Part 4
Monday afternoon, he picked up Dawn and they drove, to the store. United
front. He had told her the watchers were coming, and that the whole key
thing was going to remain a secret. They had there stories straight. Spike
had come up with some pretty inventive lies, and Willow had pretty much
analyzed the angles to death. But in the end, Xander had pointed out that
it was easiest to give them what they wanted. And since the watchers wanted
to believe that the slayer did all the work, and that they were all there at
the whim of Buffy’s eccentricity; then they would just play along. Buffy
had never told anyone what the key was, and had taken that information with
her to the grave.
“I thought they were the good guys,” Dawn was biting her nails, while Xander
parallel parked across the street from the store.
“Most of them are honey, but there are too many of them. We can’t control
who they tell or where they archive the information.” Xander put the car in
park, but made no move to get out, he wanted to be sure Dawn was okay before
heading into the shop. They might not be there yet, but he remembered how
quickly they had taken over the place last time, and they didn’t have Buffy
to fling swords if they got out of line. “You’re going to be all right with
this.” Dawn’s eyes seemed to take up her whole face, but she nodded. “Hey,
your a Summers, if they give you any trouble hit them over the head with an
axe.”
“Huh?” Well that was better, she had the ‘Xander is so goofy’ look instead
of the ‘I’m about to be sacrificed, again’ look.
“When things get back to normal, ask Spike about the night he met Joyce.”
Xander said, tugging on her hair.
Later, when the watchers arrived, Giles was behind the counter. Dawn and
the witches were at the research table surrounded by spell books and a trig
text. Spike lounged on the metal stairs, as close as he could get to Dawn
without hovering. Xander was above him sitting on the floor of the balcony.
Apparently cleaning weapons, if he just happened to have a couple loaded
crossbows in easy reach that was all well and good.
There were only four of them. The old bossy guy, who had threatened Giles;
the nervous, nearly impaled, interrupting Buffy guy; the lady watcher, who
was so not working the Scully look, if that was what she was going for, it
was hard to tell; and the new guy, tall blond seemed to be embracing the
European hit man style rather than fanatical, stuffy British academia. There
was no telling how it would have gone down if the watchers had stayed true
to form and started asking questions. But the Scully want-a-be had gasp out
“William the Bloody”. Xander couldn’t tell if she was going to ask for his
autograph or pull out a stake and he didn’t care not when he saw the hit
man, pulled out a water pistol.
“Drop it now.” Xander didn’t even remember picking up the crossbow. ‘Damn,
Buffy was better with this, if I miss.’ The gun went flying. The guy went
flying. ‘Oh, of course, Willow and Tara had their hands clasp under the
table.’ Spike had moved forward and was standing in front of Dawn in game
face, growling at all and sundry.
Dawn clutched at Spike’s bicep. “Guys.” She looked to Willow, and then to
Giles. “Why don’t we?” She pulled harder on Spike’s arm, until he tuned to
glare at her. She giggled. He dropped his game face, and laughed at her, or
maybe at the cowering watchers. Dawn had told Xander about that moment, on
the top of the tower, just before Doc tossed Spike over the edge. Dawn said
the creature had said that there was no smell of a soul about Spike, but
that after she met his eyes, at that moment, she would never be afraid of
him again. “Why don’t we,” she looked up at Xander, he could see her in his
peripheral vision, but he hadn’t lowered the crossbow, “order pizza.”
The British are not know for their reverence of pizza, but it broke the
tension. They might have ended up sitting around, feeding the watchers the
‘we know nothing line’ if at that moment the door hadn’t opened and Laura
entered. She stopped by hit man guy and kind of nudged him with the toe of
her boot. “Hey, General.” Another nudge, “Human?”
“Ah, yeah. What’s up?” Xander kept the crossbow and picked up a small helm
axe, and descended the stairs. This was not a place Laura would come so
near dark.
“Monster. Oh, hey, Willow” She rocked back and forth on the heels, Xander
noticed they were well worn riding boots.
“What kind?” Xander recaptured her attention.
“Dragon. Can we blow it up?” Xander blinked. ‘She really thinks I know what
to do with a dragon? Geeze, you explode one giant snake into hand size
pieces and suddenly you’re the Dragonslayer. This isn’t even funny.’
“Where is it?” He saw Giles pulling out a large book. Spike had headed back
to the training room, and dragged Dawn with him, probably to get more
weapons. Tara and Willow were huddled in a conference.
The watcher just watched. Like this was some play, or maybe they thought
the gang was trying to get one over on them.
“Out near the paddock by White Cross Beach. Ya know where they rent horses.
Kel keeping and eye on it.” She walked over to Giles and looked over his
shoulder. “That’s not it. It has four legs, and it has bigger wings, and
Kel said it’s not a reptile. He said we should have at least two hours
before it moves.”
“There are no dragons.” The lady watcher said, as if that would make it so.
“Whose Kel? And what makes her think we have some time?” Willow asked.
“Kel’s a he, and that thing killed four horses, it’s fast but I doubt it
will be able to fly right away once it finishes eating all that.” Laura was
beginning to show interest in the sharp shine objects Giles kept away from
the public. “OOh do you have and Ivanhoe, one not more than thirty pounds in
weight.”
“There are no dragons.” ‘Useful piece of knowledge, ignoring watchers pisses
them off.’
“I saw one.” Dawn said. Spike was hovering close but he didn’t silence her.
“I saw one the night Buffy died.” Dawn looked at Giles when she said it, and
her eyes watered but no tear dropped.
“Will, ideas?” Xander was hoping for a ‘This is wonderful, now I can try out
that dragon banishing spell.’ Instead she gave him the ‘It took you until
now to figure out smart chick were hot?’ look. “Giles, do we still have the
rocket launcher?”
Part 5
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