Disclaimer: Buffy and Company are property of Warner Brothers and Joss Whedon. I'm just borrowing them.
Author's Notes: This story takes place at the end of season 3.
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Part Three
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“Let’s stop here,” huffed Xander as he gently set Rob’s body down on the sidewalk. “I think we’ve lost her.”
Willow, Oz and Xander panted heavily as they attempted to catch their breath. Willow reached down to her cousin’s cheek and gently caressed it. “How long will he be out, Oz?” asked Willow.
"At least an hour. Plenty long enough to meet up with the Wesley and Cordelia in the van,” replied Oz.
“Oh, I think you’re being optimistic,” exclaimed a loud hissing voice from behind them. The little party spun around and faced a large snake creature. He exposed his fangs and saliva ran down them as he said, “I think he’ll be out for a good deal longer than that.”
“But that’s impossible...you’re back there with Buffy,” exclaimed Xander.
The creature opened its mouth and hurled a ball of black flame at Xander's head. He fell to the ground as it passed over him torching a nearby bush. Oz quickly picked up Rob's body as he yelled, "Run!" Oz raced towards where they had left Giles and Buffy as Willow followed swiftly behind. They could feel the heat as the snake creature continued tossing black fire only a few feet away from them. Xander finally rose from the ground and realized the creature had turned its back to him in order to fire at his friends. Biting his lip, he threw himself on the monster's back giving Willow and Oz the head start they needed. The creature hissed and screamed until it finally grabbed the boy. The creature shook Xander violently in the air and threw him into a parked car. The windshield shattered and Xander groaned loudly as he lost consciousness from the blow. The monster then turned around and resumed its chase of his friends, but before it could take more than a few feet Buffy, Angel and Reina, now in her human form, appeared before it.
"Angel, get Xander out of here," ordered Buffy as Angel picked up their fallen comrade’s body and ran towards the others.
“So you must be the one who crashed our show," commented Buffy.
"Father?" exclaimed Reina as the large snake creature walked towards them.
"Father?" echoed Buffy softly to herself.
"Do not call me such things. I am Rugal to you now."
"Why do you say that?" asked Reina.
"You did not fulfill your mission. You failed me."
"But I thought you were destroyed in the war. You told me..."
"What you needed to hear to think your people were gone. All members of our household go through the trial."
"The trial? This was all some kind of test?"
"Yes."
"But 20 years..."
"What is 20 years to a race that lives for a millennium? You have been among these humans too long. They have warped your sense of time."
"But father I..."
"Silence! You no longer have the right to call me that. You have failed me and now I must dispose of the Goa child and you."
"You would kill your own daughter?" asked Buffy.
"She is a ally of my enemy. She is useless to the cause."
"He's not your enemy. He didn't even know of the war until a few hours ago," pleaded Reina. "Please try to understand that I turned to him for support because I missed you. I love you."
"And for that reason he should be dead by now. I'm sorry Reina, but you have sealed your own fate."
"Father..." began Reina as her father opened his mouth and released black flames towards her. Buffy recognized this and threw herself on Reina, saving them both from the fire. Realizing he had missed, Rugal brought his hands together in front of him as a person praying might. Sparks surrounded his hands and when he opened them a bolt of lighting shot from them into the slayer and her comrade who were just rising to their feet. Buffy screamed as the searing pain swept through her body, but she realized that only a small portion of the blast had hit her and most of it had went into Reina. Reina yelped loudly, but after a moment both she and Buffy had recovered enough to get back into their fighting stances.
"What was that?" asked Buffy.
"Magic. It weakens the soul, that's the surest way to defeat a blessed being," replied Reina.
"You mean a demon?"
"A demon, an angel, a slayer--anything that draws its power from unseen forces."
"The slayer part on the end--you added that special for me, right?"
"I aim to please."
Rugal again brought his hands together in front of him as a dim light began to emit from them. "Oh no you don't!" exclaimed Buffy as she ran up to Rugal and kicked him in the head. He took a step backwards to regain his balance and then forcefully attempted to punch Buffy in the stomach. Before the blow could land Buffy hopped out of range and delivered another kick to Rugal's head. As Buffy did this Reina was calling forth her own soul bolt. She brought her hands together and tossed a streak of lightning at her father. Buffy stepped back to assess the damage and realized there had been none. Rugal made no sound or motion to indicate that he had been injured in any way.
