Victims
by Salix
The Scooby Meeting
[reviews]
She walked into the Magic Box twenty minutes late. This morning had been such a hassle and she was really starting to reconsider the whole 'wanting to be a mom' thing. She got confused looks from all of the scooby members when she wheeled the stroller down the stairs and walked up to them. Anya was about to say something but Buffy cut her off. She just wanted to get this explanation done and over with.
"Her name is Amber, her mom was killed by a demon last night in the park, and the demon started to go after her. I found this letter addressed to me," she said and handed it to Giles. "Saying that nobody knows about her and that I'm supposed to keep her safe." With the little speech over she looked over at Willow and then she started with the ranting. "And you would not believe this kid! This morning at breakfast she knocked over a glass of orange juice and it spilled on my lap, which was ok because it was an accident, but then she did it again just to get my mom and sister to laugh. I swear this kid is almost as bad as Dawn when she was little. And believe me, she was a terror. She was so annoying, and she wouldn't leave me alone so I would lock in her our bedroom closet until she cried herself to sleep. And it's not like I can do that with Amber, so what the hell am I supposed to do? I don't know the first thing about taking care of a little kid. God, this is going to be the worst day ever."
She ended the rant with a sigh and looked down at the little girl. She was about to bend down and unhook the straps to let the girl out but she was knocked out of the way and onto her ass. She looked up and saw Anya, yes Anya, standing over the stroller cooing at the little girl. She went on and on about how cute the little girl was, and how she just wanted to eat her up (but not in the literal term). Then she reached down and unhooked the straps and picked the little girl up. At first Buffy thought Amber was going to start crying, but she didn't. She laughed and leaned against Anya, resting her head on the blonde woman's shoulder.
"That's weird. She wouldn't let me go near her for like fifteen minutes this morning, and she wouldn't stop crying until I gave her that rabbit doll," Buffy said and stood up. Anya just smiled and turned to face her, slightly rocking from side to side, rubbing the little girl's back. Everyone watched in surprise at the way the blonde was acting and the way the little girl seemed so comfortable with her, especially Xander.
"Oh babies have always loved me. Before I became a demon I would watch after the children when their mothers were sick. I've been told that I'm very talented when it comes to looking after children, and you'll find that I enjoy taking care of them as well." The reactions after that were a little mixed. Buffy's jaw dropped in shock, Willow looked a little surprised, Giles didn't really care very much, and Xander was happy. He always knew that Anya would make a great mom, and now he has proof. While they all cooed and awed over the baby, Giles was more interested in the letter and the spell that had been addressed to Buffy.
"Anya, are you familiar with this spell?" he asked the ex-vengeance demon. She's like a walking encyclopedia for demons and spells. She often comes in handy when they need information on stuff like this, and hopefully she would know about this spell and possibly where it descends from and who would have access to it.
"That's a power invoking incantation. It's been used by a specific clan of witches for a few centuries now. They don't reside herein this reality. They're powers allow them to hop between dimensions. But about two hundred years ago this tribe of demons started hunting them down and killing them for their powers.
"Last I heard there were only a few left, maybe ten women and a couple of kids. It's possible that Amber's mom was flushed out of hiding by one of the demons and that's why she came here," she finished with a nod and a smile and gave the little girl a kiss on top of her head. She started to struggle so Anya put her down and the girl looked up at all of the people, who were looking at her and smiling and then she clamped on to Anya's leg, apparently regretting her decision to be put down.
"But why would her mother bind her powers? Wouldn't that just leave her defenseless as she gets older?" Giles asked and sat down at the table. He looked down at the little girl and he couldn't help but notice that she was staring at Willow. He wondered for a second if maybe she could sense the redheaded witch's power. It isn't impossible, and being able to sense Willow's magic might even give the girl a feeling of safety, or comfort.
