Graile - Chapter 5 - Old Man
by Connor_Mac
[reviews]
Graile
Chapter 5 - Old Man
By: MacBeth — Connor_MacBeth@yahoo.com
Rating: PG
Disclaimers: What's mine is mine. What's Joss' is Joss'. What's everybody else's is everybody else's. Any Spelling/Grammatical errors are entirely the fault of my Computer's resident gremlin, Binky.
Language, Sex, and Drugs: some mild cursing, and light smoking, but hey! This is America. Love it or leave it.
Feedback: Feed back for me, Gysahl greens for my chocobo Gary.
Archiving: Take. Feel free. But alter one little comma, and the Zombie bunnies will nibble your remains for salsa.
* * *
Below the Sanderson Family Crypt
Buffy Summers stood in a large sewer junction and waited as her best friend and new love interest caught up to her. Willow Rosenberg jogged up to the Slayer and bent at the waist trying to catch her breath. Jack Covington, Xander Harris and Rupert Giles waited in another junction chamber a short tunnel length away. Buffy rested a hand on the small of the redhead's back and rubbed gently. "You ok?"
"Uh... huh. I hate running." Willow stood up and exhaled softly. Grinning at the blonde, she slipped her own hands around her shoulders and pulled her close. Kissing the Slayer deeply, Willow savored the taste of her love's lips until air became needed and she giggled.
Buffy's eyebrow rose at the laughter. "Something amuse you Will?"
Twin emeralds sparkled with mischief. "Who needs oxygen?"
The blonde snorted and kissed her softly. "C'mon. They're waiting for us. We've got a big bad to kill, then smoochies."
Willow sighed and nodded, before slipping into a narrow concrete tunnel joining the chambers. Buffy did not consider herself above watching the soft curves of the girl in front of her as they moved through the cramped passage. The channel let out into a cramped ten by ten room, the three men waiting there stifled grins as the two girls adjusted their clothing and weaponry. Jack simply grinned that infuriating half grin of his, moved to a steel banded door and kneeled.
As Xander shifted from foot to foot in impatience, Jack pulled his small leather roll containing his set of lock picks from his bomber jacket and began probing the lock with delicate movements, all the while whistling the theme to Mission Impossible. Giles hefted his two-handed, wood inlaid pick and leaned against the cement wall as Jack nodded at a quiet click. The iron door opened outward to reveal a brick wall. "Um... Is anybody else completely not surprised by this?" Xander asked a suddenly silent chamber.
Jack stood, brushed the knees of his Levi's off and slipped his fingertips into the spaces between two bricks and slid the brick wall to the right. "I don't even want to know how many people that fooled." Jack said as he moved into the remarkably well-lit chamber beyond.
Willow looked at Jack in suspicion, "How did you know that wall was fake?"
Jack simply stared at the redhead for a second before Xander spoke up. "Will? How many brick walls have you seen in this part of the sewer? It's all concrete." Willow ducked her head in embarrassment, before Buffy squeezed her hand and leaned in close.
"Don't worry Will, it fooled me too..." The Slayer grinned and pecked a kiss on the hacker's cheek before giving her a gentle push forward.
Jack led the group into vast chamber set with thick cement pillars. "Why does a city of Sunnydale's size need such a huge aquifer?" Jack muttered out loud and crouched behind a support column with a look of astonishment on his face. Giles moved next to Jack and froze in similar disbelief.
Deeper into the cavernous aquifer, a cloaked man stood in waiting in the center of a ring of wrought iron bowl torches. Loosely held in his hand was a long gilded staff topped with an ill-fitting crystal shard, much too long and wide for it's setting. Buffy and Xander looked at the two men in confusion. "What's the hold up?" The Slayer asked in confusion. Giles simply pointed beyond the waiting Vampire.
Lumbering out of the obscuring shadows behind the robed dark one came a huge greenish gray demon. Towering twenty feet above their heads, the colossal demon had arms and legs as thick as tree trunks as well as a gaping mouth filled with green stained teeth and a permanent drool. Around its neck, a thick iron collar was stamped with a glowing symbol matched by the medallion around the cloaked man's throat. Xander looked at the demon for all of ten seconds before laughing hysterically. A second later, Willow joined him in nearly uncontrollable giggles. After the redhead whispered into Buffy's ear for a second the Slayer nodded and chuckled in amusement.
Giles looked to Xander asking a silent question. Xander looked at the Brit like he'd been in a cave for the last fifty years. "A Rancor?" he gushed. "Man, I'm really losing respect for the bad guys."
Giles turned to Xander in amazement. "How on Earth did you know it was a Rancor?"
Xander matched his amazed look. "Return of the Jedi! Man, you have no excuse, I know they showed that movie in England." He shook his head and turned to Buffy. "How do we kill it?"
Jack and Giles both turned to face the young teen with nearly identical looks of horrific outrage.
"Kill a Rancor? You're sick!" Jack snapped at a confused Xander.
