BunnyGirl pushes herself off the ground, and then has to convert the momentum to a spin so she doesn't lose control. As she lands on the floor with a crouch, she looks around the rustic setting she finds herself in. Is this some weird test they've come up with. Right, first check mission objectives.
She raises her right forearm, palm up and… nothing. Mental simulation then, that means they're keeping an eye on her void levels. BunnyGirl stops devoting her precious resources to the mental exercises they demand she keeps up. Straightening up, she looks around the room. Hmm, three exits, one view port and some civilians that are starting to come around too. Probably the mission objective.
Turning around, she heads for the view port and rustic door as they are both the most vulnerable parts of the location. Behind her the others start talking in gibberish, lending credence to the idea that it's a basic protection mission. They probably haven't been loaded with any actual sentience, just enough to get her in trouble.
As she's investigating the view port, she sees movement outside. She also finds an organic rope attached to a handle, with a lever on it. She shakes her head, they've really pulled out all the stops in this scenario. Probably some Archemedian's pet archaeology project. Flicking the lever experimentally, she nods when the handle spins quickly and a metal grating drops over the view port.
Now that's secure, she turns her attention to the door. Looking it up and down, she spots a crude locking mechanism at the top and bottom. They seem to be slide based, so she drives them home.
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Tara groans as she wakes up. Pushing herself up, she stares at her hands and flexes them individually for a moment. Once she starts to remember what they are, she looks around curiously. Memories coming back slowly as she looks first at the flat object she was lying on, table her mind supplies. Then she spots a couple of people separating from what seems to have been a romantic nap. What with the line of drawl that snaps off the man's mouth as he gets far enough away.
Across the room comes a crash, and a man with white hair stands up from behind the counter, "I meant to do that."
Tara's eyes widen in surprise, "Hey, I can speak. Who are you?"
The other three people start looking around more actively as the man with white hair shakes his head, "I don't know, who are you?"
Tara shakes her head, "I have no idea."
The older man stands up and lurches to one side before leaning against a cabinet with one hand, "Don't worry, we probably just had too much to drink. Our memories should come back with time."
The blond he was leaning on shakes her head, "I don't see any bottles around."
The last woman looks around slowly before saying, "Driving licences."
Tara scrunches her eyebrows as she tries to remember what that is. When it comes to her, she starts to pat her clothes, and then pats the item of clothing hanging over the back of the chair she's sitting in. Finding a rectangular card in a pocket, she pulls it out and looks at it, "I don't have a driving licence, but apparently I'm Tara, and I go to UC."
The woman that just talked looks excited, "Same, and it looks like my name is Willow."
A moment later, the man calls out, "My name is Rupert Giles. Apparently I'm English."
The three of them stare at the other two as they finish searching their clothes.
The white-haired man finishes first, "Nope nothing." The blond woman shakes her head, "Same." However, she looks at a key that was around her neck thoughtfully.
Suddenly the blond looks at her hand and starts jumping up and down excitedly, before grabbing Rupert excitedly, "Look, look, I'm engaged. We must be engaged."
Rupert looks unsure of himself, "Well, erm."
White hair laughs, "Don't you think that's a young bit of totty for you?"
Willow enthusiastically adds, "And you were sleeping together, you even left a damp spot."
Rupert looks uncomfortable, "I'm sure we get along well with each other."
A large crash comes from the other end of the store, and they all look over to see another woman inspecting a door. The white haired man shouts over, "Hey you have a name?"
When he's ignored, he shrugs and turns back, only to be ambushed by Willow saying, "Hey, you and Rupert could be related."
White-hair explodes in indignation, "There's no bloody way I'm related to him… Wait, sod, bloody, bollocks, bugger. Sodding bloody buggering bollocks, I'm English."
Rupert muses, "My brother maybe."
"There's no way I'm that old. Son maybe."
While they're bickering, Anya lifts the counter access and walks around to look at the till. Curiously, she pushes the key in and turns it, only for the drawer to pop out. That's when she spots the stack of invoices, "Hey, I know my name! I'm Anya, it says so on these. Apparently, I own the shop with Giles."
Giles nods, "That makes much more sense, I wonder what sort of shop it is."
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Dawn pushes herself up on a soft chair before yelping as she sits on something. A woman with red skin, horns, and wings, calls out, "Dawn, you're awake. No, don't move, I'll come over and help you."
Dawn looks at the woman blearily, "Dawn?"
"It's your name sweetie, and I'm Vhesthine, and your sister, Buffy, works here. Here, let me help you up, and we can get you out of your school clothes into something more comfortable."
Dawn allows herself to be pulled gently off the chair, and be led into the a room with a few tables and chairs, a fridge, and a microwave, "How did I get here?"
