Ch.29

Buffy sighed. "Alright, then just Giles for now. Hopefully he'll have a better idea of what to do from here on out."

I nodded and Faith agreed readily as it didn't effect her much at all. She wasn't very close to Dawn and while she liked the kid, it wasn't her place to say either way who Buffy's family was or was not. The two slayers were close on patrols and good friends but Faith had long since found a place for herself and liked the way things were so she didn't want to stir up trouble.

I myself cared very little about how Buffy viewed Dawn so long as she didn't throw her to Glory to be ritually sacrificed. That would be bad on many different levels as all the dimensions close to this one would come crashing down around us as they all collided.

Not exactly my idea of fun as I really would be forced to use the backup plans to get everyone to safety. We arrived at the magic shop just as it closed right after midnight. Everyone there was exhausted from the crowded rush of purchases the people had made.

Nearly half the store's stock of nonmagical items had been sold out while another large portion of the actual magic items and ingredients had been sold as well. Most of that had been protection magic's and herbs that would help living on a hellmouth.

I was exhausted just looking at them and that was saying something. Even Alice was tired and she'd actually had it rather easy for the most part. Tara was tired as well but very happy as she'd made a lot of money today.

She had a literal stack of cash in front of her that had Anya frowning. I ignored them and went behind the counter to write up a check for Xander and to see what today's income was. I nearly had a heart attack at the sheer volume of things they'd sold.

I sighed and wrote a different check for Xander adding a bonus for all the repeated heavy lifting. I wrote a note to remind Giles to give Anya and Willow bonuses as well before exiting behind the counter and heading over to the group.

I handed the check to Xander and told Giles. "There's a note for a bonus to be added to everyone's pay at the end of the week. I've also taken the liberty of ordering a few dolly carts to be used for days like today. Now that the business is out of the way, it's time to disguise what the hell we found today."

I turned to face Buffy who told them about Glory without mentioning her name. She told them about my fight with her and that while I wounded her she nearly killed me in the permanent sense.

I grimaced at the memory and tossed the ruined Gem of Amara on the table before the group saying. "Whatever she is, she's not a demon that's for sure. I bit into her and tasted pure unadulterated power. If I were a betting man I'd say she's either a power that be that descended onto the mortal plane or a goddess that's been severely weakened and shoved into a mortal body."

I shivered and continued. "Either way she's stronger than I am even on a super moon. I can't face her again until I've either completed my own trials, or I'm using something like the orbs of Nezzla'Khan or a god artifact."

I visibly shivered and to let them know I wasn't kidding. The whole group was grim faced now. For me to admit something like that meant I was seriously out classed. Giles did end up asking. "You managed to hurt her though?"

I sighed and nodded. "Not much but enough for her to take me seriously. After I stabbed her with my claws she shove a fist threw my chest and out my back like I was made of paper. I bit her shoulder and got a taste of her blood but then she went and snapped my neck like I was a toy. I couldn't resist the amount of force she put into it either. I was helpless in that moment. I might as well have been a human facing an old one with no magic."

Giles grimaced at that while Buffy spoke up. "I don't think that's going to be a problem though. From the looks of it, after she used that strength she seemed to severely weaken. Faith wanted to attack and finish her off but I wasn't sure if she was faking it or seriously injured. After she tossed you aside and saw the monk she screamed before limping away."

I sighed. "Some good news then. If she's not always that strong then at least we stand a chance. I just hope to hell that was the last of that kind of strength. If she can beat my ass to literal death every time we face her, we've no chance of winning. But if she's actually weakened now then with the three of us we might stand a chance."

Everyone went home, except Buffy, Giles, Faith, Alice and I, a few minutes later. When they were gone Alice broke the ice saying. "Just remember that she's an innocent teenage girl. She doesn't deserve what's after her."

With that Buffy told Giles the rest of the news. He took it rather well considering their implications. I gave him my reasons for not telling them earlier and while he was a bit upset he knew it was for the best reasons.

He finally sighed. "What do we do now? Shall we tell the others?"

Buffy shook her head. "No, they'd act differently around her and besides, telling them will only put them in even more danger."

I nodded in agreement. "They'd be tortured for the information if that thing suspected they knew the truth. They'd stand no chance of surviving something like that."

