| CHAPTER 16 |
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�Of course she is,� Anya remarked with some exasperation. �You knew about
the sword, and you didn�t even think to realize who was holding it?� Turning to
Joyce, Anya stated, �I hope he�s good at giving orgasms, because I don�t think
he�s much use when it comes to drawing logical conclusions.� Spike stifled a laugh at Anya�s remarks, noticing that the other �Scoobies�, as they referred to themselves, were doing the same. Joyce laughed softly. �Yes Anya, he�s good at a few things. But it�s not nice to laugh at someone because they were in denial.� Giles simply knelt on the floor, staring at Buffy, a shocked, almost terrified expression on his face. Xander asked, �So what�s so important about the sword and the whole horse thing? She uses the sword to kill horses?� Willow turned to Xander and said with some exasperation, �I think Giles means THE Four Horsemen� of the Apocalypse.� She thought for a moment. �War, Famine, Disease and Death� if I�m not mistaken, what with the whole being Jewish thing and not really understanding the entire non-Jewish things.� Without taking her eyes off of Giles, Buffy said with a slight grin, �Yup, that would be my boys.� She sighed softly. �I miss those boys sometimes, ya know?� Spike turned to her and quirked one eyebrow. �Boys? You have more kids than Joyce? Or are we talking different kinds of boys here?� Joyce answered him, before Buffy could say anything. �By �boys� she means students. She taught them almost everything they knew. She led them too, if Methos wasn�t telling tall tales.� �M-M-M-ethos?� Giles stuttered. �He�s just a myth, a legend. He�s not real. Doesn�t exist.� Spike snorted. �Yeah Rupes, and neither do I.� Turning to look down at where Buffy was curled up against him, he told her, �He sure didn�t get my sister�s smarts that�s for sure.� Buffy laughed softly. �Be nice, Spike. It�s not his fault that he thinks Methos doesn�t exist. We�ve done a hell of a lot of work to make sure that people thinks he isn�t real. Or if he is real, that he�s long dead.� She shook her head and continued, �Did a lot of work to make it seem like I didn�t exist either. It�s safer that way, for everyone concerned.� Xander blinked and looked at Buffy. �Safer?� Anya glanced at Buffy and answered Xander. �Yes Xander, safer. If other immortals think she�s already dead, or that she never existed in the first place, they don�t seek her out and try to kill her.� �Why would anyone want to kill her?� Tara asked softly. �She seems really nice, and her aura is so vibrant, like a rainbow.� Buffy looked over at Tara and smiled gently. �Thanks sweetie. But sometimes, people simply want to kill you because they think they can.� Buffy shrugged. �And if they are stupid enough to attack me, or mine I don�t mind showing them just how stupid they are.� Joyce nodded as she said, �Yeah, I remember this one time in college. This guy was hitting on me, refused to take no for an answer. She kicked him the balls, and then offered to introduce him to the word no.� Joyce laughed. �I never saw him run so fast in his life. Even with his balls kicked up between his eyes.� Anya chuckled wickedly. �Oh I�ve seen her do worse. I remember once when she castrated this guy at the dinner table. He had attacked his host's young daughter; I think she was maybe 12 years old. Anyway, she yanked him up onto the table and just sliced his penis off. With the dinner knife. It was so amusing.� Anya grinned. �Of course it also fulfilled the vengeance wish the little girl made against her attacker.� Xander looked decidedly pale. �Umm Ahn� can we not discuss the damaging of men�s parts, please?� Spike nodded in complete agreement. �Yes please, let's not discuss the damaging of manly appendages.� Buffy ran her fingers lightly across Spike�s crotch. �Okay, no more damage talk.� Giles seemed to be in a catatonic state, still staring at Buffy, eyes wide. �Joyce, I think you need to do something about your guy there. He�s starting to creep me out.� Buffy said as she eyed Giles with amusement. Joyce rose from her chair and walked over to where Giles was kneeling on the carpet. She looked at him and then poked him with her toe. �Get up Rupert. You look like a complete fool.� When that failed to provoke a response, she turned to the tried and true methods every mother knows. She grabbed him by the ear and yanked sharply upwards. �OUCH!� Giles yelled as he rose to his feet in order to keep his ear attached to his head. �That is totally uncalled for, Joyce.� �Next time, respond when I talk to you and I won�t have to resort to physical violence,� Joyce responded. �Right then. Where were we?