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Buffy and other characters belong to Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, 20th Century Fox, Warner Brothers, et. al and used without permission. No copyright infringement intended & no money earned.
Buffy waited for Spike at the house, brand-new suitcases filled and ready to go. Spike walked in with his trademark grin.
"They looked like fish, Slayer. Their jaws hung open, not knowing what to say or do. Wanted you back as soon as they heard ya had done all the work. Lil Bit sure can throw a right loud fit. Got a set of lungs on her that girl does. You ready to start that new life and leave ole Sunnyhell behind, luv?"
"Yep, I'm ready for some sun, sand and thinking about absolutely nothing."
They loaded up the Desoto and headed for LAX.
"Spike, Whistler said they needed you in LA. Have Angel give you a job as a favor to me. I got one of those throw away phones, so that we can keep in touch."
At the airport, Buffy kissed him on the cheek. He told her that when he was settled he would let her know. He watched her board the plane then drove off to find Angel's new offices. Spike grinned when he pulled up to the Wolfram and Hart building.
Now, Peaches lets see what kind of a mess you've made for yourself.
He was strolling through the building, when he heard a voice from his past.
"Blondie Bear is that you?"
Harmony came running toward him and jumped into his arms.
"Harm, what are you doing here?" he asked, putting her down.
"I work here, silly. I'm Angel's secretary. Cordy got me the job. Are you here to see Angel? I didn't see you on his schedule. Is it a surprise? I can probably get you in for old times sakes, even if you did try to stake me. I know that you didn't mean it," she babbled, dragging Spike toward Angel's office.
Cheerleader got her the job, huh? Always knew that bit was evil, never smelled right.
They stopped outside a large office where Harmony knocked before she barged inside without waiting. "Angel your next appointment's here."
She pushed Spike into the office, patting his butt as she walked by to close the door. He glared at her and she batted her lashes at him smiling.
"SPIKE! What the hell are you doing here?" Angel yelled, when he saw his appointment was none other than his cursed grand-childe.
"Don't get your knickers in a twist, Peaches. I'm delivering a message from the Slayer. She wants you to know there's no need for a second front."
"Why would Buffy send you? Why didn't she come herself? Is she hurt? I knew I should have stayed to help her. It was more than she could handle. She just wasn't acting like herself," Angel said, pacing the room.
Spike snorted and Angel stopped to glare at him; Spike looked back innocently. "She's been under a lot of pressure, Peaches. I did everything I could to help, but between working, the SITs, raising Dawn, and everyone pulling at her; it was just too much. Bound to make a difference. Took her a long time to get over getting ripped out of Heaven by her friends and the minute she starts to get her feet underneath her this happens."
"Heaven, I thought she was in Hell. Why didn't she tell me when we met?" Angel asked, sitting in his chair hard.
"You stupid pillock. Why would she go to Hell? The gel must have dripped into your brain over the years and fried something," Spike sneered. "No wonder she was such a mess when she came back. Her bloody SOUL MATE couldn't even figure out where she was. You're such a ponce. I guess it's a good thing she left."
"Left, what do you mean? She isn't in Sunnydale, where is she?" Angel grabbed Spike. "Tell me, boy."
"Don't know and let go of the leather. She had me deliver some messages, yours was the last one. Except for one part but you can forget that. She was gone when I got back," he said, pushing Angel away.
"What part? What aren't you telling me?"
"She wanted you to let me help you out here in LA. Figured you needed all the help you could get at Demon Central, but I don't think so mate." Spike turned to leave.
"Wait, she really wanted me to give you a job?" Angel asked hesitantly
"Do you think that it would be my idea? Yes, she wanted me to work here with you. Though, I think it must be to find the big hole that you have your head buried in."
"Fine but you do one thing out of line, and I'll stake you myself."
"Peaches, in case you haven't heard, you aren't the only vampire on the block with a soul. I don't kill innocents." He knew that would piss Capt. Forehead right off. Angel always liked to be special. Lord it over everyone else, how different he was because of his soul.
"You're lying. How would you get a soul? Did Willow use the curse on you?" Angel growled. The idea of Spike having a soul infuriated him.
