ResetBy PSUBrat
Big Bad Redeux
A few nights later, across town, Warren sat at the bar nursing his drink - and his wounded ego. He took in his surroundings for the eighth time that night. Not exactly a place where someone of his newly financial means should be, but he was hiding - no "laying low," he reminded himself. Not just from the Slayer but from the law as well. At least here no one cared who you were, or if you were a wanted felon. His thoughts returned to what had happened earlier in the week. Those witches had given the Slayer the upper hand. Damn them. She'd be dead right now if it weren't for them and he'd be ruling Sunnydale unopposed. He took another drink. He had to keep things in perspective. Buffy was the reason for all of his problems right now. As were those bumbling idiots he'd once called friends. Okay, so only one of them was really his friend, the other was too weak to be part of the team, but they had needed him to make the master plan work; and it would have, if that damned bitch hadn't destroyed his orbs. It didn't matter now; Andrew and Jonathan were in jail. Besides, he had a plan to fix everything and to put Buffy in her place.
"Buy a girl a drink?" A voice next to him asked.
Warren grinned at the vampire and motioned to the bartender to get her whatever she wanted.
***
Back at the Summers' house, Buffy was upstairs getting dressed to go patrolling. She heard all of her friends laughing downstairs, all except for Xander. After they had finished dinner, he had gone to the Magic Box to talk to Anya. Buffy had tried to convince him that Anya loved him despite what she had done with Spike. Ever since that night, though, Buffy's house had become the nightly Scooby hang out. She didn't mind and she knew Dawn was happy having everyone around again. She and Xander had finally talked through their issues and were back on good terms. She was happy about that.
It was so good to hear the laughter. This year had been far too gloomy for her liking. Then again, her friends had ripped her out of heaven. Or was it really heaven? She couldn't decide anymore, because of the whole "was I in a mental institution or not" thing. Dawn's laughter rose above the others. That was especially good to hear, for someone so young, she had been through so much lately "Thank god Willow had that vision," she thought to herself as she pulled on her boot. Suddenly she wondered what would have happened if Willow hadn't had the vision. She sat down on the bed hard and tried to take it all in.
"I wouldn't be here right now," she said aloud to no one but the room.
"Dawn…" She closed her eyes and shook her head. There was no time to think about things like this. Besides, Tara and Willow had stopped Warren from doing any harm to her or to them.
She looked down and realized she had put her boots on before her pants. "Great," she thought, "a slayer who forgets to put on her pants. This can't be a good thing." She needed to concentrate. There was a lot to do. She had to continue her nightly patrols as well as try to figure out what Warren's next move would be. Then there was that issue with Spike.
"Okay," she said aloud, "so not going there."
"Not going where?" Dawn asked from the doorway.
Buffy looked up from zipping her pants to see Dawn with a questioning look on her face. "To the Magic Box," she said quickly hoping her face didn't betray what she really was thinking about.
"Oh. Why would you need to go there?" Dawn asked. "Didn't you already forgive Anya for sleeping with Spike?"
"Forgive? Uhm. That would be a big no. Understand why she did it? Yes." Buffy looked over at her sister who didn't seem to understand the difference.
"Well," Dawn started, "You shouldn't be mad at her you know. She didn't know you were sleeping with Spike. If she had known, I don't think she would have done it."
Okay, when did her little sister become such the grown up? "Dawn. I'm not going to discuss this anymore. I need to go on patrol."
"Fine. Maybe you should stop by Spike's…"
"I am NOT going to stop by Spike's!!" Buffy retorted, amazed that Dawn would even suggest such a thing. Then again, Dawn didn't know what had happened in the bathroom almost a week ago and she certainly wasn't going to let her in on it. The bruises were gone but the images were still fresh.
"I was going to say," Dawn continued as she held up the leather duster, "that maybe you should stop by Spike's place to drop off his coat."
Buffy looked at her sister trying to figure her out. She walked over to Dawn and took the coat from her. "Look," she said as she put the coat on the bed, "I know you like Spike but he's done some things lately that are…inexcusable." Dawn started to say something but Buffy cut her off. "You don't know everything and we're not going to get into it right now because I have to patrol." Buffy hoped that she had said her last sentence sternly enough that Dawn would understand that the conversation was over.
"Fine." The young girl said with a hint of frustration in her voice. Then her face lit up and she started to get giddy.
"What?" Buffy asked, eyeing her sister suspiciously.
"Let me patrol with you!" Dawn pleaded as she bounced on one foot and then the other.
"That would be another big NO." Buffy said flatly. "I want you to stay here with Willow and Tara. It's not safe. Warren could be out there and I don't want you in danger."
