Giles looked around the gloomy cave. Something wasn’t quite
right. The cave seemed oppressive, his flashlight’s beam barely parting the
darkness before him. And the genie… well, the genie just wasn’t behaving as a
natural genie should.
He never did want fame, fortune or any other material possessions,
being more interested in guarding and protecting. Being a Watcher wasn’t a job –
for him it was a vocation. His two wishes were enough for him for now. Best to
save the last for when it was really needed.
“OK. Fine. That, er, all seems to be in order.” He said,
fumbling with the lamp as he pushed it into his backpack. “I’ll be off now.” He
said with a confidence he no longer felt.
The demoness snarled. She had not yet gained a physical
presence in this dimension, and was powerless to stop him. Unless… yes…. the
power of the succubi she had stolen. She was using it to enhance and magnify
the sheer power created by the sex acts of the human cattle. But, if she used
some… just a little… as the Succubi did to seduce and enslave their prey…
“Rupert?” The voice reached out from the darkness. A voice
Rupert Giles could never forget, but one he tried hard to every night. “Rupert,
it’s dark and I’m scared.”
“Jenny?” Giles’ voice broke as he said her name. It couldn’t
be her. Jenny was dead, killed by Angalus. The clever, deducting mind of the
Watcher should have known this was a deception, but sometimes the heart
overrules all.
“Jenny!” he shouted, stumbling forward, the light from his
torch barely making an impression in the inky darkness before him. “Jenny, oh
God, Jenny.” He breathed in and his nostrils stung with the scent of her perfume.
It was her. It had to be. The beam from his flashlight brushed her face, and he
saw her – for the first time since her bloody, violent death.
“Rupert, I knew you would come. I’ve been alone for so long,
alone in the darkness.”
“Jenny, how can you be here, now?” He reached out and his
hand passed through her face.
“I’m dead Rupert. I’m a ghost. But, you can wish me back to
life.”
-------------
Anya stood by the supermarket shelf, pretending to be
interested in the canned goods, as the two Initiative/Watcher’s Council troopers
passed by outside. Lucky, because her Vengeance Demon powers stripped away, the
Initiative’s trackers failed to detect her as a supernatural being. Not so lucky
however was the fact her face and details were known, and she was listed as “wanted”.
She waited until the two troopers had passed by before
leaving the store. She may be human, but she had an instinct for wishes… and
she knew something was wrong. If she could find Willow, perhaps the young Witch
could put things right …. Whatever “right” was.
-----------------
The Mayor of Sunnydale was not a happy person. Of course he
should be. Since he was “persuaded” to let the Initiative troops patrol the town,
the unexplained death count had plummeted. Indeed, it has been months since a
dead body had been found within Sunnydale’s city boundary.
Yet, unexplained disappearances had gone up. People of
stature and position going missing. Normally after asking questions, Professor
Maggie Walsh being the latest.
Mayor Warren Mears sighed. Perhaps things were better when
Sunnydale was a wild west of demonic and vampiric horrors. Since the Watcher’s Council
took over the Initiative, a lot of the same shit was still happening. Only this
time, it was organised, efficient and… oddly… bureaucratic. Fall foul of the Council
and heaven help you.
He snapped his fingers, summoning his PA Harmony, sitting
back in his chair as he spread his legs. He smiled. He’d have to make sure he
did whatever the council wanted, then he’d be safe. Besides, without the
council, he wouldn’t have Harmony as his plaything.
She entered his office, dressed like a porn parody of an
office worker. Her long, blonde hair was tied up in a bun, while black rimmed glasses
perched on her nose. Her top was a white blouse, the silken material
transparent enough to show her dark nipples. Her dress was short, barely covering
her rounded ass as she walked in, her high heels clicking with each small step.
“On your hands and knees” he said, his hands pulling at his
belt.
She immediately fell to the floor. “Yes, Master” she said as
she crawled toward him, playfully wiggling her ass as she did.