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Part Seven
Buffy, Faith and Angel joined the others in the library. The sun had just begun to rise, leaving the vampire stranded in the building. But that didn’t matter. They all needed to be there to work on a plan to stop Callisto, the Beastmaster and his Hounds. It was going to be a very busy day.
As Wesley and the others brought them up to speed on the night’s events, Oz came walking into the library, with a reluctant Cordelia in tow, “So, what did I miss?” he asked. Then seeing Amy sitting at the table he stated, “Apparently a lot. Hi, Amy.”
“Hi.”
Wesley looked exasperated, “Oz, what are you doing here? You should be in the hospital, recovering.” then turning to Cordelia he asked angrily, “And why, in heaven’s name, did you let him come?”
“How come I’m blamed for everything?” She pouted.
“Because, you where supposed to keep him at the hospital,” Xander pointed out.
“It’s not my fault...”
“Hey, guys...”Oz interjected, “Remember me? It was my choice to come here, not Cordy’s. She did try to stop me.”
Buffy walked over to Oz and touched his good arm, “I just found out what happened to Willow and Giles. We’re going to figure something out, and we’re going to find them.”
“Yeah, well I hope it’s soon,” Amy said, “I only have about twelve hours before I change back.”
Oz sat down on the steps to the second floor and sighed, “Okay, who here feels like they’re watching a foreign movie without the subtitles?”
Cordy raised her hand.
“Well, before we do anything,” Wesley suggested, “we should compare notes...”
Faith started for the door, when Buffy grabbed her arm, “Where are you going?”
Faith shrugged her off and turned to face her ‘Sister Slayer’, “You guys can compare all you want. I’ve been in the same outfit for a day now. I need a shower and a change. Don’t worry B,” she smiled, “The way Wes here goes over details...I’ll be back long before he finishes. ‘Sides, I’m not much good at the comparing plans things. I’m more of a hack and slash kinda girl.”
Wesley looked insulted, “And what, pray tell, is wrong with preparing for all possibilities?”
Faith turned as she was leaving, “Nothing It’s great for killing time...which is why you’re so good at it. Later.”
“Faith!”
Buffy shook her head and waved her hand, “Don’t bother. When she sets her minds to something...no one can change it. Besides...she’s right. I don’t know about anyone else, but I’m feeling a little grungy right now.”
Wesley looked at the rag tag group and sighed. Buffy was right. They all needed a bit of a break before delving back into the situation at hand. He only wished that they still had time to figure out a way to stop the Hounds, kill this Callisto, and rescue Giles and Willow...if they were still alive, “All right,” he resigned, “Let’s meet back here in say...two hours. Gather what you can for weapons and equipment. It’s going to be a long day.”
Angel looked around and added, “Well, since I’m kinda stuck here. I’ll do some researching. The Hounds won’t attack until the sun sets. The Beastmaster wouldn’t want to draw too much attention to himself, just yet. So, we’re safe until then.”
“Okay,” Buffy said, “We meet back here in two hours,” then turning to Xander and Oz, she added, “And no going off on you own...not until we figure out how to stop this.”
“But...Willow and Giles...” Xander started, giving voice to both young men’s concerns.
“...will have to wait.” Buffy said sadly. She didn’t want to say it, but she knew it was the only smart course of action. They couldn’t fight something they had so little info about. But that didn’t make it any less painful for them all. “Guys,” she said miserably, “Wes is right. If we go running off without a plan, these things will kill us before we can do anything. I know Giles...he’ll do everything he can to protect Will. They’ll be okay,” she then said under her breath, as the gang, one by one, exited the library into the light of day, “I hope.”
****** This first thing Giles noticed, as he tried to sit up, was the stabbing pain coming from all over his tired body. He remembered rescuing Amy Madison from one of the Hounds, only to find himself surrounded by six more. He then saw Joyce speed off with a Hound flying off the hood, and prayed the two women got away alive. After that, his memories began to blur. He could recall the feeling of being tossed to the ground several times, and thinking he was going to die. But the words spoken by the Beastmaster, through the Hound, rang in his ears... “Come save sweet Willow...”
“Willow...ow!” he moaned, grasping his head. Knocked unconscious again, he figured, “Bloody wonderful,” he murmured, “Twice in one day! I really must be going for some kind of record!”
The second thing Giles noticed, as he opened his eyes, was the complete darkness that engulfed him. He touched the floor and realized it was nothing more than dirt. Then he painfully crawled around the ground, feeling for the walls, he knew must be there. His hand brushed up against something small and furry. It gave a surprised squeak and skittered away. After a few moments of trying to calm his already frayed nerves, he resumed his search.