As she helps Dawn disrobe, Vhesthine explains, "You collapsed in school, and they called me after they couldn't get hold of your sister. We think she might be subject to the same spell you have been."
Dawn looks alarmed, "A spell?"
Vhesthine nods, "It's affected your memory. That's why you don't remember who you are."
"Oh." Dawn reaches up to touch one of Vhesthine's horns, "What are you?"
"I'm a succubus. I need you to step out of your knickers, as they don't have space for your tail."
Dawn looks down at herself, and then over her shoulder, "I have a tail, and wings."
Vhesthine nods, "You do. And they are beautiful too. Now put these on." She holds out a Miami style pair of knickers that have ties at the side, and a heart shaped cut out just below the V, "Your tail goes through the hole first. Good, now, lift your tail as you're pulling the knickers up. There you go, they've slid right down to the base, if you reach through your legs, the front section should be easy to grab. What I usually do is tie a loose bow in one side. Then I can get the other side even, so that the little bow on the front is just below your belly button. Once you've tied that off, you can redo the other side."
Dawn fumbles with the unfamiliar actions of tying the sides together. Once they're done, the ends trail down the sides of her thighs prettily. Vhesthine then hands her a halter top that goes down to just above her belly button.
Dawn looks at the garment, and starts to tie it on, "Vhesthine, why is my top so much longer than yours?"
Vhesthine smiles at Dawn, "It's because you're not mature yet. Once a Succubus' horns grow in, their mother will start to teach them how to hunt for their own food. As you can see, my horns are very much grown in. There's a mirror in the rest room behind you, once you're dressed you can have a look at yourself."
Dawn looks at her curiously, "Do I have a mother?"
Vhesthine gently turns Dawn around, and ties the second set of ties on the top, that sit just above her wings, "I'm sorry, you don't. Your sister is responsible for you. Next time you put this on, you should do the top ties first, and then turn the top around. It's much easier to do that way. Now the skirt. Do it up tightly at the front just above your hips, then lift it off your hips and turn it around so the slit is over your tail. There you go."
Dawn wanders into the restroom to use the mirror, and just freezes when she sees herself. Hesitantly, she reaches up to touch her horns in wonder. Then she runs out and hugs Vhesthine, "Thank you for looking after me."
Vhesthine caresses Dawn's cheek with the back of her hand, "You're most welcome, now grab a chair and help me at the desk."
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BunnyGirl turns to look at the civilians appraisingly, while trying to decide where to investigate next. Knowing their trainers, it's most likely to be check out the door next to them. Especially since there's now two of them on that side of the barrier.
Shaking her head, she deftly weaves her way past them as the one with white hair is looking through his clothes for some reason. When one of them speaks to her, she just smiles and nods, before slipping through the door and almost falling down a set of stairs that start directly on the other side.
Feeling around, she opens the door just enough to let some light through and spots a white box on the wall with some sort of switch in it. Cautiously she touches the switch, and a light turns on at the bottom of the stairs. Softly making her way downstairs, she has a quick look around, but apart from a trapdoor there's nothing else in here. Fortunately it has a rudimentary lock on it, though there's currently no way to use the lock, as the loop that goes through the slot doesn't have anything. Having another quick look around turns up a metal box with tools inside it.
With a feral smile, she takes one of the levers and slots it through the loop. Then she carefully bends the thin metal of the lever round until it loops under the handle. Giving the slot an experimental tug, she nods and makes her way up the stairs again. As she leaves the underground room, she stifles a snort as the civilians are now huddled behind the small barrier between the viewing panel and the inside, the expected attackers have managed to smash the material that filled that panel.
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Anya turns to white-hair, "Hey, maybe your name is somewhere else, like mine was."
White hair starts to go through his clothes, checking his pockets for something that could provide a clue to where his name is. As he's doing that, Tara watches as the strange woman goes past her with out a word, and then opens the door that's behind the counter. Any thoughts on the matter are disrupted when white-hair exclaims.
"Made with care for Randy…" Everyone just looks at Randy, "Did you hate me that much? Why not just call me Horny, or Want-sex-badly, or Desperate-For-A-Shag Giles?"
Rupert looks down, "It's probably a family name."
"You could have picked literally any other name, but no."
"Look sonny, you're not too old to be put across my knee for a good spanking."
Randy huffs, "Well, if you're going to be like that, I'm leaving. Might even try to find a hospital while I'm at it."
Tara perks up, "Hospital, that's a great idea, I'll come too."
Willow nods, "And me."
Anya looks at the till with a strange expression, "Go on, you guys go ahead, I'll just look after the till. And-and let that strange woman know where you've gone."
