spells and surprises
(at the Magic Box)
Giles: It isn't like Willow to be tardy. I hope she is having an uneventful journey.
Xander: In Sunnydale?
Xander: *phone rings, and he picks it up* Magic B- Wills! We were just talkin about you.
Giles: The rising of Arathuare seems to having an ... unsettling effect on a substantial percentage of the area
Giles: It's Willow?
Xander: *listens, nodding*
Giles: Why is she telephoning, is there a problem?
Xander: Yeah. She says no luck tracking down Buffy or Spike. *frowns* Ok. Why don't you come on in, or I'll pick you up.
Xander: *hangs up* She's on her way over.
Xander: Said she'll be here in about ten minutes.
Xander: Y'know, this whole G.I. Buffy thing is just--*shakes head*
Giles: I have hardly seen her - co-operating with the suthorities is one thing - and even that can be questionable, but this...
Giles: Have you met this .. Professor Walsh?
Xander: : I know. And please tell me your bosses aren't hearing about this. No offense man, but we've got too many cooks in the kitchen now.
Giles: I intended to contrive some kind of casual encounter but ...
Xander: No, I haven't met her. She teaches a class Buffy and Willow think is cool.
Xander: Psych 102.
Giles: how on earth can I ascertain if she heads a top secret project at all, let alone whether she is competant to do so!
Giles: I suppose that argues a degree of competance in itself - although I have met some remarkably incompetant professors
Xander: Well: competent on a Hellmouth means you don't die. She's done that so far. So have Riley's crew.
Xander: I just wish I knew how much *she* knows. Pretty sure we're not the only one keeping secrets.
Giles: Some of them. I rather doubt that the commandos have as low a casualty-rate as we are led to believe. There are stories...
Xander: I mean, that's the woman's career.
Xander: Sounds like I missed something. Stories?
Giles: yes, *sighs* we know that Buffy has been willing to keep secrets in the past.
Giles: It's no secret that the Lamia killed at least one, and there have been - on the evidence there have been at least two commando vampires
Xander: The Lamia...? *startled* I didn't realize that. Hadn't heard about any commando vamps either. What happened with them?
Giles: *Sighs* Buffy can be ... too easily influenced, and by, by the wrong people.
Giles: Oh, one was staked almost immediately.
Xander: *remembers* Oh sh*t. I didn't--Are you talking about Graham Miller, Giles?
Giles: Over-confidence, I should think. It didn't even take a slayer - he annoyed a Drxl demon and ... *shrugs*
Giles: Yes, wasn't Miller actually killed at the bus stop?
Xander:It doesn't take much at all. Willow and I nearly got eaten by a fledgling, the same night we met Buffy.
Xander: I knew he wasn't around but neither Buffy nor Riley said he was KIA.
Xander: I just thought he'd been discharged or transferred, and I thought "good for him."
Giles: Miller, no, he was killed.
Giles: The fledglings are usually vulnerable. The other lasted longer but apparently tried top prey on his unit. Not a good idea...
Xander: No. *frowns* It wouldn't be. That's cold. I wonder if Walsh even told his family he's gone?
Giles: Ahh, there have been others - one was said to have been infected by a Hisslea - they have poisonous ichor
Giles: it can transform a human into something that closely resembles the Hisslea itself - although whether the victim becomes a functional demon is more than moot.
Xander: It sounds like they don't know demons except by what they learn from observation. Hell, they need Watchers too, maybe.
Giles: It seem more likely that those transformed into Hisslea are used as incubators for - but anyway, the Initiative Agent was infected
Xander: 'Learn as you go' is a good way to run up the body count.
Xander: *chuckles* Now I'm never gonna be able to watch a Sigourney Weaver flick again .
Xander: Not without picturing Riley!
Giles: I think they research to an extent but ... yes precisely... Hopwever, the infected agent was removed comrades...
Giles: Sigourney Weaver? *Nervoius laugh,* Yes, I suppose that there are simularities
Giles: - though perhaps not physically
Xander: What else could they have done? Is there a cure for this Hisslea thing, if they'd known about it?
Xander :*looks up quickly as the door opens* Willow!
Willow :Hi, Giles. Xander. *sits, looking tired*
Giles: Willow, I'm glad that you made it safely - I hope your trip was ... er, incident-free?
Willow: Incident free, not so much. Vamps 0, Willow 2, but they were newbies. No Drusilla or Spike.
Giles: Xander, the point about the Hisslea incident is that the agent was never seen again.
Giles: Is there any news of the precious pair?
