Buffy was standing in the doorway. The tension between the two men was palpable. They looked like they were about to pounce on each other. William's jaw was clenched and Xander had curled his hands into fists.

"I don't see why we need him around." Xander didn't take his eyes off the shorter man. "All he does is screw up everything he touches."

William sneered. "Seems to me I'm not the only one around here screwin' things up. Tell me again why we need you, you small-minded carpenter boy."

"Please... stop." Giles sputtered.

Buffy marched over to stand between them. "What is this all about?"

"Spikey here felt the need to defend Anya from her big, mean ex-boyfriend."

"That's ex-fiancée." Anya clarified.

"And I'm tired of everybody around here buying his big 'I'm redeemed' act and forgetting what he put us all through."

"I haven't forgotten anything." Buffy stated. "But he still deserves a chance."

"I've told you before Buffy, I don't need you to defend me." William's voice was cold.

She turned to him angrily. "Do I have to pop you in the nose again to make you two stop this macho posturing? Weird stuff is going down and we all need to be able to work together. We can't keep getting sidetracked while the two of you decide who has the biggest stones!"

Anya raised her hand. "I can tell you."

Everybody stopped arguing and turned to look at her in shocked disbelief. Giles removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. Xander stormed away and began to earnestly pound on something in the back room. Buffy and William shuffled uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact.

Giles cleared his throat and motioned to the reference book. "It would seem that we have found your river monster, Buffy."

She walked around the table and studied the drawing. "Yes. I think that's it. What was that doing in Sunnydale?"

"I can't believe that the appearances of these monsters are unrelated." Giles frowned in concentration. "The Leviathan, the dragon, and the Ghora that William referred to."

"That was over a year and a half ago." William noted.

"Perhaps you could share the circumstances with us."

William looked uneasy. "I was when I helped Dawn with the resurrection spell."

"I still can't believe you had a hand in that." Buffy looked at him dubiously. "You hate magic!"

He gazed at Buffy "I had to help out the Li'l Bit."

"Tell me more about this spell." Giles prodded him.

"Well you see, we went to this guy, Doc, who I heard was a specialist in those kinds of spells. He told us we needed a Ghora egg, then told us where we could find one."

"So he knew the whereabouts of a creature known to be extinct? And you didn't think that odd?"

William shrugged his shoulders. "I'd heard of them, and I knew they were rare, but how would I know they weren't supposed to be around here? This is the Hellmouth, old man."

Anya pulled up the chair next to Giles. "Giles isn't old." She turned to smile at him adoringly. "He's just mature."

"Yes, well." Giles cleared his throat. "Back to your story. Tell me about this 'Doc'. Was he a warlock of sorts?"

"That's what I thought when I first heard about him, but after meeting him I knew he wasn't human. He had this whole reptile thing going."

"That's right." Buffy recalled. "You and Xander went to him for help later and he attacked you with his tongue. Then you thought you killed him."

"Yes." William nodded. "Except then he showed up to bleed Dawn on the tower. He hit me with the tongue, then he stabbed me in the back and threw me over."

Giles inclined his head. "Yes, I had forgotten some of the other details of that night. I was otherwise... occupied."

"He was a Time Wizard." Anya stated.

Again, everyone stopped to look at her. "They're kind of like Vengeance Demons. They have some magical powers, but can only use them at the request of others." She smiled at the others who were staring at her in amazement.

"Anya, you never said anything about that before." Buffy noted.

"Well," she raised her eyebrows. "Nobody told me about the tongue thing. I guess Xander was too busy with his faux proposal to tell me anything relevant."

"I heard that!" Xander yelled from the back room.

"I know." Anya yelled back.

"But you said 'Time Wizard'?" Giles questioned.

"Yes. They can teleport through time, like I can teleport through space. They are very rare."

"Can they teleport anything with them?" Buffy asked.

"Not that I'm aware of." Anya answered. "I can't teleport another person, unless it is a specific part of their vengeance wish. That's why D'Hoffryn has to personally go claim his recruits. We don't have the ability to bring anyone to him."

William turned to Buffy. "So you're thinking..."

"That this guy has gone back in time and brought some creatures back with him." Buffy looked to Giles. "But why, and how?"

Xander was standing in the doorway. "But wait Buffy. I thought you threw him off the tower and killed him."

"And the two of you thought you had killed him in his shop." She looked around at all the others "Did anybody see his body later?"

They all shook their heads silently. "Buff." Xander stated quietly. "We were a little more focused on you, and your... body."

"That's ancient history guys. Don't let it get in our way now." Buffy was all business. "We know that Doc was working with Glory." Buffy's mind was thinking through the possibilities. "Why would he conjure up a Ghora demon with eggs to help you and Dawn?"

"I have a theory about that." Giles speculated. "What if he was just looking for a reason to have contact with The Key? Perhaps to verify that she existed? Did he touch Dawn in any way?"

"Pulled out a strand of her hair."

"But Giles," Buffy objected. "Glory didn't know that Dawn was The Key then."

"He could have time-traveled." Anya pointed out. "Glory thought Dawn was the key, then sent him back to make sure. And she could have given him the power-boost he needed to transport the Ghora."