Rupert looks at Anya, "Are you sure dear?"
Anya nods, "Yes, yes. Just come back once you've got a cure, and look after the till while I'm gone."
The four of them casually walk to the front door, and Randy through the slats and out of the window before reaching for the door. The sound of something heavy landing against the metal grating, and bowing it enough to break the window, has him scurrying back behind the window display. Willow and Tara both scream, and join him there.
"We know you're in there! Come out now, or we'll have to get rough."
Willow whispers harshly, "What do you think they want?"
Randy looks back at her, "How the hell am I supposed to know?"
"They saw your face and immediately started… That."
"Look, all I was doing, was making sure that I wasn't going to walk into anyone."
Anya, a little hysterical, scrambles over from the counter, "What happened?"
Rupert gives Anya a hug, "It will be alright dear, I'm sure it's just a misunderstanding."
Something heavy bashes against the metal shutter, "Look, all we want is Spike!" and they all scream again.
Willow's eyes widen, "Maybe the other woman saw them, and was looking for another way out. I'm going to go and look."
Tara looks behind them, "I'll check the other door."
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Dawn sits beside Vhesthine, and carefully tries to adjust her posture to match that of the older succubus. The cat she woke with, pawing at her leg until she picks it up, where it then climbs onto the desk. Dawn smiles as it curls up and faces the door.
"Good evening, Mikes Machining, how can I help you?"
Dawn, watches as Vhesthine writes down a message on a sheet of paper. When she puts the phone down, Vhesthine turns back to Dawn.
"Dawn, this is important. I want you to take this message to Razial in his office. As it's not company related, you must address him as Master."
Dawn blinks in incomprehension, "Why? Does he own us?"
Vhesthine shakes her head, "No, not at all. It's a term of respect and acknowledgement. One of the underlying rules amongst demons, is that power is authority. If you're in the presence of a demon of another species, that is more powerful than you, you call them master. It's a survival trait, as many of them will seek to prove their power over you if you don't. If they do, then you'll be lucky if you survive. "Razial's not as bad as some, but if he's around other demons he will punish you. Even if you are Buffy's sister."
Dawn looks at her wide eyed, "Is my sister powerful then?"
Vhesthine nods, "She is, though not as powerful as some. More important is her reputation. A reputation that she can back up against most of the physically powerful demons."
"What about Succubus, are we powerful?"
Vhesthine nods sadly, "In our own way. However, that power doesn't work on most demons. If we train in magic, we can also become magically stronger than average. But most Succubus don't practice magic, as it takes time and effort. However, we are physically weaker than most demons, and as I said, our power doesn't work on most demons."
Dawn nods seriously, before taking the note and walking across the office to Razial's door. Her attempts to copy Vhesthine's movements putting a sway in her hips, that once she's mastered it will see her enflaming lust in men and males everywhere she goes.
Vhesthine shakes her head, and reminds herself firmly that Dawn is a human, not a succubus.
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As BunnyGirl approaches the door at the back, she spots another door to the side discreetly concealed by a shelf containing artifacts. Diverting herself, she quickly checks that door and frowns when it opens to the outside. Looking up and down, the frown turns into a scowl when she can't find any obvious locking mechanism. This is obviously where the surprise attack is supposed to come from if she hadn't been paying attention.
Quickly, and quietly, she moves back around the shelf and opens the last door. Her frown turns into a smile as it opens with some real weight to it. Once she's inside, she can't help exclaiming, "Jackpot" as she immediately spots a display of weapons on one wall. Turning back, she looks at the door and smiles even wider when she sees that it has metal reinforcement on the inside. A perfect location to put the civilians if they need to fall back.
As she's searching the room for other weapons, one of the civilians comes in and looks around curiously before picking up one of the weapons absently. BunnyGirl's eyes widen, as one of her original assumptions is shattered.
Deciding to test it, she takes a crossbow of the wall, loads it, and then calls, "Hey!"
The civilian jumps in surprise, dropping the weird organic dagger with a clatter. They then say, "
Hello?"
Damn it, there goes another assumption, they're not stupid, she just can't talk to them. Carefully making sure the crossbow is pointed at the hanging target, she lifts it with an exaggerated motion, takes aim, and then pulls the trigger. As the civilian lets out a squeak, BunnyGirl lowers the crossbow to the floor, and reloads it deliberately slowly. Once she has, she holds the crossbow out, butt first, to the civilian and gestures to the target.
Tara backs up when the strange woman holds a weapon out to her. When she holds it out more emphatically, Tara gingerly takes it, and allows herself to be guided through shooting the weapon at the target. "
See, easy. Now show the others."
Tara points at herself, "Tara." Before pointing at BunnyGirl.