Giles shook his head. "Killing a Rancor... That's... That's just not right..." he said shaking his head as he advanced on the now impatient vampire. Seeing his quarry advance, the undead sorcerer gestured with his staff. A flash of green lightning coursed along the shaft, flared within the crystal, and shot out to blast past Jack and slam into Giles, sending him back into the wall with a sickening smack! Without hesitating, the vampire then drew a slim stiletto dagger from the back of his belt and, flipping it in his hand to grip the needle-point with his fingertips, he cast out the dagger and grinned malevolently as it slammed hilt deep into the chest of a very surprised Xander.
Buffy looked on in horror as the body of her friend Xander Harris slumped to the ground as her Watcher Rupert Giles slid down the wall, leaving behind a dark red smear on the cement wall. Turning to the vampire responsible, she charged and was summarily backhanded by the gigantic demon. She tumbled to the ground dazed and staring helplessly.
Willow stood in shock at her best friends death. As her eyes blackened in rage, her hands began to move automatically. She gestured frantically and began screaming arcane words, moving instinctively to summon eldritch forces. Casting her left hand out, she shot a massive beam of white light that blasted through the vampire's staff and vaporized his right leg, right arm, and a great portion of his torso, remarkably leaving his heart unscathed. Having spent herself with the Arcane blast, Willow had no defense against the Rancor's rapidly incoming foot as it connected with her back, a barely conscious Buffy sank to the ground in defeat after hearing the sickening snap of her love's spine.
Jack snarled deeply and drew his firearms to bear on the Necromancer, emptying both clips into the remaining torso of the mortally wounded vampire. Three separate shots shattered the talisman before the vampire immolated into so much ash.
The shattered medallion and the Rancor's collar both disappeared in a brilliant blue flash as the flickering arcs of energy from the vampire's fractured stave distorted the released energy. The energy seemed to merge with the esper-like flow of power seeping from Willow's body like blood. The resultant force enveloped everyone in the chamber in a penetrating white light that was swiftly followed by oblivion.
* * *
Sunnydale High School Library
One Hour Later
Buffy opened her eyes and winced in pain. "Ow..." she moaned as eventually, the pain faded and she found herself able to open her eyes and sit up atop the library counter. Looking around the darkened library in amazement, she saw her friend Xander sit up against the book cage and take in his own surroundings with deep confusion. Giles stumbled out of his office holding his glasses loosely while rubbing the bridge of his nose. Willow rose up on one arm from lying atop the main table and rubbed the small of her back. Jack opened his eyes and saw everyone upside down, a side effect of him being sprawled out on the stairs with his sunglasses askew. Looking at the clock, Buffy saw it had only been an hour since Jack had slid open the brick wall into the city's aquifer. Willow. Buffy looked desperately around the library for her lover before seeing her sitting up on the tabletop
"Ok... What the Hell just happened?" Xander asked out loud. Buffy stumbled to the main table and helped Willow to her feet.
"You ok?" she asked, her hand seemed glued to her shoulder. The redhead nodded and looked to Xander.
"You?" Willow asked before seeing the grievous red stain and small hole in his straw-hat adorned chocobo decked blue Hawaiian shirt. "Oh my god, Xander! What happened, you're bleeding!"
"No... I WAS bleeding." He said, touching his skin through the hole in his shirt. "Is anyone else overly weirded out?" the young man asked as he looked down at the unmarked skin beneath the hole. "Damn... I REALLY liked this shirt." He moaned more to himself than the others.
Buffy moved slowly to her Watcher after noticing dried blood on the back of his tweed jacket and white collar. "Giles, are you ok? You look like you pulled a Carrie."
"Yes, I, I believe I'm alright, just a slight headache." The older Brit stated with a growing concern. "Jack, are you quite alright?" he asked the now upright Irishman.
"Well I guess everyone's in one piece. Does anyone remember what just happened?" Hearing a chorus of no's, Jack's eyes narrowed at a stray thought and he asked another question. "Anybody remember anything from yesterday?" Jack rubbed the bridge of his nose and leaned against the stair rail to keep his balance. "Because I remember leaving your apartment to go after Graile, " he said pointing to Giles, "My workout in your backyard," he shifted to Buffy "I also remember you" he pointed to Xander, "Being stuck by a stiletto the size of a pig spit." Xander nodded and absently began rubbing the indicated area.
Willow looked to the spot where she woke up. "I don't know about the rest of you, but from what I remember of that fight, I don't want to remember." she shuddered at the recurring memory of Buffy being slammed by the enslaved Rancor. "Uh... Do those look familiar to anyone?" she said, pointing to a wide, flat crystal shard and a grotesque statuette that sat near where Buffy's head had lain.
Giles moved to the counter and shook his head. "This is the crystal shard from that vampire's staff." He said, hefting the two-liter bottle sized splinter in one hand and a statuette in the other. "I believe this is, in some form, the Rancor we fought. Maybe the Summoning receptacle." The amethyst eyes of the dark green marble statuette glinted with foreign intelligence.
Willow stage whispered to Xander, "That's Giles speak for a Rancor Call"
Xander looked confused, "I guess this is a disturbing thought, but why do we not kill Rancors?"