"No, see these witches can only be tracked if they use their powers. So if her powers are bound the demons won't know where she is. Now this is just a theory, but I think that her mom did the spell to bind her powers, which alerted the demons, and then when she used her powers to come to this reality they followed her here. Now, I'm not sure but maybe she knew this was going to happen and that's why she was looking for Buffy or maybe she knew the demons were close to finding her." She explained off of everyone's confused looks. "A power that all of these witches share is foresight. It's possible that she got a premonition about her death and that's why she was trying to find Buffy so that her daughter would be safe."
Buffy wasn't sure how she felt about all of this. Going from a college student who's in a relatively new relationship, to being a single mom? It was all kind of crazy if you asked her. She doesn't know the first thing about taking care of a little kid. She could protect her that was easy because fighting is what a slayer does. But being a mom? She wasn't too sure about that.
/Do you have any idea what to do with a little kid?/ she asked her slayer half, hoping for some advice. She thought that it was a little crazy, asking yourself for advice and honestly waiting for an answer.
*No. Anya smart, she know. Leave it with Anya and we kill demon.* Buffy tried not to roll her eyes at the comment. She couldn't just leave the toddler with Anya. She was supposed to take care of her. And besides, Anya doesn't have super strength and Buffy isn't going to follow the blonde around all day just in case the demon shows up. So it looks like Buffy was stuck.
"Is there anyway of finding any more of the witches? Maybe she has a relative out there somewhere," Willow asked. She was aware that the little girl was staring at her and it was starting to creep her out. She wasn't used to being watched, hell, she's still getting used to Buffy watching her when she changes or when she thinks Willow isn't looking. She looked over at Anya, expecting an answer.
"Not that I know of. They're a very tight knit group, and they clock themselves so that they can't be found easily. I don't know how the demons did it. There was a humor on the demonic grape vine that they caught one of the matriarchs of the group and used her heart in some kind of ritual that would allow them to sense whenever one of them used their magic, but it's only a rumor, I'm not sure if it's true or not." Buffy was about to comment when suddenly the front door was thrown open and in walked the demon from last night.
"Take Amber in the back!" she yelled and jumped in front of her friends. She heard all of them get up and leave and then she heard the door to the training room being closed and then locked. She just hoped that she would be able to fight the demon off. He's a lot stronger then she's used to, but she likes a good challenge every once in a while. "Haven't you ever heard the saying 'quit while you're a head'...? So, why don't you just turn around right now and forget all about me and what you're after." He just laughed and she could hear her slayer side of her screaming.
*Let me out! Let me out! Let me out!* over and over and over and over again. She had to fight the urge to let her slayer side take over. She liked to use it as a last resort, but she was thinking that maybe she should go ahead and let her out. This demon was tougher then the others, and he did want to hurt a little kid, kill her just because she was born magical. It just didn't seem fair, she didn't do anything wrong, she was just born different.
"What can I say? I'm a stubborn one. Just give me what I want and I go away. The girl, Slayer, hand her over now, before I kill all of you. You'll save yourself a lot of pain if you just cooperate," his voice was commanding, even thought he was acting laid back. Like this was nothing more then some type of business deal or something. She could tell that he was tense, and waiting to strike. Buffy got into a fighting stance and shook her head from side to side.
"Sorry, can't do that. Why do you want a little kid anyways? She's only three, why don't you try picking on someone your own size," she said and threw a punch to his head that he was easily able to block and send a very painful jab to her gut. The wind was knocked out of her and she had to fight back the tears that came alone with the stinging pain as he pushed her a few feet back.
"It's not the package that's important, it's what's inside. Do you not realize how much power a Callahan witch possess? The high from draining one alone is enough to have someone crawling back for more," he said and then swung for her head but she was able to duck. "Just hand her over! You'll save yourself a lot of effort if you do!" He swung, she blocked and then kicked him in the stomach. It hurt her more then it hurt him but she felt good on the inside when she was able to get in at least one kick. This guy was proving to be very difficult and she didn't know if she was going to be able to do this on her own or not. She needed help no matter how much she hated to admit it even if it was a silent conclusion.
