Part Two

It would have been full research mode for the crew, if this were some mysterious demon or monster they were up against. But it wasn’t...at least, not that they knew. The attack on Willow was deliberate and personal, but not supernatural. An electrician, who arrived a few hours after the incident confirmed their worst fears...somebody overloaded the juice going to that one computer, short-circuiting the system, and causing it to explode.

No, it wasn’t a demon on the net, like Molock...but who was it?

As the electrician was leaving, Wesley Windham-Price had entered, followed by Cordelia, who was talking to him about something. He stopped and gave a curious glance at the departing man, and then looked at the charred remains of the computer.

“Having problems with you computer?” he asked, Giles.

“Thank you, Captain Obvious,” Xander said sarcastically.

“If you call nearly electrocuting Willow, and blowing up a problem,” Giles replied, more than slightly annoyed, “Then, yes...I’d say we have a problem.”

“Where have you been?” Buffy asked. Then looking at Cordelia, she added, “Never mind. Off in the land of the underage again, I see.”

“I am not underage,” Cordelia stomped her foot in defiance, “I’m eighteen. And what Wesley and I do, is none of your business!” That last comment was mainly directed at Xander, who stood by the office door practically leaping out of his skin.

“Yeah? Well, it is when he’s fawning all over you,” Buffy hissed, “when he should be doing Watcher things!”

“Buffy,” Giles said, placing his hand on her shoulder, “that will be quite enough. We have a serious issue at hand, and we need to remain united.”

“Thank you Mr. Giles,” Wesley nodded with gratitude. He was indeed quite taken by the young woman, but he also didn’t want to give a bad impression to the people whom he must work with, “And Cordelia and I only just met in the hallway coming here. I had a few errands to run, which was why I wasn’t here sooner. As for Cordelia,” he added, turning to the brunette, “I have no idea why she was here. Now, what is this about an exploding computer? Are you alright Willow?”

“Fine,” she smiled. Then seeing all of the looks on the other’s faces, she said with more conviction, “Really, I’m fine. Just a little crispy around the edges. And I probably could light up a bulb...but I’m okay.”

“And you don’t know the cause of this?” The younger man asked Giles.

“Not yet, no,”

“Could it be a demon in the computer?” Wesley suggested, “I read about your adventures with Molock in your Journal. Could he have returned? Or perhaps it’s some other demon?”

“No,” Giles said wearily, “Molock was destroyed, after he was pulled from the Internet. As far as being another demon...I don’t know yet. I’m not ruling anything out.”

“I don’t know,” Buffy said shaking her head, “I don’t think it’s a cyber demon. I think it’s something else...something on the outside.”

“How do you know?” Wesley asked.

“Just call it my Spider Scenes.”

Wesley Windhan-Price, a well educated man from London, and recently assigned Watcher to two slayers, just looked at Buffy with a blank stare. But before she could answer his silence, Giles piped in, “It’s a pop culture reference. You’ll get used to them.”

All of the teens had wide grins with that remark...yup the G-man was becoming one of their own. Scary thought.

Wesley looked around the room and gave a quick head count. All of the “Slayerettes” where present, save one... “Where’s Faith? Shouldn’t she be here now?”

Buffy sighed and sat down at the desk, “No, clue. After the last few days, she’s been kinda spooked lately.”

“Gee, I wonder why?” Xander asked, eyeing the young Watcher.

“How many times must I apologize for that? I was only trying to help her. I didn’t know she would react so...so violently.”

“This is Faith we’re talking about here,” Willow pointed out, “violence comes with the territory.”

Buffy stood up, grabbed her Slayer’s “bag-o-goodies”, and announced, “I’ll stop by her place on my way to patrol. Maybe, we can find out who did this tonight.”

“That would brighten my day,” Oz said, wrapping his arms around Willow, “I think Willow looks cute in anything...but charcoal...mmm...not my style.”

“Me neither,” Willow agreed.

“Okay,” Buffy said, “I’m going patrolling. You guys...well, you guys could probably go home. I mean, if there isn’t some kind of demon to research, most of the footwork will be mine.”

There was a myriad of protests from her friends, but Giles nodded his head in agreement, “Buffy’s right. Oz, you’ll take Willow home, and keep an eye on her?” Oz nodded. “The rest of you can go home. Wesley and I will stay here for any reports. If there is anything new, I’ll let you know.”

Buffy, stopped at the doors and turned to her friends. She had this sudden urge to stay behind, almost as though this was the last time she would see them again, “And guys,” she said, “Watch your backs.”

“You too,” Xander said.

******

It was a scene out of a horror movie; the circle was drawn, candles were lit and the sacrifice was presented. And standing in the middle of it all, was a tiny, brown haired girl in a pretty pink and white dress. Her face, furrowed in concentration, made her look like a five grader studying for the annual spelling bee, not summoning creatures of the damned.

Emily raised the ceremonial knife and looked down at the infant that was tied to the cold stone floor. It was wailing, and wriggling its bound limbs, trying to release the uncomfortable bindings, that was so painful. But it was only a baby, and had no idea of what was about to happen to it’s, too short of a life.