He finally found the cold, stone surface that he guessed was the wall. So, he was locked away in some kind of cellar. Well, at least he was still alive. That was always a plus. At least, while he was alive, he could plan his next move, and hopefully escape. At least, once he figured out where the hell he was.
In the constricting darkness, his mind slipped back to the time he was held prisoner by Angelus. He was alone then, with no one to worry about but himself. Perhaps that was what gave him the courage to stand up to the demon, through his fear. But now...now there was Willow to think about.
Willow.
God, it hurt him to think that she might be in danger...alone and afraid. She was so young and sweet and innocent. He couldn’t let the Beastmaster destroy that! He felt his way along the wall, trying to find a door....or stairs...or anyway out, when he hand struck something metal. It was a frame, he thought, and a large metal door. Yes! This would be a way out! He blindly reached for the knob wrapping his shaking hands around the cool metal ball. He carefully turned it and said a silent prayer...
Nothing. The door was locked.
Giles wasn’t sure why he thought the door would be unlocked, but now that he knew it wasn’t, a dark despair flooded him, making his mood even blacker than his surroundings. He pounded on the door for a few minutes, to little avail, making his fist sore along with the rest of his body.
He was truly at the mercy of this demon, and could only wait for him to make his next move. Giles hoped that Buffy and the others, if they survived the night, would be able to stop whoever the Summoner was, before the Beastmaster could carry out his plans.
****** Faith had just finished showering, when she heard a noise coming from her living room. The apartment she was now living in, thanks to her new employer, was much larger than the one she was used to, but sound carried just the same. She didn’t bother wiping herself dry and quickly threw on a robe. With the stealth of a predator, she stalked out of the bathroom, and made her way to the source on the noise. She could see the figure of a man moving around in the living room, but a large plant blocked her view.
Slowly, she inched closer until she was in position to pounce, “Gotcha!” she shouted, turning the intruder around to face her, “Mayor Wilkens.” she said, slightly disappointed, “What are you doing here?”
“I heard you had some trouble last night?” the Mayor smiled, “And I wanted to see if my favorite Slayer was okay. And by the looks of it...it would say, right as rain.”
“Yeah, well that depends on what you consider to be okay,” Faith huffed, as she went back into the bathroom to retrieve her fresh change of clothes, “And how did you know about last night?”
“Word gets around,” he shrugged, “You know,” he added, looking around the apartment, “I am so glad that you’ve decided to decorate this place. It’s so you. A little dusty...but you.”
“Yeah, okay,” Faith said, coming out of the bathroom half dressed, “whatever. So, if you know what happened last night, then you know that it aint over.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry too much about that.”
“Okay,” Faith said, a little angrier than she would have liked, “What part of... ‘some psycho-bitch vampire/demon from hell, is out to kill me’ don’t you understand?”
“Faith, Faith, Faith,” he gave her a reassuring pat on the shoulder, “you worry way too much for someone so young,” he paused, and eyed his Slayer, “Are you going out in that? It’s so....well....so revealing. Not a very appropriate thing for a young lady to wear.”
Faith shook her head. Some times she wondered of her ‘Sugar Daddy’ was playing with a full deck....or if he even had a deck to play with. But who was she to complain, he gave her more love and respect than anyone else in this godforsaken town did. Besides, it felt good to be on the wining side for a change, and she had a feeling that Mayor Wilkens was going to be the winner of this one. So, she put up with his sidetracking, and odd remarks, knowing that in the end...and there will be an end...she would be the lone survivor in an ocean of death. That is, if she could live through the night.
“So, what do I do?” she asked.
“Well, as I see it,” the mayor figured, “You can do one of two things. You can hide out for a few days and hope this thing goes away...”
“And if it doesn’t...they’ll be coming after me. Besides, then Buffy and her loser friends will know I’m not on the level...”
“...or, you can help Buffy and her friends defeat this threat, thereby saving face and your life.” the Mayor walked to the door, “and maybe in the process, Buffy will die. Now there’s a happy thought. Oh, and Faith...”
“Yeah?”
“Where something else.”
****** Amy, Cordelia, Xander and Oz, walked through the Rosenburg’s empty house. The living room was in shambles, furniture upturned, glass broken, and blood stains everywhere. Willow would be hard pressed to find a good explanation for this one...
Willow.