Jack shivered in disgust and turned to Xander. "Rancors are the gentlest creatures imaginable, they're herbivores, and also incredibly intelligent. There are tribes in Peru, Brazil, and Egypt. Their incredible strength and size are simply natural defenses. No offense Xander, but could we switch to a less gut wrenching subject?"
Giles coughed and kept looking into the crystal shard. "I agree, back to less disturbing thoughts, I have absolutely no idea what this is."
Jack popped his neck to the right and moved closer to the Watcher. "It looks like a Chronostone. Though it's by far the biggest I've ever seen." He eyed the stone with a look of curiosity and deep thought. Shaking his head, he walked to the entrance mumbling, "I'll be right back; I need a smoke."
After the Irishman left the library, Buffy muttered out an "I'll be right back" and followed him.
"What is it with her and Irish men?" Xander complained to his best friend.
"Yeah, I hear ya." Willow thought to herself, feeling a stab of jealousy.
* * *
Jack stood in the parking lot leaning against the hood of his Cutlass holding a rolled cigarette. "The stars are beautiful tonight Red." He looked up at the moon and sighed. "I almost got them all killed tonight. Ruddy hell luv, I miss you. You'd have done things right." Jack kissed the emerald set in the gold band on his left ring finger. "I never thought it'd be this difficult Dulcissime. She looks so much like you... "
Buffy walked slowly to him and leaned beside him against the convertible; the blonde stuffed her hands into the pockets of her jacket and looked up into the night sky, mimicking her friends posture. They stood in companionable silence watching the night sky for several moments before Buffy started sniffing the air. "What the hell is that smell?" she asked him accusingly before noticing his cigarette. "That's not what I think it is, is it?"
Jack nodded and inhaled deeply before exhaling the thick cloud of smoke. "I figured after tonight, I deserved it. I'd offer, but it's probably not for you."
"Thank you but no. My life is odd enough I don't need that. But, feel free. " She said calmly. "I uh, have something to tell you."
"You remember everything that's happened for the last two days." Jack stated simply.
"I've got to remember to stop trying to tell you things. Let me guess, so do you?" Buffy accused him with a smile.
Seeing a shrug, she continued. "I don't know why we remember. I don't know how the others survived; I mean they were dead! Now they're not and to tell you the truth, I don't give a good goddamn how. I don't care why or how, but Willow's alive. I remember her dying, that snapping sound is something I will desperately try to forget for the rest of my days."
Jack nodded somberly and took a final drag off his joint before flicking the roach into the gutter. "When are you going to tell her again?"
"I'm not." She said firmly.
"Dare I ask why?" he asked as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his bomber jacket. Jack pulled a pair of black gloves out and pulled them on, weaving his fingers to get a tight fit.
"An hour ago I watched my friends die. I watched Willow die and from that alone I nearly died. It's bad enough that she's a target as it is, but if word got out that Willow and I were together, the Master would hunt her down specifically and... And I can't live with that. Eventually, Xander will open his eyes and they'll get together. That will hurt, god will that hurt, but as long as she's happy, I can live with it." She said, more for her sake then for his.
"Liar." He said with a grin as he nodded his head toward the library and they both walked back in.
"God, this all happened so fast. I mean, one moment, I'm kissing Willow, then I watch them die, and the next thing I know, we're all alive and they've lost their memories. It's like yesterday never happened."
Jack sighed and looked at the Slayer with a look that told her he understood. "Surprise, Buffy. He grinned. "The most important lessons and events in life happen in mere moments, often with no warning or pretext." He stopped short of the door. "Buffy?" he asked while pulling his left glove off.
"Yeah Jack?" she asked from behind him seconds before he placed his palm on her forehead.
"I hate to do this B, but you're just not ready for her yet." He said, mentally rearranging her memories, leaving her in a momentarily stunned state. "You'll be ready for her when you Won't be able to stand aside. You'll have to leave." Pulling the glove back on, he straightened the collar of her grey blouse. "You've got a long way to go kid. I've got a lot riding on you." He said to the inert Slayer.
Shaking her head, Buffy patted Jack on the shoulder and moved past him, "You are a weird man my friend." She said completely oblivious to the past five minutes.
* * *
Giles had driven Willow and Xander home before retiring to his own apartment hours ago. Now he sat in his favorite chair with a glass of scotch in his left hand, and the Chronostone clutched tightly in his right. The Englishman sighed heavily as he gazed deeply into the crystal. The longer he had held the shard, the clearer his memories of the previous day became until he could recall all but the moments past his impact with the wall perfectly. Several memories kept staying in his mind. The brief glimpse of the almost painful love between his Slayer charge and her hacker friend, the nearly fatal injuries he himself had sustained, as well as fleeting glimpses after his wounding of Willow's nearly God-like mystical power and of her subsequent demise.
Yet something else was clawing in the back of his memory, like there's something important that he'd forgotten completely about. Jack had driven Buffy home; The Rancor statuette had been placed safely in the floor safe in his bedroom closet with the Crystal shard soon to follow, and all his weapons had been cleaned and replaced in what Xander lovingly called his "toy chest". This mnemonic mystery was starting to anger the Watcher. The grip on his nearly full scotch glass had almost reached the shattering point before a knock at the door surprised him out of most of his anger. "Oh bugger me," he moaned at the prospect of having company at this ungodly hour.