"Call Rupes if you don't believe me; he'll tell you it's the truth. Went through some trials, won it honestly. Buffy needed to know that she could trust me. I did it for her." He smirked crossing his arms.
"Why would she even care about anything that you did? Even with a soul she would never care about you except as a reminder of me, a cheap one at that," Angel gave an Angelus like smirk.
"I've never been like you and you've always hated that. Buffy loves me as a friend and that's enough for me. I'd die for her if she asked it."
"You're in love with her that's hilarious. You've always wanted my women boy, but you could never have her no matter what you did. I snapped my fingers and Dru came crawling to me like a bitch in heat, and it drove you crazy," Angel crowed.
"Right mate, you either break your women or abandon them. Ole Spike, sure wishes he was you, Angelus." Spike arched a scarred eyebrow at his grandsire, the contempt written clearly on his face. "Where are those women now, Peaches? I don't see Buffy running to you. I see her going somewhere that you're not. Where are your women?" Spike asked in a deceptively soft voice.
"Angel, honey, I've been waiting for you. Weren't we supposed to meet for lunch?"
Cordelia entered the room to kiss Angel, not noticing Spike.
"Guess that answers that question, huh. When do you want me to start Peaches?"
Cordelia squeaked spinning around, "What the hell is he doing here?" she demanded hands on her hips.
"He's going to be working here. Buffy asked me to give him a job." Angel gave her his best smile, hoping to head off a fight.
"Little Miss Slay Gal asks for a favor and you can't wait to do it? No way, Angel, he's not working here. That is it."
"Cordelia, I'll decide who does and doesn't work here and Spike stays," he said in a hard tone.
Not used to him talking to her that way. Damn Buffy Summers anyway. "So, when did Buffy call? Is she coming here?"
"No, she's taking a vacation to unwind after everything that's been going on in Sunnydale," Angel explained glad that Cordy was okay.
"You know that I'm just worried about you right. Spike can't be trusted. Last time he was here he tortured you," Cordy said, forcing tears to form in her eyes.
Angel hugged her tight. "Cor, he has a soul," he whispered.
"Honey, for you I'll try to be nice. Welcome to the team Billy Idol." She flashed him a smile. He raised an eyebrow looking at her bleached blonde hair. Nah, too easy. "Maybe he could work with Fred for a while. You know get to know the whole team. I'm sure he doesn't have anywhere to stay either. There's still an empty apartment on the 25th floor," Cordy offered. "Harmony can show you everything. Since you missed our lunch, I'm going to have to run. I have a meeting with, that witch, Eve. See what I put up with for you, buddy. You'll just have to make it up to me tonight."
She smiled at Angel waving as she left. Cordelia quickly walked to her office, buzzing Eve to get there immediately. She arrived to find Cordelia pacing the room.
"What's up boss?" Eve sat down waiting for the other woman to talk.
"I told you not to call me that. Spike just showed up. Buffy closed the Hellmouth but it didn't kill her," Cordelia snarled.
"It was always a 50/50 shot she would go down too. That Slayer's hard to kill. The Sr. Partners knew that," Eve said with a casual shrug.
"Did they also know that Spike has a soul? Angel gave him a job. At least we'll be able to watch him. What's this going to mean? Are we backing the wrong vampire?" She asked in frustration.
"I'll have to ask them about Spike. It's probable just a fluke like two Slayers but we will make sure. They want to know if you have as much control over Angel as you say you do," Eve asked.
"Of course I do, I've kept my end of the deal haven't I. He's here doing what he never would've done before. He compromises his soul a little more every day. I can't make him lose it with perfect happiness, no one can. He's too stupid to check whether his soul's permanent, but there's more than one-way to lose a soul; the shaman showed us that. For that, he had to be willing to lose it all at once. We would've been fine if Willow wouldn't have interfered. So, we just have to chip away at it a little at a time. He likes easy solutions so we give them to him. I'm not going back to that; white prison the Powers locked me in, damnit. I have power, and I plan to keep it."
"I could try to get chummy with Spike. See what I can learn."
