What I Am
by sailor80
Three
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The next day, they knew more. Giles hijacked one of the unused lecture halls and showed them what he had learned. Anya munched popcorn in the third row and poked Xander whenever he helped himself. Buffy and Willow sat in the first row and paid attention to Giles. When the Watcher explained that screaming was necessary all eyes turned to Xander. He tried to look indignantly offended and shrugged when he couldn't carry it off. The group broke up soon after.
Buffy walked Willow back to their dorm. It was close to sunset and Buffy again cautioned her girlfriend to stay in and keep the door locked. They shared a kiss before Buffy headed out into the darkness. Willow locked the door behind her and settled in front of her computer.
Frantic hammering on nearby doors pulled Willow from her Internet reverie. She got up and went to the door. Willow turned the lock quietly, waiting as the noise grew nearer. When it hit her door, she opened it to see Tara, breathing heavily, her features contorted with fear. Willow pulled the girl into the room and slammed the deadbolt shut. They both turned and began pulling on Buffy's desk and bookcase unit. It wouldn't budge, and Willow tried to use magic to relocate it. Tara, seeing what she was doing, slipped her hand into Willow's and nodded at the furniture.
Willow tried again to move the desk, and was startled by the speed at which it blocked the door. She heard noise from the other side, but it soon abated. Willow untangled their hands and picked up the whiteboard on her bed.
"Why did you come here?"
"I thought we could do a spell to give everyone back their voices."
"Won't work. It's not that kind of thing," Willow scrawled.
"What are they?" Tara wrote in the last bit of clear space.
Willow sighed at the question and cleared the board with her sleeve. "Demons," she wrote.
"How do we get rid of them?"
"Working on it." Tara raised an eyebrow at the answer, and Willow shrugged at her.
Tara took the board and wrote, "Now what?"
"We wait, Willow answered.
* * * * *
It didn't take long for Buffy to find one of the bizarre straitjacketed things on its own. She stealthily followed it, and mentally smacked herself when it arrived at yet another of Sunnydale's decrepit, abandoned buildings, complete with a clock tower.
There were more of the creepy monkey things inside, and she began working her way through them, looking when she could for the box Giles had described. Buffy didn't realize that anyone had followed her until she rolled out of a throw and came up, crossbow cocked. She stopped before firing and looked at Riley Finn with considerable confusion. He stared back, the oversized tazer pointed at Buffy. The moment passed as the battle resumed.
Riley wasn't as helpful as she would have liked. He took forever to follow her quickly gestured directions at the box. When he smashed it, Buffy saw the voices escaping, and began screaming. It took a moment for her voice to return, but when it did, she was wailing.
The Gentlemen and their goons exploded with a sticky pop that scattered gooey green demon innards everywhere. Buffy lowered her gaze and shook her head forlornly at yet another ruined outfit. She glanced at Riley to make sure he was uninjured, then turned and sprinted toward the dorm.
When Buffy couldn't get past the barricaded door, she slipped back outside and dexterously climbed up to their second floor window. She was startled to see someone other than Willow in their room. Buffy rapped on the window harder than she intended and put her hand through the glass.
The noise got Willow's attention, and she hurried to open the window to let Buffy in. She fussed over the Slayer's small injuries, oblivious to both the mess of Buffy's clothes and Tara, who still sat on the bed. After Willow assured herself that Buffy was unhurt, she remembered her manners. "Buffy, this is Tara. From the Wicca group. Tara, this is my, um, girlfriend, Buffy."
Buffy looked at Tara suspiciously, and Tara lowered her head to escape her gaze. "N-n-n-n-nice t-t-t-to m-m-meet you," Tara stammered.
"Nice to finally meet you," Buffy answered, although her tone made it clear she wasn't pleased. She turned her attention back to Willow. "I need to get out of this mess and try to shampoo demo, uh, wash my hair." She shrugged off her jacket and Willow caught it.
While the redhead put the jacket in a trashcan, Buffy effortlessly returned her desk to its original location. Tara's eyes widened at her actions, but she quickly stood and moved toward the door. "S-s-s-see you la-later," she told Willow and slipped out the door.
"What was she doing here? And how did you move my desk?" Buffy asked while she unlaced her boots.
"She wanted to help. With a spell or something. She was being chased by the Gentlemen, and nobody else opened their door, so I pulled her in here when she knocked. We moved the desk. With magic. It was incredible, Buffy. I couldn't do it, and then Tara helped and it flew! Well, it didn't actually fly, it just moved really fast and it kept them out. And you, too." While she talked, Willow took each article of clothing from Buffy as she stripped. "How did you stop them?"
"It was gross. Their heads exploded when I screamed." Buffy left her underwear and bra on, and went to the closet. She pulled out an old, not quite tattered robe, and put it on. "I'll probably be a while getting demon guts out of my hair." She shuddered. "I don't care how he does it, but Giles is going to have to get me a clothing allowance."