Act3

“Xander ! Behind you!” Buffy yelled at the top of her lungs when she saw one of their aggressors sneaking behind the carpenter.

The greetings with the five men who waited for them in the room they had just came in, had not last. As the leader had finished his greeting message, the five men had revealed holding little sledgehammers in their hands and had attacked them without warning. But Buffy had foreseen such a welcome and had reacted fast enough to knock out the first attacker even before the others one reached them.

Since then, Buffy and Xander were exchanging blows with their enemies Buffy thought probably magically enhanced. Her Slayer’s reflexes prevented her from being hurt by one of her opponents and it wasn’t Xander’s case and the four remaining men had understood this and tried to keep her away from her friend.

But despite a missing eye and a year with far less fights than the previous ones, Xander hadn’t lost his fighting skills and when he heard Buffy’s scream, he quickly slid on the side and elbowed his attacker in his neck. The man fell to the floor, unconscious.

Buffy eyed quickly the situation: they were three opponents left. She could take care of them herself. But she had to get closer to Xander to be able to protect him if she had to. Then, she threw a violent kick in her first opponent’s stomach before doing the same to the second. Now free, she ran to the center of the room to meet Xander. Seeing her do so, the carpenter understood what she was trying to do and headed toward her.

Soon, they were back to back.

“Ready to finish this?” Buffy asked.

“Sure” Xander answered. “Don’t the greatest memory of cassocks guys!”

Buffy felt her heart constrict unwillingly to the painful memory. But she put herself together again quickly. It wasn’t time to cry about the past.

All the men were getting ready to attack all together. Buffy easily pushed back the first one, sweeping his legs off with her right foot. He staggered and ended his fall in a forward roll before getting to his feet again almost immediately.

But it had let Buffy enough time to take of another opponent. She sent him two direct blows in his face and he fell to the ground. Buffy cast a glance to Xander and saw him doing the same to another one.

The only remaining man scanned the room, searching for one of his friends still up. He just had time to record he was alone before Buffy threw a blow at full force in his jaw, sending him several meters behind where he fell to the ground in his turn.

“You okay?” Buffy immediately asked Xander.

He seemed to check before answering with a grin :

“All good. Some bruises maybe, but nothing serious. You?”

“No damage” she said simply.

“It was a long time since I’ve found myself in a fight” Xander said. “I’m still good” he added with a hint of pride. “One eye or not”

Buffy smiled to him.

“You’ve been perfect Xander” she said. “As always.” She added sincerely.

“Oh oh” Xander replied.

Buffy saw his lone eye staring at something behind her and she turned back to see what he was looking at. She sighed when she saw five new men, dressed like the previous ones, coming in sight.

“Looks like we have some more company”

“I bet those guys are not more talky than the previous ones”

Xander approved.

“Bet taken”

***

Far from there, a bunch of other Slayers were in action. Lead by Kennedy and Faith, the small group had gone to the ‘small cemetery’ to help another squad.

Just as they crossed the cemetery entrance, Jenny, whose face was covered with blood and sweat, welcomed them.

“A movie theatre has been attacked not too far from here” she explained. “I think there were civilians hurt…” she added in a breath.

“We intervened” she resumed in a more assured tone. “They withdrew to this cemetery”

“Girls hurt?” Kennedy asked.

Jenny gestured behind her and pointed a hand to group of three girls gathered near a tombstone.

“Deborah’s bad I think” she said in a shaking voice.

“Let’s see this” Kennedy replied, heading toward the group.

“Where’re the others?” Faith interrupted.

“Chasing the vampires“ Jenny said, pointing a direction. “I was waiting for you before going to help”

Faith nodded.

“I’m going with the girls. Take care of the wounded before meeting with us“

Kennedy was ready to protest but Faith was quicker.

“Do what I’m saying“

And she began to go away while gesturing to the girls to follow her/

“Be careful” Kennedy grumbled to Faith before following Jenny to the wounded girls.