The pint sized demon began to chant in a language long since forgotten, calling upon the forces that once ruled the earth, “Ben’ok terrin andor. Ser’rin cathule toren. I call upon the ancient ones to send me the Hounds, that I might exact revenge!”

An unholy wind began to pick up in the dank basement, flickering the candles, and giving the room an eerie glow. She lowered the knife and pressed it against the squirming child’s bare belly. The crying suddenly stopped, not because she had completed the ceremony, but because somewhere in the baby’s mind, it knew what was to come next.

“Kathorin scemp’ta wendos ratore. Brustia kerr’een brok’toen mel’ore. I offer unto thee, this child to set them free!”

With that, Emily took the knife and began to cut into the child. Crying turned to screams of pain and terror, as the knife sliced the infant wide open, spilling it’s tiny insides onto the stone ground. And still, the child screamed. She then, turned the knife around and pointed it directly at the small chest, and plunged it into the faintly beating heart. For a brief second, a look off terror held frozen on the baby’s face, as it’s eyes followed unseen specters. Then...silence.

The infant was dead.

A moment later, the winds stopped and a blinding flash of light lit up the room. When Emily opened her small, blue eyes, there stood before her...the Hounds, and their “handler”.

“Why have you summoned us?” the Beastmaster boomed, as the gnarled and twisted sub-demon hounds growled behind him, “Why have you called us from the otherworld?”

Emily stretched her four foot frame as high as she could, and stared straight into the larger demon’s eyes, “You know who I am, I trust?”

The Beastmaster studies the small girl and slowly smiled, “Yes, I do. You are the one the darkness fears. You are Callisto.”

She smiled at that. It was always good to be recognized, especially by the ancient ones, “Yes I am. I need you help in ridding this plane of several ‘tiresome’ insects. To make them pay for all they have done to our kind. To make them suffer, unspeakable pains...and unending torment. Are you up for the task?”

The Beastmaster looked at the pretty little demon and, almost lovingly, stroked the neck of one of his ‘babies’, “I allowed you to call me, did I not?”

With that, Emily’s smiled broaden. She looked as though she had opened presents on Christmas day. “Cool. This is going to be so much fun!”

******

Buffy knocked on the door for ten minutes before she decided to give up. Faith wasn’t home...again, and now was not the time for the Slayer to be on one of her “Walk-a-bouts”. Something was going down in Sunnydale, something big...and she had a very bad feeling that they hadn’t seen the worst of it yet. She needed a partner tonight, and she knew just where to go...

“Buffy, I was wondering when you where going to come over,” Angel said, embracing the young woman, and kissing her gently on the lips, “How are you holding up?”

Buffy looked down at the ground and said, “Okay, I guess. I mean, it’s hard thinking about that poor guy, but I’ll survive.”

“You’re starting to sound like Faith,” Angel sighed, picking up her chin in his hand and gently forcing her to look in his eyes, “Now, how are you really?”

Tears welled in the Slayer’s eyes as she tried to keep her composure, “I know I didn’t kill him, and I know it was just an accident...but, every time I close my eyes...every night I go to sleep, I see his face, and that look of terror he had right before he died. God, I wish I could just turn back the clock and make it all right, but I can’t...and it’s killing me! I didn’t plunge the stake into his heart, but I’m just as guilty of his murder!”

Angel held the young woman in his strong arms and stroked her hair, “As a vampire, killing was easy...there were no regret to get in the way; no remorse. But, even with all of the suffering I go through every day, now that I have that regret...I wouldn’t give it up for anything. You see, the difference between man and beast, is regret. Without it, we are nothing but faceless demons...monsters.” he stepped away from Buffy, and held her face in his hands, “You aren’t responsible for that man’s death, any more than you could have prevented it...but the fact that you feel remorse...makes you a far better person than I ever was...or will be.”

“Angel, there’s something really bad going on, and it scares me,” Buffy confessed, knowing she needed his help more than ever.

“What? Is it about the Mayor?”

“No, something else,” Buffy walked over to the couch and sat down, “Giles always said that I had to work on my ‘Slayer sense’, or whatever it’s called. I always thought he was nuts...but when Willow was shocked...”

“Willow was shocked?! Did I miss a very important part of this conversation?”

“Sorry,” Buffy apologized, “Willow was doing some research on the Mayor, when the computer electrocuted her and blew up...”

“Is she okay?” concerned flooded the vampire’s handsome face.

“Yeah, she’s fine...I don’t know how, it should have killed her, but...” Buffy began, suddenly realizing the impact of her words, “Oh my God, she could have died! She could have died!”

“Buffy,” Angel said, trying to calm her down, “she didn’t die. Now, tell me about this bad feeling you had?”

Buffy shook her head and continued, “Right...well, anyway...when the electrician said that it seemed deliberate...I suddenly got this weird feeling that something was watching us...and stalking us! I don’t know, it was so weird...I never felt like that before, but it scared the hell out of me, because I don’t know what to do next. I went looking for Faith to see if she wanted to go patrolling with me...maybe we could find something out...but she wasn’t home, yet again. So, I came here.”

“If you want, I could help you,” Angel suggested, “We could patrol together, and look for whoever did this. Do you think it could have been the Mayor?”