"I think that I'll use Harmony for now. They used to date. I can feed her questions and she'll give me information and not even realize it, the ditz. Who do the Sr. Partners want us to help next?"
Eve started running through the agenda laid out for W&H for the next month as Cordelia listened, planning how to line everything up.
She just had to keep Angel busy at work and in bed and she'd end up with more power than she ever dreamed. No one was going to interfere with her plans. Connor tried and she got rid of him. She would do the same to anyone else that got in her way.
Buffy was laying on a private beach in Kauai; it was peaceful as the sun warmed her skin. Her hotel room was a suite with a private pool and beach, even its own personal butler. Her tan was already coming back and she was eating better. She had started to gain back the weight she had lost, and only had five more pounds to go. After only a week, she already felt like a new person. Buffy ran along the beach every morning, followed by a swim and then laid out to allow the Hawaiian sun to dry her. Later in the afternoon, she did an ancient form of Tai Chi, stored in her memories, to relax, and finished her day meditating until sunset.
Buffy noticed that someone had moved into the suite next door but hadn't seen anyone, yet. Shrugging mentally, this stretch of beach had been hers for ten days. She figured that she could share. Hopefully, they wouldn't be too nosy and want to spend all day talking. Buffy was deep into her meditation when she felt someone about to touch her. She grabbed their hand, throwing them over her shoulder and jumped to her feet into a fighting stance.
A large man with mocha colored skin and tattoos running down his arms looked at her with dark brown eyes. He grinned at her as he put his hands up and said, "I come in peace."
"You shouldn't sneak up on people, someone could get hurt. Who are you?" Buffy waited for an answer.
He stood up brushing off his pants, she automatically stepped back keeping her stance tight.
"It's okay Xena, I'm your neighbor. I accidentally locked myself out of my room. Just wanted to use your phone to get someone to come and let me back in. You were so still, I couldn't tell if you were asleep or praying, and didn't want to startle you. Bad move on my part, sorry." His voice was deep and gravely. It sent shivers down Buffy's spine. "My name's Xander Cage but most people call me X."
He looked for any sign of recognition but didn't see even a flicker. He wasn't sure if he that made him happy or sad.
Buffy nodded her head as she reciprocated. "Casey Dupree, walk in front of me then stand to the side and I'll get the phone."
Xander noticed that she kept a safe distance between them. She went inside where he could see her describe him to the desk, after a few minutes she brought the phone out. Xander explained what had happened and they told him someone would be there in fifteen minutes. Buffy went in grabbing two beers then came back out, throwing one to Xander. He raised an eyebrow; she didn't look like a beer kinda girl.
"You here on vacation."
"Yep."
"How long."
"Till the end of the month, what about you."
"Next two weeks, could I take you to dinner, to thank you for the hospitality," he asked.
Buffy looked at him closely. "I guess. I'll meet you in the main dining at 7:00. That enough time for you to unpack and chill out?"
Buffy walked into the dining room, not noticing every head turn. Her peach colored sundress complimented her coloring, while the tiny pleats in the full skirt caressed her body as she walked. She looked golden and gorgeous. Xander had waited for her in the bar, and had nearly swallowed his tongue when she entered. Every man here would kill to take his place as he escorted her to their table.
"You look beautiful," he said, into her ear as he held the chair for her.
His deep voice did wonderful things to her. Buffy worked hard to stop the shiver from rolling down her spine.
"Thanks, you clean up nice yourself. Have you ever been to Hawaii before?" she asked, sipping her wine.
"Not this island but a couple of the others. I try to go to different islands each time I have vacation time. This time I landed on this one, guess I got lucky," he said with a grin.
She blushed at the compliment. "What do you like to do for fun?"
"I'm into extreme sports. You know sky diving, snow boarding that kind of stuff. What about you, ever tried any?" He couldn't drag his eyes away from her beautiful face.
"No, I've done some snorkeling and snow skiing. I'd like to try surfing while I'm here. I grew up in California but never had the time to learn."
"I could teach you. I asked around today and found out there's a beach we can go to and rent boards. You up to it?"