Faith added. "I already wish I didn't know but since I do I might as well say my piece. If we can't beat the bitch soon enough we might have to tell Dawn at least, for her own safety. While ignorance is useful in certain situations, being caught and used by that bitch sounds like a far to bad a fate to unknowingly do. At the very least she can be on the lookout for evil blonde bitches with super strength. Now that I'm saying it out loud maybe we don't tell her."

We all sweat dropped as she'd made her own points for us. Seeing as we'd already done what we'd set out to do I asked Buffy. "Need a ride back to the house or somewhere?"

She nodded. "To my moms house. I need to be nearby in case this nameless chick shows up."

I nodded in understanding. "Take the orbs with you just to be safe. If she does show up you'll be able to flee with relative ease and get your family to safety or at least distract her long enough for them to get away."

My last few words died in the quiet room as the grim reality of what could happen set in. When it did we all grimaced and she nodded before heading to the safe in the gym. Giles went with her to hopefully say a few words of comfort.

After dropping Buffy off we headed home where I spent the better part of the night putting extra protection spells on the house. Glory really cleaned my clock and I can't risk her showing up and simply killing everyone. Alice and Faith understood me well enough and let me be while heading upstairs to comfort each other.

When I finished the last of the spells I headed out to the other house and and began doing the same there. I'd tied a warning spell to a ring to let me know when and if the houses were ever under attack. After I finished I grabbed a shower and went next door to Buffy's house.

It was already morning when I came over with a veritable armory of spelled ward stones and protection runes. I began working without even paying attention to the inhabitants until late in the morning. Buffy came over with her mother and sister to ask what I was carving into the house.

Sighing I told them. "Their protection runes and warding. I figure nows a really good time to actually put magical defenses into your house. Don't worry about the looks as once it's finished it'll be invisible to the human eyes."

Buffy asked. "You can do that? I mean why haven't you done it before?"

I snorted. "Supplies. I didn't get enough ward stones until last summer and after that I've either been to busy putting up wards everywhere else or in classes. Besides that we've been kind of busy don't you think?"

She sighed and kicked the chest next to me asking. "What's all that?"

I smiled and popped it open. Inside was full of diamond ward stones. Their eyes all went wide. I smirked. "Yes they're real diamonds and no they're not for you to sell off or use as fancy jewelry. I've turned them into ward stones much like the ones at the magic shop and the other houses. These babies will power the protection spells I put on your house. Soon enough no demon will be able to enter even with an invitation, well, except me."

Joyce asked. "Wait, you're a demon?"

I chuckled. "Only part, and that's all hereditary. Can't choose your parents now can you?"

I chuckled and continued working. Later on in the evening I'd finished most of the work and was headed to the magic shop to pick up a few key ingredients to put some serious power into a cloaking rune I'd separated from the enochian runes I knew.

When I arrived Buffy and Xander were talking about getting a birthday present for Tara. I chuckled when Xander asked me. "What are you getting her? You know her better than anyone except Willow."

I smirked. "I'm giving her my entire library of protection and healing spell books. Alice has filled up another special trunk full of all the magical ingredients and protection talismans she or I could devise. I've even donated something special for her own protection. It's an amulet made from my hearts blood that will allow me to take any physical damage done to her up to and including a mortal wound for her. She'll essentially be unkillable unless you kill me first."

They were gobsmacked now and Buffy asked. "Why haven't you done that before and why her?"

I shrugged. "She reminds me of my adopted sister Rosalie. She and the girls know how I value that and they've agreed. Faith has gotten her a special present for her and Willow to use and will not be shown to others so you'll have to be creative. Might I suggest an idol of Gaia or a spell book on practical magic's like cleaning or sex magic's. They're all in the back I'm sure Giles be happy to point out which is which."

They both went to stand when Giles came in from the back with the extra books on otherworldly beings of great power. A guy standing around browsing cane over and asked. "Are these magic books?"

I instantly recognized him and growled. I flicked my wrist bypassing the wards and sending him to the ceiling. If it were anyone else the wards would have activated to stop it immediately but I had my own back door for reasons like now.

I growled and shifted as his eyes went wide. He was stuck to the ceiling but that certainly wouldn't stop me. I lunged right at him and grabbed him by the throat, roaring into his face. My other hand was latched onto the ceiling keeping me up there with him.

He freaked out and cried begging me not to kill him. I bared my teeth inches from his face making him go pale. The smell of piss and shit immediately cling to the air. I released him and pushed away to avoid the urine assault.