Willow: Hisslea ? Oh, gross. I remember reading about those. --Buffy and Riley? Riley's at the hospital.
Giles: What happened?
Xander: How's he doing?
Willow: Xander!*annoyed*
Xander: Wills, Giles just got here. I was about to tell him the rest of it.
Giles: Perhaps you had better do so. We, we seem to have digressed, earlier
Willow: *glaring at Xander* Riley was attacked by Drusilla. He was found by the police and had to be taken to the ER after being 'bitten by a wild animal.'
Giles: Drusilla? But, but... surely he must be, "vampire-aware"?
Willow: The doctors say he's stable.
Giles: Which is more than can be said for her - was he the only victim?
Willow: Remember what happened with Kendra? I think she pulled her 'mind tricks' on us.
Willow: Yes. *looks guilty* No thanks to me.
Giles: Ahh, yes, I have had some experience of ... yes...
Giles: Xander, are you wearing a cross?
Willow: As near as we can work out, that 'old friend' Riley left the blood drive with was Dru--and I didn't recognize her, nobody did.
Giles: you may be at particular risk, after all, Dracula...
Xander: I'm loaded. Got extras if you ...Dracula??
Xander: You're kidding,right? I've seen those movies.
Giles: yes, she has the ability to do that...
Xander:: Even vampires couldn't be that obvious.
Xander: *realizes you're serious* Oh man...
Giles: People with ... er, unfocused minds are supposed to be particularly at risk
Giles: if you think of the more ... er, lurid, Bela Lugosi films you may get some idea of Drusilla, and of her abilities
Willow: I've been calling Buffy. No answer. I left her a voicemail message. I vote we stay put or we could spend the rest of the week trying to catch each other.
Giles: We had better try to locate Spike. He is almost certainly responsible for her presence - or at least aware of it.
Xander: *raises hand to second the vote*
: Willow: I walked by Spike's crypt, Giles. I didn't see him or Harmony at all. How about a locator spell?
Giles: It is necessary for me to continue research into the Demon prince - the information is a welter of ... not exactly contradictions but...
Giles: I suppose it can't do any harm - Willow, are you still taking the medication?
Willow: I am. If we do the spell as a group, it shouldn't be a big risk.
Xander: Hey,whatever you geniuses need. Including donuts.
Willow: Oh! Giles, do you know Helen Morris?
Giles: Yes, she came to me when she first arrived in town.
Giles: You may remember - she actually stayed at the Magic Box for a few days
Willow: I'm not sure...She visited Riley. He was still out cold. She seems really nice.
Willow: I asked her if she could keep an eye on him. He can't be moved yet.
Giles: she is - as far as I know, but you do realise her condition?
Willow: Condition? Please don't tell me she's a vamp or another Insect Demon.
: She hasn't even hit on Xander yet.
Giles: She's a werewolf, I thought you knew.
Giles: *Laughs* Perhaps we should introduce them, that may be the surest test of her motivation...
Xander: *lips twitch as he fights a smile* Yeah, my history is big with demonic females. But hey, Wills, you haven't been what I'd call 'aloof' yourself.
Giles: And that, of course, was why we didn't tell you.
Willow: *laughing*
Giles: She was attacked during the period when the lycanthropes were showing ... disturbed behaviour.
Willow: Old Snaky. Right. But, it's not full moon.
Giles: Actually within the hospital, now I think of it - perhaps we should keep a closer eye on Riley? or perhaps hisown organisation will take responsibility for protecting him?
Willow: I'd like to talk to her sometime. What with Oz--maybe I can help her out, y'know?
Xander: Let's hope so. We can't keep splitting up. That's just too stupid even for me.
Giles: Should Buffy be asked to alert them or... I do wonder what happened to the exposed commando
Willow: *looks at the table* Xander?
Xander: What?
Willow: Um, I am feeling a bit shaky. Would you see if that coffee's any good?
Giles: Possibly too much coffee, Earl Grey tea, now....
Xander: No probs. I know we're not out of decaf.
Giles: Is there any tea left? not the instant stuff, thank you - the Earl grey should be in the top cupboard.
Xander:* walks over and starts rummaging through the cupboards*That's me, the all-purpose Scooby.
Willow: *waits til Xander goes to the other side of the room. Speaking in low voice* Giles, I'll explain later, but for now? Trust me, that's not a good idea. We need to make sure Riley's awake first.
Giles: Have you ... heard anything about them?
Giles: there are rumours of ... attrition ... but they rarely seem to invalid anyone out...
Willow: *expression momentarily cold* They don't.
