Part Three

"I'm beginning to believe that Mr. Giles brings a lot of this on himself." Wesley huffed as he opened the third reference volume.

From across the table Buffy gave him a nasty look. "Yeah, darn him for running out there and saving Mom."

"He's like that, just inconsiderate." Xander said in agreement to Buffy's statement. Then to Wesley, "And from what I heard he even had the nerve to pull your chestnuts out of the fire when that Balthazer demon and his El Eliminati buddies had you by the short hairs."

"Don't listen to him, nobody else does." Cordelia purred from her spot at Wesley's side. "You know, since this isn't really part of that 'duty' stuff you're always going on and on about, we could just leave these losers and go somewhere fun."

"Yeah Cordelia, you could show Wesley your favorite streetlights to hang out under." Xander shot back.

Willow dumped a pile of books into the center or the table. "Research guys... remember? We got'ta lot of stuff to go through."

"That is correct" Wesley said as he moved an inch away from Cordelia. "An odd creature has made an appearance in Sunnydale..."

"Something odd in Sunnydale? There's a new scenario." Buffy dryly interjected.

"As I was saying, an odd creature making an appearance in Sunnydale is worthy of our attention." Wesley continued with a bit of irritation in his voice. As everyone went back to their search Wesley took his glasses off and cleaned them. "This place is impossible." He thought to himself. "His Slayer was an open secret; these insolent teenagers confused and angered him; Giles would not just go away... what else could happen?" Wesley turned to the sound of the library door opening and frowned as his predecessor entered.

"Here's something...." Cordelia crowed, it says here that goblins only hang around people to cause them grief...."

"So Cordy, 'fess up.... how long have you been...."

"Precisely!" Giles stated as he came up to the table, putting Xander's latest salvo on hold. "That is why I don't think this thing is a goblin. It worked with humans for twenty-five years... a goblin would not have that kind of control or commitment."

"They are rather spastic." Wesley said in halfhearted agreement. "So let us hear 'your' theory as to what this is."

Rupert pulled the baggie containing a few of Kimmie's hairs out of his pocket. "We will not need 'theories', instead we can cut through the clutter and go directly to the truth."

Wesley held the bag up to eye level and took note of the contents. "Are you suggesting a revelation spell? Depending on what it is there is a risk that it will sense the casting."

"There is no time for any other approach. I am sorry to say the goblin is currently at large and armed with my ankle knife."

On hearing this Buffy jumped up and headed for the phone. "I got'ta call Mom..."

"She knows, I stopped by there before I came here. Joy.. er, your Mother is going to come here as soon as she finishes securing your home. She will be here before sunset." Rupert explained.

Willow shook her head. "The sun doesn't seem to bother it."

"Right!" Buffy exclaimed as she dialed her number. "Sunlight is not a goblin-be-gone..." Joyce picked up on the other end. "Hey Mom, it's me, you okay? Ah-huh.. "

Xander raise his hand as if wanting to be called on in class. "Ankle knife? You going 'Rambo' on us G-man? Never figured you for the concealed weapon type."

"He does carry stakes in his pocket." Willow pointed out.

Giles gave them a "stop it" glance and reclaimed the bag from Wesley. "As soon as Buffy is off the phone we can begin."

"I suppose it would be faster... but it could lure it straight here." Wesley noted with concern.

"Better here than parts unknown. Would you please give me a hand collecting the supplies from the office?"

As the two men entered the office Giles hung back and closed the door. "Mr. Wyndam-Pryce?" He said getting Wesley's attention. "I am leaning toward shape-shifter as its true nature."

"That could be a problem. What, may I ask, leads you to believe this?"

"A goblin can change its form twice a day, if it so chooses, once in the daytime hours, once in the darkness. This thing changed once in Joyce's basement and I am sure it took another form to escape from my flat."

Wesley looked incredulous. "You took it into your home? Have you lost your mind?"

"In hindsight it was not a wise move." Rupert confessed. "I told it that we would let it work for us, but first it had to get cleaned up. That's how I retrieved the hair, picked it off its shirt while it was in the shower. Then the plan was to take it to Spike's old lair..."

"So it vanished from you bathroom? How? Down the drain?"

Rupert began to collect the supplies. "No, it ran past me and out the door. But I was not more than ten seconds behind it. I had a clear view of the street... it was gone... broad daylight - into thin air."