"God Buffy! Fine!" Dawn yelled as she ran from the room. Buffy picked up her bag of weapons and heard Dawn's bedroom door slam. She sighed. "I really miss you mom."
***
"Now look," Warren said to the female vampire, "I bought you your drinks and I paid you good money. You will do what I say!" The vampire was pinned against the wall of the alley, a stake pressed to her heart. Warren needed her, and she knew he did, which was making this deal almost impossible to close.
"It wasn't enough money," she spat back at him, "I want more!"
"You want more? Fine. Here's more." He shoved another $100 bill down her shirt. "Now. You will find what I want or I will stake you. Do you understand me?" She nodded and started moving towards the end of the alley. He was right next to her holding onto her arm. She knew that she had to do this for him. She didn't want to die and besides, it was such a simple thing. The money was easy and she knew she shouldn't press her luck.
"There." She said as she pointed to the area where the trash bin was located.
He looked over, but nothing caught his eye. "You better not be lying to me."
"I'm…I'm not." She stuttered.
He pushed her towards the trash bin and felt the air. As soon as he touched it he could feel his body hum. This was definitely it. He turned to the woman and smiled. "Thanks for the help baby." Just like that, he took the money he had given her and plunged the stake through her heart. She exploded into dust with a look of shocked betrayal and anger.
Smiling to himself, he reached out again, making sure it was still there. He took a deep breath and passed through the shimmering air, disappearing into the night.
***
Xander made his way to the Magic Box. He had his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans and was absently kicking a crushed beer can while he walked. Why had he let Buffy talk some sense into him? Maybe it was because she had threatened him with bodily harm if he didn't go? He wasn't sure, but his feet kept moving him in the direction of the shop. Buffy had been right about one thing though. It did take two people to mess up a relationship. He'd be the first to admit that he never should have left Anya at the altar. If he had just talked to her about…he shook his head. "Well, can't take it back now can ya loser boy?" He gave the beer can one last kick. It slid down the sidewalk in front of him with a tinny swooshy sound.
He stopped and leaned up against the wall of one of the abandoned buildings he was passing. Funny, there seemed to be a lot of those in Sunnyhell. He didn't care. He put his back against the wall. A look of defeat crossed his face. His shoulders dropped and he hung his head. "You certainly know how to mess things up, don't ya?"
The night air was cool but not as cool as it could have been. Summer must be coming, he thought. He was trying to think about anything else - anything - besides the situation at hand. Again, the thought crept back into his mind that things would be different now if he had just talked to her about his fears. Would she have listened to him? "Well," he reflected, "she certainly would have listened better before I left her standing there without an explanation, in front of all of our friends and family." Damn it…how had he let this get so out of hand?
It wasn't that he didn't love her, because he did - with all of his heart and soul. He supposed that he had just expected her to take him back after he apologized to her. After all, saying sorry makes everything right, right? It did between his miserable parents, or so it seemed.
He lifted his head and rested it against the wall. He should just go talk to her and get it over with. They could work this out. Buffy had made him understand that Anya had slept with Spike out of hurt. As far as Anya understood, Xander had left her because of her and not because of what fears he had. He closed his eyes and clenched his fists. Of all the people she had to choose to get back at him with, it had to be with captain peroxide. "It didn't mean anything. I know it didn't. But it still hurts."
The faint sound of shuffling and voices brought him out of his reverie. "What the…?"
He slowly made his way down the rest of the wall to the alley.
"Thanks for the help baby." A familiar voice said.
Xander jumped into the alley, ready to fight but found nothing there. He looked around and shook his head. "Okay," he said to himself, "it's now official. I have lost my mind." With that he walked back out of the alley and crossed the street to the Magic Box.
***
Warren looked around the dingy waiting room. It smelled. No problem. He wasn't there for the cleanliness of the place. He was there for a specific reason. A girl in the corner looked at him through half closed eyes. "I'm first," she said. "You'll have to wait your turn."
"Whatever." Warren mumbled as he looked at the clock. He didn't care who was first as long as he got what he needed. What he wanted.
After what seemed like hours, the door to the other room swung open and a man with thick, shoulder length hair and wearing a robe came out. He eyed Warren with a smile. "So. Warren. I knew you'd come eventually. I'll be right with you once I've finished up with Amy."
Warren turned to look at the girl again. Amy! He hadn't recognized her at first. She was thinner and her hair was, what? Darker? Longer? She was Willow's friend, or at least she had been, and a witch. A pretty powerful one from what he had heard. A grin crept across his face. This was turning out much better than he had hoped.