I released him from the ceiling at the same time and brought him down to the floor where he was covered in a pool of his own excrement. I snorted and shifted back into my human form just as Willow and Tara walked through the door.

Buffy asked. "What the hell was that?"

I growled with my eyes still glowing green. "Filthy shit stain deserved to know what a real monster looks like."

Tara spoke up after seeing the man cowering on the floor. "The filthy s-shit s-stain is my brother. You're right though, he certainly deserved it though I do wish you hadn't done so."

I shrugged. "If you weren't so kind hearted I'd have dropped him and the rest into a hell dimension. They've hurt you enough with there fear mongering and bigotry. If I had less morals I'd have simply killed him and the rest and erased their presence from this world. You'd have never had to see them again."

She grimaced before nodding with a small grateful smile. "You know I wouldn't have wanted that."

I walked over and gave her a hug. "Like I said, kind hearted. But now that you know he's here, you know the rest are more than likely nearby."

She nodded with a frown before telling her brother. "Get up. He's not going to kill you."

Her cowering brother slowly stood up and I snorted grabbing the extra shirt Giles offered. "That's still up in the air, don't promise things I might change my mind on."

She snorted now with a small smile. After slapping my arm she told her brother. "There's a shower in the back. I'm sure some of the spare clothes there will fit you. Once you're presentable again we'll talk."

He scowled at her and I growled low shaking the glass in the shop. "Look at her like that again and I'll decide you no longer need eyes boy."

He fled to the back where Giles pointed the way. I waved a hand destroying the urine, sweat and feces off the floor with a minor banishing spell. Anya spoke up from behind the counter. "Thanks, I did not want to have to clean that up myself."

I grunted and told Giles. "There's a list of ingredients in the bag, I need them for the cloaking spell on Buffy's house. With any luck any being wanting to go there to do harm will not be able to find the house and be redirected to the city dump."

He smiled fairly amused now. "And am I to assume you'll not be here for her brothers talk?"

I looked to Tara who shook her head. "G-Go, it's important. I-I'll be fine here."

She took Willow's hand and Willow nodded. "If he tries anything I'll turn him into a rat, I may not be able to turn him back but hey, Amy seems happy enough."

I chuckled. "Fine, but if they don't leave without causing a ruckus my offer to drop them into another dimension stands. It doesn't necessarily have to be a hell dimension, see? I'm reasonable."

Buffy snorted from behind me and I rubbed the back of my head. "Either way I'll be back in a few hours at most."

Giles came back with the stuff I needed. It was mostly animal and creature parts that I'd needed as I can just grow any plants I'd need. I left and headed to Buffy's house to get to work.

While I was working Buffy and Riley showed up talking about Tara's family being pieces of work. She did tell me Tara had sent them away saying she didn't want anything else to do with bigoted sexists.

I chuckled at Buffy's air quotes of how Tara put it before putting on the finishing touches of the spells. When I was done I tied in all the ward stones into the basement floor before covering it all with glamours to keep others from tampering with it.

Her house was officially bad guy free for the foreseeable future and that included hell goddesses hopefully. I've never actually tested enocian runes on a deity so it was best guess at this point.

I put away what was left of my supplies and told Buffy all of what the wards included and what the loopholes were. It was almost all intent based warding for the most part while explaining that the defenses were very real and what they'd do to any would be attackers.

After that I left a list of do's and don'ts for them to memorize. I headed to the magic box to prepare for the next big problem. I hadn't forgotten to check Willow for dark magic taint I'd actually already done so and found her magic was a mess beyond anything I could fix on my own so I'd called Althea and the Devon coven for suggestions.

As it was she was beyond any cleansing ritual I knew about or could devise. I had warned her as much and she was being careful but it mattered little at this point. Her magic was so tainted that her very foundations were compromised.

It was a disaster of a mess that the coven was at a loss for suggestions as well. They'd advised that Willow take a moon bath every night while doing a holy oil ritual each fortnight. It had been painful to even watch let alone help but the real problem lay in the ingredients.

Believe it or not but holy oil was hard to come by in the quantities we needed and since it couldn't be used more than once it left me with making it from scratch. Hence the preparations.

When I arrived at the shop I found that Tara had sent her family away not long after I'd left. Xander gave me the low down and told me her brother had actually threatened to beat her down if she didn't come with them.