� Giles asked as he straightened his tie and took his seat again. Dawn piped up, �We were talking about Buffy and her sword. Oh and the fact that she�s the daughter of a dragon. Hey! Does this mean my grandfather is a dragon? Wicked!� Dawn started to bounce excitedly. �Yes, right. Swords and dragons and�� Giles trailed off once more as his eyes widened in horror. �Oh Lord. I can�t believe it.� Turning to Joyce he asked her in a very tight, very frustrated voice. �Did you know that your mother is one of the most deadly people in history? Are you aware she is reportedly responsible for the destruction of entire cities, if not entire civilizations?� �Of course dear. Mother told me who and what she is a long time ago.� Joyce calmly responded. As Giles� words finally penetrated the ears and minds of the other people in the room, all hell broke loose. |
| CHAPTER 17 |
| Everyone began talking at once, getting louder and louder, trying to be
heard over top of everyone else. Buffy just sat there, listening and watching,
her face expressionless. Spike shook his head in disbelief at the childishness of the people he had come to call friends. He glanced down at Buffy, intending to make a smart-ass remark about the idiocy of some people, when he noticed the frozen expression and the blankness in her usually expressive eyes. Spike surged to his feet, intending to interrupt the madness that had overtaken the others, and paused in concern when Buffy darted towards the basement. Feeling Spike rise to his feet, Buffy�s heart constricted once, painfully, and then she decided that she didn�t need all the hoopla that seemed to accompany being around people. She slipped out of the chair and quickly headed towards the basement where her clothing was. Being intent on her goal, she never noticed the concern on Spike�s face at her departure. Buffy quietly closed the door to the basement and slipped down the stairs like a shadow. Finding her clothing neatly folded on top of the dresser, she started getting dressed. With the ease born of long practice, her nimble fingers laced up the vest Spike had had such trouble with the night before. Slipping her boots on, she made her way back upstairs just in time to hear Spike start in on the people in the living room with him. �Are you gits finished yet? In case you haven�t noticed you drove Buffy out of the room with your bloody yelling and screaming,� Spike snarked, motioning towards the kitchen and the basement stairs. �Well, she shouldn�t even be in this house, seeing as she�s evil and everything,� Xander bit back. Dawn stomped over to Xander and kicked him in the shin. �She�s NOT evil, Xander. If she was, she would have let that demon kill you last night.� �She only helped us so she could get close, have us trust her and then kill us all in our sleep. I know how evil types work. And that�s what she was planning,� Xander yelled at Dawn, pushing her away from him. Anya slapped Xander on the back of the head. �Don�t hit Dawn, you idiot. Are you looking to get killed?� Willow rounded on Anya, shoving her back away from Xander. �Don�t hit Xander! You don�t have the right to hit him. He�s my friend and I�ll make you sorry you ever came to Sunnydale!� Tara looked from one person to the other, wringing her hands and looking like she was about to cry. She looked over at Joyce and Giles, hoping they could interfere, but saw that they were involved in an argument of their own. Buffy came back into the room just as Xander shoved Dawn away for the second time, causing her to fall to the floor. She plucked up her sword from where it was leaning against the wall, and in one smooth motion had the sharp tip pressed against Xander�s throat. Willow�s loud screech, when she noticed the danger her friend was in, brought everyone�s attention to Xander�s plight. Loud gasps were heard from everyone in the room. Everyone that is, except Dawn and Spike. Spike had seen Xander shove Dawn to the floor and had almost beat Buffy to Xander, a loud growl issuing from his throat. Dawn scurried across the floor towards her mother, yelling, �He shoved me! He�s nothing but a big meany who shoves little girls!� Joyce helped Dawn to her feet and made sure she wasn�t hurt. �I think you need to explain to me why you shoved my daughter, Alexander Harris,� Joyce stated calmly. Buffy interrupted, �I would like that explanation myself. But then again, Mr. Harris here says I�m evil, so I might not even wait for his explanation before I slice his throat. After all, that�s what evil types do. Isn�t it Mr. Harris?� She pressed the tip a little deeper into his neck, causing a bead of blood to well up onto the blade. Spike smirked at the look of terror on Xander�s face as he calmly stepped up beside Buffy. �Easy luv, we don�t want to hurt the boy� too badly, now do we?