Buffy & The Four Ch. 02

"Do you know what time it is?" The young college girl asked, rubbing a knuckle into her sleepy eye and yawning.

"Yes! Come down."

"Okay, okay. Sheesh Summers."

When Janice disappeared from the window, Dawn glanced into the moon shadows out of sight of the window. Xander, Tara and Giles were waiting there.

"Now is somebody going to explain to me what is going on?" Giles asked, irritation uncharacteristically sounding in his voice.

"As soon as we get hidden," Xander said, wrapping his arm a little tighter around Tara. The witch was clearly exhausted; the effort of their flight from Buffy's to Giles' combined with the strain of the concealment spell had quickly taken a toll upon the injured woman. She clung to Xander's side and hung limp like a rag doll. Her head was bowed and her long blonde hair hung like a curtain around her face.

"Hidden from what?" Giles whispered, as loud as he dared. "Where's Buffy, Faith and the others? Is Willow using a spell to hide them from this menace the same way Tara is with us?"

"Hey guys, keep it down, will you?" Dawn hissed.

After a few moments, the French windows on the patio opened and Janice came out warily. She was wearing a small light blue tee-shirt and a white floral patterned pair of boxer shorts. "This better be good, Summers." From her location she couldn't see the others hiding flat against the wall.

"I've er... had a fight with Buffy," Dawn said. That wasn't too far from the truth and she didn't like the idea of lying to her best friend.

"What did she do this time?" Janice said wearily.

"Oh, it's nothing I suppose, but I need a place to stay until morning."

"Oh?" Janice seemed to come a little more awake at the idea. "Okay, then. Come on, I'll sneak you up to my room."

"Er, no. I mean... I'm all riled up and not feeling too good either." Again, neither was a lie; she was both angry and sick at what had happened to her sister. "Can I spend the night in your basement?"

Janice frowned in disappointment, "Come to bed with me. We can share and snuggle. I'm sure you'll feel better pretty quick."

"Not tonight, okay?"

The young girl pouted but nodded. "Okay."

Together, the two girls quietly entered the house. For nearly ten minutes, Xander, Tara and Giles waited in silence until Dawn unlocked the outside door to the basement. They filed inside stealthily.

Giles felt a sudden pang of awe. He remembered the ten year old Dawn arriving in Sunnydale with her big sister Buffy and her mother Joyce. He remembered how she had quickly made friends with Janice and the two had played at 'secret agents'. Often, the two young girls had used this basement as 'secret headquarters' for their various games. Like most of the houses on Revello, and indeed in the area, the basement was both a general storage area and also a makeshift spare room. On one side were Janice's father's tools and on the other were a single cot bed and the washing machine. Janice's father was a fine carpenter and had once built the two girls a Wendy house of splendid size and quality in his back garden, which even had windows with proper curtains and a door that had a lock. The two girls had been slightly disappointed with it at first because it looked more like a girly play house than the secret base of operations for girl spies that they had been hoping for. It was Joyce who had told them that because it looked nothing like a secret base it was the ideal place for one, and that had won them around.

Except that none of that had happened. Dawn was really just mystic energy that the monks had transformed into human in order to hide it from the Hell god Glory. Dawn had been a mystical 'key' that had the ability to unlock any dimension. It was staggering at how powerful and far reaching the spell used to give Dawn false history was. After all, the spell had implanted a lifetime's history of memories for Dawn into everyone around her and even brought things like the Wendy house into reality to reinforce them. For a brief second, Giles wondered whether Janice and her family had existed before Dawn's creation, too.

Snapping out of his thoughts, the Englishman watched Xander lay Tara on the cot bed, then pull up a box as a makeshift chair for himself. Dawn perched on the edge of the bed with a very glum look on her face.

"Now, will you please explain what has happened?" the Watcher sighed when they were settled. "Where is Buffy... and the others, of course?"

"It's like this G-man," Xander started. "Buffy, Willow and Anya have gone to the dark side of the Force."

"Pardon?"

"They have been possessed," Dawn interrupted before Xander started making more comic book references to make things 'clearer'.

"Possessed?"

"Yes. We don't know by what, but they attacked us."

"Attacked?"

"Ahuh. Tried to turn us into one of them. Luckily Faith stopped them."

"Faith stopped them?"