That set me on edge until he told me her response. She apparently smiled and told him that if he tried I'd come for him and the rest of the family. He'd gone so pale he'd pissed himself again. Laughing at that with a demented pleasure in there somewhere I got to work on the holy oil.

I extracted the oils from tons of plants and did several blessings to make it far more potent before making the appropriate living flame. When it was completed Tara, Alice and Faith had helped her through it.

It was slowly becoming a routine of sorts and I only hoped it didn't have any negative effects. After the screaming was over and she was dressed again I saw her very red skin and winced. It had taken off only one layer but with so much dark magic still inside it had been an extremely painful process.

Even now I don't envy her as it really would need to be routine. On the bright side though tonight's moon bath should help sooth the skin and make the pain lesson marginally. It removed dark magic through purifying energies instead of brute force while actually helping to soften and soothe the skin.

When they were done I cleaned up the oil and tub. It was a putrid black and red mess very much resembling a tar pit at this point. It was a pain in the ass to get clean and by the time it was I was alerted to the fact that there'd been an attempted demon attack on the shop.

A bunch of Lei-Ach demons followed by some vampires and a few M'Fashnik demons were amongst those killed by the shop's wards. By killed I mean straight up eviscerated. There organs and blood was all over the place.

Sighing I cleaned it all up telling the group. "This is why I tell you not to worry about fighting in the shop. If anything happens the shop's wards will defend itself with the appropriate level of defense. They must've been here to kill someone or many someone's."

After I cleaned up the mess I headed to the house to get the moon bath prepared so that Willow and Tara wouldn't have to do much. After that I spent the rest of the day with Faith and Alice just relaxing.

I'm well aware that some might question why I haven't given Faith or Alice an amulet like the one Alice is going to give Tara but the reality is that Alice didn't need one and Faith didn't want it as it may effect me during battle to take the physical damage she would have.

Tara on the other hand wasn't a front line fighter so it was a simple enough conclusion. After she'd gotten over her family's treatment of her and the lies she'd been raised on she really was a lot like Rosalie, pure hearted with an iron will.

She was becoming more and more outspoken as time went on and I couldn't help thinking of my adopted 'sister' each time I looked at her. Alice had taken to her in much the same way as well even taking her on a few shopping trips for fun and sun.

The next evening we had the Tara's birthday party at the bronze. There I gave her the key to her own private library of spell books. Alice handed her the amulet we'd made with my heart's blood and showed her the chest of protective talismans and ingredients.

After that Faith have her a box and warned her not it open it until it was just her and Willow alone together. That got her blushing and both Faith and I laughing. We danced and had fun for most of the night.

I took a picture of Willow and Tara dancing together in the air. After that it was pictures all around. I got one of Faith and Alice slow dancing to Everything by Lighthouse.

I passed the camera to Dawn who went around taking pictures of everyone until the camera roll was filled. I even danced with her as Xander was to busy trying not to step on Anya's toes.

After dancing the night away and acting as a chauffeur I finally made it home and in my own bed. This time there was no spell work or nightly hunts for anyone, only a very slow and sensual threesome that had all of us spent and in deep sleep well into the morning.

Classes took precedence over sleep however so we were forced to get up just before noon and start the new day. After classes finished I heard from Buffy that she'd dropped this semester to stay near her family and even started moving her stuff back home.

It was understandable but sad as it would probably be her last college experience for a while. I had little time myself to stop and help with her move back home as I was swamped with school work. Alice and Faith were right there with me as we were all three doing a lot of it to finish and at least get our masters degree if not doctorates in each of our courses.

We'd actually been so busy over the next week and a half that we'd missed Buffy getting injured and going to Spike to learn how he killed two slayers. Heck we'd even missed a snake demon attacking the magic shop and being all but vaporized.

We did however hear that Buffy's mom was back in the hospital an that her tumor was back in force. They'd apparently missed something last time and it'd grown back.

Buffy was a mess and so was Dawn. I made sure the hospital billed me though just to be on the safe side. Buffy asked about a magical cure and I had to tell her honestly. "Magic and modern medicine don't mix very well. There are stories out there where people have tried and ended up making things far worse."

She seemed to take it in stride but I offered anyway. "If it comes down to it I do know of a way that will cure her cancer. I'll offer to turn her into a werewolf. It's not ideal, I know, but it's better than having a dead mother isn't it?"