Two Slayers were kneeling beside a third who was laying on the ground with her head on one of her friend’s knees. One of the girls was holding her hand and tried to reassure her by promising everything would be fine. The other girl was crying silently beside them. Kennedy stared at her face dirty with sweat, dust, blood and tears. She probably wasn’t older than sixteen.

“Show her the wound Patricia” Jenny ordered.

Then, she moved Patricia’s hands apart from the laying Slayer’s neck. Kennedy winced when she saw the deep holes inflicted by a vampire bite. She searched immediately for the girl’s pulse.

“She’s alive” Said the youngest Slayer when she saw her doing so. “We already checked. The vampire didn’t have time to turn her anyway”

Kennedy didn’t stop her gesture and felt relieved when she felt the Slayer’s heart pounding.

“The vampire ran away?” She asked while looking closely at the wound/

“No” Answered the young girl. “I turned him to dust” she added with a hint of pride in her voice and her gaze.

“You probably saved her life, hum, …”

“Jody” Jenny completed for her.

“You probably saved her life Jody” Kennedy repeated.

Then, she stood up.

“We have to get her out of here quickly. She needs urgent cares”

She took her mobile from her pocket and dialed the hotel’s number.

“Why didn’t you call?”

Jenny took her own crashed cell phone from her pocket.

“It got hurt during the attack” she said casually.

“No one else had a phone?”

Jenny nodded then shook her head.

“Melinda has one but she had already left with the others when Carrie got hurt”

Kennedy nodded and her attention went back to her phone. Andrew’s voice rang out in her ear. Kennedy didn’t let him time to make his welcome speech.

“Andrew, you have a girl seriously hurt at Hamilton. Send us a car immediately”

“Yes” Andrew answered in a strident voice. “Hamilton cemetery. I send an emergency car right immediately. Consider it done. You don’t have to worry Kennedy, I’ll take care of everything”

“Thanks Andrew” she said simply before hanging up.

Then she handed her phone to Jenny.

“Keep it in case you have to call back.” She said while seizing her crossbow she had let on the floor before.

“I’m coming with you” Jenny protested. “I have to help my girls”

Kennedy stared at her from head to toes.

“You look like shit” she concluded when her inspection was done. “Your girls will need you” she added while gesturing to the three girls on the floor. “Other vampires could come before the car gets here”

“Kennedy… “

“No. You’re staying. We’re enough. And Faith’s there”

That last evidence didn’t seem to convince Jenny in the least but she gave up anyway.

“Be careful. There’s a nest we’re looking for somewhere in this cemetery. A large and well-organized group”

Kennedy nodded.

“Thanks. See you later”

***

Kennedy didn’t have to run a long time in the cemetery dark alleys before she met with the group. The Slayers were fighting so much vampires that Kennedy’s eyes opened wide with surprise. She had never seen so many vampires together during her stay in Cleveland before she left for Brazil. Kennedy stared closely at the scene and felt relieved not to see Slayers bodies on the ground. Kennedy noticed a young girl having a hard time and aimed the vampire who was attacking her with her crossbow. He disappeared in dust without understanding what happened to him. The Slayer gave her a grateful smile. Kennedy went on with her work and shot arrows after arrows with deathly precision.

Seeing the group was tearing apart, Kennedy decided to throw herself in the heart of the fight and to call to gather around her.

“Everyone together” She yelled as loud as she could so that each girl could hear her. “Everyone around me”

The closest vampire tried to shut her up but Kennedy replied to his blows with such ferocity that her opponent hesitated a second on what to do. He considered Kennedy and finally decided it would be wise to avoid her and got away from her.

“Everyone around me” She yelled again.

The other Slayers began to rush around her. They were clearing their way through the vampires with fists and kicks to gather around Kennedy. Surrounded that way, Kennedy could raise her crossbow to her shoulder again and shot several times a group of vampires who tried to prevent two Slayers to meet with them. With Kennedy’s help, the girls easily defeated the remaining vampires of the group and came to the gathering.

Kennedy looked at her surroundings and didn’t see any alone Slayer anymore. The group was together again.