"That makes sense, in a strange sort of way." Giles commented. "But with Glory gone, I don't know what he could be up to now."

"Or," Anya added. "How he found the power to bring these creatures here."

Buffy looked at the others soberly. "That's what we have to find out."

Part 12

Dawn walked through the cafeteria holding her lunch tray, and moved to sit at a small table across from Janice.

"Hey Dawn, over here!" Chelsea was waving to her.

Dawn shook her head. "No thanks!" and motioned to her friend.

"She can come over too! Missy was just leaving." Chelsea nudged Missy, who dropped her jaw in consternation. Chelsea leaned over to whisper to her, "At least move your butt over. We can get the goods from Dawn."

Dawn and Janice reluctantly rose and joined Chelsea and Missy. There were two other girls already sitting there who looked extremely interested in Dawn.

"So!" Missy squeaked. "Chelsea said she was at your house and that your sister was on a date with Mr. Browning." The girl's eyes had a rabid glow.

"No." Dawn shook her head. "It wasn't a date. Buffy just lost her job and they were discussing a new, um, job possibility."

"Right!" Chelsea uttered a dry laugh. "Sunnydale doesn't even have an archery team. That was so lame! Besides, "She nodded sagely. "He called you Dawn."

"What?" Dawn's eyes widened.

"Don't forget your homework Dawn." Chelsea mimicked in a bad English accent.

"Oh, that." Dawn fumbled for an explanation. "Well, OK then. He's just an old family friend that we knew from. from Los Angeles. And Buffy didn't want anyone to think I was getting special favors."

"Then why didn't she just tell us that instead of making up that stupid paintball story?"

Dawn squirmed uncomfortably. "I. I don't know."

"Look." Janice pointed at the doorway. "There they are now."

Dawn looked over to find Buffy and William in deep conversation just outside the cafeteria. She glanced uncertainly at her classmates then rose and made her way over to the two adults. "What are you two doing?" She hissed.

"And I'm glad to see you too!" Buffy was taken aback.

"Buffy!" Dawn whined. "How am I supposed to act like I don't know him and that you two aren't involved if you keep showing up together?" She looked from Buffy to William, then back to Buffy again. "Everybody is driving me nuts asking questions about you two, so I lie to them so nobody thinks anything goofy is going on, then you do stuff like this, and everybody knows I'm lying, then they really think something is up. Give me a break!"

"I'm sorry Dawn." Buffy looked at her apologetically. "I was just in the neighborhood looking for job possibilities. I heard that Pasta Shack had openings. Anyway, I had a thought about this Doc business and thought I'd discuss it with William."

"Well thanks for waiting for a less conspicuous time and place to discuss the freaky lizard demon guy. What if someone overheard you?"

"You're lecturing me now?"

William interrupted. "Perhaps it would be best if we moved this inside and out of the hallway." He gestured into the cafeteria.

"And I guess it's time for me to do a little damage control." Buffy sighed. "Come on Dawn. Let's go save some face." The three walked back to the table of girls, who hadn't taken their eyes from them.

"Hi." Buffy began. "I guess you guys have been wondering why I've been hanging around the school, huh?"

The girls looked at one another and giggled.

"Well," She continued. "I really wasn't talking to Mr. Browning about coaching, or about Dawn's grades."

Chelsea leaned back and crossed her arms, smirking. Missy just stared at William with an adoring glow.

Buffy wrung her hands nervously then motioned toward William. "It's just that, he's an old, um. Well he's sort of." She looked to him for help, her eyes pleading with him to come up with a plausible explanation.

He raised and eyebrow at her. "Continue Miss Summers. You're doing well."

She was tempted to stomp on his foot, but instead forced a smile back onto her face. She put her hand through the crook of his arm and turned to the girls. "He's my boyfriend." She looked at him with a spiteful gleam in her eyes. "Aren't you, dear?" She gritted out between clenched teeth.

"Yeah, right!" He tried not to laugh.

"What?" Dawn exclaimed.

"I knew it!" Chelsea was ecstatic.

"Oh." Missy looked ready to swoon.

The other three girls at the table were owl-eyed. They couldn't believe they were in on the Sunnydale High story of the year.

Buffy patted his arm. Hard. "Well, sugar plum and I have some personal things we need to discuss, so we'll be going now."

William nodded his head, "Ladies." Then allowed Buffy to drag him from the room. "Well that was just bloody brilliant!" He stated once they were out of sight and pulled his arm away. "That's certain to squelch all the gossip."

"At least Dawn doesn't have to make up any more lies."

"No, she can just keep talking about your little fabrication!"

"I didn't see you coming up with anything helpful."

"You're the only woman I know that calls someone a boyfriend once she stops sleeping with him."

"Do you think you could say that a little bit louder? There are probably about two or three-hundred students that didn't hear that."

"So now you're ashamed that you're not shagging me?"

"No. I'm ashamed that I didn't stake you five years ago."

"Believe me sweetheart, putting up with your idea of a relationship makes staking look like a walk on the bloody beach."

"Well that's not your problem any more, is it?"

"Apparently it is now, thanks to your little revelation in there."

"Look, I don't know what else to say. Just. deal."