Walking to his door, he straightened his waistcoat and the collar of his white dress shirt. "Don't these Americans ever sleep?" He whispered before he opened his front door. Standing on his doorstep stood a tall muscular bear of a man with silvered hair and goatee. Clad in faded blue jeans, white button down shirt and black suede vest, it was the deep blue eyes that jogged Giles' memory. "Grandfather?" Giles said in awe at the youthful seventy four year old before him.
Vincent Macleod grinned and pulled his stoic grandson into a tight hug. "Hello Ripper my boy." Setting the surprised Brit down, Vincent stepped back and looked Rupert up and down. "You've grown much taller than I expected Rip," he said as he shouldered his saddlebags. "May I come in?"
"Yes, please. I can't believe I forgot you were coming." As he ushered the Scotsman into his home, he grinned to himself. "Scotch? It's a good year." He offered, feeling for all the world as he had in his youth, spending summers with his Grandfather on Glen Finnen.
* * *
Angel adjusted his grip on the paper bag containing his "dinner" and walked slowly down the street with a slight limp, a fading reminder of his newly healed broken leg, received during his earlier encounter with the Elder vampire, Graile. Taking a shortcut to his apartment, he slipped down an alleyway between a salon and a trendy fashion boutique. As he slipped through the alley, Angel felt an aura of darkness that chilled even his Demon within. Stopping in actual sheer terror, he slowly turned around to see the one person he really didn't want to tonight. "Graile." He managed without sounding to keep the leg numbing fear from his voice as the aura lessened significantly.
"Angelus." The deeply cloaked vampire stated his vampiric, jet-black skin glinted in the streetlight as he gestured casually at the sky. "Out a bit late aren't we?" he said as calmly as though commenting on the weather.
"Maybe. It's still early for humans." Angel remarked a moment of silence between the two when Angel thought of what had been bugging him. "I want to know what you meant."
"Regarding?"
"Your warning. Why did you warn me about hurting Willow?" he asked, taking a menacing step forward.
Graile simply grinned and nodded. "Ah yes. Now I recall. I have plans for her." Raising a hand to stop his protests, he continued, "Nothing to get your lacey panties in a twist about. There are simply some things I want her to do for me."
"And if she doesn't?" came a confident voice from behind them both. Turning, both vampires beheld a blue jean and leather jacket clad Slayer. Buffy crossed her arms and waited. "Jack went to meet you, but you were a no-show. There was only a newbie vampire with a couple of trinkets."
"I also told you I wanted him there alone." He said simply, wagging his finger as though chastising a child. "I had to find some way to amuse you." He said, turning to the Slayer. Throwing back his hood, Buffy saw for the first time, the true face of an Elder vampire. Unnaturally black skin shone like obsidian in the low light, his eyes were twin indigo fires set in a devilishly handsome face with nearly nonexistent facial ridges. His stark white hair flowed down his shoulder in shocking contrast with his onyx skin. Buffy stared in shock. "Not what you expected I take it?" Graile laughed.
Buffy nodded dumbly. "Honestly? I expected yellow eyes, horns and long claws." Shaking her head she remembered whom she was talking to. "What do you want Graile?"
The handsome vampire smiled wide, showing needle sharp fangs and shrugged. "It's too early for all the secrets to be revealed. Tell Jack to meet me in the hold of the "Laurie Marie" dock thirteen, tomorrow night. Alone this time, or I will systematically kill everyone you care about. Starting with him." He said calmly pointing to Angel. That said, he walked out of the Alleyway and soon disappeared. "Goodnight Slayer, Liam"
Angel stepped closer to Buffy. "Hey. Nice night to walk you home?"
"Sure. Ever since photo-negative-boy swept into town the Master's lackeys have stayed at home." She smiled at the tall dark man before her and suppressed an urge to run to Willow. They strolled down the silent five am street casually talking like any other young couple.
"He's right though, it is getting late. Maybe I should walk you home?" she grinned as they headed in the direction of Angel's apartment.
"It's on the way," the Irish vampire grinned. "In a sort of opposite direction kind of way."
* * *
Sunday morning found Joyce Summers sitting in the Living room of her home sipping her coffee while trying to peruse the front page of the Sunnydale post. Eventually she tossed the paper onto the coffee table in exasperation. One image kept flashing through her mind. "He's too young for me and I REALLY need to start remembering that..." she moaned to herself, "God I need a man." The focus of her distraction had gotten up and left before she had come down this morning, but since his bags were still by the couch, his return seemed certain. The bags kept crawling into Joyce's thoughts, and a sudden urge to go through them shocked her. "Honestly. You'd think I was Buffy's age." She thought as she headed into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.
Had Joyce looked behind her, she would have noticed her daughter leaping ten feet nearly straight up to land silently on the eave under her bedroom window. As Buffy slid through the window she had left open and changed her clothes, she started thinking of what she should do about Angel and Willow. "Angel can handle himself when I'm not around. He's not a target. He loves me. He loves me." She whispered herself over and over, repeating her new mantra in her head. Alone in the darkness, Buffy allowed herself to do what she never allowed when around others in the day, she cried.