“Together now” Kennedy screamed.

All the girls resumed fighting at Kennedy’s order. Organized so, the group was far more efficient than before and the vampires were disappearing in dust one after the other. In the middle of the fight, while giving blows and kicks proficiently, Kennedy was still able to look after the girls, trying to count them to be sure none was missing. Suddenly, Kennedy began to look frantically around her. After staring closely each part of her field of vision, she caught the closest Slayer by her sleeve and asked:

“Where’s Faith?”

***

A blow on her right, a kick on her left, digging with her elbow behind her. Buffy got rid of her assailants who fell to the ground one after the other. Then she went to Xander’s help. He had a hard time, his two opponents attacking him by both sides to take advantage of his impairment. Xander was twirling his axe in his right hand to prevent the first man to come to him but couldn’t watch the other who didn’t loose time to hit violently behind his skull. Xander fell to the floor under Buffy’s horrified eyes.

“Xander!”

In a second, she had crossed the distance between her and the group and hit furiously Xander’s aggressor in his face. He fell to the floor in his turn and Buffy turned to the last standing man who got the same treatment before he got time to realize what was happening.

Buffy bolted to Xander and noticed with relief that he was breathing. She stared at her friend and saw blood oozing from where he had been hit. The blonde Slayer searched for a tissue in her bag and wiped off the blood with care. The carpenter flinched to the contact and his eyelid fluttered once or twice before his alone eye remained open.

“You okay?” Buffy asked worriedly.

Xander stood up on one elbow and winced.

“I’m feeling like a fake monk had just knocked me out by behind. Oh, wait, it ACTUALLY happened”

Buffy smiled.

“Can you get up?”

Xander nodded carefully and stoop up slowly.

“I should be okay” he said to Buffy who was looking at him worriedly. “I’ll just get a good headache, nothing more”

He finally stood up with Buffy’s help and they both gathered their things shattered in the room.

“Those guys were not too welcoming” Xander grumbled.

“Well, better be the Slayer to come and ask for something here”

“Or better come with weapons. A lot of weapons”

Both friends looked around them. Their opponents’ bodies were now laying here and there in the big room which was now weirdly silent.

“And now?” Xander asked. “Do you think Gideon’s really here? “

“Oh, yeah, I think so” Buffy replied. “I don’t think that attacking visitors this way is an habit for any known religion”

“On the other hand” Xander commented. “You opened the door by kicking it”

“Hum, that’s right’ Buffy answered. “But have you ever seen monks so strong and trained to fight this way?”

“I think I can remember a priest this description fits quite well”

“And, it wasn’t normal if you remember correctly. I’m going for supernatural here”

“Okay, okay, supergirl, you’re probably right. Getting attacked by super-trained monks in a monastery lost in the middle of nowhere is nowhere close to normal”

“And crashing in the middle of nowhere all-armed is nowhere close to normal either, you’ll probably agree upon that”

Buffy and Xander jumped and flip-flopped to the sound of a new and deep voice coming from behind them. On the other side of the room, a grizzled-haired man was standing on the last steps of stairs none of them had noticed before. Two men dressed like the ones they had just defeated, were standing behind him.

“I’m Gideon.” He said simply. “Miss Summers. Mr Harris. Welcome“

***

The new Council’s restaurant was located in the bottom of the hotel, on the opposite side across the training rooms and the Slayers dorms. Spacious and well decorated, it offered a feeling of serenity and peace to those who came here for dinner and allowed the patrons to escape the stress of their life the time of their dinner. A headwaiter welcomed the patrons at the doorstep, opened the door then leaded them to their table where a glass of wine was usually waiting for them.

The tables were enough away from each other to give some privacy to everyone. They were covered with white unblemished tablecloths and glowing place settings. A single candle burned in the middle of some tables. Wide bay windows gave onto the street on one side, and onto the hotel park on the other side. A sweet softened music played and added to the fine ambiance of the restaurant. Soft whispers could be heard coming from the clients’ conversations. An ambulance siren screamed in the night.

