Intimidation and Arrivals
by DawnBTVS
Chapter 8
[reviews]
I yawn and spread my arms out, feeling Buffy shift to remain comfortable. I smile at her, watching her chest rise with each breath. Giles was quite happy upon our finding a werewolf in Sunnydale. That was after he expressed his concern at what happened to us and the fact that Oz, a student, was dead. I snuggle against Buffy, not wanting to get up. I'm too comfortable at the moment. Buffy turns and opens her eyes, smiling. I kiss her on the forehead.
"Morning," I say, just feeling happy to be in bed with my girlfriend, away from the perils of life in Sunnydale.
"Mmm, hey. I love waking up to you," Buffy replies. I smile as she scoots herself up into a sitting position against the headboard so we're face to face now.
"Did you sleep well?" I ask, now concerned that she had nightmares. I had a nightmare involving a werewolf turning me into a vampire while frogs danced at my feet as I was up on a cross. It was strange but scary too.
"I don't remember much. It wasn't scary though...and there were cherries and a hot tub involved," Buffy says with a smirk. I blush, knowing full well that she remembers all the details. Now I'm starting to get a very good image. I better get ready for school lest my body take control of my mind. I get up off the bed, earning a protesting groan from Buffy. I just smile back at her.
"Sorry, but if I stay, I'm not sure we'll make it to school at all," I say, pulling my pajamas off so I'm wearing only a white lace bra and matching panties. It took me a while to get comfortable with wearing just those two items in front of Buffy. Sometimes I still feel a bit self-conscious, but I'm getting better about it. Just a year ago, I could barely talk to a boy, though it's obvious why, now.
"That would be bad right?" Buffy asks, teasing. She's now in seductive mode and she knows that I know. She has to make this so hard, doesn't she? Evil vixen.
"Very, very bad. I-I have to go, take a shower," I stammer, grabbing a towel, and clean clothes before dashing out of the bedroom. Buffy grins, leaning back, and glancing at the clock.
~~~BTVS~~~
"We killed a student, Giles," I say, still feeling bad about killing Oz, even if he was a werewolf. Buffy just rests her head on my shoulder as we're seated at the table. Xander's sitting opposite us, while Giles paces, as usual.
"I understand your feeling of despair, Willow, but he was a werewolf. If you hadn't killed him in his werewolf state, he likely could've harmed somebody else," Giles says, trying to reason with me. I frown, still not getting over the fact that a person is dead.
"I don't know about you, but I'd rather take Willow living over a werewolf Willow and werewolf Oz," Xander says, as Buffy kisses me on the cheek. I let out a sigh, knowing they're right, but refusing to accept it.
"Will, you know they're right. You shouldn't be beating yourself up over this. The guy was harassing you, and you said it yourself, he was acting all predatory. Who's to say that he wouldn't have attacked you another night?" Buffy asks me as I look at her. I can see her concern and worry.
"Before you came to Sunnydale, it was never an odd occurrence. Yeah, people would go missing, but it was the norm here. Now that we're on the inside, it's like we know the secret. We see students we know, talk to, and walk with everyday dying. We know why they're dying and often see their corpses. I don't like to think that we're the reason," I say to Buffy, feeling bad about the deaths. Buffy sighs and takes my hands in hers.
"It's tough doing this, Willow. I understand exactly what you're feeling, because I felt that way throughout my freshman year at Hemery. All I can say is, imagine how many would be dead without us?" Buffy asks as I sigh.
"Have his parents been told yet?" I ask Giles.
"I believe so. I'm sure they've been contacted," Giles replies as I nod my head, and stand up.
"I have to get to class. I'm fine, really. I just need some time to sort my thoughts," I tell Buffy, grabbing my backpack, and walking out of the library.
~~~BTVS~~~
"Did they do their job, Allen?" Mayor Wilkins asks. Allen knows that the Mayor already knows the answer, and tugs at his shirt collar in a nervous manner.
"W-well..." Allen begins, but gets cut off.
"They didn't. Granted, I wasn't expecting them to kill everybody but I figured that with their backgrounds, they could at least wipe out Buffy. Instead, their gang remains formidable. It's no fun if they never die, Allen. I like them for their aid in the tourist trade, but I really can't afford to have them here when I Ascend at Graduation. What should I do?" Wilkins asks Allen.
"I-I don't know, sir. They're always together," Allen replies, stammering. Allen doesn't like being in the spotlight, especially when Wilkins is displeased. Allen's heard rumors of what the Mayor does to those that displease him.