Oz sat down on the torn couch and put a shaky hand to his face. The last thing he wanted to do now, was to lose his cool...but he was finding it increasingly difficult. His Willow was gone, and he felt so damn helpless! He kept thinking that she would just come through the open door, with a smile that could light up the room, and everything would be all right. But, she wasn’t coming...and everything was not all right. He looked over at the patch of carpet that he and Willow had made out on, no more than eight hours ago, and sighed. She looked so beautiful, and he wanted her as much as she wanted him, but he held back...as usual...not wanting to rush the moment. As he gazed at the empty space, he wished he had made love to her, like she wanted, instead of foolishly thinking they had all the time in the world.
Now, they might never get the chance...
“Hey,” Xander said softly, placing a hand on his shoulder, “if this is too much, we could wait outside, while the girls look for the spell book.”
“No,” Oz sighed, “It’s okay. I’ll deal. We have to find that spell book.” then turning to Amy, he asked, “How do you know, Willow has your stuff?”
“When I changed back, Michael told me about the temporary spell, he cast, and that I have to recast the real one...”
“I don’t get it,” Xander said, “You changed Buffy into a rat, and then changed her back again. You didn’t need a spell book for that one. Why now?”
“I don’t know,” Amy admitted, “I tried the spell...it didn’t work. Somehow, it changed. That’s why I need my books. There might be something in them that could help me...I hope. Michael said that Willow took all of my spell books for safe keeping, until I was restored. Now, all I have to do is find them.”
“That might not be so easy,” Xander pointed out, “After the whole ‘let’s burn our kiddies at the stake’ thing, Willow hid all of her Wicca stuff. Her mom may be in major denial, but she’s not completely stupid, and if she were to find her stuff, while cleaning her room...”
“I see your point,” the young Witch sighed, “Well, I’ve got to at least try. How long do we have ‘till we have to be back?”
Xander looked at his Mickey Mouse watch and said, “About an hour and forty minutes.”
“Okay,” Oz said, getting up and heading for Willow’s room, “I guess this is a good place to start.”
“Um, hello?” Cordelia piped in, “Not to be the pooper of your party...but, I really need a shower and change. Some of us, don’t like dressing grunge.”
Xander shook his head, “Okay, and what were you doing when Buffy and Wes said, no going off by ourselves?”
“It’s the middle of the day,” Cordelia pointed out, “Last time I check, Vampires weren’t into sun tanning. And if I don’t change out of these clothes, you might want to deal with demons instead of me.”
“Well, I don’t care if it’s daylight out,” Xander warned, “it’s too dangerous to go anywhere alone.”
“Fine,” she said looking at him, “Then you’re coming with me to my house. Amy and Oz, can look for her books...and I can become human again...”
“Like you ever were before?” Xander said under his breath.
Cordelia looked Amy up and down and announced, “Amy, you look almost the right size...I’ll bring something for you to wear. Oz....you’re on your own.”
“Okay,” Oz said, “We’ll be fine...just meet us back here in a half an hour.”
“Why do I get to be the lucky escort of the Wicked Witch of the West Coast?” Xander pouted, as he and his ex-girlfriend left the house.
****** Buffy carefully pushed open the door to her house. Part of her knew that there was probably no danger waiting inside, but after what happened the night before, she wasn’t planning on taking any chances. She gingerly stepped inside and looked around. Nothing appeared to be missing, or different from last night, but then again, she wasn’t really in the right frame of mind to memorize the house layout.
And in the light of day...everything seemed to be worse.
Joyce walked over to the couch, where she bandaged Giles earlier on in the evening. There were blood stains on the fabric, most of which, she doubted would ever come clean. Then there was the kitchen. A place she spent a majority of her time in...a place where she felt in control...and now, she didn’t even want to look at the devastation that the Hounds brought to her tidy home.
God, she wished they had never moved to Sunnydale!
“Mom,” Buffy said gently, “why don’t you go upstairs and take a shower. I’m going to grab a few things, and we can get back to the Library.”
“The Library...right,” Joyce muttered, her hands shaking.
“Mom, what is it?”
“Look at my house!” she cried, “Look at me! Look at you! Look at what this life of your is doing to us!! I want our life back to the way it was!”
“Mom?”
Joyce took a deep breath, and composed herself, “I’m sorry, honey. I...I just wish someone else could be The Slayer, and you could go back to be just plain Buffy.”
Buffy looked at her mother sadly and sighed, “Me too, but that’s never going to happen. I am The Slayer...I can’t change that.”
“I know,” She said, slowly walking up the steps, “Then stop them. Please.”
Buffy watched her mother disappear into the bathroom, “I will.”
****** Mayor Wilkens was usually a chipper man, never giving the appearance of being upset, or angry at...well at anything. To him, all things bad, were just minor annoyances that would be taken care of when the day of the Accession came. But not today. Today the threat was more than a mild annoyance...much more. Today, he was not chipper.