"I agree a shape-shifter is not something we want to have in the mix. At least with vampires and demons we have a notion of where they are in the equation." Wesley said as he picked up the items Rupert had laid on the desk. "So we track it down and destroy it, or were you serious about having it work for us?"

"When I still thought is was a goblin... yes, its assistance was an option since they are so easily swayed. But now killing it is the course we must take." Rupert removed a book from his shelf and took it over to the desk. He paged through it and found the revelation spell and began to copy it onto a piece of parchment.

Wesley left the office with the supplies and took them over to the main counter. He tilted his head at the group sitting around the table trying to make out what they were chattering about. The topic seemed to be gossip about somebody dancing with somebody else's significant other at the Bronze. As he arranged the supplies he just shook his head at the irony of it. "Only God knows what will happen to us tonight and they act as if it is the farthest thing from their mind... amazing." A burst of laughter drew his attention back to them and as he could not help but smile a bit as another thought crossed his mind. "But when push comes to shove they will be there for each other. Perhaps keeping a Slayer isolated is not for the best. Buffy does seem to be thriving in the company of... " Wesley straightened his tie and arched an eyebrow as he realized these were the type of ideas that got Rupert in so much trouble. "Careful Wesley, old boy, or you'll also end up a heretic, just like Mr. Giles." He said outloud as he returned to arranging the materials.

Re-entering the library Giles went to the far side of the counter across from Wesley and called to the others. "Over here, please." As the other three began to walk over he began to place the materials into a metal bowl. "It is a very simple casting, a red feather or two; a sheet of virgin parchment with the spell written on it..."

Xander cocked his head to get a better view at the parchment. "What do you have to write it on there with? Blood? Mummy dust?"

"Ummm, I used a pencil..." Rupert answered with a blink. "....anyway, then a handful of dried..."

"How do you know its 'virgin' parchment?" Buffy said with a sly smile.

Giles ignored her and picked up a small sack. "...some shredded thorns, acquired from..."

"You're not using those disgusting toadstones again are you?" Cordelia asked while wrinkling her nose.

Willow piped in. "Oh they are having a sale on those down at the Wicca Basket! Three for ten dollars."

"What a deal, pick me up some." Buffy giggled.

Giles shut his eyes and made a 'cluck' sound which caused Buffy and Willow to snicker. "Shall we get on with this?" He asked as he picked up a book of matches.

Xander rubbed his hands together and leaned on the counter. "Sure... what do we have to do?"

"As soon as he gets a good flame going, Mr. Giles will add the parchment and I will drop this hair on it." Wesley explained as he took a single hair out of the bag. "We must all watch very closely because each of us will see a different facet of the creature's nature."

"And the vision will only last a few seconds. Rupert added as he struck the match. Everyone unconsciously held their breath as Giles lit the mixture in the bowl. As the flames took hold he dropped the spell into the fire and Wesley quickly laid the hair on top of it. The parchment began to blacken and curl and a wisp of gray smoke rose from the edges. As the hair ignited a vortex of white smoke curled upwards and spread out with a hiss. The sound grew more intense as the color changed from lavender to violet to a deep purple and then vanished leaving a semi-transparent orb which hung above the counter. The visions began to swirl within the orb, flashes of an ancient presence in the forest; glimpses of the primal past; hints of long forgotten gods and the ones who once paid them homage and in each scene a purple eyed being which once was feared.

And then it was gone.

"W-w-werewolf... It... It's a bad werewolf..." Willow stammered as she backed away from the counter. "I saw it change from a 'gur-r-r-r' looking man to a wolf...."

"No... no... no-no-no." Xander gulped. "Big, nasty, bad-to-the-bone crow... It was picking the eyes out of some little kid's dead body..."

Cordelia shook her head. "A big burning pine tree... what is that suppose to mean?" Buffy stood staring at the space where the orb had been. "I'll trade you, Cordelia. I saw it luring some lady right off a cliff. Then it turned into the same lady."

A strangled sob cut through the air. Giles was leaning on the counter with his hands buried in his face.

"Giles!" Buffy leaped over the counter and went to his side. Putting her hand on his shoulder she asked. "Giles?... What was it?"

Rupert removed his hands from his face and turned away from the others. He choked back another sob and cleared his throat. "I saw in now. It is at Willy's bar... It knows what we did and exacted a very painful revenge. It... it... showed me an old friend, and he was... was burning in hell... screaming it was my fault."