BunnyGirl huffs, "BunnyGirl." And takes the other crossbow off the wall, along with a bundle of wooden bolts.
Tara is a little confused when
BunnyGirl turns her around and pushes her out of the room. Slightly bemused, she makes her way back to the others, "Guys, I think the other woman is foreign, as she actually spoke to me."
Rupert turns around, "Really? What's her name?"
Randy interrupts, "Really father, we have those people out there, and you're asking about things like that."
A voice from outside calls, "All we want is Spike! Give 'im to us, and we'll leave you alone."
Tara looks down at the crossbows she was given, and the bundle of bolts, "
BunnyGirl gave me these. Look, they launch spikes."
Randy smiles, "Now that's what I'm talking about. No need for us to endanger ourselves to give them what they want. How do they work?"
"Um, you pull the string back, and put one of the spikes in like this one. Then you point and pull this trigger here. EEEK!" She screams as she accidentally pulls the trigger, and the bolt disappears from the crossbow, and appears in a wall with a thunk.
"Come on Father, let's start giving the spikes back to them."
Before Rupert can respond, Willow comes back with a panicky expression, "There's a way out downstairs, but it's got a screwdriver bent through the lock."
While Tara is doing that, BunnyGirl finds a harness and loads up a serviceable sword, as well as filling a pouch with as many throwing stars she can find. That done, she takes a sturdy wooden staff and a couple of sharp daggers, before making her way back to the exit with no locks. Kneeling down, she uses the back of a dagger to rap on the floor and the base of the wall. As it doesn't sound like metal or stone, she lays the staff across the doorway, and then stabs the daggers in on either side of the doorway.
Grabbing an axe, she uses the back of it to hammer the daggers deeper into the floor.
The loud sound of banging from the back of the shop makes the group at the front jump. Randy exclaims, "Bloody Hell, what was that?"
Rupert looks behind them, "Maybe they're trying to get in through the back."
"Bugger that! Father, why don't you start giving them the spikes, I'll deal with whatever's making that noise."
Tara calls out to his retreating back, "It could be
BunnyGirl."
Anya shudders, "I don't know why, but something about that name scares me."
Randy, storms, well tries to storm, maybe scurries menacingly? [look, it's hard to be intimidating while you're crouching] to the back door, when he sees
BunnyGirl bashing some daggers with the back of an axe.
Reaching down, he grabs her shoulder, "What the hell do you think you'reeeee… Bloody buggering fuck, what was that?"
BunnyGirl whirls around when Randy touches her shoulder, and her eyes widen in horror as a spark of void energy jumps from her to the civilian. Holding her hands up in a warding gesture, she cries, "
No, stay away. I'm too dangerous." Crouching back down, she lifts up the staff a couple of times to demonstrate, and then tries to open the door with the staff there.
Randy shakes his head, "You've managed to lock the door, big whoop. Why were you doing that?"
BunnyGirl shakes her head, and leans the staff against the wall, before opening the door and walking out and drawing her sword. Maybe she can rescue this void damned scenario by killing the assailants before she explodes. If only they'd started teaching her how to use void energy already.
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Inside Randy looks at the door for a long moment, before dropping the staff across the daggers, and heading back to the front.
"Hey, I think BunnyGirl is going all Joan of Arc for us."
Willow looks at him, "What do you mean?"
"I grabbed her, and got hit with some lighting shit. When she saw it, she looked really scared, and left by the back door."
Tara gasps, "Do you think she did something to the trapdoor Willow found?"
Willows eyes widen in horror, "Why would she do that?"
Rupert looks out of the window as he sends another spike through the shutter, "Maybe she was stopping people getting in? She did find the spikes for us after all."
From outside comes shouts of, "Get her! Get her! Shoot her!"
All of them share a glance, and Tara voices, "Do you think we should help her?"
Randy opens his mouth to speak, only to be interrupted by a bright flash of white light as everything outside goes silent.
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Buffy gasps as she wakes up in her coffin, grabbing at her chest where she'd just been shot with a crossbow. As her panic retreats, and she realises who she is and where, she gasps, "Dawn!"
Void jumping out of the coffin, she runs back to the house. As she does, her anger at Willow continues to build, and the void energy inside her rising with it.
As she gets to the house, Buffy growls with frustration when Dawn isn't there. Realising that she's not going to help anyone if she overloads with void energy. Buffy forces herself to spend a couple of minutes in the yard to restore the mental exercises and techniques that have become second nature. While she's meditating, her anger recedes enough for her to start thinking clearly.
Walking over to the phone, she phones the Mikes Machining, and sighs with relief when Vhesthine answers.
"Mikes Machining, we are closed to the public."
"Vhesthine, it's me Buffy."