* * *
Willow sat on the floor of her room with her back to her bed, oblivious to the long passed dawn. She hadn't moved in hours, forcing herself to remember what had happened. After several futile minutes, she sighed heavily and dropped her head down against her chest. She knew something important had happened, but couldn't bring the memories from the ether of her mind. Having forgone sleep after lying in bed for an hour trying to not think of a certain blonde, she reached over to her bedside table and snagged her laptop. After booting up the laptop Jack had given her, Willow grinned at the unreal response time and logged onto the net.
Her mailbox was empty, having gone through them when she got home. Willow clicked the compose option and typed in Vasha_NY's E-mail address. Thinking for a moment, She began to type.
To: Vasha_NY
Subject: News form the Dale
Hey Vash.
Weird things have been happening here. We met up with a vampire we thought was this Ancient by the name of Graile. We also ran into what Jack and Giles called a "rancor" demon. I think I saw one in Star Wars. It was big, greenish, ugly, and big. The rest of the night is a mystery because the others and I woke up in the library roughly an hour later. I barely remember anything from the past two days. G took some goodies form the vampire, but other than that, I have no idea what may have happened.
THIS IS SO FRUSTRATING!!
GRRR!!! ARRGH!!!
Write me when you get this.
Red_One
Willow sent off the E-mail and sat back, spending an hour checking various Fan based Fiction web rings and a few of the more shady Hacker sites for programs and files. The messenger program (that continually malfunctioned) she had downloaded from a popular search engine site pinged with an annoying chime as a message from Vasha popped on screen.
(Vash: Hey red. Saw U on, thought I'd ping you.)
Willow grinned as she typed in a response.
(Red: Hey yourself. You ping, I reply.)
In New York, Akivasha Tutuola stretched out on the windowsill with her laptop on her lap. Reaching blindly down to the floor by her barefeet, she plucked up her Venti Chai Latte and sipped the silky tea. Looking to her right, she matched smiles with a beautiful black haired woman stretched out on long black leather couch with her bare feet propped up on the oak coffee table, flipping through a catalogue from Museum Replicas. The raven tressed woman set the catalog on her lap and grinned at the young mocha skinned girl before dropping her eyes down to a large Bengal tiger sleeping curled up at her feet, A wide, thick gauze pad bandaged against it's side, the tiger's breathing seemed labored yet steady.
"How's Pike?" she asked in a low whisper taking another sip of her spiced black tea.
Deanna Covington bent over at the waist and gently nudged the feline with her toe and frowned at his irritated growl. "Well, he's still in some pain. That damned Hunter used a Jade axe and wounded my Pike deeply." She said with a pout, her hand fidgeting with the silver conch medallion belt slung low over her tight black leather clad hips. "But he's healing nicely."
She finished with a hopeful grin.
Aki chuckled softly before turning back to read the reply on her laptop, pursing her lips, she typed another message.
(Vash: If anything happened, you'll remember. Mystical amnesia rarely lasts long. This Master you mentioned, he's got to have an agenda. I'd be careful.)
(Red: Yeah, this Graile guy is a real pain. One moment he wants J in the tomb, then we meet this Vampire sorcerer. Who had a pet Rancor of all things. )
(Vash: A Rancor? Aww... They're so cute.)
(Red1: Right... J and G said they were harmless, It's kind of weird to consider a twelve foot slobbering beast cute and harmless.)
(Vash: They take some time to get used to.)
(Red1: I bet. :D)
(Vash1: Anyhoo. Are your memories of the fight any clearer?)
(Red: not really. Basically, I remembered waking up in the Library. The past two days are kind of blurry.)
(Vash1: Bummer. Sorry, but I gotta go, Deanna wants java.)
(Red1: Okies. Write me later k?)
(Vash: Sure. G'nite.)
(Red1: Night.)
Willow logged off her connection and closed her laptop. The slim piece of advanced hardware continued to thrill the young hacker; the first moment she had alone with the device she had delved deeply into it's programming and was shocked by how advanced it truly was. Every program on the device was more advanced than any she had used or read about, yet not one file had been released to the general public yet. Even the games had their files tampered with to not show programming dates and copyright marks. "Where did he get this?" she asked her silent room.
* * *
Xander's breath came in deep painful huffs, a lasting reminder from his Father to not drink the last coke in the fridge. Even one he had purchased for himself the night before. He slumped against the door of his bedroom, eyeing the fist sized, deep purple bruise over his left floating ribs. Looking in the half mirror on the side of the wall near the door, the bruise seemed hardly out of place amongst the nearly faded "reminders" his Father had given him.
Walking to the closet he opened the door and looked for a shirt that didn't scream "geek". He pulled down a white button shirt he'd worn only once to his Uncle Rory's last arraignment hearing and pulled it on, glad for once that his mother couldn't guess his size with a tape measure and a tailor over her shoulder. The loose shirt needed something... The glint of morning sunlight on black leather caught his eye and he pulled the vest Jack had given him out of his open backpack. Pulling it on, Xander was stunned to note it fit perfectly. "Nice... very not pathetic." Running a hand through his short brown hair, he opened the door and walked as quickly out of his house as he could without waking his father from his apparently comfortable position, slouched over the kitchen table.