"Sounds like a plan." They spent the night talking about little things, including different activities to do on the island. Walking back to their rooms, he pulled her to him. "I'm going to enjoy getting to know you, Casey Dupree." He leaned down to kiss her. "Me too." Buffy wasn't sure if she meant him, herself, or both.
She went inside with a huge grin on her face. What a hottie. He's sweet, sexy, with a body that just won't quit. Slow down, Summers, you just met him. She stripped her clothes off, climbing into bed.
The biggest problem I have is his name. I can't call him Xander, maybe I can call him Cage, yeah I like that. I'll ask him tomorrow if it is okay.
Xander went to his room, thinking about the tiny blonde next door. Man, she's gong to be hard to leave behind when my vacation's over. She isn't a woman any sane man would walk away from.
Xander woke up the next morning and walked out onto his deck. He had an hour before he was supposed to meet Casey to go surfing. Noticing movement on the beach, he went closer to check it out and found Casey doing complex martial arts exercise. It was slow and graceful, resembling Tai Chi but not any, he had ever seen before. She held a forward pose then went from a stand still, up into the air, to an aerial spin, landing in the same pose facing the opposite direction.
Damn, that's definitely my kind of woman. He couldn't help thinking about those tanned powerful legs wrapped around his body. He moved back into the house realizing he needed a shower to get his body under control before their date.
Buffy and Xander rented surfboards, and after learning the basics, she was able to keep up with him wave for wave. Of course, wiping out whenever her legs distracted him didn't help his pride any; at least the water was cool enough not to embarrass him further. The islanders immediately adopted Buffy, calling her "little mermaid." They showed off for and challenged her. She tried everything and laughed at it all.
Their surf partners invited them to join in on a real island cook out. Buffy played with the children, offering to help get firewood, telling them she couldn't even boil water. She learned to hula and surprisingly how to dance with knives. Xander watched her with everyone and knew he was in trouble; she may have already stolen his heart. He wasn't used to this, but he had never met a woman like Casey before.
"I had fun today. It's been a long time since I've laughed so much. Thanks for teaching me to surf, Cage."
Buffy hugged him, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him softly.
He held her close, his large hand cupped her small head while he ravished her mouth. He drew away looking at her.
"You didn't take much teaching. I never knew anyone could learn to surf that fast. I don't want to crowd you, but I'd like to spend the rest of my vacation with you."
"I could probably fit you into my busy schedule. I normally just run, swim, workout and meditate. So, I'm up for other things or you can join me just hanging out. They'll bring us whatever meals we want here when we don't want to go anywhere," she answered him with a smile.
"I could watch you get all hot and sweaty." He grinned and she punched him softly.
For the next few days, they spent their time surfing, sightseeing or just relaxing on the private beach they shared. They enjoyed their time together, wanting to make the most of it. Buffy told him about her life except about her being the Slayer and that Angel and Spike were vampires. Xander told her about his life - his videos, traveling around the world, everything except what he did for Augustus Gibbons as XXX. That night when they returned from a walk on the beach, Buffy pulled him into her room. She kissed him, closing the door behind them.
"I'd like you to stay."
He picked her up, easily carrying her into the bedroom. Xander laid her on the bed then crawled up next to her. He gently kissed her, which she happily returned. When air became an issue, they pulled away.
"Are you sure?"
Buffy grabbed his face kissing him passionately. He untied her top and pulled it away. Leaning over, he kissed down the side of her neck to her breast. Buffy moaned in the back of her throat. Buffy pulled his shirt from his pants and over his head, scratching her nails down his back, making him shiver. He pulled away to remove the remainder of his clothes, but stopped to admire her body her for a moment.
"You're so beautiful, you take my breath away."
Later, much, much later as they collapsed onto the bed exhausted. Xander pulled Buffy on top on him. He kissed her forehead, while his hand stroked her hair tenderly.
"Are you okay?" Xander asked quietly.
"I'm freakin fantastic. It was like flying. I'm sure you've heard that before," she teased, smiling up at him.
"I'm no choirboy, but I can honestly say that I've never felt like that before."
He wrapped his arms around her as they fell asleep.