� Not even glancing at Spike, Buffy replied in a calm, cold voice. �I don�t know about you Spike, but I am more than willing to hurt him a lot for the way he treated Dawn.� As she said this, her pupils narrowed to slits and silvery scale patterns appeared on the curve of her cheek and above her eyebrows. �OH! That�s pretty!� Anya exclaimed. �I�ve never seen you do that before. Is it something new you�ve learned?� �No Anya, its part of me being who I am. I told you I was a child of the Dragon. Mr. Giles informed you that I am the Dragon�s Daughter. He is correct. My Father is the Elder God who goes by the name of Draco,� Buffy stated calmly. Returning her attention to Xander, who hadn�t moved or even apparently breathed since she put her sword to her throat, Buffy told him, quite calmly, �If I was as evil as you claim I am you would already be dead.� Giles chose that moment to intervene. �Indeed Xander, nothing in the texts I�ve read indicate that she is in any way evil. Quite the opposite in fact. From what I can discern, she fights to protect the innocent, the ones who can�t protect themselves. I would hazard a guess that that is why you are still breathing.� Anya piped up, �Of COURSE she protects the innocent you morons! Where in the name of D�Hoffryn do you think a Slayer�s powers came from in the first place? SHE is the source of the Slayer�s powers. Gods, you�d think that little fact would be in the watcher�s books.� Anya sat down in a huff, arms crossed. Everyone in the room, except Spike, was struck silent by Anya�s matter-of-fact statement. �So pet, you are a Slayer then? This could get right interesting,� Spike said with a grin. |
| CHAPTER 18 |
| Buffy just shrugged her shoulders, her eyes never leaving Xander�s
terror-stricken face. Then she stuck out her tongue at Xander and, turning
her back on him, walked over to the armchair she had been sitting in and sat
down as regally as any monarch. After a cursory glance at Xander, Giles walked over and sat down on the couch close to Buffy. �Is what Anya said true? Are you the source of the Slayer�s power?� he asked quietly. Spike sat himself back down on the arm of the chair, listening with great interest. Again Buffy just shrugged as she replied, �So I was informed a while back. Something about atoning for the destruction I caused.� She glanced down at her hands and smiled sheepishly. �The Horsemen weren�t my brightest idea, in retrospect.� Spike chuckled softly. �If even half the things written about them are true, I�d say it was on par with the poof thinking he can sing� and he can�t sing.� Giles grimaced in remembrance. �No he can not sing. In fact his so-called singing is akin to scraping nails down a blackboard� only ten times worse.� He looked at Buffy with nothing but curiosity in his eyes. �What sort of powers or abilities do the Slayers gain from you, if you don�t mind me asking?� �Fast healing, for starters. As a new Slayer� they heal at twice the rate of a normal human. As they get older, their healing gets faster. They also have the ability to sense vampires and other supernatural creatures.� Buffy chuckled softly. �Some of them don�t exactly work on developing that skill though. Oh, and increased flexibility, agility and muscular control. In other words, all the things that makes them an effective warrior.� �So you can sense demons and vampires?� Spike asked. �Can you tell the difference or is it just a general �Big Bad� alert?� �For slayers it�s just a general alert� but I can not only tell the difference between a demon and vampire, I can generally tell the difference between different demon species. Also, I can sense all kinds of supernatural energies. Like the power emanating from the redhead over there.� Buffy answered and nodding in the direction of the cluster of �Scoobies�. Giles and Spike both glanced over at the others in the room, noticing with some amusement as Xander winced and cringed every time Joyce dabbed a little antibiotic cream on his neck where Buffy had pricked him with her sword. Buffy suddenly snapped her head around, eyes unfocused as she seemingly stared at the front door. �That damned idiot can�t seem to take a hint can he? And he�s brought backup.� �Who has, Luv?� Spike asked as he, too, glanced at the door. Buffy rose to her feet, sliding her sword from its sheath as she did so. �Get away from the door and windows, children. This could get ugly.� She stalked over to the door, and stopped, facing it. Spike walked up beside her and asked again, �Who has?� Spike extended his senses and growled low in his chest. �Never mind, I know who. Don�t know who or what he has with him, but I don�t think this is gonna be solved peaceably.� �No, I don�t think it will either. Because I know who is with him. It's part of the reason I�m here.� Buffy murmured |
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