"We can figure it out next year, though. I really shouldn't be concerning myself with such matters this year. After all, this year is about preparation, and making sure that everything is ready to go when the next school year is under way. I need my PR dates settled, my tributes accounted for, and so on and so forth," says Wilkins with a smile. It's cheery, typical of the Mayor, but underneath it is a cold hostility. Allen knows that smile too well. Allen nods his head, and exits the room. Wilkins sighs and leans back. "Willow Rosenberg certainly would do well as my right hand next year," he mutters to himself.
~~~BTVS~~~
I know I'm skipping a class, but I can't help it. I'm standing next to Oz's makeshift grave, holding a rose in hand. I don't even know why I'm here. It's not like I felt safe around him or anything. It's just, he was a student, you know? He shouldn't be dead and buried in a place where his parents can't even locate him. I place the rose on his grave and kneel down, finger painting "Oz" in the dirt. I stand back up, placing my hands in my pockets.
"I'm sorry, for what happened. I hope that wherever you are, you're with loved ones. Goodbye," I say, turning, and heading back to high school. Oz deserved that much from us, a final goodbye from somebody in this world. It might be selfish, but I couldn't live with myself without doing something for him. Sure he was all stalker guy on me, but that doesn't mean he deserved to die this young. I'm still not on board with his death, but I no longer feel like ripping myself apart over it. He was a casualty of the war, as Xander told me one night after we had just joined up with Buffy as her Slayerettes.
~~~BTVS~~~
"What's wrong, Buffy?" I ask, entering the library, and seeing my girlfriend seated in a chair with a cold cloth pressed against her forehead. Her blonde locks are drenched in sweat and she looks pale.
"Just the flu, or something," Buffy replies. I frown at Giles who is attending to her. Can Slayers get the flu? I thought they were pretty much indestructible, at least to stuff like common colds.
"Is that the case, Giles?" I ask, wanting to make sure that is the case and that it's not like some demon hurt her or something. Giles just shrugs his shoulders.
"I believe that it is a strong possibility. Although Slayers are not prone to such viruses, they are not completely oblivious to them," Giles replies, standing up, and letting me sit down to hold the cloth against Buffy's forehead.
"You shouldn't patrol tonight," I say as I sit down. I don't want Buffy getting hurt in her weakened condition. She needs my tender love and care tonight, and for as long as it takes for her to get over this thing.
"Really, I should patrol," Buffy says, trying to fight me. I frown at her and give her my resolve face.
"No way," I reply. Buffy sighs, seeing that I'm not budging at all on this issue.
"Xander, Jenny, and I can certainly take up the task of patrolling a few cemeteries and slaying a few vampires. We may not be as skilled as you, but we are efficient in our own way," Giles says now frowning at the end of his sentence as I grin at him. I think he just admitted that they screw up a lot, which isn't making Buffy feeling any better about staying in tonight.
"They can handle themselves, Buffy. It's just a few vampires right? You'll be up and about before you know it," I say, smiling at her. She gives a small smile back, apparently feeling the effects of whatever she has quite a bit.
"Promise to dote on my beck and call?" Buffy asks me. I giggle and nod my head.
"Yes, I will be your personal slave tonight...not a love slave though, cause that's just strange, but your housekeeper, like turning your sheets over, and washing your towels, and maybe not putting a mint on your pillow unless you're craving a mint in which case I'm sure I could scrounge something up," I say, babbling away to my hearts' content. I stop, blushing, and glare at Buffy who just grins back at me.
"I love when you babble. It makes you stand out even more from everybody," Buffy says. I smile back as she swallows. I just shush her and keep pressure on the cloth, trying to keep the fever down. I stand up and walk over to Giles who's standing by his office. Buffy has her eyes closed, a hand placed on the washcloth. I glance back at her, concerned, before turning my gaze to Giles.
"She'll be okay, right?" I ask Giles, concerned that Buffy won't be okay. I don't like seeing Buffy suffer, and it seems that she's gone through that quite a bit. I just wish I could take the pain away, or transfer it to myself, and make her all better.
"S-she should be fine in a few days, I suspect," Giles answers. I stare at him, a little harder than usual. He seems like he's hiding something. He keeps shifting his eyes from me to Buffy, and just seems fidgety. I supposed it could just be that Buffy has a bug and Slayers don't normally get it, though.
"Are you okay?" I ask, trying to figure out what the hell's up with him. He's usually stern and focused and not prone to moving much, if at all besides to pace around and tell us how the world is going to get blown up or something.