"Buffy, we were worried when you didn't come into work today."
"Do you know where Dawn is?"
"Before I tell you, Razial left a message for you. He said that you need to keep the caster of the spell alive, as they maybe needed to break the spell."
Buffy's voice is strained as she answers, "I understand."
"Dawn is safe here, but she hasn't regained her memory."
"Look after her for me while I…"
"Buffy! Do you know what you'd be looking for?"
"I… No, not for sure."
"Come to the office and look after Dawn. Tell me what you know, and I will go and deal with the spell, maybe also the caster."
"I… I…"
"Please? For Dawn if for no other reason."
Buffy sags, "For Dawn. You're evil for playing the Dawn card. You know that don't you."
Vhesthine chuckles, "I am a succubus."
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It doesn't take buffy long to arrive at the workshop, and bleed off her excess void energy by jumping a large part of the journey through the void. Once inside, she takes the stairs four at the time, and bursts into the reception looking for Dawn.
Leaning on the counter, she snarls, "Where's Dawn?"
Vhesthine gestures to the young succubus sitting next to her, "Razial did this to protect her. You know what our clientele can be like." Dawn looks up at her with a smile, "Dawn, this is your sister Buffy."
Dawns smile widens, "Hello Buffy, are you a succubus too?"
Buffy sighs, "No Dawn, I'm a Tenno."
Dawn looks confused, "What's a Tenno?"
From Razial's office door, Razial says, "Someone that is comparable power to me. Buffy, once you've given the details of who and what Vhesthine is looking for, see me in my office. It's about your Duties."
"Why?"
"Because you are the victim in this, so will you be choosing justice or revenge if you kill them?"
"They hurt Dawn and Tara."
"And you. I expect you in my office in five minutes."
As he closes the door, Vhesthine softly says, "Can you tell me where I need to look, and who you think is responsible for this?"
"I'd rather deal with her myself."
Vhesthine sighs, "Dawn, would you be able to watch the phones while Buffy helps me change?"
Dawn smiles, and shimmies over to Vhesthine's chair.
Once the two of them are in the break room, Vhesthine turns to Buffy, "Buffy, I want you to really think about this. What will it do to Dawn, to your friends, if you kill the caster of this spell?"
Buffy's voice hardens, "She will be devastated, and so will Tara. Giles is leaving tomorrow, and the others are demons. I'll probably be doing this alone. But I've done alone before, and I survived."
"What about your responsibilities to Dawn?"
Buffy slumps against a wall, "What do I do? I can't let this go, and I've got nothing else I can do as a punishment instead that will actually make any difference."
"Let Master Razial deal with it. You don't have to trust his decision, but at least hear him out."
Buffy whines out "Fine."
Vhesthine swallows hard, and takes a chance. Walking over, she pulls Buffy into a hug, "Buffy, in the human legal system. Judges are legally obliged to recuse themselves from cases where they have a conflict of interest. Do you really think that you shouldn't hold yourself to the same standard. Especially when there's someone else around that can do the job too."
Buffy starts to cry as she breaks down, "She killed me. If it stuck, Buffy would be dead now."
Vhesthine grimaces as the sour scent of grief and misery wafts over her without even the hint of lust that can turn those feelings from a disgusting mess to something that can be quite palatable in the right mood. Still, she holds the crying human until her tears start to subside.
Softly, Vhesthine takes Buffy's face in her hands, and looks her in the eyes as she leans in to kiss her. As she does, she brings up some of the energy she lives on, and pushes it from her mouth to Buffy's. A couple of seconds pass before Buffy jerks back, "What was that?"
"I gave you some of my energy, the same way I would another succubus. I thought you needed it."
Buffy reels as a light heat suffuses her body, pooling in places she's never thought about before. A sensation like having the most decadent desert while being pampered runs through her body. Not so much that it would affect her judgement, but certainly enough that she knows it's there.
Buffy slumps against the wall again, though, this time there's no defeated resignation in her posture, "Why?"
"I need the information if I'm going to help Dawn, and you weren't in any state to give it to me."
"The Magic Box in Maple Court, I left Tara, Willow Rosenberg, Rupert Giles, Spike, and Anya there. I believe that Willow cast the spell, as I saw her checking something at her side before we all lost our memories."
"Thank you." Vhesthine changes into her human guise and mutters the words to a spell that dresses her instantly.
As she's leaving, Buffy calls after her, "We need to talk about what you did, and what effect it might have on me."
"I need to do this first."
"How about dinner on Saturday. Dawn will be there."
Vhesthine turns back from the door, "Buffy, Friday night, and Saturday evening are my prime hunting hours."
"I'll feed you, it's the least I can do."
