Part Five

“Okay, Angel...share,” Buffy stated simply, sitting down on an up-turned garbage pail, “And I’m not moving from here until you do.”

“Yeah, what was up with the psycho pooch?” Faith asked, taking up a position beside Buffy.

Angel looked at both Slayers, and sighed. Having to play twenty questions with one of them was hard enough, but to be tag teamed by two very determined young women, was a bit overwhelming...even for him. “That ‘psycho pooch’ is known as Hell’s Fury. They’re demon dogs, used by the Ancient Ones as a means to an end.”

“What does that mean?”

“A long time ago, before man recorded history, the Ancient Ones walked the Earth. They created a demon known only as the Beastmaster, as an executioner. For the most part, the Beastmaster, and his hounds only went after humans...murdering those who dared to stand against them. All of the legends that you read about of ‘Hell Hounds’ and Cerebus, sprang from those creatures.”

The two girls listened intently, as Angel continued.

“Then, as fate would have it, the Ancient Ones were cast back to the demon dimension...but the Beastmaster remained, as their one last connection to the mortal world. Then, a very powerful Witch, named Ursula Champaere cast a spell on the demon, sending him back to Hell, along with his Hounds. The only way for him to return was if he was summoned. But, the summoner was warned that if the spell was cast, they would be blood bound to each other. Only with he death of the summoner, would the Beastmaster be sent back. So, you can imagine...few people tried to summon the demon, for fear that they would be hunted down and killed as a means of stopping the Beastmaster.”

“But someone has summoned him, right?” Buffy asked, standing up and brushing herself off, “Obviously they didn’t read the manual.”

“Or they don’t give a damn.” Faith added.

“So, the question is...why?” Buffy shook her head, “And why didn’t it attack us?”

“Because it was wounded,” Angel pointed out, “Didn’t you see the gashes? It attacked someone, and they fought it off...I hope. Hounds can heal quickly, but not as fast as you or I. And they aren’t really demons...not in the strictest sense.”

“Then, who did the Hound go after?” Faith wondered.

Now, this had Buffy thinking. Willow was shocked earlier in the day, and now these Hell Hounds are prowling through Sunnydale looking for a meal. What was going on? Then a very nasty thought occurred to her, “Mom!”

“Buffy, you don’t know...” Angel began, but the Slayer was already halfway down the street. Racing against time...racing for her friend and family’s lives...

******

The Beastmaster knelt down beside Willow and held the book out for her to read, “I know, you are under stress, my dear,” he said, almost soothingly, “But I really must insist that you cooperate with me. Getting snippy with me, will not do you any good. Now, be good little Witch and read this spell.”

Willow felt numb from head to toe. This was not happening! She absently looked at the words on the page and sighed, “I can’t read this...the words don’t make sense. Besides, I don’t know why you even want me...I only dabble a little in magic...I couldn’t cast this, even if I could read it.”

“Give yourself some credit,” he said, “You have quite a bit of power, for someone so young. I felt it the moment I was summoned. I knew that you could do this...so I spared you from a terrible death. Now...just look at this and tell me what you see.”

Willow’s eyes locked onto the strange letters that were scrawled across the parchment. Nothing! It didn’t make any...

Then her attention was diverted to a small section at the bottom. She had seen this before...but where? “Ah...” she smiled, feeling a small amount of triumph, “I can’t do this spell. It requires two people to cast it....and since I’m the only Witch you have...can I go now?”

The Beastmaster ripped the book away and studied the words; furious that she was right, and even angrier that he didn’t notice this before. But his anger turned to a wicked grin, as the reality of the situation sunk in. All he needed was another person who could read ancient languages and cast spells. And only one person came to mind...

“Well,” he said, more to himself then to Willow, “If it’s another spell caster I need...I know just how to get one.”

He drew a circle on the dirt floor and began to chant, in a language that Willow was sure no longer existed. When the chanting was complete, flames shot out of the circle and up to the ceiling. Out of the flames, they came one by one...Hounds sprung from the fiery pits of Hell, to their waiting master. He looked at his unearthly army and smiled...all was going to be righted...very soon.

He gave only one command to the creatures, “Go”, and the Hounds disappeared out of the room, in search of their prey.

******

Giles sat in the passenger side of Joyce’s car. They had driven in silence for several minutes, not knowing quite what to say. What could they say? They had nearly lost their lives to some hideous creature, and the night was not over yet. But, still...something had to be said, about anything...

“So,” Joyce began, “I’m sorry to hear that you got fired. I may not have always approved of your methods...particularly the one about keeping me in the dark...but I think you really had a positive effect on Buffy, and I’m sure that you had her best interests in mind.”