"What's wrong? Why didn't that hurt him?" asked Buffy.
"He's the chief of the tribe. My magic isn't strong enough," confessed Reina.
Rugal rose to his feet again and Buffy tossed another kick at his head and Rugal grabbed it in mid swing. He twisted the leg, sent Buffy spinning to the ground and kicked her in the stomach. As Buffy attempted to rise to her feet Rugal sent another bolt of light at his daughter. Reina screamed in agony as the light connected with her flesh.
* * *
"What happened?" asked Xander several yards away from the battle with Rugal. He rubbed his eyes trying to clear the fog from his head.
"You were knocked out," replied Angel.
"That’s me, Mr. Knocked Out,” said Xander.
“You bought them some time anyway,” said Angel.
“Where’d Giles go?” asked Willow.
"Here he comes," replied Oz as Giles, Cordelia and Wesley approached them.
"What are you doing here, I thought you two were watching the van?" asked Willow.
"Well we were, but when you failed to show up I decided we should come looking," replied Wesley.
"Yeah, that's why you were looking for a place to take a whiz when Giles found us," added Cordelia.
"Ah Wes, you certainly know how to make us feel special," said Xander.
"Giles, what's going on? What was that screaming noise?" asked Oz.
"It seems that there are two of those rather unpleasant snake creatures. One of them is the chief of one of the ancient demon clans I mentioned earlier. The other one is his daughter, the girl who has shown an interest in Rob. From what I gathered, because Rob is from the rival clan she has ostracized herself from her father who is now trying to kill her."
"Can't we stop him?" asked Willow.
"Not likely. Since the creature has no true physical form, only attacks on the soul will effect it," answered Wesley.
"Which is precisely what she's trying to do, but her efforts have been far from fruitful," confirmed Giles.
"What about Buffy? If she can't rip it apart she'll be killed," said Xander.
"Buffy is in no real danger and neither are we. The chief is only after his daughter and Willow's cousin. He may hurt the rest of us, but it's doubtful he'll kill us," explained Angel.
"Hey, Rob's one of those demons too, right? Maybe he could help that other one," suggested Cordelia.
"I doubt he could. He doesn't know how to use his powers," said Wesley.
"But if he really is a demon some of it should come naturally," replied Angel.
"That might even work if he wasn't going to be out cold for the next 3 quarters of an hour," said Xander.
"Too bad we don't have a really big alarm clock," replied Willow.
“Digital or the old kind with the bells?” asked Xander.
"There might be a way to wake him up now," said Angel.
"What?" asked Wesley.
"Well if I bit him it would set off a reaction that would probably wake him up. Might even set off some of his power."
"That's right. Since he's a demon, any vampire who tries to sire him will cause the demon in him to retaliate," agreed Giles.
"But what if the demon in him doesn't kick in?" said Willow as another scream permeated the night.
"Then he’ll have two bite marks in his neck when his rival kills him. Either way, we don't have much to lose," said Oz.
“Well, bon appetite,” said Cordelia.
Angel looked to Willow for the final go ahead. She nodded her head and Angel’s face morphed into its vampire mask. He picked up Rob’s head and quickly set his teeth into Rob’s neck. For a moment nothing happened and then Rob snapped into action. He grabbed Angel by his neck with his left arm as his right arm morphed into a wooden stake. He hurled his arm towards Angel’s heart, but Angel grabbed it only inches away from his chest. Oz and Xander ran over to Rob and pulled him away from Angel. Rob finally started to realize where he was. He looked at his arm and muttered, “Holy shit.”
“You know why you did that, don’t you?” asked Angel as he walked towards the young demon.
Rob nodded his head slowly. “Where is she?” he asked.
Buffy swung another punch at Rugal’s stomach, but her fatigue was beginning to show. The punch missed its mark leaving her open for a brutal kick to the head that sent her to the ground again. Reina desperately tried to hit him with her magic again, but the results were the same every time—nothing. Rugal retaliated right away with his own bolt of magic, striking the female demon and making her howl in pain. Buffy realized that it was taking Reina longer and longer to strike back as the battle continued. Suddenly Willow, Cordelia, Angel and Xander started shouting out to Rugal from behind him. As he faced these new spectators Wesley and Giles picked up Buffy from the ground and raced her to safety. Realizing that the vampire and teenagers were of no threat to him he returned his attention to Reina, but to his surprise Rob had joined her. Rob put his hand in Reina’s as Rugal sent another bolt at them. Neither of them so much as flinched when the bolt connected with them.