"Giles!" Dawn protested. "This works faster if you don't just repeat everything I've said."

"Sorry. So Faith is not one of the possessed?"

Both Dawn and Xander looked unhappy before the young girl answered, "We don't know."

"Why not?"

"Faith was fighting them so that we could get away."

"Fighting all three of them? There is little chance she could beat them all put together. I doubt that she could beat Buffy on her own, let alone when she has the help of a witch and a Vengeance demon." He looked thoughtful for a moment, "Willow will be able to find us, eventually."

"I've obscured magic tracking," Tara said, brushing her hair back behind one ear with a bandaged hand. "If I knew what had possessed them I might be able to find a counter spell or something."

"I can't help there," Giles said as he opened the book he had brought from his apartment. "However, I am certain that the two demons that attacked Buffy and Faith were Hagna demons. That is why we had such trouble identifying them; they are not native to this dimension. Hagna demons are a race created to serve one of the Elder demons, Gohnarth to be precise."

"Oh him!" Xander said, waving his hand dismissively. "I shoulda known."

Ignoring the attempt at humour, Giles continued. "Gohnarth is a true fiend. He has sealed himself away inside his own realm with his horde of servants and takes great delight in controlling and manipulating victims who think he will grant them their heart's desire. Through dark rites, they can attract his attention and if they are very unlucky he will take interest in them. This never ends the way they intended."

"He welches on the deal, huh?" Xander remarked. "Big surprise there, then."

"Yes, quite. Gohnarth seems to get his pleasure in perverting souls. The less evil that the victim actually has inside them, the more challenge he finds and the greater his enjoyment in corrupting them."

"So why would he send his minions after Buffy and Faith?" Tara asked.

"I can't think of a reason. The only thing that makes sense is that the Hagna were there doing somebody else's bidding."

"Oh, great. Now all we have to do is find out who has a grudge against the Slayers? Big list or what?" Xander declared.

"Maybe not as big as first seems," Giles mused, almost to himself. "You see, Gohnarth would have no truck with supernatural beings; they would not interest him. Therefore whoever has earned his favour has to be human."

"There is nobody," Dawn interjected. "Not that I can think of, anyway. I mean, most humans who have gone against Buffy have had things end badly for them. Gwendolyn Post, Mayor Wilkins, Catherine Madison, etcetera."

"True," Giles conceded. "It must be somebody new, I suppose."

"Whoever it is," Tara added, "They must have quite a good knowledge of magic to be able to enact the rituals to invoke an Elder demon. Especially one who has such special interests." She looked thoughtful for a moment before glancing at Dawn. "In fact, it would probably take the combined efforts of a few witches to work such a rite. Have you seen any of The Daughters of Gaia in college since we stopped Megan in the woods?"

"Sure. Kim and Jody are in my art class. They seem to have got better since Willow trounced Megan. Ruth is a different story. She took it very hard. There is a rumour that Ruth and Megan were... you know."

Tara's lips slipped into her sunlight bright smile as she nodded. Normally Tara was quite plain and average to look at, but when she smiled her inner beauty shone through, lighting up the whole room and melting hearts.

"Do those girls still have a dorm room in the halls of residence on the college campus?" Xander asked.

"I think so," Dawn replied. "Not their old one, but I am pretty certain they do have one."

"Well, it's somewhere to start, at least," Giles admitted. "In the morning," he glanced at his watch and saw that it was nearly 5 a.m. already, "I want you to check them out, Xander."

The handsome lad nodded his agreement. Dawn looked from Giles to Xander, expecting to be included and when she was not asked, "What about me?"

Giles took off his spectacles and polished them with his handkerchief. "I think you should stay near Tara and I. For safety's sake, of course."

"Why? If Buffy finds us, then I doubt that you or Tara could stop her."

"I trained Buffy, remember. I still have quite a few tricks up my sleeve that she does not know, yet. And of course, Tara could always use magic to confuse her."

"Oh that's a good idea, Giles," Dawn said, sarcastically. "What if Willow is with her? No offence, Tara, but Willow is well out of your league in the magic stakes."

The mousy haired blonde witch nodded, "None taken. Willow will find a way around my obscuring spell soon."

"So," Xander said. "It looks like it all rests on whether we can find out if the Daughters of Gaia are behind this."

++++++++++

"What do you mean you can't find them?!" Ruth shouted.