She nodded but still asked. "Will she be like Oz or Like-like-"

I sighed. "Like me you mean? I have no real idea. Odds are she'll be something in between. More wolf than Oz but more demonic than me. Either way with practice and time she'll be able to learn control. Not to mention she'll be just shy of immortal."

Buffy frowned so I told her. "All werewolves have an extended life cycle. Those closer to the source have longer lives. As I'm technically now the source of both the vampire and werewolf species, she'll be nearly as long lived as I am. It's not real immortality as she'd still be able to be killed, but she won't die of old age or any diseases humans have come up with."

She seemed more than a little uncomfortable with that but I sighed all the same and told her. "Buffy, there's a catch."

She frowned. "What?"

I frowned. "There's a chance the bite might kill her. You see, technically to become a werewolf or vampire is to grow a demon inside you. A demon being the manifestation of your negative emotions and things like rage or greed. It is a direct link to your soul and the reason vampires are a lot like Spike, pricks, even with the human soul inside them they'd be pricks."

She frowned now. "But Angel-"

I raised a hand to my lips to quiet her. "Angel has his faults even as a human and those faults were driven to the extreme as a vampire. You were seeing the guilt ridden mess that was the aftermath of his soul being in his body and remembering the demons deeds. He was never entirely the man you saw or knew. That was just the brooding after shocks of the souls guilt. In actuality he was and is a man of excess. He likes to think he's truly changed but he is a man all the same and not a saint."

She sighed and I nodded in understanding before continuing. "But there's one type of person a werewolf bite would kill as there's little to no real bad thoughts inside them for it to manifest a demon with, someone like Tara or Alice when she was human. The werewolf bite is different from a vampires turning as it leaves no room for exceptions. A pure hearted person will, without exception, be killed from a werewolf bite no matter the wolf that bites them."

Buffy took a deep breathe and tried not to hyperventilate. Finally she asked. "But there's a chance right? I mean my old school friend, he got turned into a vampire and even then he was in pain."

I chuckled. "Your friend was an idiot. But yeah, so long as your mother isn't winning any mother Teresa awards she'll be healed and turned into a werewolf. Like I said before Tara and Alice would not have been werewolves if they were bitten. They'd have died from the bite. Your mother, as I don't know her that well, needs to know before hand that it could very well happen if worst comes to worst."

Buffy nodded and hugged me saying. "Thank you, even if it doesn't work or isn't needed, just knowing there's a chance out there that she'll be ok is a lot off my mind."

I patted her back before saying. "It's ok Buffy, we're all here for you. You don't have to carry these burdens alone. That's what friends are for. Though I'd suggest you release me before Riley gets jealous."

She did so almost reluctantly before turning to her boyfriend as he walked over and gave him a side hug. He asked. "What's the hugs about?"

She smiled weakly and answered. "Ryan here said there's a supernatural cure if we get desperate enough. It's not ideal but it will heal her if it comes to it."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh? What is it? Some spell or potion?"

I shook my head. "Werewolf bite. It'll heal pretty much any wound or illness that isn't instantly fatal but at a cost."

He frowned but nodded. "Full moon thing huh?"

I nodded. "There's a catch as with all things magical. The bite kills pure hearted or pure souled people one hundred percent of the time. Should she be too good a person her body will reject the bite and she'll have a day to live before passing away. Ironically it'll still heal the tumor but her body will simply shut down."

Riley snorted. "Just what we need, some irony to make the outcome more gruesome."

I shrugged. "I didn't make the rules man, hell, technically I didn't even make the first werewolves. I'm only the bastard child of a demon with an experiment fetish."

I left them to talk and headed to meet up with another of my side projects, the Dingoes Ate My Baby, aka Oz's old band. I'd turned them into my own pet project and sort of made them famous making music from my old worlds.

Alice had done the same to a few other bands only giving them lyrics to songs they would have written eventually. In a way we'd been instrumental in revolutionizing the music industry of this world. Tonight we were doing a gig at the bronze and Giles was doing an open with a cover of Lynyrd Skynrd's Freebird.

Alice and I were doing a duet of Play With Fire originally by Sam Tinnesz from my first world. That was just the first of many songs I had planned for tonight's performance. It was just one of those days when singing drowned out the world's problems for me.