He stood alone in his office, giving explicit instructions to his secretary that he was not to be disturbed. He was in no mood for company. He walked over to his closet and opened the wooden doors, revealing all of its’ dark secrets within. All, that is, but one.
The Book of Champaere.
It was one of the items that Allen managed to steal from him on that ill fated night. The Mayor, wondered if his treacherous assistant gave the book to anyone before he was killed. Now, with the Beastmaster in Sunnydale...he was certain he did.
And that was a very bad thing.
If the Beastmaster got a hold of the book, which he was fairly certain he did, that could truly put a damper on things. He could manage controllable demons, and vampires...but if the Beastmaster were to use the book to set himself free...that was not something he had planned on...or could stop.
And once the Beastmaster was free...it wouldn’t be long before he and his retched Hounds sought him out. True the Mayor was invincible...but it didn’t mean that Hell’s Fury wouldn’t be able to bring on some major hurting, as Faith would put it. And he was so looking forward to the next couple of months.
He only wished that Faith would find the Summoner before the Beastmaster could cast the spell in the book. Even if it meant relying on Buffy Summers to help. Now that was a terrible thought. But, seeing as the Demon couldn’t cast the spell on himself, he had to have someone to do it for him, some one with considerable powers as a Witch...
“Willow Rosenburg.” the Mayor said, “Of course. Well, my old ‘friend’, you can have your little Witch, I’ve got myself a Slayer. Let’s see who wins this round.”
****** The phone rang just as Wesley stepped out of the shower. He quickly wrapped a towel around his body and padded over to answered it. He had place a call to the Council as soon as he got back to his apartment, but they were notoriously slow to respond...to anything. So, if he was going to wait for them to return his call, he figured he might as well do something constructive with his time.
Now, as the phone made its sixth ring, he prayed that his shower didn’t ruin any chance he had to get help.
“Hello?” he said, all too aware that he was creating a puddle at his feet. When he heard the familiar voice reply on the end, a smile grew on his handsome face. Finally...a response! “Hello, Helena. How are you? Really? That’s terrific! Oh, yes...well the reason I’m calling is...you know about the Hounds? I left that message with...oh, he passed it on to you. I see. Um...well...not that I don’t wish to speak with you...but I was wondering if I could talk to...Mr. Travers is at a meeting? Does he know about the situation here? Oh, that’s what the meeting is about. Did he say anything? No? I see. Yes, I understand things are quite complicated...what with Faith, and this Ascension business, but we are talking about Hell’s Fury here. You know what happened last time. I’m sorry, I know your brother was killed by them, but if we don’t stop them now...it might start all over again.”
Wesley paced the small living room, his frustration was beginning to mount, “Helena, we need help over here. I know I have two Slayers, and they are doing all that they can...but we have another problem. Callisto. Hello? Are you there? No, I don’t know how she managed to escape the void, but this is putting several more wrinkles in our situation here. Not to mention, I think it’s Callisto who might have summoned the Beastmaster. Yes, I’m quite aware of what that means...I’m the one calling you for help! Sorry...I haven’t had much sleep, and it’s been a trying night. No, I don’t. If I knew where the Book of Champaere was, I wouldn’t be calling you. And, Mr. Giles, the only other person who might know how to stop this, is missing along with one of the Slayer’s friends. No, I haven’t been consulting with him! For heaven’s sake, he was a Watcher then, he might have more first hand knowledge than I! But with him missing, or possibly dead, I need your help. Yes...I see. Well, please pass my message on to Mr. Travers, as soon as you can. Thank you.”
Wesley hung up the phone and sighed. He would be getting no help from the Council. He wasn’t really surprised, seeing as the Council never believed in personally taking an active role in the fighting of evil, leaving that job up to the Slayer, but he was a little disappointed. He had hoped that they would have learned something from the last time...but perhaps it was fear that forced their inaction. And this inaction will lead to all their deaths.
“Bloody beurocrates!” he hissed, throwing on a pair of pants and shirt, “By the time they decide to send help...God, I wish Mr. Giles was here.”
****** He didn’t know how long he had been sitting in the dark, but the sudden flood of light, told Giles that his wait was over. He squinted at the glare, trying to focus on the two figures that rapidly approached him. They weren’t Hounds, that much he was sure, but he couldn’t tell until one of them yanked him off his feet.
“Let’s go,” the red skinned demon growled, as he and his partner, brusquely dragged the stunned Watcher out of the room and down a long hall.
“Where are you taking me?” Giles tried to get out, but the grip on his arms, made him gasp in pain.