Giles: It isn't like Willow to be tardy. I hope she is having an uneventful journey.
Xander: In Sunnydale?
Xander: *phone rings, and he picks it up* Magic B- Wills! We were just talkin about you.
Giles: The rising of Arathuare seems to having an ... unsettling effect on a substantial percentage of the area
Giles: It's Willow?
Xander: *listens, nodding*
Giles: Why is she telephoning, is there a problem?
Xander: Yeah. She says no luck tracking down Buffy or Spike. *frowns* Ok. Why don't you come on in, or I'll pick you up.
Xander: *hangs up* She's on her way over.
Xander: Said she'll be here in about ten minutes.
Xander: Y'know, this whole G.I. Buffy thing is just--*shakes head*
Giles: I have hardly seen her - co-operating with the suthorities is one thing - and even that can be questionable, but this...
Giles: Have you met this .. Professor Walsh?
Xander: : I know. And please tell me your bosses aren't hearing about this. No offense man, but we've got too many cooks in the kitchen now.
Giles: I intended to contrive some kind of casual encounter but ...
Xander: No, I haven't met her. She teaches a class Buffy and Willow think is cool.
Xander: Psych 102.
Giles: how on earth can I ascertain if she heads a top secret project at all, let alone whether she is competant to do so!
Giles: I suppose that argues a degree of competance in itself - although I have met some remarkably incompetant professors
Xander: Well: competent on a Hellmouth means you don't die. She's done that so far. So have Riley's crew.
Xander: I just wish I knew how much *she* knows. Pretty sure we're not the only one keeping secrets.
Giles: Some of them. I rather doubt that the commandos have as low a casualty-rate as we are led to believe. There are stories...
Xander: I mean, that's the woman's career.
Xander: Sounds like I missed something. Stories?
Giles: yes, *sighs* we know that Buffy has been willing to keep secrets in the past.
Giles: It's no secret that the Lamia killed at least one, and there have been - on the evidence there have been at least two commando vampires
Xander: The Lamia...? *startled* I didn't realize that. Hadn't heard about any commando vamps either. What happened with them?
Giles: *Sighs* Buffy can be ... too easily influenced, and by, by the wrong people.
Giles: Oh, one was staked almost immediately.
Xander: *remembers* Oh sh*t. I didn't--Are you talking about Graham Miller, Giles?
Giles: Over-confidence, I should think. It didn't even take a slayer - he annoyed a Drxl demon and ... *shrugs*
Giles: Yes, wasn't Miller actually killed at the bus stop?
Xander:It doesn't take much at all. Willow and I nearly got eaten by a fledgling, the same night we met Buffy.
Xander: I knew he wasn't around but neither Buffy nor Riley said he was KIA.
Xander: I just thought he'd been discharged or transferred, and I thought "good for him."
Giles: Miller, no, he was killed.
Giles: The fledglings are usually vulnerable. The other lasted longer but apparently tried top prey on his unit. Not a good idea...
Xander: No. *frowns* It wouldn't be. That's cold. I wonder if Walsh even told his family he's gone?
Giles: Ahh, there have been others - one was said to have been infected by a Hisslea - they have poisonous ichor
Giles: it can transform a human into something that closely resembles the Hisslea itself - although whether the victim becomes a functional demon is more than moot.
Xander: It sounds like they don't know demons except by what they learn from observation. Hell, they need Watchers too, maybe.
Giles: It seem more likely that those transformed into Hisslea are used as incubators for - but anyway, the Initiative Agent was infected
Xander: 'Learn as you go' is a good way to run up the body count.
Xander: *chuckles* Now I'm never gonna be able to watch a Sigourney Weaver flick again .
Xander: Not without picturing Riley!
Giles: I think they research to an extent but ... yes precisely... Hopwever, the infected agent was removed comrades...
Giles: Sigourney Weaver? *Nervoius laugh,* Yes, I suppose that there are simularities
Giles: - though perhaps not physically
Xander: What else could they have done? Is there a cure for this Hisslea thing, if they'd known about it?
Xander :*looks up quickly as the door opens* Willow!
Willow :Hi, Giles. Xander. *sits, looking tired*
Giles: Willow, I'm glad that you made it safely - I hope your trip was ... er, incident-free?
Willow: Incident free, not so much. Vamps 0, Willow 2, but they were newbies. No Drusilla or Spike.
Giles: Xander, the point about the Hisslea incident is that the agent was never seen again.
Giles: Is there any news of the precious pair?