"Easy for you to say. You don't have to spend the next hour trying to teach American Literature to a bunch of horny adolescents."

"Well." Buffy grasped for a way to put a good spin on the situation. "Maybe they'll back off now that they know you're taken." She looked at her watch. "Hey, I've gotta go. I have a job interview in ten minutes." She started down the call, then called back to him. "I'll meet you after school Honey. We'll take care of that little Doctor problem then, OK?" She stopped and blew him a kiss.

He would have gladly throttled her.

*****

Two and a half hours later Buffy, Dawn and William were standing outside a dark little shop in an alley.

"This is where it was." William glanced up and checked the address again. "Looks deserted now."

"Ugh." Dawn shivered. "This place gives me the creeps."

Buffy stepped into the alley and scanned it up and down. "I don't see anything. We'd better look inside." She nodded to William. He reached into the pocket of his slacks and brought out a lock pick.

"You can still do that?" Dawn questioned.

"Being souled doesn't make a fellow forget about a hundred and twenty odd years of petty larceny." He muttered as he worked the lock.

"Doesn't make him any faster either." Buffy observed.

He turned the knob, then stood and held the door open for the two girls. "I get the job done."

"Eventually." Buffy brushed passed him. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim interior of the shop. It was mostly deserted, except for some stray papers and a few old books. She stepped down from the small landing, closely followed by Dawn and William. "So this is where you dragged my little sister to in the middle of the night?"

William didn't answer her, but walked to the adjoining room to see if there were any signs of the Time Wizard remaining there. Except for dust, the place was clean. "Anything out there?" He called over his shoulder.

"No. Nothing." Buffy continued to glance around, but knew they wouldn't be picking up any leads there today.

"Where to next?" Dawn asked.

"There's a new demon hangout in town." William told them. "I'll go ask around there."

"Oh Buffy, can I go. please?" Dawn begged her sister. "A new demon place! It's probably pretty cool."

"OK." Buffy agreed.

William opened the door. "After you, ladies."

*****

Dawn looked around in wonder as the three approached the strange bistro. "You know," she said to Buffy, "I've been by this place dozens of times. How come I never noticed it was a demon hangout?"

Buffy glanced over at her and smiled. "Just the way things work in Sunnydale."

"There he is." William gestured toward his loose skinned friend.

Dawn trotted over. "Hey Clem!"

Clem jumped, knocking the small round table over and spilling his drink. "Whoa there!" He yelled, then turned to see who had called him. "Dawn! Hey."

"Hi Clem." Buffy waved.

"Slayer." He nodded his head, then looked over at William. "Hey are you two back together?"

"No!" The both answered.

"Oh yeah. I see." Clem scratched his head. "Well here." He bent down to set the table up. "Have a seat everyone." He was short a chair, so he walked over to a table occupied by two Chaos demons, and with a fangy growl, borrowed a chair from them and gave it to William. "So, what brings you here today?"

Buffy leaned over to speak to him in a low tone. "We're looking for some information. Have you heard any talk lately about a Time Wizard being in town?"

"Oh, you mean Doc." Clem nodded.

"You know him?" William asked.

"Hey, you know me. I get around." Clem shrugged his shoulders modestly.

"What can you tell us about him?" Buffy wanted to know.

"He comes and goes." Clem related. "Sometimes I do some odd jobs for him, just to earn a few bucks. Hey!" He pointed at William. "Remember those cute demon eggs I asked you to hold for me about six months ago?" Clem chuckled. "Of course you remember. You had that freak explosion that wiped out your downstairs."

Buffy looked up, startled.

"Yeah." William nodded. "You mean the harmless little Suvolte eggs?"

"No." Clem shook his head. "They weren't Suvolte. Those things are dangerous. You've got to keep them frozen."

"Found that out the hard way." William muttered.

Buffy glanced down.

"Hey!" Clem was apologetic. "Doc's always seemed like such a decent sort. I had no idea he was dealing in the Suvolte trade. You shoulda told me."

"Had other things on my mind after that. Have you seen him around lately?"

"Oh, let's see." Clem inclined his head and scratched his ear. "I saw him a three or four weeks ago." He pointed at William. "The same day you came back."

"Where?" William questioned him.

"Right here." Clem motioned over his shoulder with his thumb. "When you left he came over and sat down."

"You talked to him?" Dawn blurted out.

"Sure. I talk to everybody."

Buffy shook her head. "What did you discuss."

"Lots of things. Hmm. Let me see." Clem drummed his fingers on the tabletop. "There was the menu. He's a picky eater and wanted to know where the horseflies were imported from." Clem nodded. "Then the weather." Clem laughed. "Demons always want to talk about the weather."

Buffy tapped her foot impatiently. They were close to information, and she wanted some answers. "Anything else."

"Oh yeah! We talked about him." He motioned to William.

"What about me?"

"He asked me who my friend was." At the alarmed look on William's face, Clem rushed to reassure him. "Don't worry. I didn't tell him anything." Clem shook his head, sending his ears flopping. "I told him you were just a friend from out of town here for a short visit. I even made up a name for you." Clem smiled proudly. "I told him your name was Rocko."