“What!” exclaimed Rugal.
“Try to hurt her again and I swear to God…” began Rob.
“Silence!” shouted Rugal as he sent bolt after bolt at the couple.
“Goodbye, father,” whispered Reina as the two young demons sent a streak of magic at Rugal. The spell connected and Rugal’s scream echoed throughout the empty streets as the smell of burnt flesh permeated the air. Moments later he dissipated into a shower of large sparks, leaving only a pile of ash where he once stood.
* * *
Xander walked into the auditorium of Sunnydale High School. The set for the play was still in place on stage. Couches and a coffee table filled with glasses and empty pizza boxes set the mood for the party scene. A young girl sat impatiently in the front row of the vacant auditorium. “Hello, Anya,” greeted Xander.
“Hey,” replied Anya.
“So...I don’t exactly know how to start something like this.”
“Well, we should probably start by getting on the couch.”
“Okay,” replied Xander as they both walked onto the stage and slowly seated themselves on the couch. “So far so good,” said Xander with a nervous laugh.
“Yeah, I guess.”
“Now, the making out.” He put one hand on her shoulder and gave her a quick peck on the cheek.
“You call that making out? You kissed me like I have the plague or something.”
“Why not? You were probably alive during it.”
“That’s beside the point. Now kiss me on the lips.”
“The lips?”
“Those thin pink things in the lower portion of my face.”
“I know where they are.”
“Then use them!”
“Alright!” exclaimed Xander as he gave Anya a deep kiss. He suddenly found his arms around her as her own hands gently caressed his back. Xander broke the kiss with but kept his arms around her. “So, how do they talk?” asked Anya.
“Who?”
“My lips? How do they talk?”
“In about 20 different languages.”
She smiled and began to kiss Xander again. They both leaned back into the couch groping each other over their clothing. A few moments later there was a resounding thud as they fell from the couch to the floor of the auditorium. “Is this what they mean when they say love hurts?” asked Anya.
“Not unless they mean the cherry maple kind of hurt,” replied Xander as he tapped on the floor.
* * *
“Are you sure you want to do this?” asked Willow as she mashed some roots in bowl on the table in the center of the library.
“If I don’t then I doubt I’ll be able to sleep at night. I’ve got to take this opportunity to learn more about myself and my past,” replied Rob.
“This is really a golden opportunity for them,” said Giles as Willow passed him the roots and he added it to a test tube of liquid he had in his hand. “Considering Reina’s lineage, she is a fine candidate to lead a movement to reunite the two clans.”
“At which time they’ll come back to Earth and claim it,” added Wesley.
“Which won’t concern us because we’ll all have passed into the next life by then,” replied Giles.
“As well as your great-grandchildren’s great-grandchildren I’m sure,” said Reina.
“Good enough for me,” agreed Cordelia. “Let’s just send you on your way before any other demons come after you.”
“It should be easy enough using the spell I told you. I just never tried it because I thought there was nothing to back to,” explained Reina.
“Yes, it seems to have come together quite nicely,” confirmed Giles. “We should be done any moment now.”
“Umm…Guys, could I just have a minute alone with Rob to say good-bye?” asked Willow.
“Sure, Will, sure,” answered Buffy. Giles, Reina and Wesley all left the room and Buffy was about to follow when she noticed Cordelia had failed to move from her chair.
“What?” asked Cordelia as Buffy’s gaze met her own. “Fine,” sulked Cordelia as she slowly rose from her chair and walked out of the room with Buffy close behind.
“So, will I ever see you again?” asked Willow.
“Not unless you’re into traveling between dimensions,” replied Rob.
“Then I just want to say I’m sorry.”
“For what?”
“Well, let’s see…we poisoned you and then we nearly got you killed by knocking you out.”
“But you also sang to me,” replied Rob with a smile.
“What?”
“Willow, you did what you thought was best for me. You’ve always been the sensible one. This time it backfired, that’s all.”
“Like one of those powder kegs.”
He laughed. “Take care of yourself.”
Willow embraced him tenderly. “You too, Rob. You too.”
THE END
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