"I-I'm fine, good as ever. Why?" Giles asks, in a slightly guarded tone. I frown at him, not happy that Giles is keeping something from me. I'm not exactly his bestest friend in the world but I like to think that he could confide in me if something came up.
"Nothing," I answer, still staring at him. I move back over to Buffy and help her rise to her feet. I throw my backpack on and manage to sling Buffy's over my arm while keeping a hand on the cloth and the other on Buffy to keep her on her feet. "Let's get you home, baby," I whisper into her ear. She mumbles something that I interpret as okay, even if it was to the contrary. We can afford to blow off one class for her health, especially since we've saved the world. I think that entitles us to some perks and leeway.
~~~BTVS~~~
I finally forced Buffy to take some pills to help her out. They haven't seemed to work that well, much to my disappointment. I watch Buffy, still applying a cold cloth to her forehead. I took her temperature a half hour ago and I received a 99-degree fever, which isn't that high compared to normal but doesn't make me do jumping jacks either. Buffy's mumbling incoherently as I frown down at her. I hope she beats this thing soon. I feel so bad to see her suffering like this with no way to help her. The phone rings and I glare at it, angry at the interruption. I pick up the receiver, making sure that the cloth is still on Buffy's forehead before answering.
"Hello?" I ask, still feeling a bit cranky at my TLC getting interrupted, especially when Buffy's still in pain. "Oh, hey Giles. No, I haven't seen Joyce. Why?" I ask, before glancing at the clock. Wow, it's really late, even for Joyce to not be home yet. This is more like Buffy returning home from patrol time. Something's wrong. "Why's Buffy involved?" I ask, now confused. Giles is telling me things that I have no idea about. He says something about a test that went awry. "W-what? What test, Giles? Look, can we talk about this in the morning? I'm a little busy with Buffy right now," I say, cutting Giles off. Giles stammers his apologies and I hang up the phone. What test was Giles talking about? How are Joyce and Buffy involved? I let out a sigh of weariness and lean back, brushing a couple hairs off Buffy's face. She still looks to be in pain but she's finally starting to cool down some. I think the fever's breaking a bit. I yawn and mentally admonish myself, trying to keep my eyes awake for Buffy's sake, but it's a losing battle.
~~~BTVS~~~
I help lead Buffy into the library the next morning. Joyce never came home last night, not that I saw anyway. I looked around for a note or any phone messages and there were none. That worried me, coupled with the fact that Giles had been all mystery guy earlier then confession guy last night. Something's going on and I want to find out. I take a seat at the table, holding Buffy's hand in mine. She's still pale and her skin's clammy, but she no longer has a spiking fever, as if that's any comfort. I glance up in surprise at the thump made by a briefcase smacking the tabletop. Giles looks down at us with a somber face. Somber face is never good, especially with Giles.
"What's this?" I ask, glancing at Buffy. She's as confused as me, though I'm sure that this flu that she has isn't exactly making her super genius Buffy either. Giles opens the briefcase to reveal a syringe and a liquid in a vial.
"I'm so sorry, Buffy...and Willow. I was merely following the Council's orders. As your Watcher, Buffy, I had to administer this in the event of a test. Normally, it would fall on your 18th birthday however they changed the wording so that it's now on the 17th birthday of the active Slayer," Giles explains. I frown at Giles, not liking the sound of this at all. Buffy is now looking a little angry, at least as angry as she can look in the condition that she's in.
"What did you do, Giles?" asks Buffy in a fairly cold tone. Giles flinches and stares back down at the contents of the briefcase.
"When that birthday comes, the active Slayer is given this...erm...drug. They will then be placed in a contained setup where they are to face a task, usually a vampire, at the Council's choosing. The Slayer is then forced to fight to the death. Should the Slayer die, the next one is called. Should the Slayer win, then the Council just continues with its job. This drug is designed to make the Slayer a normal human being. It takes away all of the Slayer enhancements and renders you a normal, teenage girl in all facets from hearing to physical strength to awareness," Giles says, regret in his voice. I glare at him, shocked that he could do such a thing to Buffy, of all people. Buffy's on her feet and lets out a low growl.
"You injected me," Buffy growls, now quite angry. I just sit there, glaring at Giles. I'm still too shocked to say anything. How could Giles do this? "You betrayed my trust in you, Giles. I trusted you like a father, and you use that trust to manipulate me. Who are you?" Buffy asks, now bitter, and hurt. I stand up, placing my hands on her shoulders, but she shakes me off. I frown at the action.