“Shut up!” the one demon snarled, backhanding Giles in the face. Giles looked the demon squarely in the eyes, never backing down, “Ooo...look at this,” he said to his partner, “a Watcher with balls. Now, that’s something you don’t see every day.” he reached down and grabbed in a place, Giles really wished he hadn’t, “Let’s get a closer look at them.”
Tears whelled in his eyes, as he fought off the urge to scream. The pain was so tremendous that Giles vision was beginning to black out, when he faintly heard the voice of the other demon speak over the roar of his mind, “Hey, knock it off! The Beastmaster wants him alive. You kill him...and you’re on your own.”
“You take the fun out of everything,” the demon replied, releasing Giles. He then glared at the Watcher and added, “I guess the Beastmaster will have his fun with you, Watcher. Now, move it!”
They led him to the end of the hallway and opened the door. He felt both pairs of strong arms toss him into the room, and heard the door slam shut behind, as he tumbled onto his knees. These guys really knew how to mistreat their prisoners! Giles stayed on his hands and knees, first just trying to regain his bearings, then figuring it was the safest place at the moment. After all, in this position, no one can toss him to the floor again...
He felt a strong, painful kick in his side, “Get up!”
...unfortunately, it allowed for good kicking.
He staggered back to his feet and looked around. He was in a boiler room, at least by the looks of the pipes and equipment. So, he was in the basement of some kind of large building. Giles, tried to go over in his mind, what kind of building had a large boiler room, and came up with quite a long list. Not that it would do him any good, he didn’t need to find it...he was already there.
He was still trying to narrow down the possibilities, when he heard a familiar voice coming from behind a large metal tube, “Rupert Giles...I’m so glad you came to visit.”
The voice sent a shiver down the Watcher’s spine, but he forced himself to answer, “If you wanted me to come, you should have sent out invitations, instead of your Hounds.”
This brought an icy laugh from the large demon, “The Hounds are my invitations.”
“What do you want of me?” Giles asked, “And since when do you have helpers? I thought you don’t play well in groups.”
The demon strode up to him and smiled a toothy grin, “Things change.” The Beastmaster reached down and grabbed Giles by the throat. As though he were holding a doll, he lifted the struggling Librarian off his feet to eye level, “I should kill you now. Call it payment from the last time we met.”
“Then...why...don’t...you?” Giles managed to squeeze out.
The Beastmaster pulled him closer to his face and glowered, “Because I need you to do something for me. Otherwise...” he squeezed a little harder, “You’d already be dead!”
He dropped Giles to the floor, and knelt over him. Giles was desperately trying to catch his breath, but every time he inhaled, a sharp pain filled his lungs, “And...what...makes you...think that I’m...going to...help you?”
“Because if you don’t,” The Beastmaster smiled, “little Willow will die.”
Giles’ eyes shot up and met the Beastmaster, with a glare, “If you hurt her in any way...”
“Rest assure, she’s fine...for now,” the Beastmaster said, “But, that could change, if you don’t cooperate.”
The demon got up and walked away from him. Giles couldn’t see where he went, but as he came back, he could see that it was a spell book in the demon’s hands. So, it was a spell he wanted him to cast. But what? And why couldn’t he just do it himself?
The Beastmaster knelt back down and handed Giles the old book. The moment the book changed hands, Giles knew exactly what the spell was, “You want me to cast a spell to release you.” Then he saw what the book was.
The Book of Champaere!
If he could only look through it, he was sure he could find a spell that would send the Beastmaster away forever. But he needed to examine the book, without the demon standing over his shoulder. It wasn’t as though the Beastmaster could read the spells in the book, they were protected by a Veil spell, and only humans who knew magic could understand the words.
“I’m not doing anything until I see Willow,” Giles said, staring at the pages, trying hard to memorize the words.
The Beastmaster growled, “You are not in a position to make demands! You will do what I tell you to!”
“And I’m telling you,” Giles said, defiantly, “I’m not doing anything, until I see Willow.”
Giles was plucked to his feet, and thrown into the wall. He heard the growling of the Beastmaster’s two favorite Hounds, but couldn’t see them. All he saw was a very angry demon right in his face.
“Perhaps,” the demon said with a sadistic smile, “I need to make my point clearer.”
The Beastmaster grabbed Giles roughly, and dragged him across the length of the room. When he landed on the ground, once more, Giles saw the two Hounds slowly approach him. They eyed him hungrily, as they neared the downed Watcher. Giles realized right then, that the Beastmaster was going to do everything he could to make sure the Watcher cast the spell.
And it was the idea of “everything” that sent shivers down his spine.
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