Buffy woke up feeling warm and secure; hard arms wrapped around her and her head still lay on Xander's chest. She started tracing his tattoos. She'd never liked them before but his were beautiful, and they suited him. Maybe she would get one to remind her of him and of what she was becoming. She had finally grown into a woman that made her own decisions, and she had no regrets about that. She snuggled deeper into his embrace
She snuggled into him; he tightened his arms around her pulling her on top of him. He looked into her eyes.
"Good morning, beautiful. What are you thinking about?"
"How much I like your tattoos and that I might like to get one."
He started kissing and tickling her, turning her, this way and that.
She laughed, "What are you doing?"
"Trying to find the perfect spot. Can't be your breasts." He kissed them. "They are already perfect or your," he flipped her over to smack her bottom, "because that should be in a museum. The question is where? Maybe here." He kissed the nape of her neck, "or here." He kissed the base of her spine. "I'm going to have to explore this carefully." He kissed down one leg and up the other. "This could take me days."
"Well, we wouldn't want to make a mistake?"
"How does it look?" Buffy asked as Xander rubbed cream into the new tattoo. It started at the base of neck and went down about three inches.
"They did a good job. Where'd you learn how to write Chinese?"
"From a friend," she said, smiling at her memories.
"What does it say?" His fingers tenderly traced the markings.
"Freedom can only be given away." The characters built and swirled onto each other, creating a beautiful design.
"I like the bird of paradise on my ankle too. I'll never forget this vacation. It's meant so much to me." Buffy leaned forward to kiss Xander.
"Casey, I don't want to lose you when it's time for me to leave. I know you're supposed to stay here longer than me. If I can work it out would you come back with me?" He asked, wanting to tell her that he loved her. Xander was afraid of scaring her off, based on her past relationships.
"I'm meeting someone here; an old friend to offer me a job. I promised that I'd listen to what he has to offer. I'm sorry Cage, but I can't leave before he shows. I owe him that much. He's the one who sent me here. So, he's kinda responsible for us meeting." She had tears in her eyes, expecting him to walk away.
"I understand, babe. You have to honor your commitments. I know that better than anyone, it might take me a little while to arrange, with work anyway. I'm not losing you now that I've found you," he told her lifting her chin to kiss her nose.
Buffy studied him closely, seeing the truth in his eyes. She jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around him to whisper in his ear. "I think I'm falling in love with you, Cage, but I'm afraid. Everyone I've ever loved has left me."
"Casey, if I go somewhere I'll always come back because I have something to come back to. I love you."
"Cage, I think you left your TV on in your room." Buffy cocked to the side, hearing a strange voice coming from the suite next door.
Xander realized it must be his satellite phone and Gibbons was trying to reach him. Damnit, not now. "Hold on babe. I'll go check and get us something to drink." He walked inside to pull his sat phone out of the closet, where he kept it.
Gibbon's yelling could be heard before he even opened the expensive phone.
"X, where the hell have you been? I've been trying to reach you for hours," Augustus growled.
"Chill man, I was out. I'm on vacation in Hawaii. You think that I'm going to spend it in my room? What's up?"
"Got a job for you. Not your normal gig, hopefully you won't screw this up. There's a recruit on the island. We need you to bring them in for an interview. They'll meet you in the lounge. Ask for the Slayer. Since I'm such a nice guy, you can stay until the end of the month for doing me this favor. We want this person on the team, so don't pull anything. They're elite," Gibbons warned, signing off.
"Shit, how do I explain this to Casey?" He wondered, grabbing drinks as he headed back outside.
Buffy's Suite: "Whistler, what the hell are you doing? You can't just appear like that. What if someone would've seen you?" Buffy hissed to the balance demon.
"No one did though, relax kid. Listen my friend Gus is gonna have one of his guys meet you in the lounge in the morning. They'll take you out to meet him. You'll like him; he won't jerk you around, promise. Good luck kid."
Buffy turned around and he was gone. "I hate it when he does that. What am I going to tell Cage?" Buffy walked back outside, seeing Xander waiting with drinks. She moved over to sit astride his lap. "My friend called. I agreed to meet with him tomorrow to find out about the job. I'll probably be gone most of the day, sorry Cage."