"I am sorry, mistress, but Tara has hidden them. I will break her spell, but it will take time," Willow said, sheepishly. The red-haired witch was knelt before the Daughters of Gaia in the Magic box, with Buffy and Anya knelt by her side. Ruth paced before them with anger boiling inside her.

"Are you telling me that a Slayer, a Vengeance demon and a badass Wicca are all being thwarted by a hippy chick with a tenth of the magical skill you possess?"

Willow and Anya exchanged glances. "It is only temporary, mistress."

"What do you want us to do about Faith?" Buffy asked, keeping her eyes lowered respectfully.

"Don't worry about her," Ruth snapped. "The Hagna are tracking her scent as we speak. They will infect her with the essence the same way they got you."

++++++++++

The two Hagna demons crept silently into the alleyway. The brunette Slayer's scent was slowly dispersing, but to their senses it hung in the air like a neon path, showing her trail clearly. Their talons were silent on the asphalt of the roadway as they closed on their prey. They were deadly predators and could follow a hunt for days on end, tireless and relentless.

The larger of the two paused and fluttered out its forked tongue to taste Faith's scent. It was stronger here, indicating she was only moments ahead of them. With a sibilant hiss, the demon crept into the darkness with a deadly purpose. As it did so, it unfurled the vicious talons on its hand claws, ready for the coming fight. The human mistress had been very specific that they were not to kill the Slayer, only bite her and inject the essence of Hate, but the Hagna knew that would not be as simple as it sounded. A Slayer was a deadly prey to track.

The sound of boots landing behind the two Hagnas reinforced that idea. Faith dropped from the fire escape that she had used to circled around the block like the angel of death descending to Earth. She was in deadly motion before either of the demons had even partly turned to face her.

Her roundhouse kick caught the smaller of the two a heavy blow to the temple, sending it flipping head over heels into the side of a dumpster. She let her body follow the motion, spinning full circle as she dropped low and swept the feet out from the large Hagna.

"Find what you were looking for, Lizard-breath?" she grinned as the demon crashed onto its back. Instantly it lashed out with its mighty tail but the Slayer was ready for that too. She skipped over it and stomped down hard on the creature's rib cage, hearing a satisfying crack. The beast roared in agony and sliced at her with its claws.

"Ah-ah!" Faith scolded, slipping out of range before darting back in to land a hefty punch to its snout, snapping its lower jaw with the blow. The demon screeched and screamed in anger and pain as it flailed wildly.

"Temper, temper," the Chosen taunted as she leapt back out of harms way again.

Or so she thought. The smaller of the two Hagnas had regained its senses and leapt onto her back. Its jaws clamped down and she only just managed to twist enough for those fangs to miss her shoulder. Its talons drew blood as they hooked into her upper arms and it tried to bite a second time.

Faith reacted instantly. She dropped into a curl and rolled forward. This carried the fiend on her back with her and slammed it into the pavement. The blow jarred it loose, along with a good scoop of her flesh. Completing the forward roll, Faith spun out of it with a wrecking ball kick to the beast's head. Her booted foot hit it very hard and shot its snout around with enough force to break the creature's neck with a sickening crunch.

At the death of its mate, the larger Hagna made a final lunge at the Slayer. Faith rose into its strike, arms stiff to fend the beast backward. She lifted its scaly torso enough so that she could launch a deadly uppercut that hit the monster's broken jaw with enough force to send the demon into a back flip. It landed stunned and saw several Slayers stepping over it as it tried to focus its eyes.

"Tell whoever sent you that this Babe is not going to be so easy to take." She began to move away before seeming to suddenly decide something and stepping back over the fallen creature. "On second thoughts, don't bother. I'll tell them myself."

The last thing the Hagna saw was the blurry image of the Slayer raising her boot above its head and stamping down.

++++++++++

Gohnarth tapped his lips with a long, skeletal claw as he felt the death of his creations. He had been watching through the eyes of his pets, and admired the savage grace of the Slayer.

"I think this group of humans may prove an interesting diversion for a while," he told Azaroth.

The huge, muscular demon snarled and pounded a fist into his big clawed hand. "Why can I not feed on their entrails? I have a debt of blood to satisfy with the Summers and Rosenberg girls!"

"Patience, patience, my child. You can avenge the death of your brother Molock when I see fit, and not before."