"Are you sure, you do understand how a succubus feeds."
Buffy looks away uncomfortably, "I understand, and no, I'm not sure. But I'll do it anyway because I owe you."
"I'll see you then."
"Can you eat human food?"
Vhesthine nods, "We can, but it provides little enjoyment, and no sustenance."
As Vhesthine closes the door, Buffy slides down the wall and buries her head in her hands, "Why did I do that? It's not like I'm interested in her. Void, I've never been interested in anyone like that."
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Razial looks up as Buffy opens the door to his office, "Buffy, take a seat."
Buffy sits down, "What was that stuff about Tenno out there?"
"Buffy, you are an apprentice in my company, and you drove off one of the more powerful demons in the hells. I had some of my contacts look into the Lord of the Dance after you drove him off. He has not spoken of his defeat, but neither has he spoken of his
defeat. The latter of which he is known to do once he's grown bored and allows mortals to believe they've bested him. You've certainly gained my interest more than just the deterrent effect that having the Slayer working here brings.
"Now, I have three proposals for punishing the caster of this spell if they happen to be close to you."
Buffy looks at Razial consideringly, "Will they provide a punishment that prevents them from attacking me like that again?"
Razial passes a sheet of velum over to Buffy, "See for yourself, I am just finishing the wording on the first option."
Buffy skims the neat calligraphy and looks up sharply, "How is this not the same as what was done to me?"
Razial puts his pen down neatly, and crosses his hands on the desk, "Buffy, that solution is exile. The caster will have all memory of the dark world removed from their minds. But only the dark world. That means magic, demonic encounters, and any other encounters with knowledge or creatures from outside the mortal experience."
"But she spent a long time patrolling with Buffy Summers, and has killed vampires."
Razial nods, "And she will forget those encounters. She will forget the patrols that were eventful. And she will forget the conversations where she discussed the dark world during those patrols. She won't forget anything else. I am also going to give her the choice of all three options, I am not going to force one on her."
"What are the other choices?"
"Death is the last choice. The first choice is signing a blood contract that will make her my apprentice. Part of that contract will be restricting the magic she can use to only that which is used for personal grooming and house-keeping, unless she is under my direct supervision. I am currently considering allowing her to also use magic in her own defence, or the defence of civilians."
Buffy frowns in thought, eventually she asks, "How is this a punishment?"
Razial sits back in his chair, "Magic isn't sentient, but it's better to treat it as though it is. This is because there is always balance in what you do." He waves his hand, "The balance isn't anything so trite as good and evil, even though Evil really does exist. Instead, it comes in the form of costs vs benefit. This is especially true with contracts, as a contract with no benefits will be far weaker than a contract with some benefits."
"So, how does an apprenticeship work in this context?"
"I would be obliged to teach her magic until I feel she's learnt enough to go her own way in the world. In return, she would be obliged to work for me using what I taught her. Additionally, she would have quite a lot of prestige in certain circles, just for being my apprentice."
Buffy nods, "Give her some renumeration, and limit the hours that she works for you. But also prevent her from letting others know that she is your apprentice, even after the end of her apprenticeship. How do you plan on teaching her?"
"She casts magic through the lens of witchcraft, so I will continue to use that. Even if it is rather unrefined and fuzzy, it makes up for that in its ability for spontaneity and cooperation. More importantly, I will be teaching her how to analyse the probable effects of her spells and how to limit them to their desired effects. Equally importantly, will be lessons on when not to use magic."
Buffy sighs, "I guess it need not be said that you will be getting far more out of that particular option than she or I could imagine."
Razial nods, "Of course. Though your requirement to prevent her from letting others know she's my apprentice will blunt many of those benefits. But I am a Business Demon first and foremost, I don't particularly care for direct or shadow power. I prefer soft power, the sort of power that comes from being head and shoulders above anyone else in quality, while still producing enough quantity that it doesn't counterbalance the quality. Do not ascribe mortal morality to me, as I still deserve my place beside my peers in Wolfram and Hart, I just do not see Good as being inimical to my plans and desires. As even the forces of Good need good equipment."
Buffy frowns, "Does that mean you're as powerful as the owners of the company?"
Razial barks a laugh, "Oh God no, they just employ many of my kin."
"Fine! I'll let you present her punishment. Just, is there any way to allow others to supervise her magic, if you're not available?"
"It will weaken the contract somewhat, practically, rather than magically. As it's impossible to prevent someone else adding their own name to the contract."
"How about if it required yours and Willows willing signatures to add a name?"
"That could work, but even there. There are those who could compel both of us to willingly add our signatures. Even if I added the same restrictions on communicating about the contract that I will have to devise to deal with the apprenticeship clause."