Near one of the bay window, two young Watchers attacked their dessert. Not far from then, a group of four men ordered their meal to a perfectly dressed waiter.

Robin Wood sat at a table near the bar standing in the bottom of the room. He was alone. He wore a dark blue men’s suit and a white shirt and no necktie. Being here in that restaurant strangely reminded him of that time he had invited Buffy for a dinner in Sunnydale one year ago. Except that Buffy wasn’t in front of him this time. Actually, no one was in front of him. Robin looked at his watch for what seemed the hundredth time in minutes. Then he turned to the wall clock hung up on the wall behind the bar. He let escape a long sigh.

“Excuse me sir, would you still wait?”

Wood jumped to the headwaiter voice. He was standing beside him and looked at him with a sympathetic look on his face. Wood looked at his watch again.

“Some more minutes please”

“As you want sir,” the man replied politely before leaving him alone.

Robin sank back in his seat. He was waiting for Faith for more than an hour now and he was shared between deep delusion and resignation. He was disappointed but not really surprised. He looked around him and thought that Faith wouldn’t have felt at ease in a this too stylish restaurant for her rough behavior.

Robin sighed again. He wondered why he was still waiting. He knew Faith wouldn’t come. He had known this as soon as the clock had pointed that the Slayer was ten minutes late. But he had stayed. More to give him clear conscience than because he thought Faith would finally show up. If the woman was often unpredictable, there were areas Robin knew exactly what to expect from her. Despite all his exertions, he had never managed to gain her confidence. Faith had remained inscrutable. Definitely inscrutable.

Robin looked at his watch again, and then emptied his glass of wine the waiter had never stopped to fill during the last hour. Wood gestured to the headwaiter who joined him quickly.

“Sir?”

“I’m ready to order,” Robin said simply. “My guest won’t come”

“I’m listening to you sir”

***

Buffy and Xander looked at the newcomer going down the last steps and coming closer. Buffy tightened and gripped more firmly her sword to be ready to respond to any threat. Unlike her, the man seemed relaxed, almost jolly as he looked around him at his minions on the floor with a glimmer of amusement in his eyes.

“How do you know who we are?” Buffy asked. “We never got time to introduce ourselves before getting attacked by your guys”

Gideon smiled wider, obviously even more amused.

“Oh, my dear, your reputation predates you. You don’t think that a warlock like me wouldn’t feel such a power come here?”

He stopped near one of his minions’ body and considered it a second before resuming:

“And you didn’t fall short your reputation”

“Why getting us attacked?”

“Why are you here?” Gideon asked instead of answering Buffy’s question.

Buffy was taken by surprise by Gideon’s blunt question. She hadn’t imagined their meeting this way. To tell the truth, she hadn’t imagined anything. But she thought that if she had imagined something, it wouldn’t have been something like that.

“We’re here to meet you” she replied simply.

Gideon burst into a small laughter.

“Oh, I pretty much guessed you weren’t here for tourism. Besides, the place’s not likely touristy. And people come rarely here to see me out of courtesy”

Buffy and Xander exchanged a glance. Whatever happened, they came here to ask his help. Nothing in his present behavior could tell us if he would be willing to help them or not. They would have to present their request at one point or another. So it didn’t matter if it had to be here, in the middle of a large lobby, surrounded by laying bodies and weapons in hands. The sooner the better.

“We know you’re an expert in necromancy. We’re here to ask you to help us to perform a resurrection”

Buffy stared at the warlock while she was talking to him, watching out for his reaction. He had none. Gideon remained impassive. His expression showed any particular emotion as he heard the news.

“Interesting” He said simply.

There was a silence then Gideon came even closer.

“Interesting” he repeated, staring at each of them. “You’re ready to risk your lives to ask for a resurrection. Weird, isn’t it? Except if you were looking to me to kill two birds with the same stone?”