* * *
The sky had darkened quickly over Sunnydale. The charcoal gray clouds dropping fat droplets onto the unassuming town below. The darkening clouds meant a longer night of sorts. If it was one thing this town didn't need, it was a longer night. The Schools had just let out fro the day, yet the Mall, the theatres, the trendy coffee stops were nearly empty. As though everyone in town were afraid of the dark, or what lived in it. A flash of lightning struck across the sky, illuminating shadowy figures that crept along the alleyways, Most seemed to be creeping in the direction of Willy's bar.
Behind the bar, Willy rubbed his grimy rag along the inside of a beer mug with negligent care. Missing blatantly obvious blots of Goat's blood that had settled along the bottom of the mug. He had just set the mug on a rack beneath the bar top when the front door opened, revealing the storm darkened city outside. The informant bartender looked up into the sapphire eyes of a tall muscular man with skin the color of obsidian; a mane of snow-white hair trailed over his shoulders. "Well you're a new one. What are you? Avalonian? Calerian? Atlantean?" the last said with a hefty dose of sarcasm.
"Nodian." came the deep voiced reply. "Pint of Guinness." The Jet skinned vampire requested as he leaned against the bar top.
Willy hastened to draw the vampire's lager and set the Pint before him. "Nodian? Huh, I've never seen a Vampire with literally black skin and white hair before."
Graile lunged over the bar and pulled Willy a mere inch away from his face. "You still haven't Willy." He growled, his eyes began to glow with a deep blue light.
"Yeah, Yeah, I gotcha. I know the score, I've been running this place long enough." Came the bartender's choked reply.
"Keep it that way." The vampire growled. Willy backed away with obvious fear as the vampire took his lager to one of the bar's many shadowed booths. A mildly intoxicated Gremlin sat crouched in his booth clutching a corona in its tiny claws. Graile cocked an ivory eyebrow at the pathetic imp and tossed it over the median into the neighboring booth. The Gremlin belched and wondered what the hell just happened before seeing his corona safely clutched in his claws and drank happily.
The Elder Vampire raised his pint in a salute, "Here's to you Red." he whispered to himself before emptying the glass in a single swallow.
* * *
Buffy sat slumped against her bed in a state of apathy, basking in the late afternoon sunlight. Her lack of memories form the past few days should have concerned her, but they didn't. The shrill beeping from the pager Giles had assigned her shattered her moment of blissful entropy. Turning her hardest Slayer gaze at the irritating alarm, she willed it to stop. Eventually the device did cease, and Buffy knew she had to call her Watcher and see what was so bloody important. "Bloody important? I've got to stop hanging out with him." She thought to herself as she plucked the beeper form her bed table and pushed the tiny rubber button to delete the number.
Picking up her phone, she dialed Giles' number and was shocked when the Englishman picked up half way through the first ring. "Buffy?"
"Who else calls you after being paged Giles?" Buffy replied with a somewhat irritated tone.
"Yes, well. It's important that you come over when convenient." Giles exclaimed in urgency.
"Alright, I'll be right over." Buffy disconnected the phone before the Englishman could form a reply.
Rupert Giles placed the telephone back on the cradle and turned back to his Grandfather in concern. "Well, She's obviously upset about something."
* * *
Rosenberg Residence,
Sunnydale, California,
3pm.
Xander Harris had been to his childhood friend's home countless times in years gone by. And every time felt strange, like he was some bizarre intruder. Like he was unworthy to enter a house belonging to people so much higher on the evolutionary ladder, compared to his own stereotypical dysfunctional family. Of course the blatant neglect the Rosenberg's showed their daughter, Willow, eased his discomfort some. Her pride at being a "Latchkey Kid" always brought a smile to Xander's face, "Quirkyness, thy name is Willow."
Willow fought down the urge to hyperventilate over what she and her best friend were about to do, invade her Father's study. Xander noticed his best friend's hesitance and placed a calming hand on her shoulder, "Relax Willow, we're only here to find those papers, not embezzle your trust fund." He whispered, putting her fears at ease.
"I know, but it still feels weird. Because I know I'm not supposed to go in here without Dad being home and I know were only getting those papers to look at them, but what if they aren't even in there? What if he put the papers into his safe? I don't know the combination and we'll have to try and crack the safe's combination to open it. But then we would be breaking the law and my dad could have us arrested and I really don't want to go to jail because then I'd miss school and have bad marks on my record and I'd never find those water moccasins for the Prison showers in my size because you know I have trouble finding shoes that fit because I really do have small feet." Xander held back laughter as his best friend launched into a full-blown babblefest that lasted the entire trip from the front door to the door to her Father's study.
"Finished?" He asked, knowing this was a common occurrence.
"Uh huh. I'll look in the desk." Willow replied, blushing mildly and acting as though nothing bizarre had happened.
"Filing cabinet it is." He mumbled, moving towards the heavy oak cabinet. Trying the handle, Xander growled at its lock. Pulling his jackknife from his pants pocket, he was about to jimmy the lock when Willow hissed at him.
