Aug. 18th, '15: Neighborhood Watch - Part XIV
Title: Neighborhood Watch - Part XIII
Author: SweetChi
Rating: PG-13
Crossover: Castle
Word Count: 963
Disclaimer: I do not own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Castle, I am making no money from this and am doing it purely for enjoyment.
Summary: Ryan and Castle visit Buffy’s apartment. Team Council does the same…
Part XIII
Castle followed Kevin out of Buffy’s apartment, so busy looking at the pictures he’d just taken that he bumped into him as he waited for the elevator.
“Sorry,” Castle said without glancing up. “It shouldn’t take long to get some hits on this stuff. I mean, really, how many replicas of David could’ve been sold in the last few weeks? You should be worried about her feelings about men given the state of his business, by the way.”
Kevin snorted a laugh at Castle's vague gesture to his groin as they stepped into the elevator. “Remember when I told you about the shot that went wild when we were bowling?”
“She did that with a plastic bowling ball?” Castle said, eyebrows raised as he finally looked up from his phone. “I’m thinking she had some pent up rage in that ‘accidental’ shot.”
Kevin shook his head, smile fading and a sharp pang of sadness taking its place as he remembered how hard they’d laughed when she’d talked about how she’d have to try to super glue the piece back on before he sister came for a visit. They hadn’t even really gotten a chance to start. It wasn’t fair.
“Ready to check out the hotel?” He asked as they stepped out into the lobby.
Castle’s excited look was enough of an answer for Kevin.
He was ready for some answers, whatever game someone was playing was getting old fast. If they didn’t find anything at this hotel he was going to pay Detective Slaughter a little visit himself…
*****
Dawn was gasping for breath by the time she burst out of the stairwell on the fourth floor. She’d been trying to talk some sense into the other two as they flew into the building and headed for the stairs, which had turned into wheezing pleas by the time they got to Buffy’s floor. Should’ve just waited for the damn elevator for all the good it did.
“Kennedy, wait!” She called, seeing the slayer pull her foot back to kick the door in.
Even though her words came out as more of a breathy “-enned- -ait” she was sure Kennedy heard and understood her, just completely ignored her as she kicked the door open with a splintering of wood.
Dawn cringed as she waited for the sounds of asskicking and possible death throes to begin. Seriously, what the hell did they think they were doing?! If it really was Caleb what did they think they were going to do about it?! He’d done some serious damage before, did they think he’d be weaker after coming back from the dead?
Eyes squinted shut and bent over with her hands on her knees still catching her breath, she waited for the badness to begin. When there was nothing but silence, she crept forward and hesitantly peeked around the corner of the broken frame.
Xander looked thunderous, but still had all of his parts. Kennedy was-
“Hey! What did you do to David!”
“I didn’t do that,” Kennedy said, putting her hands up. “I’m not messing with a man’s junk - real or fake. Maybe your sister-“
“Don’t finish that,” Dawn said with a disgusted lip curl as Kennedy leered back.
“He was here, I saw him,” Xander said turning a circle. “You saw him, too, right? And seriously, Dawn, what’s with this place? It’s like Scarface and Queen Elizabeth were a design team.”
Why was he saying that like it was a bad thing, Dawn wondered looking around. Place looked freaking awesome. Minus David’s deficit. Shaking her head, she marched up to Xander, poking him in the chest.
“And what exactly was the plan here?” She asked, her poking getting a little more violent with each word. “Oh, that’s right, we had the kind of plan that wasn’t a plan. We also have no weapons and no backup!”
“Slayer,” he said weakly, pointing at Kennedy. “And there are weapons here. That’s why we’re here.”
“Which would’ve made sense if you’d stealthily snuck in and gotten a weapon, but no you two had to burst in here like the freaking Kool-Aid man! And when did I become the level headed one?”
They all looked a little disturbed by that realization. Dawn shook it off first and went to the bookshelf that had the secret Wall o’ Weapons behind it.
“Sorry,” Xander said, coming up next to her and helping her swing the shelf out to reveal the hidden alcove. “I guess I just kind of lost it when I saw him. After last time…”
Dawn felt her anger drain away as she saw the aborted gesture to his missing eye. They both looked over at Kennedy.
“I don’t need an excuse,” she said. “I just wanted to kick his ass. I am the weapon now, not some weak potential.”
Despite Kennedy’s off-putting attitude, Dawn got it. Kennedy had lost something to Caleb as well in that fateful meeting in the vineyard. Watching her fellow potentials die like that…
“Well, if it was Caleb-“
“It was,” Xander said. “It all fits. We know he hates women - Buffy in particular since she was stronger than him. Plus the whole cutting him in half thing has to sting. He took his yen for killing girls and just honed it down to killing girls that look like Buffy until he could find the real thing.”
“He beat her,” Kennedy said, looking a little disturbed for once. “He kicked her ass and threw her out of a window- balcony, whatever. Does that mean he really is stronger now than he was the first time around?”
No one had an answer to that. They just picked out their weapons in silence before heading out.
Maybe they really did need a bigger boat.