Buffy stands up, "I'm going to sit with Dawn, as I don't think she should be alone when the spell breaks. I also don't think I'll ever be happy with your contract in the time we have available. So, I'm choosing to trust you. If it's misplaced, then I've learnt something."
Razial nods.
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Vhesthine walks around Maple court so that she can approach the shop door from the side without the broken window. Her sharp eyes can easily make out the Vampires hiding in the doorways around the court.
As she's walking past an alleyway, a shark demon calls out, "Hey Lady, are you… never mind mistress."
A turn of her head, and revealing her horns, quickly gets rid of the pest. Arriving at the door, she knocks on it smartly, and waits. When she hears movement through the broken window, she calls out, "Hello in there, I'm from the CDC. We're dealing with the cases of amnesia that have struck this part of Sunnydale."
As she hears some whispering from inside, she calls out again, "We found someone on the streets. Once we fixed her memory, she told us her name was Buffy, and she'd left some friends here. When we found her, she couldn't speak English."
An English voice calls out from inside, "How do we know you're telling the truth?"
"She told us that she was there with a Willow Rosenburg, Tara McLay, Rupert Giles, Anya no last name, and Spike, also no last name."
The ring of steel on steel catches Vhesthine's attention, as another Englishman calls out, "Will you put that bloody book down woman!"
Still playing the role of the CDC woman, Vhesthine calls out, "Is everything alright in there?"
A young woman calls out, "Yes, we're just having trouble with a skeleton. What do you need from us?"
"I have my car with me, so I can only take two of you, as everyone else is busy elsewhere in the city. By the sounds of things, that should be the two young women, Willow and Tara."
"We can do that."
"Don't forget to bring everything that's yours, as we'll be sending you straight home after treatment."
A different woman calls out, "I can't reach my stuff because of the skeleton."
Politely, Vhesthine "Who are you?"
"Oh, I'm Tara."
"I have you down as living with Buffy Summers, so that should be alright."
Tara calls back, "I do?"
"That's what Buffy told us."
The English voice asks, "What about the people who were trying to get in?"
Vhesthine smiles, "I can't see any of them at the moment."
From the door, comes the sounds of bolts sliding back. Then the door opens and Willow and Tara walk out. Vhesthine looks Willow up and down, as she's never met her before, before turning on her heel and walking past the shop to her parked car, "Well, come on then. It's dangerous to be out too long."
As they're walking, Vhesthine picks Willows pouch, and palms the blackened quartz.
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As Vhesthine pulls into the factory carpark, Willow looks out the window nervously, "This doesn't look like a hospital."
Vhesthine nods encouragingly, "Your right, we commandeered one of the units here before we found out it wasn't contagious. If you'll just follow me."
Obediently, the two girls follow her, lacking the knowledge to see through the obvious lie. As she pushes the door open, Vhesthine grabs both girls hands, and drags them up the stairs as they start to panic.
As they pass through the door into the reception, Vhesthine calls over to Buffy, "Can you look after Tara please?"
Buffy looks up, before walking over and gently taking Tara's hand, "Hey Tara, I'm
BunnyGirl."
Tara looks at her for a few seconds before bursting into tears and hugging Buffy, "You are
BunnyGirl. I thought they were kidnapping us when I heard the workshop downstairs."
Buffy smiles at her, "They are going to fix your memory problems. This is my sister Dawn."
Tara looks Dawn up and down and whispers, "What is she?"
"She's in disguise, as it's not a disease, it was a magical spell."
As if on cue, both Dawn and Tara look poleaxed, and Tara's eyes widen. Dawn doesn't do so well herself, as she freaks out at her appearance until her memories of the last couple of hours catches up. After that, she looks herself over more curiously, extending one wing, and then the other.
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Vhesthine steels herself as she's dragging Willow across the room. Pushing open Razial's door, she steps in and pulls Willow in behind her, "Sorry for barging in Master. I have brought the caster, and the focus of the spell."
Razial doesn't look up from his writing for a couple of minutes. When he finishes writing, he mutters a couple of words, and the ink dries instantly. Turning the velum around he opens a drawer and extracts a hollow needle and places it on the velum. Then he places another sheet of velum beside it. Finally, he takes a silvered dagger from the same drawer, and places it in line with the two sheets of velum.
Willow's eyes go frantic as she watches this, "What are you going to do to me, you monsters. Let me go!"
Razial flicks his fingers with a muttered word, and Willow rises into the air with her mouth clamped shut.
"Vhesthine, the focus?"
Vhesthine bows her head as she places the crystal on the desk, "Yes Master."
As she turns to leave, Razial calls, "Stay, you will be the witness."
Swallowing hard, she turns back and stands by the door, "Yes Master."