"Buffy, I-I'm sorry. If I had known-" Giles starts, but Buffy lets out a laugh, a Cordelia type 'what a loser' laugh.
"You knew exactly what you were doing, Giles. What were you going to do? Send me in to fight a vampire when I was defenseless? So, I guess my almost getting killed all these times wasn't enough for you, huh? I mean, I died last year, but no, you wanted to ensure I'd stay dead right?" Buffy snarls. I can feel the hurt and pain that Buffy's feeling course through me.
"No," Giles says. Buffy just shakes her head. I look at Giles, as hard as I possibly can muster.
"How's Joyce involved?" I ask. Buffy looks at me in surprise, she never knew about Joyce. Giles swallows as Buffy swivels her head. Her glare could take out the sun in its intensity.
"The creature that we had set up for Buffy to face, Zachary Kralik, escaped. He's a vampire but has had an affinity for mothers upon killing his own after being turned," Giles says as I pale. Buffy leans forward, both palms on the table.
"Where are they? So help me, if my mother is dead..." Buffy threatens. Giles just nods his head.
"The old boardinghouse on Prescott Lane," Giles says in a whisper. Buffy turns and marches out. I watch her leave and turn back to Giles, now just very angry.
"You were her father, Giles. She trusted you...more than she even trusts me. Your relationship with her exceeds any that she has, including with her own mother. To do this..." I say, just disappointed and so angry that I can't even finish. I stalk off and shove the doors open, hoping to catch up with Buffy. She's in no condition to fight and I'll help her every step of the way.
~~~BTVS~~~
Buffy pushes open the front door and carefully steps in. She's holding a crossbow while I'm holding a stake. We each have a backpack with additional items with a bottle of holy water in our pockets. Buffy's wearing overalls over a black shirt while I'm wearing a white top and blue jeans. We creep in, me backing Buffy up. I hear a low growling and whirl around to see a vampire, but I don't think this is the head guy. Buffy shoots a crossbow into its heart, instantly dusting it. I glance at Buffy, silently thanking her.
"I want you to find my mother and make sure she's alright, okay? I'll try and distract this Kralik guy," Buffy says. I look at her, worried about us splitting up, and her being able to protect herself against this guy. Giles made it sound like the guy was very dangerous. I nod my head and walk off, trying to find Joyce.
"Very smart. Yeah, let's split up so we can both get killed," I mutter to myself, gripping the stake in my hand tighter. I can hear the sounds of a chair scraping below me and frown, trying to find some way to gain entry. I spot a chute and walk over, peering inside. I can now hear the chair scraping, volume rising up through the chute. I pat myself on the back, internally at least, and say a quick prayer before sliding down the chute. I could hear Buffy fighting somebody, I assume Kralik, just as I began my descent. I hope she's okay. Not that I'd do her much good being up there with her, aside from moral support which isn't really needed in a fist to fist fight. I turn and spot Joyce tied up with a gag in place. I pull her gag off and smile. "Hey," I say, trying to be calm in the face of a scary situation.
"Willow, are you okay? Is Buffy here?" Joyce asks as I nod my head, trying to untangle the ropes but not having much success. I look around for something to cut through the bonds but I don't see anything.
"I'm fine. Buffy can take care of herself," I say, worrying that Buffy may be having trouble or possibly injured. I let out a gasp, as the door slams open with Buffy appearing. "Buffy!" I say, surprised and relieved. My relief quickly turns to fear.
"Kralik's coming," Buffy says, looking for something, I have no idea what. Buffy spots a bottle that looks like prescription pills and takes out her bottle of holy water. She pours it into a cup and grabs the bottle of pills just as Kralik appears, roaring in pain, and clutching his head. He's mumbling something about pills as I dash behind Joyce to avoid instantaneous death. Kralik pins Buffy to the wall and grabs his pills, popping like five in his mouth before grabbing the cup of holy water and drinking it. I just watch in amazement as he begins to groan in pain, before vanishing in dust after realizing he was drinking holy water. I hug Buffy tight, glad that she's okay, before releasing my hold.
"Uh, girls," Joyce says, bringing us back to reality. I blush and kneel down to help with the bonds when I feel myself thrown against the wall and hear Joyce scream. I glance up to see Buffy thrust against the wall, and a vampire leaning in when Giles appears out of nowhere, staking the vampire in the back. Buffy and Giles just look at each other as I rise to my feet and move to stand by Joyce.