Willow: Hisslea ? Oh, gross. I remember reading about those. --Buffy and Riley? Riley's at the hospital.
Giles: What happened?
Xander: How's he doing?
Willow: Xander!*annoyed*
Xander: Wills, Giles just got here. I was about to tell him the rest of it.
Giles: Perhaps you had better do so. We, we seem to have digressed, earlier
Willow: *glaring at Xander* Riley was attacked by Drusilla. He was found by the police and had to be taken to the ER after being 'bitten by a wild animal.'
Giles: Drusilla? But, but... surely he must be, "vampire-aware"?
Willow: The doctors say he's stable.
Giles: Which is more than can be said for her - was he the only victim?
Willow: Remember what happened with Kendra? I think she pulled her 'mind tricks' on us.
Willow: Yes. *looks guilty* No thanks to me.
Giles: Ahh, yes, I have had some experience of ... yes...
Giles: Xander, are you wearing a cross?
Willow: As near as we can work out, that 'old friend' Riley left the blood drive with was Dru--and I didn't recognize her, nobody did.
Giles: you may be at particular risk, after all, Dracula...
Xander: I'm loaded. Got extras if you ...Dracula??
Xander: You're kidding,right? I've seen those movies.
Giles: yes, she has the ability to do that...
Xander:: Even vampires couldn't be that obvious.
Xander: *realizes you're serious* Oh man...
Giles: People with ... er, unfocused minds are supposed to be particularly at risk
Giles: if you think of the more ... er, lurid, Bela Lugosi films you may get some idea of Drusilla, and of her abilities
Willow: I've been calling Buffy. No answer. I left her a voicemail message. I vote we stay put or we could spend the rest of the week trying to catch each other.
Giles: We had better try to locate Spike. He is almost certainly responsible for her presence - or at least aware of it.
Xander: *raises hand to second the vote*
: Willow: I walked by Spike's crypt, Giles. I didn't see him or Harmony at all. How about a locator spell?
Giles: It is necessary for me to continue research into the Demon prince - the information is a welter of ... not exactly contradictions but...
Giles: I suppose it can't do any harm - Willow, are you still taking the medication?
Willow: I am. If we do the spell as a group, it shouldn't be a big risk.
Xander: Hey,whatever you geniuses need. Including donuts.
Willow: Oh! Giles, do you know Helen Morris?
Giles: Yes, she came to me when she first arrived in town.
Giles: You may remember - she actually stayed at the Magic Box for a few days
Willow: I'm not sure...She visited Riley. He was still out cold. She seems really nice.
Willow: I asked her if she could keep an eye on him. He can't be moved yet.
Giles: she is - as far as I know, but you do realise her condition?
Willow: Condition? Please don't tell me she's a vamp or another Insect Demon.
: She hasn't even hit on Xander yet.
Giles: She's a werewolf, I thought you knew.
Giles: *Laughs* Perhaps we should introduce them, that may be the surest test of her motivation...
Xander: *lips twitch as he fights a smile* Yeah, my history is big with demonic females. But hey, Wills, you haven't been what I'd call 'aloof' yourself.
Giles: And that, of course, was why we didn't tell you.
Willow: *laughing*
Giles: She was attacked during the period when the lycanthropes were showing ... disturbed behaviour.
Willow: Old Snaky. Right. But, it's not full moon.
Giles: Actually within the hospital, now I think of it - perhaps we should keep a closer eye on Riley? or perhaps hisown organisation will take responsibility for protecting him?
Willow: I'd like to talk to her sometime. What with Oz--maybe I can help her out, y'know?
Xander: Let's hope so. We can't keep splitting up. That's just too stupid even for me.
Giles: Should Buffy be asked to alert them or... I do wonder what happened to the exposed commando
Willow: *looks at the table* Xander?
Xander: What?
Willow: Um, I am feeling a bit shaky. Would you see if that coffee's any good?
Giles: Possibly too much coffee, Earl Grey tea, now....
Xander: No probs. I know we're not out of decaf.
Giles: Is there any tea left? not the instant stuff, thank you - the Earl grey should be in the top cupboard.
Xander:* walks over and starts rummaging through the cupboards*That's me, the all-purpose Scooby.
Willow: *waits til Xander goes to the other side of the room. Speaking in low voice* Giles, I'll explain later, but for now? Trust me, that's not a good idea. We need to make sure Riley's awake first.
Giles: Have you ... heard anything about them?
Giles: there are rumours of ... attrition ... but they rarely seem to invalid anyone out...
Willow: *expression momentarily cold* They don't.