Everyone except Buffy from the scoobies showed up though I wouldn't have expected her to. After Giles sang Freebird and Alice and I did the first set she joined Faith on the dance floor as the hard rock was next.

I did a few songs that originally belonged to Disturbed and Avenged Sevenfold before ending the night with Serenity originally by Godsmack. When we finished the last set I hopped off the stage and both Alice and Faith who'd been surrounded by horny college kids came over to me and took turns kissing me.

They'd both been dancing to the music together and had attracted a crowd of their own. When they guys saw they were with me a few looked mutinous but backed away all the same with the rest. I may or may not have let them glimpse the monster just beneath the skin to deter any would be alpha male types.

We went over to the booth where the scoobies were gathered with Giles. The place was fairly packed but with the house band coming in to do their own gig they started to file away to the booths and tables.

Since the scoobies had been here from the beginning it was fairly easy to explain them actually having a booth. We sat down with them and ordered a few pitchers of beer.

The Dingoes got paid at the bar and came over to hand me my cut to which I told them. "Use it to get some better threads. The equipment and the practice space I bought is under Jared's name. Use it and take care boys. I've left the computer there full of lyrics and songs for you to get your own fame with. Don't worry about copy right infringement or anything, it's all original. This is where I get off, oh and don't worry about the taxes or anything, It's tax free under the state's landmark preservation act."

They thanked me and offered free gigs for any wedding's or just to party with. We parted on good terms and I turned to Giles. "That was a hell of an opening act you did there. You really should've gone pro."

He blushed and cleaned his glasses while saying. "You're not so bad yourself. Especially that last song."

I nodded lightly. "Ah, Serenity. It's one of Alice's favorites though I'm partial to the sound of silence and indestructible but it's a good song either way. Feel free to sing your own version if you'd like. They're all Dingo songs but I'm considered the official owner of the lyrics so have at it."

He raised his glacé with a smile. "I think I'll do just that."

I smiled and drank my some of my own beer before Faith took it and downed the rest. Sighing I ordered more and added a few shots for Faith and I. We had some boilermakers before downing two bottles of tequila between us as she wanted to try out drinking me.

After she grew to drunk to stand straight I downed the rest of hers and my own before lighting a blunt. As soon as Giles smelled it he asked. "Where'd you get that?"

I smirked. "My plant power goes farther than simple vegetables and ingredients. To bad it has little effect on me though. I've had to take in a few pounds to feel more than a tingle in my fingers. Want one?"

I offered a cherry blunt to him and he took it after looking at the scoobies for a minute. I chuckled. "They're college kids Rupert, I'm sure they've experienced weed by now. Hell, I know a few spells that have a stronger effect than this."

He grimaced at Abbas memory and I sighed. "Not possession spells either. I'm talking about sex spells to heighten the pleasure and a few hypnotic spells that make for an interesting trip."

His eyebrows shot up and Willow asked. "Sex spells?"

I chuckled and nodded. "Ask Tara about Faith's present. It's very thought out."

The girl in question came over with a platter of nachos saying. "The waiters are a bit s-slow for my taste."

I smiled at the groups obvious looks of curiosity. I picked up my last glass and downed it before saying. "It's time I get the girls home. Faith's not up for any patrolling so I'll do a few hours and dust a few vamps before bed. Nothing like LA mind you but maybe if I can find that last gallon of LSD I left in the closet I'll find a few demon nests and cull the herd a bit."

Giles asked. "Are you sure it's wise to be doing hallucinogenics while on patrol?"

I shrugged and stood up. "It hasn't stopped me before. Besides, it's not like the stuff messes with me as much as it does you humans. Hence the need for a gallon of it."

He gulped. "G-gallon you say?"

I smirked. "Yes Rupert, I drop a gallon each trip. Want some?"

He shook his head a little to quickly causing him to drop the blunt on the table. He picked it up and relit it before grabbing a nacho. I carried Faith to the car while Alice paid the bar bill for us and the group. If they wanted anything else the bar keep would put it on my tab and I'd pay it next time I was in.

He knew I was good for it as I actually bought the surround sound system for their club. My thinking is that if I'm going to hang out somewhere it might as well have a decent music system. Especially when the alcohol was clearly not the best.

Alice drove us home and I carried Faith up to bed before grabbing a shower and heading out to Patrol alone. I did manage to find said gallon with Alice's shoes. After downing it I headed out to slay the dragons, I mean vampires, yes vampires and demons. Hopefully a drag- I mean demon will at least take me for easy pray what with the clear heartbeat and Faith's scent on me.