/Alright, you want out, you're getting out. But you go back in as soon as this fight is over. And I mean it. You caused enough trouble the last time I let you out./ she told her slayer half. She gave up the control, she could feel her conscious self being pushed back, and she could see what was going on but it was like she was farther away. Things were somewhat out of focus, and everything sounded distant. She wondered for a second if this is what her slayer half felt like every single day, but then she gave up on wondering and focused on the fight.
The slayer made sure to keep her muscles loose. She stayed relax until the last possible second when she would throw all of the strength into the punch or kick that she was dealing out. She was quicker and stronger then her human half, she knew that, but this demon was a lot stronger then any she's ever dealt with. She remained in his face, digging her healed shoes into his thighs to support her while she continuously punched his face. He was surprised and she was using that to her advantaged. Until he got over the initial shock of the sudden and fierce attack and threw her off of him. He was bleeding, she smelt it before she saw it, at least she had damaged him a little.
She slowly paced back and forth, blocking the back half of the shop, keeping him away from the door. If she couldn't kill him then maybe she could just drive him away. She knew that she had to keep him away from the little girl, nothing good would happen if he ever got his hands on her. Her fists clenched and she felt herself growing angry at the thought of something hurting the little girl. This feeling was knew to her, this type of protectiveness over something that she had just met. She didn't know what it meant, but she would deal with it later, right now she had to focus on this demon.
With a loud, surprising growl she attacked. She had the advantage being smaller then him, she was able to move around a lot quicker and with a lot more grace. She jumped on his back and wrapped her legs around his middle, and grabbed onto his head. She twisted for all she was worth but his neck refused to snap. He backed up quickly and slammed her into a bookshelf. She yelled out in pain and fell to the floor, a large splinter of wood dug into her skin, but she ignored it and attacked again.
For twenty minutes they battled, and the demon was showing only sign so irritation. He wasn't slowing down, he wasn't getting tired, he was barely injured, but he was mad. He was starting to hit her with all of his strength instead of holding back like he had been. She jumped at him and he swung at her, hitting her in the face and sending her flying back. She grabbed a glass jar off of the counter and threw it at him. It shattered and cut up his face. The yellow powder that had been inside the jar landed on his face and sizzled like acid and melted away at his flesh, distorting his features as he cried out in pain and left in the same bright flash like he had last night.
The slayer heaved a heavy breath of relief. She collapsed to the floor, her breathing deep and labored and she fought to get it under control. Her body was covered in sweat, bruises, and cuts. As she lay there on her side she felt the deep stinging feeling of the large piece of wood that was lodged deep in her back. She knew that it wasn't going to be easy to get that out but she tried anyway. Much to her frustration the wood was in the one place on her back that she just couldn't reach no matter how hard she tried. She would have to get help, even though she didn't want to.
/You did good, really you did, now let me have my body back./ her human half said in a perky tone. She didn't want to go back in the cage however so she ignored the voice and slowly stood up. /Give me back control! I let you fight the demon now let me out!/ the human portion of her raged. At least now she knew how it felt to be trapped, wanting out so badly that your entire essence burned, but your wishes simply being ignored.
The slayer tapped lightly on the wooden door to the training room. She wanted to break it down but she knew that the others wouldn't like that very much and were probably prepared for the demon to do that and might hurt her before realizing their mistake of identity. When there was no response she knocked again, becoming annoyed.
"Willow!" she called out and tried to turn the knob. She needed in that room so badly. She needed to make sure that her lover and the baby were ok. She had to make sure. She could hear them moving around inside, putting the weapons away, the baby softly crying probably scared because of the fight that they had all heard. Especially whenever Buffy would unknowingly scream out in pain whenever the demon would hit her, and the very loud one when the wood was forced into her back. Finally the door opened and the slayer collapsed to the ground at Xander's feet.
**********************************************************************************************************
A/N: sorry I've been so slow with the updates, it's been pretty stressful around here and I have really had time to work on my stories. But I'll get them updated as quickly as possible.