Buffy hesitated for a moment then wrapped her arm around Rupert's shoulder as Willow and Xander leaned across the counter and offered what comfort they could. Cordelia bit her lip for a second and then smacked the counter. "Hey! I'm not getting into this Hallmark moment because I know this tree-wolf-guy is full of crap! So let's look up tree-wolf-crap guy and find out how to ruin its Saturday night like it has ruined mine!"

Rupert straightened up and the despair in his face turned to anger at how he had allowed the entity to hurt him so badly in front of the others. With a sharp nod he stated. "Cordelia is correct!"

"Now there's two words you never hear in the same sentence, 'Cordelia' and 'correct'." Xander joked as the mood around the counter changed to 'gung-ho'. "Bridge to engine room... warp eight, research mode!"

"No need...." Wesley whispered.

The others turned to Wesley who was standing still as a stone in the same spot he had been when the spell had been cast. All the color had drained from his face and his expression could best be described as a thousand yard stare.

"Wesley, are you okay?" Cory asked as she waved her palm before his eyes.

"Be good or the leshii will take you..." Wesley murmured.

Cordelia flung her hand up in the air. "Okay... he's toasted. Now what?"

"Wesley?" Rupert said as he came around the counter.

Wyndam-Pryce gave a small shudder and coughed before he began to softy speak. "My maternal Grandmother was Ukrainian. During the Second World War she, along with the other single girls in her village were 'volunteered' to assist the Red Army barely behind the front lines. She met my Grandfather in the ruins of Berlin. He was an officer and was able to pull some strings and spirit her off to England. She lived with us after Grandfather died. I grew up sitting at her feet listing to her stories of dedushka domovoi - grandfather house spirit. He was a pleasant shade if you left him a snack every night. Then there was the kikimora - if you heard them wailing it meant death was coming to the house. And the Silver Rone, a magical horse. I loved her stories, except for the leshii, that scared the hell out of me."

"It's a forest spirit, correct?" Rupert queried. "Ummm.. like the 'Green Man' of our tradition."

"Somewhat." Wesley said with a nod. "But, very malevolent, as you are now aware. They are shape-shifters, capable of mimicking anything that is alive - animal, plant or human. Grandmother told me that they were driven deep into the forest by the holy priests and then the communists came and cut down all the trees, so now they wander."

Xander scratched his head. "So how do we get rid of it? A gallon jug of 'Roundup' with a spray attachment or do we have to get up close and personal?"

"Grandmother told me a tale wherein the hero beheaded one and then laid a burning branch across the neck searing a cross onto the open wound before it had a chance to reform."

"Beheading should work." Rupert commented as he adjusted his glasses.

"It's always worked for me." Buffy said in agreement.

Wesley's voice cracked. "Don't make jokes, we are in serious trouble."

"Why? Do you think it's coming here?" Willow asked?

"Perhaps... no - not 'perhaps'. It is likely that it will come here since we have incurred its wrath." Wesley began to fiddle with his glasses "It will certainly want its revenge, and they are very good at revenge."

"Revenge? Oh dear God..." Giles whispered.

Buffy's eyes widened. "You don't think... Mom?"

Rupert made a beeline for the door yelling back over his shoulder. "Somebody call Joyce. Tell her to get out of the house and go to... to..."

"Dave's Mini-Market! We'll meet her there and then come back here." Buffy finished his sentence and the both hit the double doors and were gone.

Willow grabbed the phone and dialed and everyone else held their breath until Joyce answered.

******

"... And as if we didn't have enough problems, then Lenin sent this Sergo Ordjonikidze to be the head-dick-weenie-in-charge in the Caucasus region."

Adam blinked at his companion. "Uh huh..."

"Now this bastard was heavy into 'bad-ass' brand sorcery but his specialty was making people disappear the old-fashioned way."

"Huh?"

"Bullet in the back of the head."

"Oh.."

"Anyway after he got the population towing the party line, he started in on us old ones." Kimmie continued while waving her beer bottle for emphasis. "Hit the big timers first: Rod and Rozhenica, Swarozhicz, Dzarowit, Perun."

"Uh huh..."

"Then he took out Baba Jaga and destroyed her house."

Adam drained his beer and blinked again. "No shit, that would piss a person off."