Giles winced at that. Best interests indeed. Buffy never told her mother the real reason behind her Watcher’s dismissal. He cared too much for her...loved her like a father, Travers said. Giles wondered what she would say if she knew that?

No, he wasn’t acting in Buffy’s best interests as a Watcher...he was acting in the best interest of a father, “Buffy is a very special young woman,” he said, with a noncommittal tone in his voice, “As a Watcher, it’s my duty to protect that.”

Joyce smiled, “And as a friend?” Her words came as a surprise to him, “I know Buffy never says anything bad about her father, but I know she’s been very hurt by Hank’s lack of involvement in her life. You’ve always been there for her, supporting her and encouraging her. That’s not something Hank is good at, and somehow I don’t think that level of caring is in the Watcher’s manual.”

Giles turned to her in amazement. She knew. She somehow knew. And it didn’t really seem to bother her, “It’s very easy to care for her. Her father is missing out on a lot,” Giles replied.

The silence continued for another few minutes before Joyce spoke again, “Mr. Giles,” she hesitated, “We should talk about it.”

“Talk about Buffy?”

She shook her head, “No. Talk about us.”

Giles gulped, “U-us? W-what do you mean?”

She pulled the car over to the side of the road, and turned to him, “You know what I mean. We’ve been avoiding what happened that night, for the past three months. We have to talk about it.”

Giles sighed. She was right, but somehow now was not really the time or place to discuss their past ‘indiscretions’, “Joyce, I don’t think...” He stopped. Off in the lot that they were parked by, Giles saw movement. At first he couldn’t make out the shapes in the darkness...but then, it became all too clear, “A Hound! It’s attacking someone!”

Joyce grew tense, “Buffy?” She croaked out.

Now Giles could hear the desperate cries of the intended victim, “No,” he said, “I don’t think it’s her. Try to get the car closer,” he instructed, “I can’t do anything from this distance.”

Joyce complied, shifting her four-by-four into gear, and driving up the curb onto the grass. As they neared the Hound, the head lights of her car shown brightly on the scene. It was then he saw her, “Amy!?”

Amy Madison, was being rolled around the ground like a ball of yarn in the paws of a playful kitten. Only this ‘kitten’ was not playing. The Hound snarled and snapped at the young woman, trying to get to her protected stomach. Amy was doing everything she could to keep that from happening, rolling back onto her stomach every time the Hound made it’s move. She tried to think of a spell, any spell, that might save her...but her mind was so frozen with fear, the only thing that came to mind was a prayer. A prayer to anyone listening, that this terror would soon be over.

“Stop here!” Giles said, turning to grab the, still bloodied, hoe that Joyce threw into the car, “What ever happens,” he said, as he opened the door, “do not leave this car.”

Joyce nodded and watched him bolt out, swinging the hoe frantically. The first swing struck the creature in it’s hind quarters. It wasn’t a deadly hit, but it got its’ attention, giving Amy a chance to escape.

“Mr. Giles?” the terrified teen sputtered out.

“Amy, run to the car,” Giles said, putting himself between the girl and the beast. She was bloody, but not severely injured. She got to her feet but remained frozen in place, too terrified to move. She watched Giles swing the hoe, trying to fend off the Hound’s advances...but it all seemed so surreal. This wasn’t happening...it wasn’t real...

“Amy!” Giles shouted, bringing the girl’s attention into focus, “Go, NOW!”

With that, Amy turned and ran to the car, leaving the Watcher to cover her retreat. Giles waited for her to close the door of the car, before he began to slowly back up. He swung the hoe furiously, determined to stop this particular creature from ever attacking anyone again. The Hound growled and hissed, but was beginning to tire of this persistent man. It backed up, holding its’ tail out in front of it, the way a scorpion would in a fight.

Giles was so concerned with fending off the one Hound, that he didn’t hear the cries of warning coming from the car, “Mr. Giles,” Joyce shouted from the open window, “behind you!”

Suddenly Giles found himself on the ground. The hoe, his only means of protection, was ripped out of his grasp by another Hound that had come from the side. Giles got to his feet quickly, and looked around. He was surrounded by six of the large demon beasts, with no way of escape!

Joyce watched in terror, as the Hounds circled him, growling and snapping. She wanted to do something...anything to help him, but couldn’t think of what. She thought of using her car to run some of them down, but they were too close to the Watcher...and too many in numbers. God...he was going to die!

Giles eyes darted from one beast to another, wondering which will be the first to attack. But none did. They only circled and hissed. Then one of the beasts spoke, “Come to me, Rupert Giles, so that she might live,” the voice was that of the Beastmaster, speaking through his minion. “Come and save precious Willow.”

Willow!

Giles looked to the car and saw several more beasts stalking the vehicle, “Joyce, get out of here!” he shouted, waving his hands frantically, “Go to the Library!”