"Don't break it, Dad brought that cabinet all the way back from Brussels. He would seriously disown me if that was so much as scratched." Willow pleaded with Xander.
"You're practically disowned already Will," he thought to himself, but simply nodded and gently eased the lockbolt upwards with the tip of the knife. Opening the seven-foot tall locker, Xander checked each sliding drawer and map nook with no results. Willow turned back and lifted the cover of the roll top desk and rooted through the incredibly neat interior. She checked each of the immaculate piles of bills, paperwork, and memos. After finally searching the last stack of papers, Willow sighed in dejected disappointment. All that worrying for nothing, yet she kept feeling like something was missing.
Not that there was much to miss in the office, the spacious antique roll top desk sat in the corner, next to a wicker waist bin, the armoire like cabinet Xander leaned against stood across the room with a mere inch of clearance for the door. Across the doorway hung a watercolor by a grateful patient of Dr. Rosenberg's and beneath that a small loveseat. A large plate glass window gave anyone seated on the loveseat a splendid view of the neighborhood and the genuine Persian rug on the floor. A large, scoop necked Mexican vase sat in the corner holding a tall, expensive looking, plastic palm.
"Will?"
"Yeah?"
"Your Mother has one hell of a green thumb, right? So why would your father have a plastic palm tree instead of a real one?" Xander asked, as an idea struck him. "Every other plant in the house is alive."
Without a word, Willow kneeled before the pot and gripped the two-inch thick trunk with both hands. Gritting her teeth, she pulled hard on the thin plastic tree. To say she was surprised when the tree and two inches of false soil popped out of the vase with little effort would be an understatement. The whippy leafed branches slapped Xander across the face as the tree fell onto the red headed hacker. Xander helped his best friend to right the tree and looked into the hollow vase's depths. Willow reached in and pulled out a sizable stack of pornographic magazines.
Willow sat in shock as Xander fanned out the stack of adult material with an ever-increasing grin on his face. When the cover of "Anal Loving Ebony" was revealed, Willow yelled "Enough already!" and turned away, feeling embarrassed, ashamed, and slightly nauseous. Xander considered the magazines a moment longer before putting them back in their hidey-hole. "Well, the papers you saw aren't in here, could your dad have them with him today?"
Willow's brow furrowed in thought, "Maybe he keeps them in his office at work. Which means we're never going to see them. I don't even know where he works. He uh, never brought me to work with him." She sighed, a stone of regret tugging her heart momentarily. "C'mon, let's get some caffeine."
"I meant your butt Will, You've noticed. Besides, Jack and Buffy are like you and me. All friendship love, no Romancy type love." Xander reaffirmed, giving said butt a friendly swat as he passed her out the front door. Willow stood behind for a moment, realizing that Xander's open denial of intimacy didn't seem to bother her anymore.
"For that, you're buying the Mochas." Willow announced and with a half grin, she followed her best friend to the sidewalk.
* * *
Thirty minutes later, Willow looked across the coffee shop table towards her oldest friend in the world, Xander Harris, who was currently attempting to hit up the waitress for her phone number. She stifled a chuckle when the rather buxom brunette simply rolled her eyes and turned away with their order for two venti mocha latte's. Xander turned back to his redheaded friend in defeat, "Aw well. She's probably gay anyway."
Willow glared at Xander and for the first time, she was afraid of her best friend. "Why would that be a problem Xander?"
"It's not Willow. I was just kidding! Just a typical male rejection self defense mode thingy." He held up his hands in placation. "Besides, you know I'm open minded, if that extremely hot waitress wants to make hot sticky passionate monkey love to another hot beautiful woman, I'm all for it. I'd be even more for it if they let me watch..." he ended with a wide lecherous grin that Willow couldn't help but smile at.
"Xander you are one sad strange little..." She trailed off as she noticed Buffy run by at full speed. "What's up with Buffy?"
"Quick Willow! Follow the Buffy shaped blur!" Xander announced while striking a ridiculous pose.
Willow simply shook her head and moved to follow her two best friends.
* * *
Buffy made it to Giles' apartment without breaking a sweat or becoming short-winded. Tapping the door once to announce her arrival, she waited patiently the entire second it took the Watcher to open the door and usher his charge in. "I said when it was convenient, Buffy."
"Cabin fever Giles. I was going stir crazy sitting at home alone. " Buffy answered as she hung her coat up on the rack by the door and leaned against the counter. "So what was so important? Not that I mind, it got me out of the house." as she spoke, Vincent walked from the back bedroom and stopped suddenly at hearing the Slayer's voice a voice that brought with it a slew of old memories. "Belle?"
Buffy heard the voice behind her and whirled to face the tall muscular Scotsman in a defensive
posture. "Who are you?" she asked, before seeing the stricken look on his face. Buffy dropped her defense and moved closer, reaching out a hand to the older man as he started to fall backward in shock. Giles and Buffy both helped the older man to the Watcher's couch and eased him down softly. "Giles, is he ok?"