"Not much we could do about it. Hell, the Greater Pantheon was on the run; the rest of us were getting hammered left and right; humans didn't dare go to church let alone sneak into the woods and honor us..."

"So you bailed?"

"Damn skippy..." Kimmie confirmed as she slugged down her brew. "...been hangin' at various Hellmouths ever since. The one in China was kinda cool, I dig on those backward peasant societies. Then Mao came into power and fucked that up."

"Bummer."

"Yeah, Hellmouths are great. I can 'party on' and everything I do gets pinned on vamps or demons. And the power in the area makes me feel at home, gets the juice going. Just like the good old, old days when they used to do that burnt offering thing. 'Ya know what I mean? Before they got religion."

"So if your so freaking powerful why 'ya been trick or treating as a goblin?"

"Just laying low. Stalin, Khrushchev, Brezhnev - they all kept the progrom going. Even old Gorby didn't care for us. Guess perestroika didn't apply to the old ones, the god damn KGB kept looking for us up to about - oh... five, six years ago. Then the CIA, those bastards, they took over the hunt when the KGB got reorganized and its budget cut. 'Ya know those black helicopters? Well, they ain't from the UN, they're CIA specialists, and they're after me."

Adam just blinked.

A grin spread across the leshii's face. "But the times, they are a changin', I can feel it. Won't be much longer... some of the people are beginning to look to us again. It's almost time to go back to the old country."

Adam held the empty bottle up. "Uh huh... and it's really time for you to buy a round. That chick only had about sixteen bucks on her and I need the gas money."

"Yeah, last round - my treat. Sun will be down soon."

Adam took a quick glance at the blank Western wall of the bar. "Seven minutes, eight seconds 'till sunset."

"How do you do that?"

"I'm gifted... didn't 'ya know that?"

Kimmie smiled and headed over to the bar. "Hit us again, and give me a couple of bags of those pork crackling things."

Willy uncapped two more beers and sat them in front of Kimmie. "Seven-fifty." He said as he tossed the munchies down beside the bottles.

"So 'ya though about it?" She asked as she handed him a ten spot.

"Sorry honey, but I don't think you could handle the clientele."

Kimmie took a gulp of beer and scanned the bar. "Let's see, there's you, me, Adam and two vamps passed out in the corner. Yeah, wild crowd."

Willy sat a dollar fifty beside the pork rinds and shook his head. "Sun ain't down yet. Give it a couple of hours and this place will be rocking. Don't take it personally but I don't think you could barmaid for this bunch. Goblins, vampires and booze - that's a bad mix."

"I can handle vampires. Hell, I've been around longer than they have. Anyway, by tomorrow at this time I'll have dropped the goblin gig. I'm getting bored with it."

"What do you mean by that?"

Kimmie leaned over the bar and motioned for Willy to come closer. She glanced back and forth a few times and again the deep male voice issued from her throat. "Maybe you could use a bouncer?" It then took hold of his collar and roughly pulled him forward. "Or better yet, I'll just take over while you're recuperating. You owe me another dollar, shit-for-brains."

Willy fell backward into the shelving as Kimmie released her hold on his shirt. He fumbled around in his shirt for the other dollar and gave it a toss on the bar. "What are you?"

"At the moment, a satisfied customer. As of tomorrow, a valued employee. I'll be back in the morning to talk over the details, so you just hang loose...."

The leshii stopped and began to snarl as the vision of a group of humans casting a spell appeared on the wall behind Willy. The glow in her eyes became intense as she raised her hand and pointed toward the man who was watching her from across town. "You seek truth, you son of a bitch? Then see the truth!" It hissed as clenched its hand into a fist and muttered a curse in Russian. As the vision faded Kimmie let out a sinister laugh as it saw Giles react in horror to the scene which flashed before his eyes.

"We have to go - NOW!" It barked at Adam from across the bar. "Willy here is going to loan you his car. You got'ta get your ass to 1603 Wilson - pronto. I'll be waiting to let you in."

Adam slid out of the booth and came up to the bar. "Yeah, yeah... after that little sideshow I ain't even going to ask - 1603 Wilson, got it. Gimmie the keys."

"You're not takin... aaccckkk."

Willy never knew what hit him. All he saw was a flash of fire and then he was flying head over heels into the middle of the room. He staggered to his feet and turned to find not Kimmie standing beside Adam, but instead a tall, wild looking man dressed in the style of a medieval peasant. It deliberately pulled out a knife and with one hand plunged it to the hilt through the thick wooden bar.