“I’m not leaving you here to die!” Joyce came back at him, putting her car into drive. She had to do something. But just as she was about to floor it, one of the beasts jumped onto the hood and snarled. Both woman screamed, as it’s barbed tail struck the windshield of the car, shattering it.

“Go!” Giles pleaded.

Her heart sank, as she put the car into reverse, and sped off, leaving Giles alone with his fate.

******

"Giles?” Giles?!” Xander called out, as he and Wesley bounded into the library.

“Mr. Giles,” Wesley echoed, “are you here?”

They were greeted by silence. “Oh, man,” Xander said, trying not to panic, “This is definitely not on my ‘good things’ list. No answer at Buffy’s house, and no Giles here...I’m not liking this.”

Wesley went over to the weapons closet and opened it, “We still don’t know that they aren’t on their way, as we speak,” he tried to reassure the teen, “But we must be ready for the next wave of attacks.”

“Next? There’s a next?” Xander replied incredulously, “We barely survived the first...and you’re telling me we get to do this whole crazy fun all over again! Now...I’m REALLY not liking this!”

“Xander,” Wesley said, a little harsher than he would have liked, “The Hounds won’t rest until they finish their job...”

“And their job being...”

“Our deaths.”

“Did I ever tell you how much I hate living in Sunnydale?” Xander sighed, picking up mace, “So, what do we do now?”

The young Watcher grabbed a short sword and sat down at the desk, “We wait.”

“Oh...wait...great plan,” Xander said sarcastically, “We wait while Willow’s being held somewhere, or worse...” he shook his head and headed for the door, “I gone. I can’t just sit here and do nothing. Those things attacked us, hurt Oz and kidnapped Will, and now your idiotic plan is to wait?!”

Wesley quickly got up and moved to intercept Xander. He reached out and grabbed the young man’s arm, looking hard into his eyes, “This ‘idiotic plan’ of mine will keep us alive far longer than rushing off into the fray,” His tone soften as he continued, “I know you want to rescue Willow...I do too...but we *have* to regroup. We can’t fight these beasts alone. Our only strength is in our numbers, and they will do everything they can to keep us separated. We must wait for Buffy to return. It’s our only hope to survive.”

Xander kicked the door, and walked back over to the center table. The Watcher was right, and he was hating himself for it. He couldn’t bare to think of Willow at the hands of--God knows what--but he also knew that he was no good to her if he were dead. So, Xander Harris, sat down and waited...and hoped that Buffy would find her way back to the library, fast...

******

As Buffy neared her house, she knew immediately that there was something very wrong. It was late at night, everyone had gone to sleep, and the neighborhood was quiet. So then, why were the lights on in her home? Her Mother was not really a late night person, and if she did go to bed early, she would not have left a light on.

The Slayer cautiously approached the house, unaware that she was holding her breath in fearful anticipation. Angel and Faith were close behind, and could sense Buffy’s tension. Who were they kidding? They felt tense also.

“Please let everything be okay, please let everything be okay,” she chanted to herself over and over, as she neared the front door.

She reached out, took a hold of the knob, and was about to insert her key to unlock the door, when she realized it was unlocked. Unlock?! Now, she knew something was wrong! Joyce Summers would NEVER keep the front door unlocked, not even in the safest of neighborhood. Which only meant one thing...

“Mom?” Buffy whispered, barely able to get out more than a squeak, “Mom, are you home?” She knew the answer, but she had hoped that this dreaded feeling she had in the pit of her stomach was nothing more than her imagination getting the better of her. But as she walked through the upturned house, that hope quickly turned to overwhelming panic. “Mom!” she shouted, racing toward the kitchen.

“Buffy, wait!” Angel warned, as the Slayer pushed open the kitchen doors and screeched to a halt, so quickly, that he almost ran into her. Then he noticed why she was unable to move. The entire kitchen was a wreak! Pots, pans and dishes were scattered all over the once pristine room, giving it the appearance that a tornado had passed through. But no tornado could leave behind what Angel, Buffy and Faith saw.

Blood!

“Oh, my God,” was all Angel could say. He gently laid a hand on Buffy’s shoulder and felt her trembling. At first he thought that it was from fear, but soon he discovered that her body had become a vessel of contained rage...just itching to get out.

“Mom?” Buffy said, trying to contain her emotions, “Where is she?”

Angel pushed passed her and began to search through the room. He went over to each and every patch of blood and examined it closely, “I think, maybe they got out,” he announced, “Some of this blood is human...but the rest...” he paused, remembering their encounter with the beast in the alley, “This must have come from the Hound we saw in the alley.”

“How can you tell which is which,” Faith asked, picking up a bloodied frying pan, “it all looks the same to me.”