“No...I don’t know why I think that...but no.”

“Well,” Angel said, throwing on his trench coat and heading for the courtyard, “We’ll get to the bottom of this.”

“Yeah, I just hope that nobody else is in danger.”

******

She hated when her father went on business trips. That meant she had to spend quality time with her mother...which usually consisted of watching her sleep on the living room couch, with one of her stupid talk shows blaring. But, for Cordelia Chase, even this was better than thinking about him.

Alexander Harris.

It was a name that inspired such loathing, anger and hurt...and yet still made her heart skip a tiny beat. Xander hurt her deeply, cheating on her with Willow. Deeper perhaps, then even she realized. All she ever wanted was someone to love her for who she was, not what she could do, or how she looked. She never really got that from her parents, who were too busy with work, or Epstein Barr to even notice the blossoming young woman., and she didn’t get that from her “former friends”, who were more concerned with social status than true relationships. So, she turned to Buffy and her “loser friends” to fill the void in her life. And more importantly...she turned to Xander.

But, even that was too good to be true. Even that was a joke! So, once again, Cordelia Chase, played second fiddle to everyone else...leaving her all alone.

She sat in her room, looking at old pictures of her and Xander (the ones she didn’t cut into a million tiny pieces), and sighed. They did actually look good together...and they were good too. But she had to remind herself that those days were over, and she should move on.

Enter, Wesley Windham-Price.

At first, she thought that this would be the perfect way to get back at her ex-boyfriend. So, every chance she got, she flirted with the young Watcher. But, as she got to know him better (which for Cordelia, didn’t take much time at all), she began to actually like being around him. He was young and kinda cute, for a Watcher, and he was quite taken by the young woman. Big bonus there.

But then, when she thought about it...and she did try not to think about it...his mannerisms, and insecurities reminded her of Xander (if he were English, and if he were a Watcher). God, she thought, putting down the photo, I’m going from one geek to another. How much of a loser am I?

As she sat in her room, looking at the photos, someone...or rather, something was outside looking into the window...watching her. It’s long, pointed nose sniffed the air, catching her scent. The wolf-like demon rapped it’s long talons on the side of the driveway, as it looked up into the window. This was the scent it was given, and this was the animal it had to kill.

******

“So,” Willow asked, thumbing through a stack of videos, “What movie do you want to watch now?”

“You pick one.” Oz said, to his girlfriend.

Willow turned around and gave a coy smile, “Or, we could forget the videos and make out?”

Oz smiled, got up and knelt down on the floor next to her, “That has very interesting possibilities.”

He kissed her softly on the lips, and moved his hands to her blouse. Ever since the time she offered herself to him to show her love, he promised himself that he wouldn’t take advantage of her. He wanted to make love to her, as much as she did to him, but he knew that deep down, they both weren’t ready for that. Of course, that didn’t mean they couldn’t fool around.

Their kisses became more passionate, as he unclasped the buttons that held her blouse closed. Willow, in turn removed his tee shirt, and began to make her way down to his jeans. Her slender fingers found the button and zipper and began to work it open. This was way more fun than watching stupid movies!

“Willow,” Oz gasped, feeling his arousal mounting, “Should we be doing this, so soon after the computer thing?”

Willow, kisses him hard on the lips, then nibbled at his earlobe, “I don’t know, but it feels kinda right. Don’t you think?” Then feeling the bulge in his pants she added, “I think you do.”

They continued to kiss one another, as their clothes were removed one piece at a time. The heat between the two of them could have kept a mansion warm though out an entire winter in the Arctic, as their bodies melded into one. Oz, played with her exposed nipples with his tongue, causing her to gasp with excitement. His hand started rubbing her flat belly, tracing circles around her navel, and made its way down to her trembling thighs. And as he slide his hand between them, stroking her hungry mound, he began to question whether he was going too far.

She wanted him, he could taste her hunger, but this just wouldn’t be right...not now. He wanted the first time to be special for them both, and he knew, that if he continued, they both wouldn’t be able to stop at just fore play. And, then it would cheapen the moment. They were both under stress, after the near fatal attack on Willow, and stress can do some pretty strange things to people.

“I-I can’t” Oz said, pulling away, and looking down at the floor.

Willow, looked at him with hungry eyes and pleaded, “Why not? What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong,” Oz reassured her, “And it’s not that I don’t want to...believe me I do. But the timing’s all wrong. You almost died today, and we’re both stressing from that. You’re so beautiful, I don’t want to ruin what we have.”

“Well, we’ve fooled around before,” Willow argued, “What makes today any different?”

Oz kissed her on the lips, and with great effort said, “Do you honestly think that it would end in only that? The way you and I are feeling right now, I don’t think so.”

Willow pulled her blouse back on and began to get dressed, “Great,” she pouted, “Why is it that when I get horny, some huge catastrophe happens to make it ‘inappropriate’?”

Oz smiled at that, as he slipped his jeans back on, “Because we live on the Hellmouth.”

******

While the two teens were dressing, and recovering from a very frustrating evening, two demons waited outside, in the bushes, for the signal to strike.