Razial picks up the quartz and spins it around in his fingers as he examines it from every angle. After a moment he nods, "A masterful idea, with a flawed implementation. Bind the counter to a crystal, so that if you make a mistake you can smash the crystal to undo the spell. However, you neglected to tie off the spell, meaning that it would continue to weaken the crystal until it disappears, leaving no way to undo the spell. Such an amateurish and short-sighted mistake to make."
Holding the crystal between two fingers, Razial looks in Willow's eyes as he begins to squeeze until the crystal shatters, and a far smaller amount of quartz falls to the table than there should have been.
When Willow's eyes go from the fear of the ignorant, to the fear of the knowledgeable, Razial speaks up again, "Miss Rosenburg. At this point, you have two choices. You can flee, and die. Or you can take a seat, and be presented with three choices." He waves his hand across the three items he placed earlier, before releasing the spell.
Willow hugs herself as she starts to shiver, and her eyes glance between Razial, Vhesthine, and the dagger lying on the desk. On unsteady legs, she sits down at the desk.
Razial nods, "Good, you do have some sense of self preservation. I did wonder."
Willow's head jerks as she asks, "What's going to happen to me?"
"Why, you are going to be punished. If I left it to the Slayer, you would already be dead, despite the personal cost it would cause her."
"Buffy would never do that."
"Miss Rosenberg, you would be correct if Buffy Summers was sitting out there. However, that is not Buffy Summers, that is just Buffy. If I have my information right, Buffy Summers died over 6 months ago. Shortly before she started working here, she was resurrected. A resurrection that by rights should have failed, as her soul had moved on past the afterlife."
Willow shakes her head, "No, no, she's just suffered badly in her other life, and-and…"
"And there is your noble self-justification. Your burning desire to be seen as a 'good guy'. The very fact that you are sitting here, talking to me because of your own actions should be proof enough of that. However, now is not the time to discuss your personal failings. You are here to face punishment. In short, you have a choice of supervision, exile, or death. You may take as long as you need to read the terms of the first two items." He taps the dagger, "I'm afraid the only terms on the last one is that it will be quick and painless."
"This isn't fair, you can't do this."
"It is precisely as fair as the spell you cast on people you claim to call friends. And I believe you'll find that I am as capable of doing this as you were of casting the spell."
With a shaking hand, Willow reaches for the middle sheet of velum, and starts to read. As she does, her face looks more and more drawn, until finally she cries out, "But I love Tara."
Razial looks over at Vhesthine, "Do you really? Vhesthine, what do you think?"
Vhesthine sniffs critically, "There is love there, but it is overshadowed by obsession and lust. She would be a fine meal if Tara was a succubus."
"You see, Vhesthine here is a succubus, and they can smell your emotions like you can smell food."
Willow looks like she's just been slapped, so she reaches for the first sheet of velum, and tries to start reading. Even as she's barely able to concentrate through the fear, anger, and self-loathing that is coursing through her at the accusations.
When she reaches one clause, Willow blurts out, "But I need to do magic."
Razial looks at her as if he's reading her soul, "You need to do magic? Do you really?"
Willow's about to complain about her options again, when Razial's elbow seems to nudge the dagger accidently, causing the light to sparkle over the engraving on the hilt. She licks her lips at the reminder that death is on the cards. Then she glances at the second option again, and realises that in a real way, death is on the cards twice. She starts to cry as she pulls the apprenticeship option towards, her, "I choose this one. What do I do now?"
Razial nods, as though it was a foregone conclusion, "You prick your finger with the needle, and hold it there until it's filled up. Then you sign your name. I'd sign it as close to the bottom of the contact as you can, as you may want the space for additional supervisors to sign."
Willow pushes her chair away, "Blood magic!"
Razial nods, "Indeed, you didn't think I'd trust your word, did you?"
It takes Willow another five minutes, and she almost chooses exile. However, ultimately, her love of magic wins out, and she signs her name in blood on an apprenticeship contract. Once she has, both Vhesthine and Razial sign their true names in magical ink. As soon as it's done, Razial rolls up the contract and grabs Willow's wrist, before they disappear.
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When they reappear, Willow gags from the smell as she looks around.
With an evil smile, Razial points at a pile of manure, "For your first task apprentice. You must clear the dung, and spread it over the fields there. You have a week to do it, and no magic."
Willow shudders at the size of the pile, "What if I don't finish it in a week?"
"Then the next shipment arrives, and you'll be hear until the pile is clear. And it needs to be an even layer over the fields, as it needs to dry properly."
Willow looks around, "But what will I eat?"
"Nightmares are omnivorous, and their manure is filled with everything you need."
Willow gags as Razial disappears.