Adam took a couple of steps back. "Willy, I think you pissed it off."

"Bouncer? Sure I need a bouncer... and you need a car..." Willy began to dig in his pocket. "Keys, keys.. here's the keys. Dark blue Reliant - out back." Without taking his eyes off the man he tossed Adam the keys.

The leshii watched the kid leave and then turned back toward Willy with a wolfish growl. "Sure has been a boring afternoon, huh? Nothing out of the ordinary, just in case anyone asks. Got it?"

"Got it, no problem."

As it came toward the shaken human it returned to its female form. While walking by it gave the bartender a not to playful slap on the cheek. "Just making sure." It snapped, then it turned into a swirl of flame and vanished.

Willy gave his upper body a nervous twitch. As soon as he realized the leshii was gone he backed up to the counter. Glancing over to the other two customers and let out a loud sigh of relief that they had not stirred from their stupor. He then grabbed Kimmie and Adam's abandoned beers and began to drink.

******

"Oak leaves? Fat lot of good that does."

Joyce startled and dropped the tape from her hand as she whirled away from the window. "Who are you?" She croaked to the strange man who was leaning up in the dining room doorway. "Get out! GET OUT OR ELSE!"

"What you going to do, whack me with a broom?" The man had morphed into Kimmie. "Be careful, I bite." Now it was a wolf which leaped over the table and landed at her feet.

The scream did not even have time to form in Joyce's throat before the man reappeared with his hand clamped over her mouth. His eyes flashed purple as his arm wrapped around her neck in a choke hold. "Nighty-night." It murmured as Joyce lapsed into unconsciousness.

Joyce awoke laying face down on the kitchen floor bound and gagged with duct tape. The phone.. the phone was ringing. Still woozy she rolled over just in time to see herself pick up the receiver and say "hello". She involuntary closed her eyes in a hard squint and shook her head, for her brain would not register what it had just seen.

"Yes Willow, everything's fine. I just finished doing what Mr. ..."

Her voice? She heard herself talking but.. how.

"Oh no! Slow down Willow... they'll meet me where?"

As the fog lifted the realization of what was happening shot through her.

"I'm on my way. Thanks for the warning. Goodbye."

Joyce began to thrash around on the floor trying to break free of her bindings. The leshii ignored her and began to tap its foot and peer out the window. A minute passed and a car pulled up into the driveway. After confirming that Adam had finally arrived it tapped on the window and pointed him toward the back door before it turned its attention to its captive.

"Heh... heh... heh... Flop around all you want, you're ride's here." It laughed as it opened the door to a confused vampire which was coming up the walk. "Come on in, soup's on."

Adam stopped in the doorway. "Is that you or her?"

"What'ta 'ya think? Like that lady would invite you in? Look we have to haul ass, the cavalry is on its way and I got to head them off at the pass."

"You head on out, I can handle her by myself.. I'll meet you at that factory."

Joyce had managed to roll almost into the living room, as her clone walked by she drew her legs back and tried to land a kick on it. The leshii sidestepped the blow and circled back with a growl.

"Hey! Remember our deal, this one's mine." Adam said as he approached.

"Just get over there and hang loose... don't screw up. It might take a while to get that bastard alone with me. Now I got'ta get the hell..."

"Then go damn it." Adam answered as he reached down and grabbed Joyce by ankles and began to drag her face down back toward the kitchen. He morphed into his vampire features and laughed at her struggles. "Whooo, feisty one. This could be a win-win situation. You'll either make it as one hell of a vampire or you'll get dusted by your own kid. Flip a coin, either way is fine with me."

He flipped her over onto her back and dropped her legs. In one fluid motion he was astride her with one hand roughly holding her head motionless and the other pressing down on her breastbone. As she thrashed beneath him he leered and straightened his body so he was laying on top of her. "Nice moves!" He slid a hand to the side and harshly fondled a breast. "But, damn it - we don't have time for that." Adam bared his fangs and lowered his face to her ear and whispered. "Don't worry, I'm just going to take a little taste. You know - calm you down for the trip so you don't try anything stupid." He forced her head to the side baring her throat. "Later we'll get to the main event. That's when your pal is going to have to watch while I turn you, won't that be a blast?"

Joyce felt a kiss on her neck followed by a sharp sting and then her body went limp.