"No problem babe, I need to call the office anyway. When you get back, we'll make up for lost time. Now, where were we?" He pulled her up to him, kissing her. Xander's hands cupped her rear, rubbing against Buffy to show her exactly where they were before being interrupted.
Xander walked up to the hostess. "I'm looking for the Slayer." He gave her his best smile. "Right this way, sir." She smiled at him, putting a little extra swing in her walk. Xander followed her, not noticing the show being put on for him. He stopped dead at the table she brought him to. There, in low-rise jeans and a red baby T-shirt sat Buffy.
She looked up smiling then her eyes grew large. "Cage, what are you doing here?"
"Slayer, I presume," he grinned.
Buffy nodded her head yes.
"I'm your escort for the day, Miss. Would you please come with me? There's a car waiting for us," he said as he escorted her from the hotel and the waiting car outside.
He turned to her, scooping her onto his lap, and in a rumbling voice said, "Someone's been a naughty girl. I may have to spank you when we get home."
"What about you? I may have to buy me a crop and tan your tush," she countered with a pout.
"Promise."
He gave her that puppy dog look with his eyes. They started laughing.
"I understand why you couldn't tell me, Cage. I promise to explain whatever doesn't come out at the meeting."
"Damn straight. We can fill in the rest of the blanks. Babe, I told you everything that I could. I didn't lie about loving you," he said, hoping she would believe him.
"Uh Cage, my real name is Buffy Summers. I was starting over and wanted a new name. I didn't lie to you about anything else that I could tell you. I know you love me. Please, don't doubt that I feel the same way. How much time do we have? We had our first fight and need to makeup properly."
"Not nearly enough time since we're at the helipad. Don't start something you can't finish woman," he said in that husky voice.
"I love watching you come undone. Oops, the car's stopping. Guess we'll have to see how well you hold up under pressure."
She grinned up at him cheekily. Xander put her back in the seat, smacking her bottom then kissed her. The door opened and they ran to the helicopter, which quickly took off. They landed after an hour, only to climb into another car that drove them into an underground bunker. They got out and stepped into an elevator.
"This is very 007. Do I get to meet Sean Connery? He was always my favorite."
Xander pinched her side then sent her a wink. The doors opened to a beehive of activity with people on computers, phones and studying graphical maps. They walked straight through to a large conference room where a man waited at a large table. The man was a middle-aged black man with scars covering one side of his face; his eyes held a wealth of knowledge.
"Welcome Miss Summers or is it Dupree? I'm Augustus Gibbons and you've already met Xander Cage or XXX, as I like to call him. We're glad that you agreed to meet with us, please be seated. You can leave, X, and I'll let you know when she's through."
"No, he stays. Him I know; you I don't. Whistler said I could trust you. I don't trust anyone, just because someone else says they're okay. Oh and either name is fine. I've been going by Dupree here or Slayer's okay too," Buffy said with a shrug.
"Very well Slayer, we'd like for you to come and work for us. First, we aren't the Initiative. We'd like to thank you for taking care of that mess. We were on our way to close them down but got busy trying to stop the release of some nerve gas in Europe. That was X's first mission. The Initiative brought my group and Whistler's together. There's a major concern about terrorists and demons starting to work together. We're creating a select team that specializes in that area. We want you to be in charge of the whole division; you'd lead the team and train them. Then when they're ready, they'd train their own team, and so on and so on. Our goal is for ten active teams in the next year."
Augustus leaned back, waiting for the blonde to respond.
"I have several questions. How do you get your information? What's your policy on human life? When you say I'd be in charge do you mean absolute authority or that you can come behind me and overrule me? Who'd be on my team? If I decided to do this, I want Cage to be on my team until I say he isn't and last what would you pay me?" Buffy rolled the question out one after the other.
"Our complex database pulls from crime and supernatural resources around the world. We try to keep the body count to a minimum but if the choice is between a hostage or a team member there's no question. You're the expert and I won't be able to override you, doesn't mean that I won't question you. The only person that has that authority is the president; that's if he even acknowledges that we exist. Your team members and compensation are in the folder in front of you. Would you like to look around?"
"Sure give me the ten cent tour, Gus."