The Brit looked in concern towards his guest and nodded slowly. "I think he's in shock more than any thing else. What did you do?"
"I didn't do anything!" Buffy protested as they watched the old man for any sign of recognition.
"I'm alright Rupert, she just gave me quite a shock. So, this is your young Elizabeth?" Vincent asked, turning his eyes toward Buffy.
Giles nodded, "Buffy, I'd like to introduce my Grandfather, Vincent Macleod. Grandfather, this is Buffy Summers, The Slayer."
Buffy looked the old Scot over and extended a hand, Vincent took the hand with a smile. "I apologize, you look a lot like an old friend, and you gave me a fright. I'm sure Rip would have told me all about you if he called once in a while." he glanced at Giles with mock disapproval, Buffy grinned and sat opposite of the elderly Scot.
Buffy never thought she'd see her new Watcher blush like that. Though only knowing the stuffy Brit for a short time, she had a feeling she wouldn't see him like this very often. Giles seemed to relax around his grandfather, slouching a bit and keeping his hand stuffed in the front of his trousers.
* * *
Jack strolled down Sunnydale's main street, as the afternoon sun burned low in the sky. He walked slowly, savoring the warm heat and brisk autumn wind. Running a hand through his short brown hair, he watched as his stroll showed him the sights of everyday people living their lives in complete oblivion to their town's nocturnal denizens. After leaving the side street from Revello Drive, Jack stopped at street corner in front of Sunnydale's only Starbucks as a lither blonde jogged past in a tight fitting lycra running kit. Following her fit body with his eyes he grinned and continued walking. As he made his way towards Giles' apartment, Jack sloughed off his brown bomber jacket and flipped it over his left shoulder, holding the collar loosely. The Sun had finally set by the time his leisurely stroll had ended, bringing him to the doorstep of Rupert Giles. Taking a deep breath, He sighed, "This is one talk I don't want to have." he whispered as he raised his hand to knock.
* * *
"And in walks little Rip, torn teddy bear in one hand, a broken wooden sword in the other. He hands the tattered bear to wee Kat and said, "Don't worry Kitten, Marcus won't take your bear again."
Buffy released the laughter she'd been holding back. "Then, then what happened?"
Vincent chuckled and wiped his eye, "The poor girl was more broken up because her teddy had been ripped apart during their scuffle then she was over little Rip and Marcus' mischief." he was about to continue when a knocking at the front door alerted them to their guest's arrival. The Slayer stood from the couch and moved to open the door.
"Hey Jack. C'mon in." Buffy grinned and pulled in the smirking Irishman.
"Hello Buffy. You said you wanted me to come over about now. So, here I be." he shrugged. "What's so important that I have to miss X-Files?"
"What, your life isn't weird enough you have to watch a TV show about it?" an eyebrow arched in skeptical amusement.
"Aki got me hooked on it, she thinks Scully's hot." he shrugged as he hung his jacket on the coat rack near the door.
"What is it with her and Irish women?"
"Well, Red hair, green eyes, pale skin, shapely body, fiery spirit. Who would consider a girl like that beautiful? Hmm..." he replied with a hefty dose of sarcasm.
"Funny. Very funny, come on, they're waiting." Jack looked past and locked eyes with the old Scotsman.
Jack moved forward as Vincent stood, both men stood a ways apart before embracing tightly, patting each other solidly on the back. "Hello Vince."
"Hello old man." Vincent replied with great familiarity. "It's been too long, my friend." The two old friends held each other for a moment longer before breaking apart with genuine humor. "Far too long Jack."
"I heard about Janice Vincent. I was at the funeral, I'm very sorry I didn't come forward." Jack dropped his head in embarrassment.
"I saw you there, it's alright." Vincent smiled and turned to the surprised Watcher and Slayer. "Jack, I take it you already know my grandson Rupert and Miss Summers."
"He looks fairly familiar, yes." Jack smiled a half grin at them and moved to sit in Giles' chair. Seeing the Scotsman walk over to the couch, he couldn't help but ask, "Need some help old timer?"
"Smart ass." The old man sat his frame down and they both looked towards Rupert and Buffy.
Jack coughed, "Well, Giles. Care to explain why you asked us here tonight?"
Buffy sat down slowly on the open space on the couch. "How do you two know each other so well?"
Jack's eyes seemed to lose their sparkle, as he matched glances with Vincent. "This is a tad early to tell, but I can no longer know when the time would have been right. Hell, for the last hundred years I've been guessing as events unfold. So I guess now is as good a time as any."
Vincent moved to his grandson's liquor cabinet and pulled down a bottle of twelve-year-old single malt scotch. "Oh we're gonna need this tonight." he mumbled to himself as the others got comfortable.
Buffy's nose scrunched up in confusion, "What do you mean a hundred years?"
Jack sighed, "Let's start at the beginning, shall we?"
"Oh Good lord, they want the whole story." Vincent mumbled to himself and, hesitating for only a moment, pulled down a second bottle. Taking the bottles and four glasses, he sat back onto the couch and stretched out his legs.
Jack took the glass of scotch his old friend handed him and drank slowly, clearing his throat. "Once upon a time..."
TBC