“It may look the same to you,” Angel explained, “but it smells very different to me. Demon blood has an unholy stench about it...and human blood is sweeter. I can smell spilled blood from a pretty good distance.”

“Thanks for sharing,” Buffy snipped, “So, I guess I should add to my ‘helpful things to know’ list...Vampires are like demon blood hounds...”

“Buffy,” Angel said patiently, “I’m not your enemy here...remember?”

Buffy began to unconsciously straighten up her mother’s kitchen, “I know, I know. And I’m sorry. But if I don’t find out what happened to Mom...Angel, if she’s dead...I don’t know what I’m going to do.” Tears were now streaming down her face, as she dropped a drinking glass that she had just picked up, “I don’t want to lose her. She’s...she’s...my Mother.”

Angel wrapped his arms around her, and began to soothingly stroke her hair. He whispered something to her...something that had meaning only to them, and walked over to the wall phone, “If she’s not here...then I’m going to see if she made it to the Library.” He waited for the phone to be answered at the other end, hoping that he would here the familiar voice of Giles, telling him that Joyce was there with him. When Xander answered, and told Angel what had happened, his heart sank to his feet, “I see,” he said, miserably, “yeah, we’ll be right there. And, no...Wesley’s right, we have to stick together on this one. Stay put.”

Buffy watched Angel hand up the receiver and knew what he was going to say, “She’s not there.” she stated plainly, “And Giles?”

“Giles was here with her,” Angel explained, “Your Mom heard a noise and called him. He came over...and that was the last anyone has seen of either of them.”

“Well,” Faith said, trying to sound optimistic, “with Giles here, maybe you’re right. Maybe they beat the Hound and escaped.”

“Yeah,” Buffy said, walking to the back door, “I have to believe that. ‘Cause if I don’t...”

She left in silence, with Angel and Faith in tow. She had to get to the Library. She had to find her Mother. She had to somehow stop these Beasts!

******

Cordelia sat by Oz’s bed as he dozed. Of all the Slayerettes, she felt a greater respect, and bewilderment for him. They were both betrayed by the one’s they loved, and yet he somehow found it in him to forgive Willow. She wished she could have been more like the quiet, laid back musician, and take the ‘live and let live’ approach to this whole sad affair, but she found it too difficult...and way too painful.

And why should she forgive Xander Harris? She never once fooled around on him...well, okay she broke up with him once because she thought he wasn’t cool enough for her...but that was only once, and she had remained faithful to him ever since. But for him to be kissing Willow...that was more than just a passing...ooops. It was a ‘I’ve felt this feeling for a long time and now I finally have the courage to act on it’ thing. So, even if she did forgive him, she wasn’t so sure that Xander wouldn’t cheat on her again.

But he was so brave, fighting off the Hound like that, and saving Oz’s life...and he is cute in that geeky...

“What am I thinking?” She said aloud, then stopped when she heard a moan coming from the bed. Oz began to stir and slowly opened his eyes, “Hey,” she said, holding his hand for comfort, “How’re you feeling? We were all worried about you.”

“Cordelia?” Oz said, trying to get his bearings, “I’m in the hospital? How did I get here?”

“Xander brought you,” she explained, “he killed the beast and saved your life. Not too bad for a loser, I guess...”

“Willow?”

Cordy looked away for a moment and took a deep breath. He almost died, and all he could think about was her...god, why couldn’t Xander be like that? “Wesley said that if the Hound didn’t kill her right away, that she’s probably still alive.”

Oz gingerly sat up, wincing slightly at the pain in his arm, “Wesley? Xander? Where are they?”

“They went to the Library to try and figure out what to do next,” her eyes widened, as she watched her friend slowly get out of bed, “Hey, what are you doing?! You have to stay here!”

“I can’t stay here, while Will’s in trouble,” he said, pulling the IV out of his arm, “Besides I’m okay. A little dizzy and my arm hurts like hell...but I’m okay. Now are you going to help me get out of here, or do I have to knock you out and put you in the closet?”

“But...”

“Cordy.”

Cordelia Chase sighed and helped her friend with his clothes, “I can’t believe I’m doing this. The guys are going to kill me if they knew I helped you break out of the hospital.”

“Don’t worry,” he said with his patented half smile, “I’ll tell them I threatened you.”

As the two of them quietly slipped out of the room and down the hall, Cordelia sighed, “Oh yeah, like they’re going to believe ‘catheter boy’. You know,” she pointed out, “We have one slight problem. Wesley and Xander took his car, but they didn’t leave me the keys to your van.”

“Not a problem,” he whispered, as they sneaked passed the front desk and out the doors, “I have a spare in the glove compartment.”

“Along with a sign that says, ‘please steal me’?”

Oz just smiled and headed to the van. Next stop...the Library...then Willow.