Buffy smiled at him brightly. Whistler was right she liked this man.
"X, go ahead and start. I'll catch up in a moment."
"No problem, boss. Come along, Miss Boss. Oh boy, I'm in trouble," he sighed.
Gibbons waited for the door to close and Whistler to appear. "Man, you didn't tell me she was such a dynamo. From the pictures, I figured that she was strong but an airhead. I feel like I've been through the Inquisition again. I had to agree to no authority over her. Me, Mr. Runs A Tight Ship with a finger in every pie." Gibbons scowled, starting to pace.
"I tried to tell you, Gibbons. They've been underestimating her for years. She'd act as if she was listening then go and do what needed doing. Plus, they did all the research. So, who's the smart one; my money's always been on the kid. It'll be interesting to watch when she finds out their first big job is to take down W&H, starting with LA," Whistler said, grinning at his fellow balance demon.
"You think she'll do it? Won't she balk at hurting her ex, her soul mate," Gus asked with disgust heavy in his voice.
"Soul Mate, huh? You don't walk out on your soul mate cause things get tough. She's figured that out, girl has come into her own. Nope if I were talking soul mates, I would be looking at your boy, X. Those two have something. I don't remember ever seeing her so happy, she deserves it," Whistler told him.
"You don't think it's just an island fling. XXX is wild. The women flock to him, which doesn't help a relationship," Gibbons warned.
"Nope, think those two are glued at the hip. If you had her, would you look at anyone else? Don't know what Angel was thinking. Buffy's right, he is a dork. He never even tried to glue in that soul. If he would have, he'd have learned the teacher fixed the curse, his loss. You had better go catch up. See ya for poker night, it's your turn to host."
Buffy and Xander were in the gym where Xander introduced her to the team: Robert, K-9, Trina, Stix and Shell. Buffy asked to watch them to pair off so that she could watch them spar. They paired off into their normal teams, leaving Xander to team up with K-9. She walked around assessing their weaknesses.
"Okay, enough. Pick a smaller partner and begin again." She repeated her assessment with the teams. "All right that's good. We have major problems here. The opponent you'll fight will be stronger, faster and in many cases two sometimes, three sizes larger than you. You need to learn how to fight smarter. I'll demonstrate when the team fights me. Anyone that doesn't fight all-out will have to spar with me one-on-one. Take a few minutes to catch you breath and talk strategy. I'll be back in a minute."
When Buffy saw Gibbons enter, she walked over to give him her opinion. "Your team isn't bad. They have some good skills; a little rough but they'll do. After my vacation's over, I'll come and work with them. Anyone not cutting it gets replaced, deal?"
Buffy stared him in the eye, deciding to start out the way she planned to continue. Gibbons studied the tiny blond who faced him head on where grown men had turned away, and nodded. She smiled at him before walking back over to the team. She stopped to remove her shoes and socks, put her hair up then stepped into the center of the sparring area.
The team spread out around her with the larger members evenly spaced. Rookie mistake.
"I'm ready when you are people," she said, in a bored voice.
She waited to see who would break first and wasn't surprised to see that it was K-9. He came in swinging so she dropped to her hands kicking him in the chest sending him backward several feet. Two more took his place, trying to double-team her. She grabbed a fist coming at her and using her opponents shoulder for advantage, scissor kicked his teammate to the head and she was down and out for the count. The remaining team members finally decided to jump in. What came next was simply a blur of kicks, punches and throws. Roughly, five minutes later the team lay in various positions on around the mat with Buffy standing above them barely breathing hard.
"Not bad, not great but not bad. You made some rookie mistakes by spreading your strength out. You also waited until a man was down before responding. Demons are stronger and faster what they aren't, is smarter. They're pure instinct to eat, survive, obey, whatever; you have to figure that out. I'll come back in a week to start your training. I'm tough but fair. The first rule in slaying is 'don't die'. I mean to see that you live by that rule. The second is how to taunt the enemy. They hate it; makes them all wonky."
She grinned waving as she walked away.
The team looked at one another in awe and confusion.
"Did that just happen? Did some 100 lbs. girl just kick our asses?"
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