Ever since the Scooby gang had inadvertently freed Molock from the ancient book he was magically bound within, setting him loose into the internet before finally confronting and destroying him, Azaroth had been consumed by a thirst for revenge. The big demon was the twin of Molock, having the same muscular, humanoid form, covered in alligator scales with a misshapen head that was dominated by two huge, curled ram's horns. Gohnarth had to keep him on a firm leash to hold back his vendetta.

"When Lord?" the beast asked.

"In time, Azaroth. For now, the Daughter's of Gaia are proving most entertaining. I doubt that Ruth will be able to pull off her schemes, but it should be amusing however it pans out." The Elder demon rested an elbow on the arm of his throne of bones as he mused on the events. "Faith escaping her three friends was unexpected. That girl is full of surprises and I shall have to watch her closely. Who would have thought that beings as lowly as Vampire Slayers could provide such amusement?"

Turning his head, Gohnarth glanced toward the device room. The doors were open so that he could see the giant Machina Demonica at work. The machine was whirring and clunking, multicoloured bursts of mystical energy sparking from its discharge rod as it collected magic and fed it down the transmit cable to the beacon chamber high above the city. There, the giant crystal acted like a capacitor and slowly discharged the power into the dimensional rivers, to be tapped into by those who Gohnarth chose.

"We shall have to see what that nubile little slut is planning to do with her newfound powers. Humans have such narrow vision and rarely see beyond their own horizons."

++++++++++

While Xander, Dawn and Tara got a couple of hours of fitful sleep, Giles could not. He kept dwelling on Buffy. The fact that something bad had happened to her filled his stomach with ice. He could not bear the idea of not being able to help her. His feelings for her were so strong that this was one of his worst nightmares made real.

In the depth of night, he would have nightmares about the inevitable death of his Slayer. It was not a case of if she was finally killed by the evil creatures out there, it was only a case of when. Every Slayer in history had met death prematurely; it was the nature of the cause.

Slayers killed vampires and demons until one day the fiends got lucky and killed the Slayer. Then the next girl would gain her powers, another Watcher would train and guide her and the fight would go on. That was how this eternal battle was waged. After all, Buffy herself had gained her powers when the Slayer before her had been killed.

But the thought of never seeing the beautiful young woman again hurt more than he would have believed. Since childhood Giles had known his destiny was to become a Watcher. During his college years he had rebelled against that knowledge and tried to shirk his duties, but his calling had finally lured him back and he had determined to become the best Watcher he could be in order to protect whatever young girl became his charge. Even then, death was conspiring to shape his future. The Watcher Merrick had taken up guardianship of the current Slayer, but had been murdered in the course of training her and so Giles was dispatched to take over, albeit still unready for his role. He flew from England to America and the council easily manipulated the authorities to gain him the position of librarian at Sunnydale High so that he could teach the young Slayer all that she needed to know. That young Slayer had been Buffy Summers.

He grimaced as he remembered the first time he had seen her in the flesh, in the library on her first day at school. Then she had seemed impossibly young, impossibly childish and completely inappropriate for the mantle of Slayer. He had loathed his first few weeks with the girl who had seemed far more interested in the latest shoe fashions rather than the martial arts that would extend her life. She was vain and desperately reluctant about being the Chosen.

But gradually she had changed his opinion of her. He wasn't sure when, but there had been a definite shift. Somewhere along the line she had become far more important to him than the job that they both were doing. She had become the bright star that shone in his sky.

He wished that their relationship was different and he was able to confess his true feelings, but deep inside, he felt that would be a terrible mistake. Regardless of how preposterous it would be to assume that a lovely young woman like her could return his emotions, there was the need for the distance between them. That small distance enabled them to function as Watcher and Slayer. That small distance enabled them to retain the illusion of teacher and student. It was vital to their success. How could she possibly survive if each time they went into combat, she was focusing more on his safety than her own?

He sighed and leant his head back against the bare brick of the basement wall as he laid an arm across his single raised knee. His mind slipped back to the moment he and Buffy had made love to please the whim of Ko-lan the Seer. His memory recalled every move, every feel, and every breath with perfect clarity. He swallowed as the ecstasy of sliding his cock into her returned to him in the minutest detail. He heard her sigh. He felt her quiver. He remembered the look in her eyes.