So there I was standing on the top of a mausoleum looking as far as my magic and supernaturally enhanced eyes could see and no dra-demons in sight. Growling I fiddled with my visions which I hated doing while hallucinating but takers can't be choosers or some such.

When I found where there be dragons, I headed down into the crypt and further into the sewers for a little dragon slaughter, yeah definitely dragons. They were definitely as thick skinned as dragons at least. Gahh, one of them just threw up its insides at me.

That shit stinks. "Die die die! Rank bastards!"

After slaughtering that nest I ran into a group of vampires calling themselves the sewer gang. They certainly smelled the part up until they were dust. After the last one screamed out the location for my next target he joined his minions as a Swiffer commercial prop.

With that thought in mind I had a wonderful idea and began experimenting with fire cleaning the sewers as I went. It worked wonders for the smell as I had the equivalent of two magical flamethrowers I called hands.

My night went by relatively quickly as I had to stop only every few hundred yards to put up basic magical shields around gas pipes and service lines. I managed to clean and kill about half the sewers and demons nests in Sunnydale in the six hours the LSD lasted.

After that I stopped and went to the house to shower repeatedly and even magically clean the last of the odors off myself. Then I straight up burnt my clothes and shoes. I did not want that smell anywhere near the house.

I did a magical clean of the bathroom after that and headed up stairs to get some rest. Faith for her intoxicated efforts wound up sprawled across both me and Alice, who was dead to the world.

A great deal of time later I woke up to the morning breath of Faith who was inches from my face now. I didn't mind so much as I'd spent last night in the sewers smelling far worse. I kissed her, rolling her gently off me and slid my head bellow the sheets to wake her up with a good morning.

Wake up happy she did indeed. After her moans woke up Alice I gave her a good morning as well. When we were sweaty and panting, after Faith returned the favor l, we showered together and headed to the kitchen for breakfast.

Alice found she'd liked eating again even though she didn't need to. I tried a few lighter things but found my body still rejected them with the exception of meat and things with blood in them.

The day turned into a school central event for us while the scoobies would end up patrolling without us tonight as we had dissertations to write and large stacks of homework to get through. None of it was particularly challenging, more time consuming than anything else.

We did happen to see the meteor from the back porch where we were situated doing our paperwork. I had no real worries as Buffy's house was thoroughly warded. Even Spike was rejected when he showed up at her house a few days ago, as Riley tells it the wards acted as a sort of bug zapper even to the now harmless vampire that ended up twitching under his blanket from the electric like spell backlash.

I laughed my ass off when I heard that and he showed me a picture of it he'd taken. In it Spike's feet were visible at odd angles showing it did slightly more than just zap him.

The next morning, after we turned in the class work and had our topic's picked for the dissertations, we headed to the Magic Box where Buffy was telling the group about a deep fried demon the wards took out. Smiling I mentioned what Riley told me about Spike.

Buffy looked a bit perturbed but found his pain funny all the same. Xander has to ask. "Why was Spike there in the first place?"

I shrugged. "Don't care and didn't ask, though I did get a copy of the picture, wanna see?"

Xander grinned. "Yes please!"

I tossed a small stack of photos onto the table saying. "Ok, maybe a bit more than one copy. It was just too funny to pass up."

Buffy asked. "Should I be worried about Angel if he comes to visit?"

I shrugged. "Don't know but best guess? Maybe have him meet you somewhere not at your house until you've checked to be sure. Like Spike figured out and your pet moon demon did, it's not a pleasant experience for demons and if they persist it's a death sentence for almost any lower and middle class demons. It won't necessarily stop whatever Glory is but it'll certainly slow her down long enough to get far away."

Buffy smiled. "Where were you when there were bug assassins and killer robots at my house, heck, I'd have settled for the magic shields when zombies were attacking my house."

I chuckled. "As far as I can reasonably tell I wasn't even in the hellmouth at that time. We were probably stopping a dark druid from ritually sacrificing virgins for power."

Xander flipped out. "Ritually sacrificing virgins?"

I snorted. "Relax Xander, I know for a fact you haven't been a virgin since Faith popped your cherry."

He blushed and shoved his hands in his pocket and asked. "And you're cool with it?"