Buffy frowned, not sure to understand what the warlock meant. Seeing the confusion on her face, Gideon decided to help her :

“If your friend here” he pointed Xander with his chin “had been killed by my minions, you would probably asked for two resurrections I guess. You probably think that I can resurrect people like others make rabbits appear from their hat?”

“Of course not!” Buffy protested vehemently. “We even really much know about what we’re talking”

Gideon arched an eyebrow and stared intensely at Buffy for several seconds.

“Right” He finally said. “I think I know you’ve been brought back from the dead yourself. And Mr. Harris was involved in the ritual. A very impressive ritual”

“Very impressive” he repeated a second later, a more thoughtful look on his face.

“We won’t talk about all this here, please follow me”

And before waiting for an answer, Gideon turned on his heels and went back to the stairs, followed by his two minions. Xander and Buffy exchanged a questioning glance. The blonde Slayer shrugged.

“We don’t have much of a choice. We’ll see where he leads us”

Xander nodded and both friends followed Gideon. They climbed a flight of steps made in gray and uneven rocks almost hidden by a heavy coat of dust. On the second floor, the small group took a dark corridor, only lighted by exiguous windows, which allowed the weak outside light in. They passed several closed doors and finally the warlock opened one and invited his guests in. This room wasn’t rough and bare as what they had seen until now. The ground was also made of large gray paving stones but it was almost disappearing under a huge carpet. The walls were covered with gold and reds draperies and the room felt almost welcoming. Several sofas and armchair were standing around an all-wood coffee table and a large fireplace could be seen in the back of the room. Xander thought it probably was very useful during winter. Two large windows with colorful panes allowed the gray and pallid sky to be seen.

Gideon gestured to Buffy and Xander to sit down, then he headed toward a buffet under a window and took a bottle from it. Then he filled a glass and came back to the two friends.

“I don’t offer some” he said pointing to his glass. “It’s probably too strong for you”

Xander wondered if the liquid he was drinking was a special ‘dark warlock’ drink or just a simple alcohol but he believed them too young to drink. But he didn’t ask. Not knowing was maybe for the best.

Gideon settled in one of the armchairs in front of the sofa Buffy and Xander had claimed. They cast a quick glance around the room and noticed they were now alone. The minions had disappeared from sight. Gideon probably noticed their glance as he immediately said:

“My friends left to take care of their comrades you knocked out so well” he explained. “And we’ll be more at ease to talk between us”

He drank a mouthful from his drink, sank deeper in his armchair and resumed:

“I hope you’ll forgive me for this rough welcome. But I’m sure you’d understand I like to know whom I deal with. And some distraction can’t be bad. Visitors are so rare”

He fell silent, looking like he thought ardently to the lack of visit the monastery received.

“But, you don’t have to worry” He explained. “They wouldn’t have killed you, just a little manhandled”

“I promise,” He added when he saw their doubtful look to that last assertion.

He drank again and he emptied his glass this time and put it on the table in front of him.

“But, let’s come back to the reasons of your visit. What do you want exactly?”

Buffy and Xander looked at each other and Buffy answered:

“We want to bring someone back. One of our friends »

“Details please. Date and cause of the death, age of the friend at the time. Everything you can tell”

“It’s our friend Tara” Xander said and it was the first time he opened his mouth since Gideon’s appearance.

“Tara Maclay” Buffy précised. And her voice shook slightly as she said the name. “She was about to be twenty-two.” The voice shook again. “Shot though the heart, the seventh of may 2002” Buffy completed in a breath.

She could have precise that Tara had died in her girlfriend’s arms and that the girlfriend in question had lost her mind for a time. Or that Tara wore a blue pullover that day. Or that the floor was covered in blood. Or that her younger sister, only aged of fifteen, had found the body. But she thought that kind of information wasn’t probably important.

“Sunnydale, California” Xander added.

Gideon stared at them one after the other without saying anything and they both wondered if he was waiting for anything else. But none of them saw what morbid and ‘technical’ detail they could add. Gideon ran his fingers to his chin several times. Then he moved forward in his seat, stared at them intently and asked:

“And why do you want to bring her back?”