I chuckled. "Xander, I'm nine thousand years old. I lost my virginity before Egypt was a big thing. Hell, I know Faith wasn't a virgin when you met either. It doesn't bother me any more than you would care that Cordelia has been with far more men than you've been with woman."

Xander frowned and I shrugged. "Shit happens but let me make it clear for you, hit on her now and you won't have to worry about your girlfriend cursing you, I'll literally turn your life into a living hell, straight forwardly skin you alive after castrating you."

Faith smirked from my lap. "You'd do that for little old me?"

I growled deep in my chest at her teasing and Alice spoke next. "I'd do worse than that before his immediate castration by Ryan. You're with us now and that means something lover."

Alice leaned over and gave her a kiss while I turned my eyes off the now pale scoobie original. After our little meeting I talked with Giles to activate my plans. I gave him access to my biggest bank account I'd been saving money in since I'd began doing stock trades a couple years ago.

He put it all into works buying up rare and powerful weapons and magic books of all kinds. Nearly half a billion was used up by the time Buffy's mother went into surgery two days later the account was emptied out. Smiling wryly I transferred some petty cash into the account so that it would stay open and available to me for later uses.

A week later Buffy asked about vamp nests feeding on humans for cash. I had little knowledge of it other than long past memories and what I read of the watcher diaries. sighing I told her what I knew. "It was a thing back in the seventh century or some such but as for it happening today? Well, I guess some things don't actually change especially for a hellmouth. So, we going to one of them?"

She nodded. "Suit up, there were a lot from what I could tell."

I grinned. "More fun that way."

Faith slapped my ass and grabbed a couple stakes. "Hell yeah, let's do it!"

She asked Giles much the same but he asked if our efforts shouldn't be used on something more vital at the moment. Sighing I told him. "They're not slayers because they like reading demon books Giles. They need to blow off steam every now and then or Faith will never leave my back alone. Seriously, I'm starting to worry it'll permanently scar at this point."

Faith shrugged. "He's got some moves that just send a girl wild. Besides, I don't have to hold back and fear breaking him."

I snorted but didn't comment further. Giles simply nodded and grabbed a few axes and swords for the group before asking Anya to mind the store. We arrived at the house in question and I suited up just as we walked through the door.

I growled and shifted back saying. "There's no one here. They cleared out hours ago from the smell of it. It's fading fast now and very little lingers."

Buffy frowned before throwing a heater into a wall and catching the place on fire. Sighing I left the house and headed outside with the group. From what I heard the next day it seems Riley left town with his soldier buddies.

Buffy was broken up but holding it together as best she could. All we could do was be there for her. A couple days later Giles left for England to meet up with the watchers council to pull that string.

Anya was left in charge of the manager side of things. She and Willow seemed to be getting into it so I told them to work it out. Anya complained that Willow was stealing and I chuckled. "When it comes to scoobie stuff Anya, it's all billed to my account. Don't worry about it. Willow will write down what she uses like always."

I turned to the witch in question. "And you, you need to talk out your problems with Anya. You're both working till midnight and closing so I expect you to get along."

A few hours later I had a floating troll knocked unconscious in the middle of the shop as it had tried to attack. Sighing I picked up the spell book on dimensional travel and sent him to the troll dimension after taking his hammer.

Buffy asked why I'd taken it and I chuckled. "It's called the hammer of the troll god, which makes it a godly weapon. A bit light for such a weapon but it is literally better than anything we could buy at this point. The holy swords and weapons Giles has spent a small fortune on should be arriving in a few days but even then they won't be on the level of a God's weapon. Besides, not a lot of weapons I can use that are better than my claws."

I picked up the hammer as if it was feather lite and sighed. "Really is to lite to be the real deal but even a forgery is higher than most holy weapons."

I flipped the hammer in my hands and smiled before passing it to Buffy to try. She took it easy enough before shaking her head. "It's a bit on the heavy side but the. Again it's not really my cup of tea as Giles says."

I chuckled and passed it to Faith who handed it back saying. "I like my blades but if you weren't able to fix them I'd use it if necessary."

Smiling I took the hammer to the back office and put it in the pocket dimension vault I and Giles spent a great deal of time and resources making. It sat next to the rod and box as last ditch effort tools.

Willow and Anya worked through their Xander problems and feelings of inadequacy. Giles came back a week later while I and those still doing college courses were doing midterms.